#GOOGLE HOW DO I GET PEOPLE TO CARE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND QUESTION THEIR ACTIONS | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pendragonsclotpole · 3 months

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i have a really quick question, mostly because as a casual t swift fan i keep getting the posts in my feed, but why are tabloids and swifties so focused ONLY on the taylor swift jet emissions?

i’m not saying we shouldn’t be bothered by her using her private jet so often, (we should be, god knows no one but rich politicians or popstars get the luxury to pollute so excessively) but where is this energy against other big producers of CO2 emissions?

and i don’t mean individuals!

a quick google produced an estimate that in 2021 alone, international flights produced about 384.5 million metric tons of CO2 worldwide, and domestic flights about 327.9 million metric tons. alternatively I’m seeing the 138 tons of CO2 emissions quoted for swift all the time.

not sure how accurate the numbers are, or if tons is the same as metric tons, (i have a feeling they’re not, but i’m american so who knows) but while swift is emitting more CO2 than us common peons, she seems to be contributing to almost nothing compared to the aviation industry as a whole.

obviously i know how important flight is for the world, and the number of people traveling on airplane is many times the one t swift that exists, so i’m not saying “oh man let’s stop calling on taylor to do her part,” that’d be ridiculous. while she is a billionaire popstar at risk of being mobbed everywhere she goes, and while if i were her i would probably use a jet as well, she should still know better than to use something that harms the environment so recklessly, especially when it’s done with the money she wins from all the money we give her and the example she wants to set!

but you know what we should do, besides hoping she tones it down to necessary travel or god forbid, fly commercial? demand she uses her own pull to do something we can’t—put pressure on the aviation industry as a whole!

taylor’s generating massive amounts of money for entire cities, not to mention fans that are flying in. when taylor speaks, swifties listen. so why can’t the opposite be true? while she’s touring, i don’t know if she’ll really leave the jet behind, but god can we do more than all the posts of “oh i’m so disappointed with her” or “I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan, but these numbers make me really uncomfortable.”

I’m glad it makes you uncomfortable, so why not use that discomfort to make demands instead of posts meant to call her out that she clearly isn’t reading because she’ll likely have her team file it all under “hate”? maybe this is me being too hopeful she’ll see it, and maybe this is more fatigue with posts with the same narrative but if we could generate the same energy to call out the aviation industry that is used to call out swift, that would be amazing.

you could even do both in the same breath! Creating your post about her jet? Let’s have it link to the reality of the aviation industry’s pollution and its effects on air quality and all communities, not just global warming. characterize taylor and her jet usage as a symptom of a greater problem and apathy—the individual or a small group of individuals choosing their comfort, money, and unrealistic lives, over the health and safety of all of ours.

now returning to my regular merlin programming

nvm i just had to add. this was partially inspired by a post i saw which ended with the sentence “imagine being that rich and that fucking careless” or something along those lines. and i just want to say, YES, OF COURSE SHES RICH AND THAT FUCKING CARELESS. SHES A RICH WOMAN WHO LIKELY HAS ENOUGH MONEY TO NEVER WORRY ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF HER ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIONS. being rich does not give you care or compassion or intelligence. some of the most heartless and out of touch and dumb people i have met have been rich because that’s all they’ve known. And i don’t mean to word that in the “oh poor little rich boy/girl,” i reserve that for fictional characters (like kendall roy whose actions only affect me emotionally), i mean to word that in “don’t expect better,” just because someone is wealthy or in the limelight or in some position of authority does NOT mean they think they have the obligation to be morally righteous or well informed or environmentally conscious. you might think they do, especially if their fame is built on your support, but they likely won’t, because for them, the source of their success likely isnt you.

so use your support to do something, and see if that will finally sink it in for them.

#taylor swift #taylor swift eras tour #taylor swift eras #no one will read this i assume but i just had to say it #taylornation #speak now taylor’s version #swifties #can you tell i'm a swiftie

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adultingautistic · 4 years

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Hi! Adult diagnosed with autism just recently and I’m trying to understand more terms used by the community! I have masking, stimming, and samefoods learn but are there other common ones I should know about?

Oh wow! This is a good idea, a glossary of sorts!

At first I was like “HOW WILL I EVER THINK OF THEM ALL?? MY MIND HAS GONE TOTALLY BLANK, WHAT’S AN AUTISM???”

But then I realized I already HAVE a pretty extensive list- it’s my tag list for this blog! So, here ya go, starting with the 3 you listed:

masking

stimming

samefoods / samesong / samemovie

sensory input - the 5 senses, and how they interact with your brain. When you see/hear/feel/smell/taste something, that is “input” into your brain

Bad Sensory Input / sensory hell - Autistics experience horrific sensory input in a way that allistics just do not, and there are no words to describe it, so we invented our own. Bad Sensory Input is something that is far, far more horrible than just “unpleasant”. For example, smelling a dumpster is a bad smell, but smelling mint for me is a Bad Smell, it makes me react very violently and almost puke, and I would much RATHER smell a dumpster than have to smell mint, so for me, mint is a Bad Smell.

sensory sensitivity - Describes the condition of being affected by Bad Sensory Input

sensory overload - When your 5 senses are receiving too much information for your brain to handle. Can lead to a meltdown/shutdown

autistic burnout - When you’ve been dealing with overload situations over an extended period of time, and run out of spoons (the energy it takes to do day-to-day things)

spoons - Not strictly an autistic term, but used by the entire disabled community at large. Wikipedia explains it really well

self diagnosis / self dx - Because of a huge number of difficulties in getting professionally diagnosed, the autistic community accepts and advocates for self-diagnosis, that is, a person saying they are autistic based on their own personal experiences and research, without the diagnosis of a doctor

special interest / spIn (abbreviation, that’s a capital i) - More than “just a hobby”, an intense interest in a particular subject that takes away from learning about other subjects (causing “narrow interests” in the person), because so much time is spent on the special interest.

hyperfixation / hyperfocus - When you are so engaged in the task you are doing that your brain has no room left to process other stimuli, such as hearing the world around you, realizing you need the bathroom, realizing you’re thirsty, etc

emotional overload - When your emotions become so intense it can send you into meltdown / shutdown

emotional dysregulation / emotional regulation - The inability to “reign in” emotions; having emotions that are much too big for a situation, having emotions that are a huge overreaction to a situation, or also a huge underreaction

auditory processing disorder - A hearing disorder that occurs when there is nothing wrong with the ears, but the brain struggles to interpret sounds. Greatly affects the ability to understand speech.

echolalia / echologia - Repeating of words or phrases that you’ve heard, for various reasons. Echolalia is repeating the words out loud, echologia is repeating them only in your mind

face blindness - A deficiency in the ability to recognize/remember faces

executive dysfunction / executive function - Poor executive function causes a person to struggle with planning, organization, remembering to do tasks, etc

propioception - the ability to feel the position of one’s body in relation to itself and the world around it. Struggling with proprioception causes a person to be “clumsy” or “accident-prone”

meltdown / shutdown - A reaction to sensory or emotional overload. The brain taking drastic measures to protect itself from more input, as it cannot handle any more. Meltdowns are outward survival actions such as fight, flight, or hide, including kicking, screaming, or running away. Shutdowns are internal reactions, where the person no longer responds to outside stimuli.

nonverbal - Nonverbal autistics are people who have very limited speech or are not able to speak

going nonverbal / becoming nonverbal - Many autistics are “partially” verbal, meaning they can speak when not stressed, but if they become overloaded lose their ability to effectively communicate with speech (called ‘going nonverbal’). Can be a symptom of a meltdown/shutdown. While I’ve seen this term used in the autistic community, @garbageonionpeople pointed out “I’ve seen a lot of nonverbal autistic ppl say they’d rather if people who are not nonverbal use something like “lose speech” instead of “go nonverbal”, since it gives the word an implication of impermanency”.

nonverbal communication / nonverbal cues - The parts of human communication that are not speaking, such as body language, facial expression, and gestures. Autistics struggle to both interpret and display these forms of communication.

accommodation / self accommodation - The changing of an environment or behavior to alleviate autistic symptoms so that the autistic person can function in a less stressful way

abelism - Bigotry that stems from the attitude that disabled people are somehow worth less than non-disabled people. The idea that disabled people are the ones who need to change to fit into an abled world is abelism.

allistic - a non-autistic person.

empathy / hyperempathy /hypoempathy - Empathy is the ability to feel the emotions of others. Autistics tend to have either high empathy or low empathy, meaning we are either very affected by the emotions of others, or are not affected much at all. This is not the same as compassion, autistic people with low empathy can still be very compassionate and care very much about others.

So even though this is a pretty good list, I’m sure I still forgot stuff! If other people want to add stuff I forgot, please do so! I also realize that these definitions are VERY short. If you have more questions, search my blog for the tags, as all of these I got from posts I made with much more detailed explanations. Or of course, search the tumblr tags, or google.

#actuallyautistic #actually autistic #glossary #autistic vocabulary #ask

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teaboot · 4 years

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Hello! Feel free not to answer this, but you've said that you like people coming to you for advice before, so I'mma just ask for just that gfhbdjnskjnbd. My best friend is a Trump supporter. I didn't know about this side of her until later into our friendship, so we basically clash in every way politically. I'm sure you probably don't remember this, but this is also the girl who told me I was going to hell for not being Christian and all that a few months ago and was scared for my soul. 1/3

.... "Anyways she keeps trying to bring up politics and calling me stupid for my beliefs. It's really hurtful and it makes me angry as a person who is very much so against trump and a big advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, which she isn't against, per say, but doesn't like it being talked about by her friends, most of which are queer (we banded together fbhjdknfbhds) because she feels left out and all that. I was just wondering if you had any advice as to how to deal with this? I don't feel comfy 2/3

"Talking about politics or anything with her, and since pride is coming up I'm even more anxious. I'm not sure how to properly set a boundry without hurting her feelings, if that makes sense. Have you ever had to deal with this sort of thing? Feel free to answer this punblicly or not at all, have a nice day! 3/3

Ah, shit, friend. It seems like you're really dealing with a lot right now!

Now, I hate to make any flat-out judgements on other people's business, because obviously it's a lot easier to call the shots when I'm not the one whose life is on the wire, but I'm going to make a rare exception here.

My personal verdict:

This person is Not Your Friend.

Not by any adult of yours, of course- Not-Friends and Friends can share many similar characteristics, up to and including Fun Times Together, Inside Jokes, Family History, Drama, Emotional Talks, Secret-Sharing, Interests, Hobbies, and More.

To defend my findings, I intend to compare and contrast what precisely differentiates a Friend from a Not-Friend directly below.

A FRIEND:

-May not agree with you on everything, but respects and values your point of view so long as the ethics and morals behind your beliefs coincides with theirs: IE, "People deserve to be treated kindly", "Genocide is evil", "We should take care of our environment", etc.

-May critique your opinions, but will do so with respect for your intelligence as an independent person capable of forming logical conclusions based on the evidence at your disposal. Think, "I disagree, have you heard about X?" As opposed to, "you're a deluded sheep and you're blind to the truth, Only I Use Brain Thoughts"

- Will tell you to your face, ideally with a kind and thoughtful manner, what their issue is with your actions and behaviors. Perhaps they went to another trusted friend first to get advice, but they SHOULD at least try to get the full picture before blabbing to everyone, if they have to blab at all.

-Will treat you kindly, even when you're not there to appreciate it. They will speak of your positive characteristics and talents they admire, and go out of their way to put you in the best light when speaking to strangers or employers. And not JUST to be kind, or polite- but because they genuinely do respect and admire you, and hope for you to succeed and be happy.

-May not understand aspects of your personality, habits, or identity, but will take the time to quietly look into these things to learn how best to support or help you. They don't know what "trans" or "pan" means? They'll Google it, or ask you questions, and take you at your word about how you feel and what improves your life.

-They'll give you the benefit of the doubt. A rumor goes around that you secretly kick people's grandmas? They think, "no, that doesn't sound right, I'd better look into this". They don't believe in your religion, and think you're wrong? So long as you aren't in danger, they'll learn what they can to respect your practice, and hold back on insulting thoughts they may have, because your happiness is more important than winning an argument.

A NOT-FRIEND:

-Looks like a friend, but doesn't respect you.

-Treats you like a friend, unless they have something to gain.

-Feels like a friend, until you really need one.

-Knows your secrets, but in a way that makes you nervous.

The words, "anxious, humiliated, nervous, scared," and, "stupid" should not come to mind when you think of spending time with a friend. FEAR is not a thing you feel when you're with a friend- not unless you're feeling it together, and the company makes it less.

So I may not know what exactly do do about this person in your life, but the first thing I need to to know is that you MUST stop thinking of them as an ally, because their actions prove that they certainly don't consider you one.

Make a list of all the things that matter most to you in your identity as a person, going out into the world. How you think people should be treated. How you want them to treat you.

Then make a list of the values you two share, of the way she treats others, and the way she treats you.

If those two lists aren't more or less made up of the same things, she's not a friend. She's someone you know who you don't actively dislike.

I don't know what else to say, except "stay safe".

I do hope this is helpful.

Take care.

#Long post

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cutesilyo · 3 years

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Don’t know if you’re still full of energy to answer this ask but what do you think Nation-tans are or what they represent? i personally love how Hima made them so humane they’re able to entertain themselves with little pleasures like owning pets and— and the likes. And they work under their government but, oftentimes have opinions that aren’t politically driven, because propaganda can’t be the quintessence of being a nation-tan, their identity is also be with culture and ppl.

omg chiring-art i admire you so much and i admire every single piece of art you do so i am personally so EXCITED to answering this ask for you. ill try my best to answer this with care.

this ended up pretty long though, sorry! tl;dr: i think nations represent culture more than their government, and they take government jobs because its convenient. i also feel like nations are intrinsically connected to human perception of them and disconnected from linear time

my idea of the nations is an amalgamation of stuff other hetalia fans have said, the few interpretations we can get from canon, and things i’ve read concerning other mythologies and monsters. there is a stark political and legal delineation between the terms “nation” and “state”: a nation being the cultural identity shared by a group of people living in the same borders, while a state is literally just territory with a sovereign government. i certainly think the nations represent, well, their nation — the totality of it, the land and the culture and the history and the people — more than their governments, primarily because himaruya bases their personalities mainly on national stereotypes (which are derived from history and culture) and not on political, governmental action. it’s why hetalia, despite the subject matter, can be as light and comedic as it is: the focus isn’t on history enacted by a wacky cast of characters, but rather on a wacky cast of characters that just so happen to embody history.

on why the nations usually work under their governments, i always felt like it was out of convenience’s sake on the nation’s part. national governments will usually be involved in any major event that requires foreign relations, and national governments have the ability to reach out to every single little city, town, county, province in the nation. the breadth of government to, by necessity, be connected to every kind of sector — women, children, workers, media, education, business, transportation, military, healthcare, trade, law, the poor, science, environment and resources, oil, energy, and a PLETHORA of other things — means that, for a nation, it’s easy to use those connections to be placed in a job that they’re actually personally interested in. and for the government itself, it’s very convenient to a) have their nation in a workplace they have direct control over, and b) nations being fickle and developing different interests over time, and thus trying to go to different jobs or locations, means that the government has an “insider” that can informally, quickly, and honestly report on how this specific workforce or location is doing and if they have any concerns to forward without going through bureaucracy and red tape. so like, america will request to be placed as an engineer for NASA, and he has monthly calls with his assigned federal agent where he can say stuff like “oh yeah, we’re a little low on morale because the boss is going through a rough divorce, we need a referral for a nearby therapist stat. also johnson here wants to follow-up on the radiators he’s been requesting for three years now so a bump on that would be lit” it’s a win/win situation most of the time, but i do feel like there are some nations who don’t trust their governments enough for such an arrangement, or just want to live simple lives outside of their nation duties with no work or need for such connections.

but i digress. i guess the heart of the question is really: what even are nations?

i struggled a lot in how to word this, honestly. nations are, well, the physical representations of the culture, history, territory, and people of a nation — we all know that. but i feel the question needs to be taken to a deeper level so we can search for a more conclusive answer. history tells us that nations fall and unite and form and change and expand and crumble over time, so what determines what the nations in hetalia represent? when does a nation die and get replaced by a new nation-tan, and when does a nation just adapt and represent what they’ve developed into? in the meta-sense, we know its because hima is adapting the nations based on our current, modern understanding of history: we know which nations/kingdoms/empires stand the test of time and which don’t, so we have an idea on which ones are “relevant” enough to be their own separate character and which don’t. whatever force in hetalia that serves as the in-universe explanation for which nation-tans exist must have the same understanding.

it’d be tempting to pin this force as fate or god or some other otherworldly being, but nations are fundamentally human constructs, and i’m a lot more interested in how that works. i read a short story before about a conversation between a human and a vampire, and the vampire says something like, “we used to be fine under the sun, but then humanity began believing that it was one of our weaknesses, and since then we've been crumbling under its light. whatever story you tell about us shapes us.” i think the same mechanism applies for which nation-tans exist and the personalities of the nation-tans themselves, and in a broader sense, it also explains why the nations are basically just normal people that don’t die. people write about nations as people all the time; not even just counting personifications like uncle sam and lady britannia, but also poetry and art of nations (represented by normal humans) doing normal people things like crying, working, dancing, etc.

but this mechanism would also have to be one that exists outside of time: 14th century england has to carry with him the conceptions and stereotypes that 21st century modern society associates with england, for example. the nature of being a nation demands that you cannot be governed by time in the same way that humans are, and it explains why nations are immortal, why they have their own rules for aging, why their sense of time is off, why humans go crazy when exposed to them over long periods of time, why animals develop longer lifespans when nations develop bonds with them, and why anachronistic one-off jokes like america trying to use google in the 40s can happen.

im really not sure how to end this because i feel like i can ramble on forever. but to sum it all up, nations are basically a metaphysical nightmare!

#chiring-art #asks #this was the FIRST thing i saw when i woke up so i am so EXCITED #i feel like i didnt say anything new though lmao #okAY OKAY BUT WHAT IF #what if in the biological sense nations are literally just people but every cell is a cancer cell #and their blood has no antigens or antibodies so their blood type is essentially [REDACTED]#THIS MAKES NO BIOLOGICAL SENSE LMAO BUT THEYRE NATIONS SO #you know i actually dont know how to add tags to answered asks before i post them.......

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a-smile-hides · 4 years

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A WISH FOR FORGIVENESS (3/?) - U.R.

*Gif found on google*

Pairing: Ubbe x mermaid! reader

Sum: At last, after a couple of nights without any sign of Ubbe, you get a visit.

A/N: Get ready for a whole lot of backstory… I’m starting to doubt if this story is interesting to read at all. When I worked the idea out in my head it sounded pretty good, haha. But I am not giving up on it! (yet) I can always learn from making this story. Also, sorry for not really posting something this week. It suddenly became very hot where I live and it kind of took me by surprise… and of course I got sick because of it… wohoo (do not worry, this always happens to me) But now that I am somewhat better, I tried to write again…

PART 1 - PART 2

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Ubbe had not visited you after your last encounter.

Every night, you followed the river to the place where you first met him. A beautiful lake in the heart of the forest. A place where you lost your precious diadem to a raven and got stuck under a branch while trying to get it back. Every night, you waited until he arrived. In the hope to then talk about the abrupt ending of your last conversation. And every night, you watched sadly how the night made place for the day, without seeing or hearing Ubbe. You ran your hand through your hair as you tried to look between the trees for him. The forest was unusually dark this night since the moon didn’t shine as brightly. This combined with the silence made the forest feel cold and a bit frightening.

Before you had met Ubbe, you had come to this spot many times. Resting, enjoying the peaceful environment… But then that raven swooped in and stole your diadem. Your frustration of losing your diadem had quickly made place for fear when Ubbe had stepped out from behind that old tree. But his gentle ways and good meaning had melted that fear away. He had been very careful in freeing you, acting as if you were made out of glass. And ever since, he has treated you as a friend, as an equal.

Had he not intervened, you would have lost your life. Because of that, you wanted to thank him by granting him one wish.

There were a couple of simple rules to follow. First, a wish was to be made in your presence and clearly announced when he wanted to make it. Secondly, wishing for more was not possible and lastly a wish must come out of the deepest of his desire. It wasn’t possible to just shout out some words without meaning them.

The rules were simple, but still made the young man frown. A wish was the most powerful kind of magic a merman or mermaid could perform. Capable of doing almost anything. Curing illnesses, changing one’s fate and even battling death. And aside from the rules, there was one other condition before one could make a wish. It wasn’t possible to just walk up to a mermaid or merman and demand a wish. It wasn’t always clear why a person was chosen to make a one. But when they were, the necklace you always wore, would warm up as a signal.

And there was a code under the merpeople to never ignore that signal.

And sometimes, you cursed that code, since it had led to so much grief and pain. In time, mankind had figured out that merpeople possessed powers. Many tales had started to roam the earth. There were stories that claimed a mermaid’s kiss would allow a man to breath under water or that a mermaid could change her tail into legs at free will. Some said that when you added a tear of a mermaid in your drink, you would live on forever. There were even tales that said mermen were sailors that were cursed and now doomed to be a mermaid’s slave. Others said that a merman helped mermaids lure sailors to their deaths. They were even some that fearfully insisted that a merman would later feast on their corpses. Growing stronger with each man they killed. While others claimed they only leaded the souls of people who died at sea to the other side and did them no harm.

There were many, many stories. But only few of them were actually true. Still the story about a mermaid’s wish intrigued them all. And since mankind seemed to have a love for wrath and ruling over others, plenty started looking for a way to get one. At first, they always bumped on the rule that a wish was only given to those who were chosen. But that didn’t last long. They worked their way around the system, changing a situation until it was in their favour. Resulting in pain, grief, and death. Many, many deaths…

To your surprise, Ubbe wasn’t like all those men. When Ubbe had saved you and put you back in the water, you had felt your necklace heat up. He had saved your life and, in that way, earned a wish. Thinking that it was best to inform him of this, in the hope he would spare your life because of your honesty, you had immediately told him about his right to make a wish. But Ubbe had refused the wish at first, the shock from holding a mermaid still hadn’t left his body. But aside from that, he didn’t seem to know what kind of power he was presented with. He only accepted your offer after you had told him that it was the way your people showed their tribute.

Ubbe was thoughtful. Most men used their wish as soon as it was presented to them. You had heard about countless of men whose wishes turned against them. But Ubbe had simply sat down on the ground and started to think about what to say. You had let him, watching how he seemed to struggle with finding the right words. After some time, as the sun was already setting, the young man stood up, smiling down at you and saying: “I am not ready to make it yet, I haven’t found the right words.”

The smile that had formed on your lips betrayed how impressed you were by his words. The young man had chuckled and nodded his head at you. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, as the sun is at its lowest.” And before he had disappeared behind the trees, he looked over his shoulder at your shocked face. “You can call me Ubbe”

It was from that moment on that each day, as the sun slowly started to set, you would make your way to the small river, following it until you arrived at the lake. In the beginning you were hoping that Ubbe would make his wish as soon as possible. But as time went by and you slowly got to learn more about him, you found yourself hoping he wouldn’t find the right words to form his wish at all. So, your nightly talks would never come to an end.

Ubbe had shared countless of stories with you. About himself, his brothers, his mother and his father. And through them you slowly learned more about the man that sneaked out of his room each night to meet you in secret. And even though he had asked about your life many times, you had never answered his questions. Most of the times, it even marked the end of your conversation. But never before had it led to what happened between you two. Now, 8 nights ago.

You cursed yourself as your mind went back to that night. As you closed your eyes, you saw the frustrated look that was on his face as you, once again, refused to answer his question. The fear that he would make his wish soon and then leave you behind was slowly eating you up from the inside. It had been a long time since you had a real friend. And now it seemed like you were losing him.

Your head perked up as you heard a twig snap from beside you. Someone was approaching. You felt a person nearing. A man. You quickly swam to the rock at the side of the lake, the one you were leaning against when you and Ubbe first met, hiding yourself behind it. Carefully you peeked from behind it, trying to get a glimpse of the man that was slowly approaching the lake. The man roughly pushed away a branch of the old tree in front of him and walked into the clearing. He stepped forward, walking around the lake before coming to a halt next to a couple of flowers growing beside it.

You frowned at the sight of the man before you, who was shifting his weight from one foot to another, as if he was becoming impatient. The man was dressed in a big, old-looking cloak. Your eyes widened in realisation; it was the cloak Ubbe had worn the last time he had visited you! He must have been followed again…

Shaking of your uneasy feeling, you called out his name. The man before you lifted his head, which was still shielded by the cloak he wore. He nodded his head once.

With a relieved sigh, you pushed yourself away from the rock, swimming towards him. As you neared Ubbe, you watched amused as the young man struggled to sit down on the grass. His cloak seemed to get in the way, but he refused to take it off.

“Put it off. It seems very uncomfortable…” You laughed out.

Ubbe shrugged his shoulders, adjusting the hood of his cloak so it didn’t fall off. His action made you frown. Was he still mad for what had happened all those nights ago?

You cleared your throat softly, watching how the water moved around as you waved your hand through it.

“I must apologize for my behaviour.” You said quietly, “I have come to realize that you are indeed to be trusted.”

Ubbe didn’t say anything. He didn’t move. He just sat there. Listening to your words. You swallowed the guilt down your throat.

“I want to make it up to you…” you said, looking down at the water. “I want to tell you my story.”

The silence that followed was deafening. You closed your eyes tightly; different thoughts were crossing your mind. Maybe he doesn’t care anymore? Maybe he just wants his wish and get it over with?

A small hum made an end to your racing thoughts. You looked up at him. He still sat in the same position with his cloak wrapped around himself, but his head was now lifted higher as if he was ready to listen.

You nodded your head, pushing away your nerves. Slowly, you swam closer towards him. Placing your hands on the side of the lake, you pushed your body out of the water. Trying to find a comfortable position, you placed your hands a bit further away. Your breath got stuck in your throat as Ubbe visibly flinched. The action made you frown and look at the ground.

The soft clearing of his throat made you look up at him again. The hood of his cloak and the absence of the moonlight made it hard to make out his face, but still you could see that he was smiling down at you. With one of your fingers you started tracing patterns in the dirt.

“I am from a place far away from here. Me and my people guarded this place called Sudara, an island in the middle of the ocean, known for its treasures given by nature. There are different clans of merpeople. And each of them was given the task of protecting an island. This task was given by the ancient ones, those that roamed the earth long before any of us did.” A small frown appeared on your face. “All was well. We lived in peace and harmony, of course we had our fights too, but they wouldn’t stand in the way of our task. Until a couple of sailors appeared and destroyed that all.”

A small line of tears had formed in your eyes as you thought back about that moment. “As I explained to you before, a mermaid’s wish is very strong and something that even us merpeople don’t know every bit about. But that didn’t hold them back… Their only goal was to use us to get closer to their biggest dreams.”

***

The arrival of an unknown ship left everyone filled with questions. It wasn’t often one entered your waters. Sudara was a place shielded from the knowledge of mankind. Every last one of your people had heard the stories of fellow merpeople telling about men arriving in their waters with large and strong ships. Each time they paid a visit, they took mermaids and mermen with them. This all in the hope of getting to use their powers for their own ‘good’. So, with that knowledge, everyone did their best to keep Sudara a secret.

The panic that broke out once everyone had learned about that unknown ship had quickly gone away again, when it simply sailed pass the island. It almost looked as if the people on it hadn’t noticed the island at all. And even though their short visit left many with an uneasy feeling, not much thought was given to it. The spirits were lifted again, and laughs were shared about the seemingly unnecessary panic.

But those laughs quickly died.

Only a few days later, as the night had fallen over Sudara and everyone was asleep, the ship had returned. This time in the company of two much larger ones. The two new ships looked threatening: large masts carried big sails, loads of canons were lined up next to each other. On those ships, men were shouting, angrily pointing their weapons at the sky.

You had never seen so much blood in your life. Never before had you heard so much agony.

Women were crying, holding their children close to them as they tried to swim their way to safety. Others were shouting at the top of their lungs, trying their best to command those that could fight to victory. But it seemed as if the ancient ones, those that had gifted you this island and gave you the task of protecting it, had abandoned you. The ships had strategically placed themselves around the island, surrounded it. Each ship was connected to another with large nets, making it impossible to flee towards the sea. The nets caught each mermaid or merman that tried to escape, making it easy for those men on board to grab whichever they needed.

“My daughter!” you heard a voice gasp out, making your head turn towards the sound. The voice belonged to your father, who painfully gasped once he had made his way towards you. Your eyes searched for the source of his discomfort. Eventually they landed on the large wound he had on his shoulder. Tears build up in your eyes as he softly stroked your hair, brushing with his thumb over the pearls of your diadem. “Gather as much people as you can. Flee tow-AH!” You watched horrified as your father gasped loudly, his teary eyes looking at you while his hand retracted, the arrow that had landed in his back slowly killing the light in his eyes. He swallowed before nodding his head towards the island, pushing you away. You turned away from your father, hastily looking around for those that you could lead towards the island in the hope to find shelter there from the horror around you.

***

You closed your eyes tightly, sniffing a bit. “It was the last time I saw my father. I had lost sight of my mother during the chaos that spread when we finally took notice of the ships. I guess they are either dead or taken away by those men. And in that case, they suffered a fate worse than death.”

A small grunt of confusion made you look up at Ubbe, who still sat motionless beside you. During the whole story, the man hadn’t made a sound. He didn’t move. He just stared at you, listening.

“The merpeople that were taken by them, would be tortured until those men could benefit from their power. A tear, a wish, a touch, a kiss… Every myth was tested by those who captured one. The mermaids and mermen that didn’t give them what they wanted were either killed or left to die…” You paused, fighting back the tears. Your hand wandered off to the flowers that Ubbe sat next to, playing around with them. Until you suddenly pricked your finger on a thorn. Retracting your hand, you looked at the small wound on your finger, blood slowly ran out of it. Frowning, you placed your hand in the water, brushing your thumb over the small wound, not noticing how the man beside you lifted his head up in interest. As you washed away the blood, you felt the wound closing until it was fully healed. “I hope that you now understand why I kept a certain distance from you. I was afraid, Ubbe. Afraid you would be just like all those men. I was afraid you were going to torture me to access my magic…” you whispered out, your eyes still fixated on your finger.

Next to you, Ubbe finally moved. His hand found his way to your chin, where he used two of his fingers to slowly lift your head. His cold skin made a shiver go down your spine. It was nothing like the touch you had felt before.

A breathy laugh passed Ubbe’s lips, making you frown at him. Growing frustrated by his lack of compassion, you roughly pushed his hand away. But as you slowly lowered yourself back into the water, his hand grabbed your wrist, stopping you from leaving. Your eyes snapped towards him again, an angry look on your face. You opened your mouth to ask him to release you when another cold shiver went down your back. There were people approaching. Four – no… five people.

“Ubbe…” You whispered, “Let me go. There are people coming.”

His grip didn’t loosen.

“Ubbe” you hissed out, trying to pull your hand out of his grip.

“It is really uncomfortable that you keep on addressing me like that…”

Your trashing stopped as Ubbe spoke up for the first time since he had come to you. Only, it didn’t sound like Ubbe. The voice was much colder, the way the words left his mouth was completely different. There was no empathy in his words. No emotion.

Horrified, you watched how the man in front of you raised his hand, signalling to the men and women around him to come out of their hiding spots. Fear froze your body. It was as if a hand was wrapped around your throat and ropes where bound around your body, making it impossible to move. Tears were flowing over your cheeks; your sobs were now uncontrollable. As you looked back towards the man that still held an uncomfortable, strong grip on your wrist, your heart stopped as you now looked into the cold eyes of your captor, who had finally removed his hood.

“It’s time to make a trip, sweetheart.”

#vikings #vikings imagine #ubbe ragnarsson #ubbe lothbrok #ubbe the wolf #ubbe ragnarsson imagine #ubbe ragnarsson imagines #ubbe x reader #ubbe fanfiction #a wish for forgiveness

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funkymbtifiction · 4 years

Text

Hi again, sorry to bother you.

I submitted this post because I have a few questions (I was typed ISFP 9w1).

I have doubts about Fi-Te.

▪Fe/Fi :

I mean, When I read Fi and Fe descriptions, I relate to low Fe better. I need your view on that.

I relate to the chamelion effect that is often associated with Fe.

Unlike Fi-doms who behave the same everywhere, my behavior changes from group/person to group/person, and the group dynamic and atmosphere indirectly affects me and my performance. <- 9 does this, also 3 fixers do this.

I’m usually reserved when alone, but with energetic people/groups I become more energetic, smile more and check myself less and get comfortable. While if I go into serious or cold groups, I become like that. And If I get uncomfortable vibes from a group, I may get uncomfortable as well, or I might think my presence is not desired or not important, so I try to minimize my interaction with that group. I try not to force myself upon people even though feeling excluded seriously bothers me. <-- mirroring the group this much again, suggests 9 (and 3?); you are deliberately avoiding conflict through changing to fit the group.

It’s like I have no specific personality or characteristics. I explain my personality with doubt but try to include all functions. I envy people who maintain the same personality and energy-level with everyone or stand up and rebel against things they don’t agree with even when they’re alone. <-- 963 or 936 tritype confirmed

On the other hand, I try to maintain the group harmony and not bother others even when I internally have problem with something or don’t agree with them. I don’t rebel against the majority unless I have no other choice. <- 9 core

I assume being liked or appreciated by others matters to me a lot. As a kid and teen, I acted on this need (indirectly) by getting good grades or doing my homework and being nice to teachers. I wasn’t aware of it much. As I grew up, I became more dependent on other people, their vibe, their motivation or inner thoughts and their views. I miss my teen years because of that. <- numbing out and ignoring things as a teen? again, 9

I am not social expert. I suck at manipulating others or changing the group dynamics. I can’t “MAKE” people think/do something. I can’t stand my ground really well. I don’t even know how to comfort people. <- sounds like Fi-dom, not Fe

My view on good or bad is also relative. I can say pros & cons for things and I rarely view something as pure good or pure bad (It happens but it’s rare).<- Fi-dom has more nuance, is willing to give more benefit of the doubt, and is not as quick to judge people as Fe, since... well, Fi is subjective, ruminating, and inward based.

I also have problem defining when I “should” hold my ground and when I should stay back and keep quiet. <- lack of boundary awareness, a 9 issue

I dislike selfish people who boss others, don’t do their share of work in the group or disturb the group harmony by bringing negativity or drama. <- personal assertion of an ethical preference + 9 hatred of drama and negativity

Unlike Fi-dom stereotypes, I try my best to avoid feelings or emotion. So I try my best not to bother others to avoid potentially nasty confrontations. Every type of feeling is toxic and unhealthy to me. I’d rather deal with data, impersonal facts and professional relations than complicated people, drama or feelings. I’d rather be around impersonal, just, uncomplicated and direct people. <- 9 to the max; let’s not be unpleasant, let’s not let in anything that makes me feel uncomfortable, let’s suppress and ignore feelings as much as possible, let’s not hang out with annoying or troublesome people... this is not Fe, this is a 9 refusing to engage with anything that makes them uncomfortable

Fe-like grips for me happen during three situations. a)Failure or being hopeless about major future goals (which I try to avoid), b)Loss of loved ones or being away from them for a long time, c)Feeling excluded or being in a toxic/complecated/dramatic/unjust environment <- the first sounds like inferior Te frustration

Being in grip makes me sensitive, hopeless and paranoid of other peopl’s intentions. I then wish I could have more social skills and more connections/friends. <- Fe envy + 6ish disintegration

In general, I’m not an F expert and try to avoid that realm. But every once in a while, I wish I had more social skills, could open up to people and be cool around them. <- Fi-dom seriousness and detachment from others

________________________________________

▪S/N:

I agree with Se and Ni over their counterparts. I would be witty/argumentative and also more flexible if I had Ne.

But I still have trouble relating to Se, at least the stereotypes.

Sure, I wish I had more action, excitement and novelty in my life, and I might act on it some day (after reaching my professional goals), and I’m a visual/tactile learner and get bored by small details or impractical theories.

But still, I get uncomfortable dealing with the sensory (and social) realm for a long time and get sensory overload. I sometimes have trouble staying in the moment. Not to mention, I’m physically lazy and need someone more willful and energetic to initiate activities at first. And I’m somewhat of a homebody at the moment and bad which makes me relate to Se-aux even less.

Even my interests differ from stereotypical SP ones and look similar to Intuitive interests. I have little interest in watching team sports or car/F1 races on TV. I much prefer to learn about scientific facts, space, other cultures, different countries and their food/drinks and architecture, languages and different philosophical and psychological views and self-help stuffs. I often google things like that.

I do relate to Ni, as I have my goals/plans and, care about them and try to reach them (and would freak out if I couldn’t which means I lack flexibility about them).

Also, last minute changes of plans, or being kept in the dark about future or a project really bothers me. But I agree with you that having a cynical Ni might mean its position is not dom. Also, I’m not good at things like chess (find it boring), decision-making or guessing test questions (stereotypical Ni stuffs)

Based on the new info I added, Am I still Se-Ni?

... those are a lot of negative stereotypes about ISPs. An SP can sit at home on their butt and watch television all day long and never do anything creative with their hands, it does not disqualify them from being Se. An SP can be an avid reader and love learning about all kinds of things, it does not make them an intuitive. An ISP prefers to have a general idea of what they want and think before they act, it doesn’t make them an INJ. Basically, none of what you said disqualifies you from being an ISFP. I would look at Ne vs Se if you are still not sure, but I’m still seeing IFP 9.

________________________________________

▪T :

I do brainstorm things and read between the lines in my head. But I have little interest in sharing them with people or debating with people. Maybe I don’t debate much because of shyness. I also need time processing and analyzing the things being said, so I rarely challenge someone. <-- introvert, not a thinker tendency; high Ti knows what’s irrational without needing to process it, and will react accordingly by pointing out the illogical statement.

I’m more cynical than positive. If I doubt the truth of something or an statement or a program, I analyze and research about it if needed. I sometimes I argue with my family members or debate about social stuffs, taboo stuffs or some other stuffs. specially when I think what they think/believe is irrational. But I rarely target them directly or attack them about it, unless I know they’re thick-skinned and don’t make a big deal out of it. Also, I dislike it when people change a friendly debate into aggressive personal attacks. <- 9 avoidance of conflict / confrontation

When debating with my family, I use a mixture of facts and brainstorming results as debating tools. But In general I trust proven facts more than personal analysis and specially at school, I used to dislike too much theory, analysis and details. <- proven facts = Te, hatred of theory = Se/Ni

What makes me doubt being a thinker (or even a F-dom)? The fact that I rely on other people to describe myself and my self-worth. And the fact that A toxic atmosphere or exclusion can have impact on my mental health and performance. Also, my shyness and lack of assertiveness in social stuffs and being conflict-averse and fearing confrontations.

I think ISFP 9 is correct. Most of what you describe, as you’ve seen is simply being a 9, and you don’t have the kind of strong knowledge of Te/Ti that an ISTP or TJ would have.

#question #isfp #submission

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mydigitalhive · 3 years

Text

Affiliate Marketing Ideas

Affiliate marketing is now a days booming in marketing business, Basically Affiliate marketing is the process by which an affiliate earns a commission for marketing another person’s or company’s products. The affiliate simply searches for a product they enjoy, then promotes that product and earns a piece of the profit from each sale they make. The sales are tracked via affiliate links from one website to another. It seems very simple process to earn commissions, but it’s not that easy as it looks.

In this digital marketing world everyone is finding ways to make money digitally, the competition in Affiliate marketing is very high, newbies start the affiliate marketing but finds its very difficult to earn commissions, there are many reasons to this some of them are stated below :

Picking The Wrong Product To Promote

There are millions of products of all types you can promote with affiliate marketing campaigns and, since it defines your success in this business, you should choose these products wisely.

When an affiliate product and niche are just right for you, it fuels you up and inspires you to create more marketing activities around it. You might even get hooked and end up bring more authentic in what you do.

One affiliate marketing mistake you should avoid is picking a potentially prominent product/niche just because you think there’s money in it. If the topic itself doesn’t drive you on its own, it’s not worth it.

Believe it or not, you likely won’t be natural at promoting an affiliate business niche that doesn’t excite you. So don’t make yourself a money slave and make sure you do something you like and care about. Only then will everything go smoother than you expect.

To start a Highly Profitable 7 Figure Affiliate Marketing Business, see this resource now to earn your first commission.

2. Too Many Products to Promote

When choosing affiliate products for your collection, you may be tempted to select too many of them. Being ambitious and over-enthusiastic is the default approach for most newbies.

But then, you’ll be less enthusiastic when you get distracted because you have too many things on your mind and you can’t even figure out what to do with your hands.

So that makes selling too many products at once the second common affiliate marketing mistake. It’ll eat up your time and decrease its value so that you might bring in fewer affiliate sales.

Smart people bet on quality, not quantity, so start small.

Pick a handful of excellent products and make sure to focus all your enthusiasm on them.

Commit more time to a single product; it’s easier to turn your endorsements and reviews into desired actions — meaning affiliate sales.

And remember, you can always expand product by product and grow your business over time. Make sure that you give each campaign the individual attention it needs to succeed.

3. Designing A Poor Quality Website

A low-quality website is always a bad idea.

Low standards will quickly translate into a low sales volume, so make this one a priority and approach the project professionally.

Of course, no one is telling you to build a perfectly user-friendly site from scratch when you aren’t even an experienced web designer. But you don’t have to.

There are lots of platforms, that let you create your site for free.

Bad user experiences — such as slow page speed, too many ads, or a messy template will discourage visitors from your website and often frighten them away from your website, and that’s it. They won’t come back because your site won’t be associated with anything positive anymore (even when you improve it later on).

It’s like regular shopping. People prefer a nice shopping environment and experience, so much so that they’re even more likely to spend more. Shoppers prefer a clean and friendly grocery with cheerful and helpful staff members rather than going to an overcrowded mall where they get lost among all the shelves, not knowing where anything is.

When you’re in the process of building your site, bear all these things in mind.

Consider all the websites you like and try to identify why. Think of the actions you expect from your visitors to take on your site and make sure you implement them.

Answer these questions:

· Is my site easy to navigate?

· Are all sections easy to find?

· Does the design highlight the on-site elements?

· Do I have clear calls to action?

· Does a single page call for one single action?

· Is my website’s design as simple as it gets?

· Is my website responsive?

Your site doesn’t need to be anything special — you don’t have to make it super interactive — but it has to be super simple. It’s a pattern that works for everybody.

Anyway, starting a new site is a massive project, so make sure you keep this in mind to help you get into it.

To start a Highly Profitable 7 Figure Affiliate Marketing Business, see this resource now to earn your first commission.

4. Not Providing High-Quality Regular Content

Another typical mistake affiliate marketers make is that they forget to provide regular, high-quality content.

And that’s a big problem. Content is crucial for successful marketing. No matter what your site is about — product reviews, comparisons, different use cases — each piece of content contributes to your online sales directly or indirectly.

A common mistake affiliates make is publishing content that’s not insightful or actionable. Therefore anytime you want to write a piece of content, make sure there is a purpose and solution.

Put yourself in the shoes of your potential buyers and imagine what they would be interested in.

After all, you want to get people hooked with a great story and cool facts, right?

Then make sure to post content regularly — even once a week is a good frequency.

5. Not Tracking Website Performance

The next common mistake affiliate marketers are guilty of is not using a tracking tool.

Without it, it’s hard to tell you’re doing marketing.

Marketing is all about tracking and optimizing your data. You need to observe the cause and effects in what you do and do more of what’s working for you. Recognizing successful patterns is essential for your success.

So make sure you deploy Google Analytics (or a similar tool) to measure your website performance and decide what campaigns to keep and which to ditch.

To start a Highly Profitable 7 Figure Affiliate Marketing Business, see this resource now to earn your first commission.

When working as an affiliate marketer, you need to keep your eyes wide open for news in the business. As it’s the online world, change happens quickly, and sometimes you can’t even keep up with the standards.

So it’s a challenge, and you should always be well informed about online trends, ranking factors and any online news that might affect your online presence and SEO ranking.

Educate, read online guides and make sure you know what’s going on.

7. Not Trying New Things Out

When launching new and different campaigns like ads on social media, Adwords, or email campaigns , it’s important to test different versions of copy.

Delivering the same message won’t teach you anything new. Try different things, especially in the form of A/B tests.

Don’t get used to how things are and never accept the status quo. Explore your marketing opportunities and experiment towards perfection.

And there is a lot to test out:

· Plain vs. HTML emails

· Two different subject lines that can hook your user base

· Same pain point, but approached differently for the same buyer persona

Besides, segment your user base and be sure to create a personalized message for each group of users.

Then maybe one day you’ll find the path to market products like a pro and sell your products like crazy.

To start a Highly Profitable 7 Figure Affiliate Marketing Business, see this resource now to earn your first commission.

#affiliate marketing #affiliate-marketing-programs #affiliate promotion #make money online #make money with youtube #digital marketing #online marketing #affiliate program

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cherrincity · 4 years

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Cherrin City Soundbytes Casting Call

Hi all! I’m making a new podcast and I’d love to get some voice actors in it! Tag a friend you think would be interested!

Cherrin City Soundbytes is an anthology series about the lives of people living in the world's most prominent city of superheroes. Ranging from annoyingly mundane to cosmically fantastic, these stories try to capture the reality of this world's average. What get to be mundane when a bug alien from outer space saves your life? What is moral when a laid off employee tries to drown only the financial district? Most people are just trying to get by, and this is what we get to hear. As the name implies, these episodes will mostly be short. The show focuses on the humanity of people, despite their fantastical environment. The episodes will tend to be kind of... somber, but not devoid of hope.

Cherrin City Soundbytes is a Piece of Cake Podcasting Network Production! As such, we highly encourage Black, Indigenous and Mixed voice actors, as well as other actors of colour to audition, though others may do so as long as they respect the listed identities of the characters. Again to reiterate: please audition for parts that reflect your identity. For example, if you are not South Asian, do not audition for the specifically South Asian roles. If you are not nonbinary, please do not audition for the specifically nonbinary roles. Alternatively, if a role has its gender listed as open, that means any person of any gender may audition for that role. There are 17 different roles, so please stick to the ones that fit you or can accommodate you! In addition to this, please be 18 years of age or older to audition.

For each audition, you may do up to three takes of each line. Please compile them all into a single .mp3 or .wav file. If you are accepted for this podcast, we will be doing remote recordings with mandatory synchronous table reads. Please audition with the recording space you will use if hired. These roles will be paid $40 CAD over paypal.

Content warnings for this year of production include: violence, foul language, body horror, death, kidnapping, manipulation, body dysphoria and large insects. Not all warnings apply for every role; please feel free to send an email to [email protected] for more information or for any other questions you may have. Auditions will be open until October 31st, 2020.

Please note that all auditions must be sent through the google form link below. Any auditions sent to the email will be invalid. Feel free to audition for as many roles as you are able to fulfill, but please submit a new form and audio file for each role you

In summary:

17 roles open for auditions

Only audition for roles that fit your identity or can accommodate you

Be 18 years of age or older

Send us up to 3 takes per each line, all in one file

This podcast will be remotely recorded

These roles will be paid $40 CAD over paypal

Auditions open until October 31st, 2020

Please only send auditions through this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2kVXIFTY9IOiNvRSQWvIrB8LiIrI46xFOeFtuq2sb6xBlVA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0&gxids=7628

Roles

The Cherrin University Radio Host

Gender: Written as a cis woman, but trans and nonbinary people who are comfortable with she/her pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: South Asian

Age: Late teens, early twenties

Description: The Cherrin university radio host is an anonymous young woman who feels passionately for under discussed causes. Whether or not she does anything for them outside of ranting on a late night radio show is a bit of a sore spot, but no matter the issue she takes it seriously.

Lines:

It is 2:55 am, which means that it is technically the Cherrin City day of Super Powered Individuals Remembrance. Created by the city about 4 years ago, on paper the day exists to remember every super powered individual who has died. In action, the city uses it to lionize the dead members of their private task force and coerce more people into joining it.

The problem with being perceivable is that people look at you. And when people look at you, and they keep looking at you, you start to get recognized. (long pause) That has not always been a pleasant thing, in my experience.

Solla

Gender: Written as an alien who identifies as Female, but trans and nonbinary people who are comfortable with she/her pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Black

Age: several thousand years old, but doesn't really show it

Description: Solla is a dedicated member to the Cherrin City Starlight Watchers Squad, and is accustomed to working with her team both in bringing down extra terrestrial villains and tackling the enthusiastic and seemingly-ceaseless questions of the Cherrin City press. Polite, patient to a fault and kind of the mom of her group.

Lines:

Yes, I am Solla of the Cherrin City Starlight Watchers Squad. Yes I am an alien, and yes I know English, among several other languages. I appreciate all nice comments, but if you'd like to say something more in depth, you can email the city.

I am so sorry, but I have to go.

Henry Austin Bolte

Gender: Written as a cis man, but trans and nonbinary people comfortable with he/him pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Open

Age: Mid twenties

Description: A gay, recently graduated costume designer trying to make it in Cherrin in the early 2000s. Also recently dumped, and kinda lonely. Very good at what he does, but uncomfortable with discussions of money.

Lines:

(sighs) Look, Vee, I don't care if this is some sex thing or whatever, I just need to know how you intend to use the suit so I can make it appropriately. You don't want some combo of kevlar and body armour if you're trying to fuck someone, right?

You did it. You're the one who did it. Oh my god.

Gender: Nonbinary (using he/they pronouns)

Ethnicity: Open

Age: Mid twenties

Description: An ambitious young person, also recently graduated. He's got big plans for his future and is not above manipulating other people to get what he wants. Hates being called desperate. Out of all the morally gray characters in this casting call, this person is the most 'super villain' out of all of them.

Lines:

I am not desperate. I am not a lucky, hapless fool. I am deliberate and calculating, and clever!

If you do anything to lose that respect... well. I know where to express my concerns.

Devon Milligan

Gender: Written as a cis man, but trans and nonbinary people comfortable with he/him pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Black

Age: Mid teens to early twenties

Description: Devon is a loyal young man part of the Cherrin City East End Exemplars. He has difficulty reacting decisively to surprises and can be slightly stubborn. But he appreciates honesty.

Lines:

How does getting up at 5am help out your scheme?

So you're all about making life better for yourself and no one else?

I-SPI

Gender: Written as a cis woman, but trans and nonbinary people who are comfortable with she/her pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Black

Age: late teens to mid twenties. Older than Devon

Description: Less a supervillain and more a regular criminal or henchwoman who happens to have very passive super powers. Skilled and clever, she only feels like opening up when she is most desperate. Extremely cynical.

Lines:

C'mon. You're a superhero, aren't you? Shouldn't you stay in top physical form in case another supervillain wants to fall into your lap?

If that's what it has to be; if that's the only choice I'm offered, then I sure as hell'll take it. Who else is gonna care for me? You?

Bernard North

Gender: Written as a cis man, but trans and nonbinary people comfortable with he/him pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Open

Age: Early thirties

Description: Has had a small taste of power and now refuses to give it up. Has stopped caring about the feelings of others. Please note that this character has only one line.

Line:

Feel free to exhaust yourself, I-SPI. You've already proven yourself incorrigible. But it doesn't matter, now that I have you in my possession. You and I are going to go very far together.

Hannah Nathan

Gender: Written as a cis woman, but trans and nonbinary people who are comfortable with she/her pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Open

Age: Late thirties

Description: The host of Musicity, a tv show about local musicians in Cherrin City, Hannah has worked very hard to be in this position. While she carries herself as having seen it all, she still cares about the comfort and state of her guests.

Lines:

Hello everyone! Welcome to another episode of Musiciscity! I'm your host, Hannah Nathan, and today, we here in the studio are joined by Cherrin City's very own, Alta Reyes!

Oh my god, Alta! Alta, are you alright? Can we get a doctor on set?

Alta Reyes

Gender: Written as a cis woman, but trans and nonbinary people who are comfortable with she/her pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Latina

Age: Early twenties

Description: The lead singer of Raise The Population, she currently finds herself in the wrong body, and in the wrong world. Despite these strange circumstances, she's doing her best to get her group back home.

Lines:

Me and my band mates, we were just working at getting known and getting better at making music. We crawled our way up from being nobodies begging for views on our music video to finally, actually getting a hit song!

The further I get away from the life I knew, the harder I cling to the things I do know, even as they keep changing. This place honestly feels the closest to home so far.

Brandi

Gender: Trans woman

Ethnicity: Open

Age: Open

Description: The host of Public! This! Closure!, a new radio show about people hashing out their interpersonal problems on the airwaves. She is always very composed and attempts to be impartial. (She also really wants this show to be a success and is always on the lookout for more people to have on it.)

Lines:

Wait, you kissed her?

And it looks like that's all the show we have time for today, folks! Join us again next time, here on Cherrin City's very own c98.7 for more Public! This! Closure!

Virginia 'Gina' Jones

Gender: Written as a cis woman, but trans and nonbinary people who are comfortable with she/her pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Open

Age: Mid twenties, early thirties

Description: She went on a lovely date with Josephine, and decided to go on, Public! This! Closure! the new radio show about people hashing out their interpersonal problems on the airwaves. She hopes this show will be able to reconnect her with Josephine and that she can find out why Josephine ghosted her after their date.

Lines:

...So you could remember the show you were watching, but not the woman you went out with?

Well, I hope you do. I mean, I don't know much about you, but even despite that, I... I want to see you again.

Josephine Georges

Gender: Written as a cis woman, but trans and nonbinary people who are comfortable with she/her pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Black

Age: Mid twenties, early thirties

Description: Went on a nice date with Gina, but almost immediately afterward, had her whole world upended. Is currently distracted with other pressing matters, but is absolutely willing to continue dating Gina.

Lines:

I've listened to the show before. (sighs) So, who else has beef with me?

And I didn't think I would be meeting a lot of potential Sparker dates on an alien planet!

Gender: Nonbinary (any pronouns, but initially presents as male)

Ethnicity: Open

Age: 15

Description: An orphaned young person looking for his place in the world. Goes on a very emotional journey, but has extremely villanous tendencies. Is very good at using his super power. Kinda lonely.

Lines:

You steal. That's what you do, isn't it? I mean, the only way anyone gets easy money is by stealing it.

I said, are you fucking kidding me? We literally live in a world where people get to call themselves whatever the hell they want, stupid shit like Resolute and Nightlight and SuperStar and you draw the line at The End?

Isabella

Gender: Written as a cis woman, but trans and nonbinary people who are comfortable with she/her pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Open

Age: 19

Description: An orphan who lived in the same group home as TE but aged out of it. Had a good relationship with TE, sees him as a younger sibling. Is struggling to find satisfaction with her own life, in terms of her (illegal) career, her (nonexistent) love life, and her (nonexistent) social life. Also has a superpower, but it's rather weak.

Lines:

Well, it can get a little more hostile than that, but never more complicated. And you seem pretty capable with your power. We could use someone as capable as you.

Look, I've been tolerating a lot of your... you-ness because I got it, sort of. We lived together, we had the same traumatic experiences... and I care about you, I really do.

Guiltmaster

Gender: Written as a cis man, but trans and nonbinary people comfortable with he/him pronouns may audition

Ethnicity: Open

Age: Late twenties

Description: He's a villain with the power to make people feel extreme amounts of guilt and perhaps other things as well. An intelligent man who has lost interest in trying to make it in life through legal methods, but someone who never lost his deep sense of empathy for others.

Lines:

I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to help him at all. So we waited, hoping for someone to find us. But, by the time they finally found us, there was no more us.

What you feel is what you feel. It's real and worthy and you cannot make it stop by assuming that because worse things have happened, what happened to you is not valid.

Pat

Gender: Open

Ethnicity: East Asian

Age: Open

Description: Someone who is going to therapy and trying to get over their guilt. Uncomfortable opening up to others, but is also unwilling to deny strangers' questions.

Lines:

Yeah? Did you ever kill your entire family?

All of them died, because I thought they didn't care about what I cared about.

The Interviewer

Gender: Open

Ethnicity: Open

Age: Open

Description: Despite the fact that filming is all but banned in Cherrin City, this interviewer is an out-of-towner attempting to make a documentary about super powered individuals. They're hoping that a certain real estate agent will be able to provide juicy and shocking details about her super powered clientele.

Lines:

Sounds horrific.

Oh my god, Larry you would not believe the waste of time I just had.

#voiceactor #voice acting #podcasts #audio fiction #audio drama #superheroes #cherrin city #cherrin city soundbytes

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mcad-ae · 4 years

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Earth Day 2020 Visiting Artist

For Earth Day 2020, MCAD will be virtually hosting Christine Baeumler, a community-based artist focused on ecological restoration. An associate professor at the University of Minnesota in the Studio Arts department, Baeumler has worked on various green spaces within the Twin Cities and abroad, including the rooftop Tamarack Bog at MCAD! To join the Google Meet for the Visiting Artist lecture, use the following information:

Google Meet Room: Christine Baeumler Lecture

Link: https://meet.google.com/hfy-gxsp-swt

Phone, dial 601-935-4191

PIN: 220 663 421#

To lead into this talk, I asked Christine a couple of questions regarding both her work and the current global situation.

First of all, what are you currently working on?

Currently, I am focusing on the intergenerational as well as the interdisciplinary dimension of my collaborative practice. For example, in the Buzz Lab youth internship program at the Plains Art Museum and in the Backyard Phenology project, I am focused on appreciating how those projects can bring people from different backgrounds and age groups together. We all have so much to learn and gain from each other’s experiences.

You often work to improve urban green spaces. What are some examples of what you believe is a well done/designed green space? Any in the Twin Cities specifically?

I am most interested in urban green spaces that are not “designed” but intentionally create the conditions for increased habitat, biodiversity, and water quality considerations. This may mean managing plants introduced from elsewhere that thrive here to give the native plants a chance to re-establish, but also considering plants that are beneficial for pollinators and other species. These places may not appear designed to an outside observer, but a lot of labor goes into creating a thriving space. I acknowledge, however, it is not possible to fully restore our ecosystems given the damage humans have done to the land, water, and soil, at least in a short time frame.

Several places I particularly appreciate are the Quaking Bog at Theodore Wirth Park, (which inspired the Rooftop Bog at MCAD). It’s a tamarack bog with a walkway so that people can enjoy the bog but won’t disturb the delicate bog ecosystem there. The Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary in St Paul below Iminija Ska (the White Cliffs) is an ongoing oak savanna restoration of a railroad brownfield, managed by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Lower Phalen Creek Project. If you haven’t been to either of those places I recommend a socially distanced walk (the walkway at the Quaking Bog is a bit narrow, so something to consider now).

I also appreciate the Native American Medicine Gardens on the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul Campus (across from the Bell Museum on Cleveland Avenue). The director of the Native American Medicine Garden, Cante Suta/ Francis Bettelyoun, has built up the soil (and the microbes) on the site over many years. Bettelyoun, students, and a team of volunteers care for the plants and animals there from the Indigenous perspective of Relatives. I love that among the neat rows of the experimental agricultural plots, the NAMG has an organic quality that is teeming with life--insects, birds, and mammals.

What aspects of urban living are you looking to change? How do you believe the integration of art and green spaces work to improve the living conditions within an urban environment?

As I mentioned before, in relation to the Native American Medicine Gardens, I believe that shifting our perspective as the natural world from resource to Relative, which is an Indigenous perspective, is such an important shift in awareness. I hope this shift in our consciousness can lead to different approaches about the ways we live, what we consume, as well as how we see our role as artists, designers and people with political agency.

I believe we have the opportunity to reconsider our roles as artists, and expand our notion of what is and what can be. I admire the practitioners of Maintenance Art, Mierle Laderman Ukeles and Sean Connaughty, whose artistic practice involves an everyday attention to dealing with waste (something most of us would choose to ignore).

This is another chance to think in terms of systems instead of discrete projects. We have big complex challenges, such as climate change, that need comprehensive and coordinated solutions. Individual choices matter, but we have to make systemic and political change on larger scales while keeping issues of environmental and social justice at the forefront of our consideration. Big topics, to be sure, but they require us to be attentive to ways things are interconnected. Maybe we can see how we are all connected more clearly at this time as we are all starting to feel our own vulnerability.

Artists and designers can integrate art and the urban environment by playing a variety of roles--but to me, working in interdisciplinary teams and with and in conversation with communities seems like an impactful way to collectively address environmental challenges.

As I watch environmental protections rolled back, for example, during this moment of Covid 19, I believe it is also incumbent upon us to act politically, to make our voices heard, and to vote in the fall.

We are in a time of great global change and uncertainty. How do you believe the quarantine and constantly shifting events will impact the art world, creatives, and our reactions to the world around us? Any advice for the students in quarantine?

I have so many questions instead of answers. First, how do we, as individuals and a community, consider those most deeply impacted by Covid 19? Those who do not have a home, food security or have health or economic challenges? How are we addressing more immediate needs? How do we effectively stand up to attempts to dismantle environmental protections or other moves that are destructive?

While we are reeling from the impact these changes make in our own lives, how do we stay present to what’s happening in the public sphere? I am asking these questions of myself and turning to those who have more advanced ideas and thinking about the present situation than I do.

The art world, consisting of cultural and educational institutions, organizations, community groups, funders and individuals have all been impacted in ways we are only beginning to comprehend. This may lead to a different way of organizing ourselves and our practices.

As I look out, I see a myriad of ways artists are approaching their work in this time of crises (plural because we face more than the pandemic) by creating platforms, opportunities, raising up voices, making the invisible visible, calling out injustice, creating awareness, and expressing a range of emotional responses through a variety of media --and offering work that provides solace and humor as well.

Historically, artists have always responded to crises and have been at the forefront of movements addressing injustice, violence, war, health crises, and environmental threats.

Now it is our turn, as artists, to consider how we respond. What a significant, and perhaps somewhat terrifying, opportunity. It may take us some time to collect ourselves. In fact, it seems important to take the time we need to adjust before we spring into action.

For students in quarantine.

I would encourage students to take this time to slow down, reflect, journal, meditate--whatever self reflective practices help you to be in touch with yourself--and take care of yourself. Embrace your feelings, and reach out if you need assistance. It’s ok not to be “productive” at this moment. We are in a time where people are experiencing extreme disruption and trauma--so be gentle with yourself. Connect to others in the ways you are able.. and don’t get too isolated.

Your voice, your ideas and your work are significant, and matter to the world. But being in touch with where you are in the moment may be the most important thing to honor.

Right now, many of us have the opportunity to slow down, reflect and more deeply examine our own lives and our relationship to what is important to our own well-being, our Fellow Beings and our Earth.

Any advice for how the individuals reading this can practice creativity, or any overall thoughts on the creative process in this time?

I want to offer a way to refresh our creativity. Take a break from technology. Go outside and connect with your “nature family,” the trees, the birds, the rocks, the sun, moon and stars. The weather. Using your imagination and the power of observation, quiet your mind and listen to what the world has to communicate with you. Have a conversation with a chipmunk, debate a crow, chuckle with a stone. The human world has become more quiet now, and perhaps it is our chance to engage, through our minds and our senses, with the world outside of our doors and beyond our screens.

-An Interview with Christine Baeumler, edited by Madilyn Duffy

#mcad_ae makemcad creativity stayhome2020

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lizabethstucker · 4 years

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The SFWA Grand Masters,Vol. 1

Edited by Frederik Pohl

Pohl has selected eighteen short stories and novellas written by the first five Grand Masters ever selected by the Science Fiction Writers of America: Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Williamson, Clifford D. Simak, L. Sprague de Camp, and Fritz Leiber. A great debt is owed to Jerry Pournelle for this recognition of the best of the best and to Frederik Pohl for both introducing and reintroducing me to these authors in one handy volume. Actually, in three volumes as I know there is one more to be searched out in the interlibrary world.

Thanks to my library’s willingness to go out of state, I can read the first volume in this series, having started off 2020 with Volume Two. Thank you also to the Woodridge Public Library in Woodridge, Illinois. Now I need to find the third volume. 4 out of 5

We start out with Robert A. Heinlein. I can still remember the first Heinlein that I read, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. My memory is so clear that I can recall to this day seeing it on the library shelf when I was working through a list of Golden Age writers that my father thought I should check out. I understand how controversial he is to many readers, but I always found that his stories were worth reading, even when some of the plotlines were uncomfortable (I’m thinking primarily of Farnham’s Freehold). Even if I didn’t agree with his ideas explored in his books and short stories, they made me think.

“The Roads Must Roll” by Robert A. Heinlein

(Future History 3) The United States had moved from automobiles to solar-powered people movers beginning when oil and gasoline were rationed during World War II. It led to less pollution, a spreading out of the population from the congestion of the cities, and a working class who were ripe for agitation by self-serving megalomaniacs with self-worth issues like Shorty Van Kleeck. It is up to Larry Gaines, the Chief Engineer, to stop the destruction and disruption of the roads. Heinlein is remarkably prescient in this 1940 tale, predicting the congestion of the automobiles and their increasing dangers as well as the importance of solar energy. It’s a shame such people movers, whether this style or high-speed trains are kept from actually being implemented. It is also true that the disenfranchised can be easily manipulated. Just look at our current political environment, not just in the United States and Great Britain. A brilliant tale. I can see the workers being militarized considering how a minor disruption, much less a major one, could not only bring the nation to a halt, it could have serious and deadly ramifications. 4.5 out of 5.

“The Year of the Jackpot” by Robert A. Heinlein

Statistician Potiphar Breen has been taking note of strange and unusual events, including a large number of women taking their clothing off in public. Meade Barstow, the latest befuddled stripper, is seen by Pot. Pot intervenes when the police arrive, offering to take care of her and see her safely home. Instead, when she is worried about what her landlady will say, he brings her to his home so that she can put herself back together. Meade agrees to answer his questions for his kindness. Pot reveals what he believes the numbers are telling him, that the planet is facing something that scares him. Intense, sad, and entirely too realistic. The idea of cycles with world events both good and bad is all too true. The gentle romance between Meade and Pot was a lovely addition. Side note: I was surprised to see the inclusion of transvestites in this story published in 1951. Heinlein treated the couple and the subject in a much nicer manner than I might have expected. I wonder why they were included as they weren't truly needed, nor was the subject of needed for his argument. Others could've sufficed. This was a first time read for me, as is the next story. 4 out of 5.

“Jerry Was a Man” by Robert A. Heinlein

When Martha van Vogel accompanied her husband to a genetics lab that alters DNA to make workers out of apes and vanity pets, she was unaware of how the mutated ape workers were treated once they were no longer useful, that they were euthanized. After raising hell, Martha is allowed to take one of the younger workers, whose eyesight had him put in the death pen, home with her against her husband’s wishes. Refusing to look the other way, Martha fights all the way to court to not only get Jerry free of the lab, but to help keep all the others alive, leading to a precedent making court case. This is an incredibly uncomfortable story on so many fronts. I found it most disturbing that Jerry’s speech pattern is a caricature of poor uneducated blacks. I understand that this was intentional on the part of Heinlein. I’m hoping that it was to give his readers a unique viewpoint into their prejudices, especially considering that the story was copyrighted in 1947. Especially with the return of black American soldiers from World War II to a country that still considered them as less than human. 3.5 out of 5.

“The Farthest Place” by Robert A. Heinlein

(Extract from Tramp Royale) This is non-fiction, an account of the Heinleins and their visit to Tristan da Cunha when the tramp steamer they are on makes a call there. The island is in the South Atlantic, over 1500 miles from the nearest other community. I may have enjoyed this excerpt, but in another context. However, this is a collection of science fiction and fantasy. This particular piece really had no reason to be included. I decline to rate it.

“The Long Watch” by Robert A. Heinlein

Lieutenant Johnny Dahlquist was approached by Colonel Towers regarding the danger of having politicians in control back on Earth, that the Guard should oversee keeping the planet safe. Towers wants Johnny’s expertise as junior bomb officer in his rebellious group. While Johnny saw his point about the instability of politicians in general, he couldn’t agree to use his bombs to make a point, a point that would lead to the deaths of innocent people. He had to make the bombs unusable, then hold watch until a ship from Earth will arrive in approximately four days. This story … Heinlein literally reached into my chest and ripped my heart out. My notebook still shows the faint marks of tears. There are many types of heroism. John Ezra Dahlquist is a fine example of doing what is right even when others try to dissuade you. (You should also look up Rodger Young on Google. I was unaware of this Medal of Honor recipient until this story.) 5 out of 5.

Next is Jack Williamson, another writer from the Golden Age of Science Fiction. And yet, somehow, I never have read any of Jack’s works. Based on these stories, that was a great crime.

“With Folded Hands” by Jack Williamson

(Humanoids .5) Poor Underhill is already struggling to keep his android business afloat. Now a new company has suddenly appeared, providing slick new humanoids that are taking over the town of Two Rivers. His new boarder, Mr. Sledge, claims to be an inventor. The new humanoids are known by him and he appears to be frightened of them. Williamson explores how actions, discoveries, and inventions meant to make man’s life better can sometimes serve to harm him. The story, published in 1947, is even more relevant today considering the growth of A.I.s and robots. This really is as much horror as it is science fiction, terrifying on a deep level for those aware how close we are to this possible future. 3.5 out of 5.

“Jamboree” by Jack Williamson

A robot self-called Pops is Scout Master of boys from birth to the age of 12. Periodically it takes the boys to a Jamboree to meet Mother. Younger boys can indulge in pink ice cream and gold stars plastered on their faces. For the oldest boys, it will be their last Jamboree. But one boy thinks there is a way to stop the cycle. Another tale of robots making decisions for the good of mankind. A very different take. 3.5 out of 5.

“The Manana Literary Society” by Jack Williamson

(Excerpt from Wonder’s Child: My Life in Science Fiction) Another piece of non-fiction, but at least it is about science fiction. Once again, I find it out of place and will not rate it. The selection is, however, a good look at the Los Angeles science fiction scene.

“The Firefly Tree” by Jack Williamson

Forced to move with his family to his grandfather’s farm, the unnamed protagonist is without friends, home-schooled, and lonely. Then he finds an interesting plant that his father calls a weed. He is moved to save the plant from destruction and nurtures it until it grows into a tree. One night he goes out to find the tree covered with fireflies. He begins to dream of them, hearing who they are and what they are there ready to do. Doesn’t Jack ever write happy endings? Any at all? As a child who was a loner and lived in a neighborhood with no children near my age, I could relate to this young boy. Truly engrossing. 3.5 out of 5.

Now on to Clifford D. Simak. I’ve read some of his short stories, but it was a long time ago. I don’t remember much of his style or even whether I liked his works or not.

“Desertion” by Clifford D. Simak

To explore the planet of Jupiter, men are physically converted into one of the more intelligent native species, the Lopers. The last five men sent out by Kent Fowler, the head of the survey project, haven't returned. The exploration must continue, but Fowler can't face sending another man out to what appears to be certain death, so he decides to go in their place, accompanied by his elderly dog. This was a beautiful story. I wish it had been longer. 4 out of 5.

“Founding Father” by Clifford D. Simak

Mankind wants to spread out among the stars, to colonize other planets, but the amount of time that would need to be spent on a spaceship would be an issue. Immortals have no problems with time per se, but the loneliness is another matter. A solution was found, a solution meant to be a temporary fix. But what happens with temporary when that is over one hundred years? Whoa, this might’ve been short, but it was so intense, thought-provoking, and a bit sad. Winston-Kirby will have some decisions to make regarding comfort or duty. 4 out of 5.

“Grotto of the Dancing Deer” by Clifford D. Simak

Archaeologist Boyd discovers a hidden fissure at his latest sight, one filled with fantastical and irreverent art. He also finds something else, something impossible. And yet. Another fascinating story with a deep well of sadness and depressing loneliness in a different way than the previous story. 4 out of 5.

L. Sprague de Camp is a writer that I used to read quite a bit of, mostly his earlier works in short story collections. And the Conan books he finished from Robert Howard’s notes and uncompleted manuscripts. Frankly, I found de Camp’s renditions to be better written, although I know that is heresy for some.

“A Gun for Dinosaur” by L. Sprague de Camp

When a time machine is invented, one that can’t go back to a time more recent than 100,000 years ago, a big part of its users are big game hunters taking clients back to kill a dinosaur for trophy. Rivers, of Rivers and Aiyar, one of those hunters, explains to a potential client why he has strict rules about who he’ll take back to what periods based on size and ability to use a particular caliber weapon. All I can say is poor August, braver than he thought he was, and how Courtney deserved everything he got and more. Entitled asshole. 3.5 out of 5

“Little Green Men from Afar” by L. Sprague de Camp

A non-fiction look into the persistent myths, legends, and outright lies that still garner hopeful believers, from flying saucers to the Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis to cults. I do like the five criteria given by Francis F. Broman regarding any and every story: 1) the report be firsthand; 2) the teller shows no obvious bias or prejudice; 3) that the reporter be a trained observer; 4) that the data be available for checking; and 5) that the teller be clearly identified. I’ve enjoyed many a hour reading von Daniken and the various UFO books, but they have always clearly be put in the fantasy fiction category for me, fun if not taken seriously. Again, no rating for a non-fiction piece in a fiction collection. I’m particularly disappointed as de Camp is left with just two fiction pieces as an introduction to his works.

“Living Fossil” by L. Sprague de Camp

Nawputta, a zoologist, and Chujee, his guide, are searching the Alleghany Mountains for interesting specimans and signs of the cities of Man, long extinct, when they meet a suspicious explorer. They also stumble across something they didn’t expect. Cute. Obvious, but still very fun to read. 3.5 out of 5.

Fritz Leiber is the author of a favorite series from my early 20s. While my father was devouring Conan the Barbarian, I was deep into Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Strangely enough, I don’t think I read anything else by Leiber in those days or later. So many books, so little time, so few selections at the libraries with whom I had memberships.

“Sanity” by Fritz Leiber

World Manager Carrsbury had researched and planned and schemed for ten years to understand insanity and to replace all the members of the World Management Service with his own people, all of whom had been trained under his exacting guidelines. Just as he had directed the world’s citizens in what they could read, watch, drink, and do in their daily lives. Or so he thought had been done. Leiber’s look at sanity is fascinating and a bit disturbing. Add a backdrop of world government and you have a thoughtful and frightening tale that resonates today. 4 out of 5.

“The Mer She” by Fritz Leiber

(Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser) The Gray Mouser was sailing home to Cif and Fafhrd, his holds filled with treasure and good as befits a successful merchant. When he discovers a stowaway in a chest, he must fight his way through magic if he ever hopes to see his island home again. It has been an extraordinarily long time since I’ve visited this series. The language is as flowery and somewhat archaic as ever, but I missed the boys working together. It just doesn’t have the same punch without that. 3 out of 5.

“A Bad Day for Sales” by Fritz Leiber

Robie, the first sales robot, is on the street, but having a hard time making sales. Then things get a lot worse. Very short, very cute even with that "worse" part. 3.5 out of 5.

#book review #The SFWA Grand Masters #science fiction collection #science fiction #fantasy #Frederik Pohl #Robert A. Heinlein #Jack Williamson #Fritz Leiber #L. Sprague de Camp #Clifford D. Simak #short story collection

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a-woman-apart · 4 years

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Reimagining Weakness

I often thought that weakness had to do with a lack of self-control. Not being able to resist the second brownie, motivate myself to exercise, or to stop procrastinating on homework felt like character flaws to me. I was convinced that I could overcome my weaknesses by sheer power of will. I thought that by beating myself into shape, I would become a happier and more productive person. I thought, “No one’s perfect, except me”, even though I would never admit to myself or anyone else that that was what I thought. The self-help books that I was reading helped reinforce the belief that if I could just beat out the undesirable characteristics of my personality, then I would be successful and full of joy.

Despite what I thought, holding myself to strict and unrealistic standards did nothing but bring me frustration and unhappiness. Even when I did achieve things through Working Really Hard and gritting my teeth, I felt empty and unfulfilled. I was always working towards the next hard-won success in an effort to make myself happy. I was essentially running on a treadmill; outwardly, I was getting into shape, but I still wasn’t going anywhere. I was still miserable and dissatisfied.

In Mark Manson’s 2019 book, “Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope”, he speculated that our understanding of the human psyche may be flawed. He proposed that we have a rational, tempered Thinking Brain, and a passionate, impulsive Feeling Brain. His theory was that even though most of us think that the Thinking Brain is driving the car, it is really our Feeling Brain who is behind the wheel. He believes that we are not just influenced by our emotions, we are ruled by them—although some people may be more dominantly controlled by their feelings than others are.

This is why so many of us cheat on our diets, our partners, or are dishonest in other parts of our lives. Anyone who knows anything about humans knows that we often forgo long-term rewards for short-term pleasures. If we were truly logical, the negative consequences of some of our actions would be enough to deter us from pursuing them. Instead, we often do things simply because we want to, consequences be damned. It is the reason why we often throw caution to the wind in the name of love, will punch a stranger at a sports’ game because they cheer for “the wrong team”, and are at the mercy of Netflix’s autoplay function.

According to Mark Manson, the Thinking Brain cannot overcome the Feeling Brain through sheer force of will. We have to negotiate with ourselves. We tell the Feeling Brain that if it does something it does not want to do right now then we will reward it with something it likes a little later on. This reward can be anything that we want, but it has to be something immediate enough that the Feeling Brain is likely to accept the offer. We might say, “Hey, if you do your homework now, you will have the whole evening free to watch ‘Thor: Ragnarök’ with your boyfriend” or “If you work out now, then you can go to the sauna afterwards, and imagine how wonderful that will feel” or “If you stay late at the office, you will have extra money for tickets to the baseball game.”

This internal bargaining can still be classified as intrinsic motivation, even though external rewards are a part of the motivational process. Extrinsic motivation, though, is really underestimated. Dr. Henry Cloud, in his famous book, “Boundaries”, expresses that boundaries cannot be built in a vacuum. It does not matter if these are the boundaries that we make for ourselves or the ones we have between ourselves and others. We need the help of others and/or outside forces to establish working boundaries. There is a reason why alcoholics and addicts might go to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous; putting themselves in communion with others in their situation helps them to reinforce the new standards they are forming for themselves.

“You can’t pursue success for someone else; you have to want success for yourself” is a popular statement here in the West. We live in a highly individualistic society that prizes personal freedom and initiative above everything else. Statements like, “You’ve got to love yourself before you can love anyone else” or “No one will respect you if you don’t respect yourself”, are highly popularized and the validity of these statements is seldom questioned. However, it is true that often others see things in us that we cannot see in ourselves. Others often see our potential before we do. If we could insulate ourselves in bubbles where nothing touched us, it would be unnecessary to remove ourselves from so-called “toxic people” because their effect on us would be negligible.

I am not saying that more collectivist societies—where the needs of the group are elevated above those of the individual—are without their flaws. While collectivism encourages greater group participation and helps to foster stronger social movements, individual needs may be minimized by the pressure of the individual to conform to rigid societal standards. Still, those of us in the West might benefit by stepping outside of our isolation and self-centered pursuit of achievement and learning to negotiate with and support others.

You are not weak for needing help. If your significant other begging you to change your life, because you are killing yourself with drugs, alcohol, or overeating, is the push that you need to change, you are not weak. Be grateful that you have someone in your corner who cares enough about you to tell you the truth. You still have to take the action yourself, but having an outward inspiration giving you the courage to make the first step does not make you weak. Setting up real-world consequences for procrastination or neglect may also help you to make better choices. YouTuber Thomas Frank once set up a system whereby if he failed to wake up by 6am he would be charged $5. This not an effective method for everyone, but sometimes utilizing an external system of rewards and/or punishment can help you to move towards your goals.

Currently, the First World is experiencing a very specific kind of crisis; it is a crisis of loneliness and isolation. As economic instability and disillusionment grow, people are increasingly moving towards radical ideological movements to find identity, purpose, and community. Anti-intellectualism, political extremism, and distrust of science and modern medicine threaten to negate years of societal progress. Bonds of friendship and family dissolve due to personal and generational conflict, and the disaffected parties individually sooth themselves by overindulging in mindless entertainment.

You are not weak for feeling lost and alone in an environment like this one. Depression isn’t always just neurons misfiring in your brain—sometimes it has tangible, real-world causes. Finding support can be a matter of life and death. If you are in a dangerous situation, a list of hotlines where a supportive person can connect you with resources are only a Google Search away (see a list of worldwide crisis lines here). In North America, the Crisis text-line is 741 741, and this is an option you can utilize if it is unsafe for you to speak out loud on the phone or if family members and roommates are around and you are embarrassed by having them hear you.

Withdrawing from society and trying to do everything alone may feel safer, but it will only prove detrimental over time. We are a social, interdependent species and we need each other. We help encourage each other, challenge each other’s bad ideas, work together towards individual and group goals, and we provide for each other’s physical and emotional needs.

Finally, as my therapist said, “Give yourself a little more grace.” Treat yourself as you would a trusted friend. Forgive yourself for occasionally sleeping in, for small indulgences, and even for blowing up or showing up late. Billions of people around the world are all guilty of the same thing. Maybe if we share a bit of the burden of the unfortunate truth—that we are not perfect and never will be— we will all feel less alone. We do not have to be perfect to deserve love. We can be weak but still be able to gather amazing strength. We do not have to be perfect to participate in society.

We just have to be open enough to try.

#boundaries #self-control #self-improvement #self-help #weakness as strength #you are not weak for needing help #learning to depend on others #individualism #collectivism #living with a mental illness #hope #isolation #loneliness #finding meaning #building connections #suicide help #Henry Cloud #Everything is Fucked Book #Mark Manson

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webdesignersnearme-blog · 5 years

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Leading 10 Tips For Choosing A Web Designer For Your Company Website

Just how to Choose a Web Design Firm

Simple. You do your homework on them. After that, you begin asking inquiries and also remembering. There are lots of internet developers near you readily available. You wish to choose the best due to the fact that, as a matter of fact, your web designer is in essence your companion. Search the web for "web designers near me" to quickly find website design business in your location. You wish to choose a designer that takes YOUR business seriously.

What concerns do you ask?

There are a number of crucial concerns to ask when picking a web designer for your company website.

Creating your website can be a complicated process. Choosing the most effective web design firm for your service internet site is a really essential decision. As well as if your firm is like most small companies, you possibly do not have web design experience. Structure your web site will certainly require time and also work. And dealing with a web designer is no easy task. So select the right website design business from the start and prevent do-over's, which can be pricey as well as time consuming.

1. What type of internet experience do you have?

For starters, figure out what sort of style experience your possible design company has. Do they have experience with content administration systems, do they have experience working with "raw" HTML? Has the website design firm produced website similar to yours? Do they have relevant sector experience? If you want to market products through your internet site and approve credit card payments, does the website design firm you are taking into consideration have experience with ecommerce holding?

2. Do you have a portfolio that I can review?

An experienced website design firm will have a strong profile of internet site that they have created for other customers. Request links to various other site the layout business has actually produced and also assess each one. Do you like what you see? Do the websites have a style that interest you?

3. Do you have any recommendations?

Along with reviewing internet site, request for consumer references. Contact their clients and also ask them regarding their experience with the web design business. Were they delighted with the results? Did they obtain what they paid for? How much did they pay? Would certainly they suggest them? The length of time did it take? What really did not they such as about the company? Exactly how responsive was the business when they had questions?

4. What are your rates?

One of the most crucial action in rates is to see to it the possible design firm outline all of the costs associated with the job and places all of it in creating. Never ever participate in a bargain unless every one of the prices are well comprehended in advance.

Inquire a bit concerning just how they handle payments. If they respond in an extremely business-like as well as specialist way, this is a great indication. If they throw out solutions like - "Don't stress, we'll take care of" or "Whatever you fit with", don't be misleaded. This is trouble waiting to occur. Obtain the rate in composing before you begin the job.

5. Do you have experience with search engine optimization?

Many local business proprietors do not have it in their budget to hire a different advertising firm to deal with search engine optimization (SEO), so it critical that your web designer have experience in SEO. A great developer will understand that style as well as SEO go hand-in-hand. Designing a website for search engines with "tidy" code that makes use of plunging style sheets is essential to obtaining your web content indexed in the leading search engines, such as Google and Bing.

6. Do you have experience with social networks advertising?

Several advertising and marketing firms do understand the initial thing regarding social media sites advertising and marketing. These companies are embeded the past and also are not as efficient as they claim to be. Be sure that you collaborate with a designer that recognizes how to configuration a Facebook fan web page for your business as well as design a personalized Twitter account. This is important since you will certainly want your social media buildings to mesh with the layout of your internet site. The website and also social media web pages must match one-another.

7. What is your process for creating or building an internet site?

Ensure you ask your prospective web design firm concerning the procedure that they use? Do they design a web site or do they develop an internet site? A knowledgeable Internet expert need to comprehend the distinction in between these two principles. If they do not, they're probably not as experienced as they claim to be. Developing a website is a highly technological process, while creating a web site is a highly imaginative process. Several marketing companies focus on internet site style which does not necessarily require in any kind of web advancement abilities whatsoever. At the same time, several companies style website, yet out-source the imaginative portion of the task. Find out from the beginning what the procedure if for the company that you are thinking about.

8. How much time will it take?

Perfectionism can be a huge stumbling block in the rapid paced world of the Internet. Some developers are not able to compromise between quality as well as time to market requirements. Examination: See how much time it takes until you obtain a proposal.

9. What type of support is supplied after web site launch?

If your design company does not provide web site upkeep, you could want to proceed looking. Many credible layout companies will supply "post-launch" upkeep for companies that do not have an internal webmaster.

10. Which web hosting suppliers do you deal with?

If your style firm does not recognize the first-names of the call at their preferred web design company, then this should raise a red flag. Many reliable web designers recognize not to choose a web host simply because they are one of the most prominent or due to the fact that they offer the cheapest web hosting. A respectable web design firm must recognize that to call and how to get results! Does your web designer collaborate with an environment-friendly holding company? Environmentally-friendly host is becoming more and more prominent for service web sites seeking to implement an eco-policy.

Great developers are imaginative people that need to think out of package. Discovering a great web designer is obtaining harder as well as harder. The great developers are being nabbed by companies and also large tasks. They are strained with job and commonly, you will not understand about them because they do not have time (or need) to market themselves. Doing your research and asking the appropriate questions is essential to determine if they are right for the task.

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oppressiveliberator · 5 years

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Topic Meme: His mental state (I’m curious, seeing as he thought my very-real muse was a hallucination)

Send Me A Topic To Write Meta On!

Ghetsis is well into his 60′s approximately--which honestly, according to my father’s nurses and such, wasn’t that old. Nonetheless, the guy’s had two severe psychological breakdowns resulting in stress-induced strokes. A stroke cuts off the oxygen to parts of your brain and when that part eventually suffocates or is otherwise heavily damaged from lack of oxygen, I’m sure you can imagine what that’ll do to somebody’s body let alone someone’s brain.

On top of that, there’s the dementia. That’s why he perceived Brett as a hallucination at first--Brett was out of place in an otherwise normal setting, a child he didn’t recognize in his hiding place. Normally the Shadow Triad prevent any intruders or threats from getting anywhere near the hideaway, assuming one even stumbles into the magic slip space that puts you on the same plane of existence as it in the first place. So. Strange child where a strange child would, logically, not be? Probably a hallucination.

(A lot of rambling under the cut, talk of mental illness, physical illness, disability, real life parental death. . .just a lot of stuff, probably a lot of nonsense, some of it a mite personal as a former caretaker. I’d’ve put icons in to space things out but. I’m kinda tired after writing all of this lmao also I have to fast for a thing tomorrow so I’m just gonna. Head off once I post this and gets oem rest.TL;DR: google ‘symptoms of dementia’ and ‘effects of stroke’ and you’ll get a good idea of Ghetsis’s mental state at any given point in time.)

At least a small child is the least of his hallucinations. He has them now and then, or otherwise misperceives reality or misspeaks about his perceptions, and they can vary from little things to big things. They’re usually nothing major--something is there that isn’t or he hears sounds that aren’t real. Sometimes he sees people or his mind misproccesses one person or thing as another(sometimes he refers to the Shadow Triad as N, Anthea, and Concordia for example) and he just kinda rolls with it sometimes.

Other times he tries to ignore it until it goes away or tries to ‘fix it’ one way or another. Major things are more along the lines of that he’s displaced from where he actually is, is floating, his environment is drastically changing--stuff that majorly impacts his ability to proceed. But it’s usually like. Galvantula crawling on him or voices and things like that. Stuff that you might notice him responding to, but that can be dismissed or that he shrugs off.

If he hallucinates something detailed and realizes it(because, y’know, it doesn’t make sense, for example,) he usually just rolls with it until it ends--his mind doesn’t take well to being ignored or dismissed and can ratchet up the awful if it isn’t acknowledged, hence why he decided ‘well, there’s a hallucination child here, i’d better just acknowledge him’ lol.

In general, Ghetsis’s memory is not good. Oftentimes it’s inconsistent--sometimes he remembers some things but not others, sometimes he remembers everything, sometimes he doesn’t even know who he is. Now and then he’ll remember things in one state of mind, forget them in another, and if he goes back to the previous state of mind or a different one, he has no problem remembering the previous thing. But he has no control over this. While he mostly remembers more recent years events, he might struggle with some before them--or he might randomly drop one memory or process or another.

Sometimes these memory lapses result in things like not remembering what year it is and as such not knowing how old he is. He may interpret himself as being younger because his mind just. . .receded back to that point in his understanding. If you ask him where he is, he might say he’s at the Harmonia Estate even though that’s completely off base. He’ll give you a radically incorrect number if asked for his age. He’ll say he has no children. He won’t remember what Team Plasma is.

Sometimes his mind reconciles things like his height in relation to other people and things and he doesn’t question them at all. For example, he could see N and his mind says ‘that’s Natural. That’s your son.’ but rather than ‘he’s in his early 20′s. he’s the hero of ideals. he betrayed you. he abandoned you. you hate him. you miss him. you wish you had your son back’ his process says ‘he’s seven years old. he’s just learning to read. he learned to do a cartwheel yesterday. he’s having a hard time with the studies Gorm is going through with him, but for now he’s okay with the others. He falls down everytime he gets on his skateboard but he always laughs and gets back on it’ and he’ll treat N as though he’s a child. He’ll acknowledge that N is getting big or getting heavy if he has to acknowledge his appearance, but his mind’ll just kinda. Make that make sense to him.

There’s not really any way to snap him out of this--sometimes he can be led back to a proper psychological state, other times you’ve just gotta wait it out. Ideally, let him sleep and he’ll be better when he wakes up.

There are days where he’s in clearly awful condition. Sometimes he can’t talk or acknowledge anything, just completely unresponsive. Other times it seems like nothing was ever wrong with his mind in the first place.

As you can imagine, that’s mostly just processing things. . .his already horrifically inconsistent personality that he changes to befit the situation and person he’s speaking to is now even more inconsistent and he’s got little to no control over it. Oftentimes he’ll be himself to some degree. Other times he might be horrifically depressed or lost and reclusive or sorry and miserable. . .sometimes he’ll be emotional and wild--and he’ll lash out aggressively if anybody tries to help him, even if he clearly needs it. He might not remember his interests or his relationships with people or be able to focus. . .he’s all over the place, although I’m still kinda tentative about portraying it.

A lot of it is inspired by my dad and his condition when he was alive and I was taking care of him. So while sometimes I may laugh at it sometimes or occasionally use it for comedic effect, honestly part of me does want to portray a lot of these struggles he has realistically--but I’m also a very ‘laugh at everything because what else are you gonna do be miserable all the time?’ type of person(or i try to be--I find it important to see the comedy in everything because honestly life is ridiculous and there’s no reason not to laugh at it or enjoy it as long as you also accept the severity of it) and I worry I’d portray something too comically or be interpreted as making a joke even when I’m not.

. . .But, yeah, Ghetsis’s brain is fucked up basically. Look up what happens to stroke or seizure patients and the effects of dementia and you’ll get a decent grasp of what it’s like to be my Ghetsis in the present day.

Despite it all, he’s still Ghetsis. . .but between age and arrogance and madness, he’s lost a lot of his ability to give a fuck and he just. Does whatever he wants within his ability. Boundaries? Filters? Often completely absent. So sometimes he’s Ghetsis--master manipulator, King in personality and intentions, regal and serious and calm and strategic and careful and classy and elegant and deceptive--and sometimes he’s Ghetsis--Professional Fuck-Upper of Shit who constantly has Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder playing in his own head who just does whatever and exists to piss people off and have fun. But the thing is? Ghetsis has always been somebody even his closest people couldn’t tell the personality of. What he’s like, who he is, it escaped even the sages. It escaped everybody that this man was evil for literal years.

So in a weird way, he’s exactly the same. . .just a little more extreme and spiteful. Normally he’s a liar because it helps him fit smoothly into society without suspicion, but now sometimes he’s brutally honest and you realize how disturbed he is, how fucked what happens in his head is.

. . . . . .And yet. He’s bounced back from so many things before. He’s been a radically confusing and difficult and inconsistent person before.

Sometimes you can’t help but think ‘this is a trick too.’

Either way. . .he’s a mess. You’ll almost always still be able to see that he’s Ghetsis in his thoughts and actions and words, but sometimes he’s. . .different. Sometimes that’s just Extra Ghetsis, and sometimes you see what’s beneath the Narcissism and he cries and apologizes and struggles and lets himself be helped and asks for help and says he just wanted to help let him help how can he help he doesn’t want to be useless he doesn’t want to be broken let him prove he exists and functions even if it’s just to himself. Better yet, let him die. He can’t live like this anymore. He’s not living. He hasn’t been living for years, he’s a broken, worthless entity and he just doesn’t want to be anymore. Those’re still rare sides of him to see--you’re more likely to get completely unresponsive, mute, dissociative, confused old man type Ghetsis than self-loathing Ghetsis who regrets his actions and who he is and has been and what he’s done.

But yeah. Ghetsis’s mental state is. Not great! It’s much worse than he lets on most of the time! His physical state is pretty poor, too, although that varies too. Some days he can walk without assistance, some days he needs his cane, a walker, a wheelchair, some days he’s bedbound completely and if he tries to use his leg(s) he’ll just wind up falling down. Sometimes he can speak with little to no problem, sometimes he can’t do anything but mutter nonsensically, sometimes he can’t even make sounds. He’s just. . .not well. But somehow he’s still recovering. One could suppose it’s simply because he’s Ghetsis and he’s always been a little. . .powerful. Ethereal. Magical. Special. A cut above the rest.

Like my dad, he’s been told or had his caretakers told many, many times he probably wouldn’t make it more than a few years, months, weeks, he’d be lucky if he lived through the night.

But Yveltal be damned, he’s still here.

And he’s gonna be here for a while, I imagine.

If he gets his way, he’ll be here forever.

#medical cw///#disability cw///#ask to tag #long post #History | Who’d Ever Dream A Child As Sweet As I Seemed Would Be The Source Of So Much Pain And Strife #About | I'm Finished Making Sense Done Pleading Ignorance #Personal | If I Show You Then I Know You Won’t Tell What I Said Cause Two Can Keep A Secret If One Of Them Is Dead #Headcanon | The Horror That He Brings The Horror Of His Sting The Unholiest Of Kings #OOC | In Your Head In Your Head They Are Fighting #((/flops))#abib918 #((thank you very much for the ask❣))

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scottmaxwell360-blog · 5 years

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Creative Problem Solving Interviews

To get a sense of how design professionals use creative problem solving techniques to tackle industry challenges, I interviewed three experts and asked two questions:

How do you generate ideas? (How, when, and where are you inspired? What inspires you? What obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea and how do you overcome those obstacles?)

What process(es) do you use to solve problems? (Describe the steps of your problem-solving process. Explain your journey from inspiration to implementation.)

Niall Fitzpatrick - Photographer

How do I generate ideas / What inspires:

There are different specialities in photography. Folks that go deep in a very specific specialty; and others that take a broader array of interests, are perhaps two extremes. I tend lean more toward the latter. I'm very interested in exploring daily settings (people in action, portraits etc., for example); and street and landscape photography. I let the project lead me to an extent. That said, being "prepared" is essential. I like to build a story with my photos. I’m always looking for a way to use the moment and timing to describe the project. This requires a few essential elements:

Base idea framework: having a conceptual framework for what I want to achieve - a loose framework with not too tight an expectation. This allows me to follow my eye and the surroundings to evolve the story I’m trying to describe.

Inspiration: The surroundings, people, landscape, and light - these are elements of my inspiration. But really the biggest element of inspiration comes from taking the time to "see." It's tempting to hurry through a photo shoot; or settle for a "good" shot. But I find that for inspiration to flow I need to take time to see. This can manifest in different ways: Looking at the setting from different angles or perspectives, snapping to warm up with 'no expectations'; sitting and watching; exploring and walking; ultimately getting in the 'zone' which is when I'm thinking less and doing more. Ideas beget ideas.

A willingness to follow the flow: Things often don’t go to plan. A subject shows up late; the sun doesn’t come out; the scene isn’t what you anticipated. I like to follow the moment – see what happens naturally. How can I use it? These elements often present subconsciously “in-the-moment” but the critical element is a willingness to be flexible.

What obstacles do I face?

Lack of focus is a critical blocker for me - feeling rushed in process or not being prepared.

Bringing Energy: In addition, particularly when people are involved in the shoot, making sure I have energy to bring to the project, to motivate others and or direct the subject. A tired me is a less creative me.

Being Prepared: Finally, it is critical to be prepared. Being prepared includes a fluidity with the camera. If I put my equipment away for a period of time and then pick up and shoot it invariably means I am not 'one' with that camera. This leads to basic mistakes: overlooking critical settings; shoot perhaps at wrong settings; slow and focused more on camera than subject. The more I use a camera the more fluid I am - hence why I try to shoot daily.

I overcome obstacles by:

Being practiced and fluid with the camera

Well rested

Creating an environment of relaxation for both myself and the subjects of my photos (where people are involved)

Where possible researching the setting

Timing the setting (golden hour, planning for ideal light, etc)

Continual study of photography; in particular examining and understanding the art of others

What process(es) do you use to solve problems?

In photography problems arrive in a variety of possible categories including:

Subject not presenting as expected or not willing to participate as expected

Lighting (how is the light at this time - soft, harsh, other)

Setting (physical surroundings) not as anticipated

The objective (why am I here not going as planned)

When I approach a shoot I try to keep these things in mind so I’m prepared. The best way to ensure you can overcome a problem during the creative process is to be prepared and focused. The journey from inspiration to implementation involves ensuring I am ready; have timed the shoot (conditions), can take advantage of light, and know how to engage my subject. It’s also important to have a mastery of the technical approach. Knowing how to use in-camera or post-processing techniques to achieve the desired outcome. In the end though –inspiration often comes from the moment. Implementation comes from practicing technique such that one thinks less about the camera and more about the objective.

Alecia Lewis - Graphic Designer

1) Idea generation, inspiration, and obstacles:

Idea generation and inspiration: I'm often inspired by people - the more you know and understand and develop real conversations and empathize with them and how they relate to things. That's true communication and that's what really inspires me to do great works that connects people with ideas. Of course, I also subscribe to several design blogs to see trends and see what's new and how others are solving similar problems. Often, I just think "Man, they're so clever, how do I improve on that?” Really, I'd say my most creative pieces were thought of after hanging out with a big group of friends. Then, on my way home or laying in bed, I'll think about a project I was working on, and instantly the ideas start to form. I substantiate my ideas with a real understanding of best practices and commonalities, or biases that already exist around us, almost capitalizing on them.

Obstacles I face are really deadlines and ignorance. People who contribute to my work as a designer, while they provide their expertise of the market, often aren't aware of design principles, design thinking, or best practices for that matter. They've often not even Googled design terms like "hierarchy". Just the other day, the executive who claims to be a strategist with all of the experience says, "Oh, well, I don't know your lingo." My lingo isn't some revolutionary terms or design speak. It's founded in basic, standard terminology that designers use. With all of their experience "working with designers", you would think they would have compassion or respect and would, at the very least, Google things like "design principles" and see that not everything can be the same size. In order for your CTA (call to action) to actually evoke an action in their audience, it needs to stand out, not be surrounded by everything else.

As a designer, I’ve exposed myself to the executive’s field and researched best practices and developed personas. I ask questions about the piece - where it lives, why it lives there, how the viewer gets to it, etc. Oftentimes people haven't thought about the process in a holistic way, but I, as a competent champion of effective communication, have knowledge of the sales cycle, market strategy and economics, and I always approach things in that way.

I overcome those obstacles in a variety of ways. Just as I'm designing a print or digital piece, I take the same path to addresses my frustrations - define, identify, research, understand, relate, concept, create, execute, test, evaluate, complete. Essentially I try to put myself in their shoes, understand the problem from their perspective, and address it by provided validated information that supports my views, and enlighten them to why I make the choices I make.

Sometimes people recognize the effort, applaud, and move on. Other times they could care less and just want it their way. I'm not always right, but I do always have a purpose so it keeps me motivated. I will say though, this is also the reason that I changed jobs - because I worked with people who didn't care to be better, do better, or communicate better, so I changed jobs to find more purpose - to use my creative talents to advocate for something I believe in, which is affecting positive change in the world.

So now when I feel defeated by idiots, I still have the reward of doing good work for a good cause. Oh, and the deadlines - well, everyone thinks creativity is like science. “It should only take 2 hours. Last time it took 2 hours, so this time it should.” Well creativity isn't a science, it's a journey. Every new piece is a new story, and it's extremely frustrating when the story has to be told too fast and you skip parts. Because if you skip too much it doesn't make sense.

2) Process to Solving a Problem:

Every designers process is different, but the good ones are similar and start with

Defining the problem: So many times people who request work have no idea what problem they are actually solving - which seems insane, but is absolutely true. Literally, they'll say "I want x" and I start asking questions and they actually want "7%dg".

Next, you identify your audience: understanding them, their likes/dislikes, why they do what they do, what they need/don't need... relating to them and almost becoming them.

Research and more research: Now that you really know the audience, you do a real competitive analysis - you look to see what competitors are doing right and wrong, and understand the real value proposition so that you can differentiate your solution from theirs.

Create: Because we can relate to the audience and understand the market, we get to create - you could use any word here like develop or ideate - either way, this is the sketching, the inception of the idea, the concepting phase - this, to me, is the most fun part.

Execution: which is the creation of the piece, the development of the idea - massaging the good ideas and eliminating the bad ones that may have had potential but don't solve the needs of the audience.

Testing: this is when you send the piece out and actually obtain feedback. Often the feedback is measured in sales initiatives and lead gen numbers, but really it should be like an email. You send two out and judge the outcomes compared to each other. Then you deliver to the world because now your work is validated. It helps the viewer, it dismisses alternatives, it is validated. Now it should be approved to be printed or coded and sent out to the masses.

Reflection: Then the key is to look back - and reflect. This is the retrospective, which rarely happens, but always should - this is the discovery of the process, it's efficiencies and inefficiencies. You get to find out if the piece and audience are really who you think they are. Seeking a true understanding of what worked and why it worked, or what didn't, and being honest with yourself that we're not all brilliant every time, but we need to grow from the feedback and let it continue to nourish your next iteration,

Completing the Cycle: then the cycle is complete because you've solved the initial need or provided the initial solution, while also informing the next piece.

So often, defining the problem, the persona development of the audience, the research, ideation is skipped. The testing and retrospective -- all of these phases are skipped because someone says, "I need X" and incompetent people say, "Designer, you have 2 hours to give me X" while no one asks questions are challenges the reasoning. So "X" is not a true solution. It's an unsubstantiated demand that will likely produce some success, but not the success that a truly validated, well thought-out initiative could have provided.

So I'll say the general process is, "get assigned, ask a million questions, research, design, revise based on feedback from non-designers, attempt to educate them, revise more, then send out to the public to be forgotten about" lol ...but real designers like me have adapted. For instance, I don't know every audience member but I've formed a generalization that I can attribute to the brand, then I ensure that I understand the holistic nature of the piece, and then design.

Also, I'm not even sure these are all of the steps, but, that's basically everything. The funny thing too is it's on my list to put something like this together for my company - to truly show the executives how much more productive and proficient our company could be if we followed a real process, and to also explain to them why things take so long - because good design can't be bottlenecked by time. It has to be well-informed in order to inform the right audience and produce the best results. I'll also add: the creative team I'm on is referred to as "Creative Solutions" because we aren't a "service" department, we don't cater to people's needs of X - we are presented with a problem and create solutions that solve those business needs.

Ashley Stacey - Photographer

1) Idea generation, inspiration, and obstacles:

Ideas often come to me while I’m shooting, which can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it’s often the person and or landscape that inspire me – anything I can do to that helps bring out the very best in that person is my goal. So, if that means switching from what I had planned to a completely different set and/or position to make them more comfortable, then that’s what we do. I’ve been the subject in front of the lens and know how uncomfortable it can be sometimes – making a last-minute change that allows comfort (and ultimately confidence) to shine through is worth every obstacle that may come with that change. Which brings me to the “curse” part of this question – these last-minute changes can introduce obstacles with lighting, composition, props, etc. To get around this, I try to move as quickly as possible rearranging sets or re-positioning the subject – my hope is for a seamless shoot where the subject doesn’t even notice we ran into the obstacle(s) in the first place.

2) Process to Solving a Problem:

The process I use to solve a problem depends on the problem. For example, if it’s around creativity, I think about past shoots I’ve done - what worked and what didn’t. I also try to put myself in the shoes of my clients and think about if I were them – what would make me happy? My clients hire me (hopefully) having looked at some of my work, which means they like my “creative eye”. If it’s something that I like, the hope is that ultimately, they will as well. On the flip side, if the problem revolves around business operations, I think about whether I can relate the problem to my corporate experience – if so, I incorporate what I’ve learned from past experiences in my next steps.

#creative #creativeproblemsolving #photography #design

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thepoeticwit · 5 years

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Love Your Neighbour As Yourself.

A reading from the book of the Acts of Kindness.

As he got on to the Light Rail Transit, the doors closed. The train started off on the track from that particular station to the next. The boy, tired from a long day at college, with the crowd around him due to it being the peak hour, rests his head against the train door. It was a blatantly obvious offence, since on the doors was it clearly stated “Do not lean on the doors” and “Do not obstruct the doors”.

The train accelerates, and for what seemed like a moment, the doors seemed to slip open enough for only a little gap to be seen yet unnoticed by the boy. Another train heading the opposite direction passes by, and is heard loudly. Suddenly, a voice spoke up, belonging to a lady almost elderly.

”Boy, don’t lean on the doors. Very dangerous.”

Immediately, the boy stood up and took a step back. He looked behind him and apologised. “I’m sorry, auntie. Thank you for telling me that”. Pointing to another woman leaning on the train door, she said, “It’s very dangerous to lean on the doors, like it could open anytime. Look, another lady there.” We tried to persuade her not to lean on the door, but she shook her head to show us that she’s fine and that she will handle herself. The train arrived at the next stop. Some passengers disembarked, while new ones boarded. The boy shifted his positioning as comfortably as he could, and the train was off to the next station. He found himself standing next to the lady who saved his life. “How’s your day?” the boy asked. “Ah, it’s fine thanks,” she replied, then goes on to say “see, I was worried because leaning on the doors like that, anything can happen. And then I saw it almost open” The boy was surprised he didn’t realise that the doors might have almost opened while his head was rested on the door. “Well, you know, peak hours like this is when the trains are usually the most crowded,” he explained. “It gets packed so people might as well have to lean on the doors since they won’t have anything to hold on to.” The train stopped again at the next station. More passengers boarded the train almost eagerly. The boy jestingly told the lady next to him, “I bet they’re all gonna get down at KL Sentral”. Then he asked, “Are you going to KL Sentral as well?” The lady replied, “No, I’m heading to Masjid Jamek”. It was almost the boy’s stop. “Hey, I just wanted to say thanks again for looking out for me; if it weren’t for you, who knows what would’ve happened. Not many people look out for others...” “It’s okay. No worries, I was just making sure...” “I have to leave now. Take care!” “Alright, friend. Take care, and have a good day!” The boy and the lady shook hands, and the boy disembarked off the LRT to head to the railway train headed home.

Reflecting on his own words, he pondered on the significance of these things. He recalled what happened the day before, when he headed towards Brickfields to meet with a friend. On his way there, he noticed the environment around him. A woman with only one arm, with a plastic cup, seemed like she was begging for money. As he walked and looked around, he recalled the last time he was there, joining an outreach ministry looking out for people to help and pray for. Saddened, he himself prayed, “God, remind me of my calling”

After meeting with his friend, the boy resolved to buy some food and water for the woman begging at the corner. Two packs of Twiggies cakes and a liter-full bottle of water. He approached the woman slowly. He examined her face to see her eyes a little red and teary. The boy was moved with compassion. “Auntie, this is for you” The lady’s face slowly lit up. She said in Mandarin, “Thanks but you can have the water. I myself already have my own water...” even taking out her own bottle out of her bag just to show it to the boy. The boy understood what she was saying, but was not proficient in Mandarin to engage in any deeper conversation but tried anyway saying, “this I give you to eat” and kept insisting that it was hers. He took out his wallet and gave the change that he had, and even gave some to another woman who was begging next to her. He then waved goodbye to her and walked away. The woman thanked him loudly, “Xie xie ni!” As the boy walked on, he wondered if there was anything more that he could have done. Maybe he could have been more courageous and tried saying “Jesus loves you” in Mandarin, or be so bold as to give the woman a hug. His heart broke, and so he prayed, “Father, forgive me for I have failed. God, please look after her.”

What can we say about kindness? It is this: strength that is clothed in weakness. Out there in most if not all of the world, we find ourselves caught up with looking after ourselves and only those close to us that we forget to look around and see others unlike us who are in need of help. We see glimpses of hell when there is the absence of love and selfishness at play. It is sinful. But when we show love to the least among us, we see heaven on earth. We see joy on their faces and in our hearts, we see peace, and we see wholeness. And when we humble ourselves with the rest, they rise together with us. You may be of any religion (or none at all) but you must have heard of these sayings: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” and “Love your neighbour as yourself”. Why do we need to do that? In the same way all the brokenness, pain, suffering and evil that is happening in our world is caused by the very actions of human beings, healing, restoration, and goodness also. We as human beings have power to make a difference. That power is the ability of freedom of choice. But the choices we make can affect our reality one way or another. Choose love. Choose kindness, and goodness. Why love? Because God loved us first. You may be questioning His existence or why He allows suffering in the world. But think about it: who is the criminal really? Who is responsible for the crime? The one who commits the crime, or the Judge who enforces the law? The criminal is the one who commits the crime. Shall we then say that the law has failed? No, but we as humans have failed. But He never fails. He came down personally to teach us, to show us the way, then gave His own life taking our place in punishment to pay the penalty for our wrongdoings, and then rose again from the grave to offer all who believe in Him new and eternal life, a restored relationship with God, and a restoration of all things into newness. And His name is Jesus Christ. And even if you’re not a believer, still I urge you. Consider these things. Test my words, and at least that by your actions that you may bless others still. And heal our land. (pics are sourced from Unsplash and Google and are used for illustration purposes only)

#short stories #true story #malaysia #trains #Train of Thought #essay #stories in Malaysia #Malaysian #believer #religion #christianity #jesuschrist #evangelism

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