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jyndor · 3 years

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(Imperialism etc anon) Ok I get where you're coming from! Thank you for being understanding. While Zutara is obviously not inherently racist or anything there are zutara interpretations that *are* racist (example: fire lady katara which I can get into) and it does need to be acknowledged that Zuko's status as fire nation royalty does create a power imbalance between him and Katara. Now, this is a conversation that has a lot of nuance to it but it seems like the people harassing you are (1/2)

(2/2) just repeating some genuine critique they saw without understanding what it means just to say that they're right, harassing people in the process. I did not have that context when sending that first ask and I apologize, since anons harassing you and others are clearly doing it out of bad faith. I just didn't like the leveraging of concepts that really matter in real life (colonialism, etc), ykwim? But I get what you were trying to do.

hey anon I’m finally getting to you after 84 years XD

so first off, I want to be careful about how I approach this because I understand that as a white person (even if my ancestors experienced imperialism) in the US I absolutely benefit from imperialism and don’t want to like, idk, whitesplain XD so if anyone gets annoyed with any way I say anything, just lmk and I’ll rework it. and I also do understand that these are real world issues that are far more consequential than messaging in media (although I do think it’s very important that we challenge messages in media because of media’s influence on our thinking and politics).

but before I talk about zuko and his relationship to fire nation imperialism, and then later fire lady katara and why it isn’t INHERENTLY racist but definitely can be, I want to talk about the atla fandom and how we got here. like, why I assume that most anons who come at zutara shippers are asshats acting in bad faith. if you already know fandom history, skip this section.

1. atla and the fandom has always been kind of shitty and racist

so IDK if everyone is familiar with the history of the ship war in atla fandom, but it’s regarded as one of the nastiest ship wars in fandom history which I agree lol. atla’s creators were some of the first to interact with the fandom the way they did - back then it wasn’t all that common for creators to get into twitter feuds with fans and boundaries were respected more than they are now imo. but for better or worse, and it is a mixed bag, bryke interacted with fandom a lot. certainly at cons but also on social media.

but honestly things really got extra mean in fan spaces when bryke made a “joke” atla season 4 slideshow out of fan art (some of which was really sexual in nature and totally inappropriate) that mocked fans’ creations, but especially zutara fanart and zutara itself. it was pretty tasteless especially considering how most zutara fans were teen girls, and featured some art of sokka saying that if you think zuko and katara would be good together, you’re doomed to have failed relationships. that’s where the whole “dark and mysterious” bs came from, which does describe some zutara fic but not even most of it lol. I actually do respect bryke a lot despite my criticism of them, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over that shit. like even if you hate zutara, even if it’s a joke, we were kids. and they were adults, and the whole thing was nasty.

however, the ship war was chaotic and messy, but it does feel worse now. maybe it’s because back then the fandom was MOSTLY teens and kids, and I don’t think that’s true now. we were all trying to prove our ship was best with like, content from the show and theories and all that, and now it’s like... whose ship is ~problematic lol it’s a show by white us americans appropriating from various cultures impacted negatively by us/british imperialism that they then profited off of, of course it’s racist. that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about that, and in fact many poc have been saying this shit for years - that atla is racist and colorist at many times (guru pathik anyone?) and no one really listened.

if fans are complaining only about zutara, then I’m automatically writing them off as being insincere or ignorant. and since most of these people are anonymous, I have no idea if they are having substantive discourse about colorism in avatar or cultural appropriation (even if it is mostly appreciative). if you are on anon, I have no context about what you actually think except for what you give me. and that definitely is how I view anons in general but especially within the atla fandom because for all 13-ish years I’ve been in it, it’s been messy. that’s why zutara fans have isolated ourselves from the rest of fandom, because the rest of fandom has been really nasty to us. like did we give back some nastiness? absolutely.

but I would hazard a guess that most anti-zutara shippers don’t know about the conversations we have had in this community to make it safer for people of color, conversations that centered poc and woc especially. hey, that’s okay - not to compare zutara to r*ylo because eurgh but like, idk what discourse the r*ylos have about their community. no idea, I don’t go looking for it. and I don’t go to the tags and harass r*ylos - even though they harass the fuck out of everyone else.

2. so zuko and his privilege

undoubtedly zuko as fire lord is in a fairly privileged position LMFAO. but during the show zuko is very clearly exiled - he holds very little political power in the fire nation EXCEPT for during the first season when he is in command of a ship that ozai gave him on a punishment quest lol like yeah he does terrible things and he of all people would not excuse his actions even if he was a traumatized kid, that’s the point of his arc - that he got some exposure to the rest of the world and worked to be better. and the only reason he was exiled at all was because he cares about people - he didn’t question fire nation supremacy at 13, but he sure did question the morality of his people being lead to slaughter.

but after zuko and iroh defect from the fire nation and stop hunting aang, he has next to no power, in any kind of way. like the guy is a political refugee. and yes, he goes back to the fire nation for like five minutes before realizing that he hates everything about fire nation hegemony and that he wants to end his father’s reign of terror, like that isn’t exactly someone who is going to be well esteemed by the powerful elites when he returns and takes the throne.

and I disregard the comics because they suck lol but zuko does have power as the fire lord, but he limits his power. like compared to ozai, phoenix asshole? azula? for the rest of the world, zuko is kind of an ideal leader for a former colonizing/imperialistic nation to have - someone who worked to end that tyranny, who is anti-imperialist, who believes in justice and equality, who wants to make things right for the peoples who his family oppressed.

I do think it is important to talk about power dynamics and imbalances in relationships - for instance, one could argue that mai is at a significant disadvantage in her relationship with zuko. sure she is from a powerful family but not as powerful as zuko’s. sokka? hah forget it. he’s just as disadvantaged as katara is politically speaking. toph? well, she’s definitely not as powerful politically as zuko - her family tried to silence her for years because of her disability. and oh, she’s disabled so it might be ableist for zuko to strike up a relationship with her when they’re both adults. forgetting of course that toph and sokka and katara and suki and mai are not going to be shy about their wants and needs, that these relationships are not likely to be coercive by nature of the show they’re in and the characters they involve. this is not bill clinton with monica creepiness. like, you’d have to write the relationship that way.

the only person who arguably has more political power than zuko is aang. I guess zuko can’t ever be in a relationship with anyone other than aang. and zuko’s family massacred aang’s people so I guess we can’t ship zukaang. now I know you’re not saying that, context matters. power dynamics are important. but you can’t take away the agency of characters - katara, who is essentially a princess, has agency and can choose who she wants to be with. strictly speaking, aang is more powerful than anyone in terms of political power - he’s the avatar - and of course the dynamic is different by nature of aang not being from a line of oppressors, but there still is a power imbalance in their relationship. and I don’t know how many k/ataang shippers have discourse~ on that. not that I really feel like they NEED to, um idk what they talk about lol I’m not in those circles.

3. fire lady katara is in the eye of the beholder

so fire lady katara is not inherently bad or racist, it’s essentially like saying michelle obama shouldn’t have been first lady of the us (now I get that like the obamas being in power didn’t mean black people are not marginalized lol). you can have conversations about whether or not individual versions of fire lady katara are fucked up, and I’m superrrr open to that because I’ve seen it be kinda shitty before. i’m just gonna leave this link to @shewhotellsstories and her post on this.

but often times katara as fire lady is very dominant in global/fire nation/water tribe politics, she’s a game changer ambassador (that is probably the most popular headcanon I see), she holds on to her culture (and many fans have designed her being in her wt colors, zuko is respectful af to her, she and zuko spend extended periods in the swt, etc. like... it just depends on the way it’s written.

also leaving this response by @avatarnerdkiller to the idea of katara being a prize figurehead.

anyway, thanks for your patience anon and I am curious to see if you see this or even feel like responding after all this time XD

#atla #petty fandom drama #zutara fandom #zutara #fire lady katara #discourse sigh #racism #fandom racism #asks #anonymous

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tamayokny · 7 years

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On Thursday my mom and I went to the theatre and saw Newsies (2017). Since I was really tired and had school the next day, I promised that I would have shared my thoughts on it yesterday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to but since I'm feeling better and refreshed today, I shall share!

Also this took me like an hour to type up lol

•I had been excited for this for WEEKS. I begged my mom to go with me, because no one else would. •She said yes and got the tickets ($20 each!!!) I was so happy •We asked my dad if he wanted to go with us but he said no. He kinda teased me about it and he keeps doing this to me still: "Newsies! 🤗" lmao (but I'm also like :/) •So my mom and I go on Thursday, getting there about 10-20 minutes before the show began. There was a big audience tbh (I told you mom lmao) •Oh BTW my mom hasn't seen/heard the Broadway version of Newsies before. She watched the 1992 movie back in December with me, and she was like, "It's ok" (I'm offended lol) •Anyway it starts exactly at 7 and man, my I am SHAKING with excitement and my heart is thumping 💓💓💓 •So Jeremy and Andrew are back as Jack and Crutchie! lil cuties •When Carrying the Banner started and all the boys were out I was like "MY KIDS" •I forgot that Ben Cooks (Racetrack) is only 19 so the pitch of his voice took me aback and I was like "he's 5" but I do love him as Race! •I love Katherine! I forgot how much alike we really are tbh 😂 •The Morris Bros were cute tbh but LEAVE MY SON(S) (CRUTCHIE) ALONE •DAVEY AND LES JACOBS. •Davey Jacobs is my Disney Prince tbh. And I love Ben Fankhauser. I told my pal if Ben wasn't Davey I was gonna be sad (I didn't realize that like, all of the OBC was back ok) •So yeah I love Davey with all my heart 💕 •ETHAN AS LES WAS SO ADORABLE. He stole the show. Everyone in the audience(s) love him. Also idk if it's because of the hair or not, but he lowkey reminded me of Dustin from Stranger Things •Davey's facial expressions / "That's disgusting" 😂 •I know we are supposed to hate Pulitzer or w/e but he was kinda funny lol •MEDDA!!!! •Lol one time I saw someone compare Medda Larkin and Donna Meagle and I was like "omg" bc I can see how. So now Retta has to be Medda in a next show or w/e •Also Medda is Jack's Mom. She's there for him and everything awe man I'm crying thinking about it!!!! She's a Mom when the boys/Katherine need her damn it I need to write about this now!!! •Davey and Les' culture shock/expressions watching the show •Katherine and Jack meeting again, and Jack is instantly heart eyes 😍 still •Katherine when she saw the sketch Jack drew/left for her •The World Will Know / Seize the Day are 2 of my fave songs from the musical btw •Oh and those two Newsies they got to join them??? I'm pretty sure one of them was a Crutchie because I recognized him but damn it I can't remember his name! •When Davey made Katherine upset I was like 😠 •Watch What Happens 👌 I love it •When Crutchie got taken to the Refuge 😔 •Jack's emotions coming out before intermission 😭😭😭

•There's a 15 min intermission so we all take a break. They show trivia and are playing the songs and 1) I get all the trivia right and 2) I'm singing along perfectly ok •My mom is like, ur a fucking nerd lol •I'm updating my pals/twitter and send my friends the "I'm crying in the club" meme bc fuck, I'm crying every 5 minutes. It's so good and I'm so happy

•So act 2 comes around •King of New York!!!! I had to dance to the '92 version of it for my tap class when I was...I'll say 12 years old. I'm p sure that's how I got into Newsies tbh but anyway.... •Oh and that Newsie they picked up too was all like "I WONT BE LAST IN LINE FOR THE TUB TONIGHT" I was weak 😂 •The show has a lot of fantastic one liners and dialogue tbh •Anyway Katherine's lil tap solo and she showed her undergarments I was like "ur so scandalous" LMFAO •Crutchie in the refugee 😭 •"Your friend -- Your BEST friend -- Your brother --" I cry every time 😭😭 •I love the Watch What Happens and yes, • 🎶 THE POOR GUYS HEAD IS SPINNING 🎶 •Did I mention how much I love Davey/Ben? Because I really do lol •lol remember when Katherine got in trouble with her dad? •but tbh it ain't so funny bc of what happened next, as in Jack came in, he finds out •Altho it was a lil funny bc how Pulitzer was about it lol •BTW I like Hannah a lot (she's the Supportive Aunt) and she reminded me of the mom off of Good Luck Charlie 😂 • 🎶 BROOKLYN'S HERE ‼️🎶 •That's another fave song awe they were so great •Newsies Rally: AKA Jack is a Fuckup because He Has a Heart of Gold •Also cute lil Davey tryna stand up (and succeeded in his own right) 👌 •Katherine and Jack meet up, make up, and kiss • 🎶 I HAVE SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN 🎶 •Jack and Katherine invented being in love •Once and For All is the BEST ensemble/song in the musical I'm sorry for telling the truth but DAMN it's amazing! •Oh and Katherine's rich pals helping out 👌👌👌 •I headcanon that the three of them grew up together (duh) and know each other because their dads are huge names (also duh) and the three of them act like siblings (that's the headcanon) •The crew marching up to Pulitzer. Boys outside, Jack v Pulitzer and all that •Teddy and Katherine are in the house •THEY WIN THE STRIKE YAY!!! •Pulitzer offers Jack a job because of his AMAZING ARTISTIC TALENT •"Why would i work for ur dad" "...u already work for him" •Medda/Teddy is my new otp 😂 •THE FINALE‼️ •Jack/Katherine kiss and the boys are shouting •That closing number 👌 •Fuck y'all, it was so damn good. Like I said, I was crying the entire time and I just LOVED IT. 14/10 stars. If ur able to, go see the last show this upcoming Wednesday. •BUT if u can't, I'm pretty sure it's confirmed that they'll release it on iTunes and Netflix, but I'm not sure when •That's it lol

#madison makes a text post #newsies #newsies 2017

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neighbourskid · 4 years

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Goodbye 2015! You sucked.

(original date: 29 December 2015)

Ah, it is that time of the year again. Christmas is over, the year slowly but surely coming to an end....

And yes, we are doing it again. Looking back on the year, seeing all that wasn't good, everything that sucked. We see it everywhere.

January: 2015 will be my year, I can feel it!

December: Oh, nevermind....

It's all over the social media. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr... we see it everywhere, from everybody.

But this year you will not hear it from me. I do, of course, agree. This year sucked. Most of it really. There were so many shitty things this year. All the killings of black people, the wars all over the world, the incidents in Paris... you name it, it probably happened.

But, as I said, you will not hear any complaining from me. No. I will look back at all the good things that happened this year. And now I should probably stop rambling about what I could do and get started. So, without further ado: My year in, well, I guess, numbers.

2015 in Movies

As you, my dear readers, have without doubt noticed, I have watched a few movies this year. Well, a few is quite understated. All in all I have been to the cinema 30 times since last December. Which, for most people, is a lot. At least most of my friends told me that I was, and I quote here, bonkers, out of my mind, crazy.. you get the feeling. A few also said they could not afford such extravagances. My answer was mostly, "me neither". But I did go, still.

So, here are the numbers. Since last December, I have-

been to the movies 30 times

seen 26 different movies

seen one movie 4 and another 2 times

seen 3 movies in one afternoon & 4 in one week

been to the movies with 14 different people

been to the movies 12 times on my own

been to 16 different cinemas

And those, my dear readers, are the movies I've seen:

It was a good year of cinema, I tell you. Very excited for next year. Can't wait to try beating my record. And I tell you, I will try. I will also try and watch the Award ceremonies. And watch the nominated movies beforehand. At least that is the plan.

But enough of movies and cinema now. Let's move on to the next category. Because besides sitting in cinemas all year, I have also read a couple of books. You who read my blog have, of course, noticed that.

2015 in Books

At the beginning of this year I planned to read 50 books for the '2015 Reading Challenge', but I guess I failed.

But I did read, mind you. A lot. For school mostly, but right after I graduated I started reading the books I actually wanted to read, the books I had at home for a long time but never read. I read novels, memoirs, short stories, biographies.. I read a lot. But I think I bought even more.

So I guess, these are my numbers for books. In 2015 I've read-

21 books

around 4.5k pages

13 books for school

7 German ones

11 English ones

3 French ones

This here are the books I've read:

I mostly enjoyed reading the books I read on my own terms. But 'Frankenstein', 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' and 'The Hound of Baskervilles', which I all read for school, were brilliant as well. I loved reading them. They were the most interesting ones I read for school.

'Die Macht der Drei' was honestly one of the worst books I've ever read. While discussing it with my teacher for the presentation I had to have about it, we mostly laughed about how bad it was. The story would have potential, mind you, but it was so badly written. It was horrible to read.

The French ones were acceptable, but I barely understood a thing.

Right now I'm still reading 'The Sherlockian' by Graham Moore (the great chap who wrote the academy award-winning screenplay for "The Imitation Game"), which is a brilliant book as well.

I'm hoping to read more in 2016, trying the challenge again, probably.

Mooooving on now. What else happened in 2015? Humm..... My shitty memory is quite challenging when it comes to such things. Well, how about a top ten of good things that happened? Yeah, sound like a good enough idea.

Top 10 Things of 2015

10. Getting my teeth. It should probably be further up the list, but idk. It was painful getting them, but it was worth it. I have them now, which is all that counts.

09. Watching the Oscars all alone in my bed, all night long and then going to school without having slept a second. It was a great night. I enjoyed that and I will be doing that again next year. The ceremony really touched me somehow. I loved it.

08. The summer camp "Connected" I helped organizing this year. It was amazing, we had a great time. And if you wanna know more about it, read the blog post I made about it.

07. Having made sure that my friend and I can go to San Diego next summer, around time for Comic-Con. I feel like this should be way up the list, but it's just the planning. I know that if I make a list at the end of 2016 it will grace the top of the list. It will probably be the list. But the planning alone is already motivating me like nothing else.

06. Probably graduating from my school? Like, that I made it, that I did not fail. It wasn't a particularly nice event, but hey, it happened. So the three years of, well, suffering, were worth it. I had fun at some of the exams, but that was an exception.

05. I went to the Europa Park in Germany with my friend and we had the best time ever. It was so much fun, I tell you. It was great being away from everything for two days and just enjoying the moment, being there without having to please any people, being able to just be ourselves. Sigh, I miss it.

04. The week me and my classmates spent in Calella, Spain the week after graduation. We had an amazing time there. It was a beautiful goodbye to these people. I really enjoyed myself there. It was great.

03. Going to the Cinema so much...I think. Yeah. It was great. I really liked that. I love the feeling of sitting among strangers, experiencing the same thing for 2.5 hours and then leaving. Not alone. But somehow as a group. It inspires me. Really does.

02. I will put 'Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter' on this place, because as much as it hurt my heart being there, as much as the nostalgic feeling was killing me inside...it was a truly amazing experience and I loved every second of it. It showed me what a tremendous impact Harry Potter had on my life, my childhood. J.K. Rowling formed so much of my life with her books. And I am very grateful for that. I nearly broke down into tears in the café of the studio, but it was....sigh, amazing. Truly was.

01. I knoooooooow it sound incredibly cheesy to put this on my place 1 of the top ten things that happened this year....but it was kinda the highlight. It really was. So, as you know, I've been to London this fall to watch Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet. And as brilliant as the play was (AND IT WAS ASTONISHING), my highlight happened three days later, when I went back to the Barbican, stood in the cold for what felt like forever to meet Benedict. And having this incredible man stand an arm's length away from me, smiling and looking at me was most definitely the best thing that happened this year.

Now that I have rambled on for, like, forever I will end this looking back post, with looking forward. Because that is something we all should do: Look forward. Not back. Don't dwell on past things. Don't drag yourself down for something that didn't work out the way you planned it. Look to the future. Keep moving forward!

The things I look forward to in 2016 are quite a few, I tell you. And I'd rather think about them, than about all the bad things that happened in 2015.

In 2016 I look forward to going to Letters Live! in March with a few of my friends. I look forward to maybe visiting my grandma's hometown in Italy. I look forward to our team weekend in February, our teenager party in April. I look forward to the two weeks my friend and I will be spending in San Diego next July. I look forward to meeting Zachary Levi. I look forward to starting my studies next Fall. I look forward to... 2016. And hopefully it will be a good year. Hopefully our world will come to good terms with itself. Hopefully some wars will end. Hopefully the refugee crisis will get a good solution. Hopefully, we can all be the best versions of ourselves. Hopefully we get to fulfil our dreams. Hopefully this will be our year!

And with that, my dear friends and readers, I wish you all a happy new year. I hope it will indeed be a happy new year for you.

With love,

Alex

#blog post #import from old blog #long post #2015 #end of year #movies #books #highligths

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joegraves15-blog · 5 years

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Burke: Rhetoric as Division

The question I will be trying to answer in this paper is How is Burke’s notion of the unification device evident in this artifact? How are each of the components at play? How is this particular use productive/unproductive? To answer these questions I will be looking at President Trump's speech at a rally in Minnesota on October 10. The unification device is one of President Trump's main tools of rhetoric. It was very much on display at his rally in Minnesota. Trump uses all four of Burke’s unification components to achieve his purpose. Trump uses the unification device productively ignorer to play to his base.

On October 10th President Trump, and Vice President Pence were on the campaign trail. On this particular day, they were holding a rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The President is begging his campaign for re-election and these rallies are one of the main way the President gets out his message. The President uses these rallies as a way to talk directly to his base of supporters.

The unification device is an idea brought up by Kenneth Burke after reading Hitler’s Mein Kampf (My Struggle). He theorizes that Hitler is unifying the German people by blaming the Jewish population for most of Germany's problems after WW1. Leaders have used this device throughout history. Protestants and Catholics always blamed each other in Northern Ireland. In the US, with a two-party system, we have built a system where the Unification device is somewhat always needed in politics. To be elected, you have to prove that the other parties isthe one causing problems, and you and your party is the one that can get the job done. Burke brings up four different components that make up the unification device, inborn dignity, a projection device, symbolic rebirth, and commercial use. Throughout the rest of the paper, we will look at how President Trump uses each of these components and the unification device overall.(Burke)

Both Republicans and Democrats use the unification device a lot while campaigning. They want to blame the other side for the countries problems while promoting their causes as the reason the country is good. President Trump uses the unification device a lot, especially in a speech at one of his latest rallies in Minnesota. The unification device is a very powerful rhetorical device, and it is used over and over again in this speech. In order to see how President Trump uses the unification device overallwe have to start by seeing how he uses each component.

The first component we will look at is the idea of inborn dignity. Burke describes inborn dignity as elevating one group of people as superior by birth. In the speech, The President hints many times that Americans are the most important people. He says “Our country is stronger than ever before because we are proudly putting, for the first time in a long time, we are putting America first.”(17:44) He also says when discussing refugees “We are keeping terrorists, criminals and extremists the hell out of our country.”(1:23:12). Obviously, as President, Trump is going to put Americans first, but he does seem overly dismissive of other countries and peoples. President Trump uses this to build up his supporters and give them the feeling that he is leading the superior group. American exceptionalism has always been a large part of our politics, and President Trump uses it to his advantage here.

The second component of the unification device is the projection device. Burke describes this as finding a scapegoat to blame your problems on. Trump has used many different groups as scapegoats throughout his presidency, but like most American politicians the opposite party arehis main scapegoats. For example, Trump says “In the twisted worldview of Democrats and the media, it’s okay for politicians to ship our jobs to foreign countries, flood our communities with drugs and crime, and enrich themselves at America’s expense.”(43:20) As we can see President Trump is clearly blaming the Democrats for some of the Country's major problems. While the problems themselves are very complex Trump uses the democrats to explain them. He is insinuating that if he had his way he could fix all the problems, but the Democrats are making that impossible. Trump goes on to say later in the speech “Democrats are on a crusade to destroy our democracy. That’s what’s happening. We will never let it happen. We will defeat them. I mean, look at their debates. These people are crazy”(31:50) Again Trump is scapegoating his political opponent for the problems in this country. This plays well with his base,and keeps people focused on the other sidesproblems not their own. Trump and most other politicians continuesto use this type of rhetoric to keep their bases happy.

The third component of the unification theory is symbolicrebirth. This is the part where Trump gives the peoplehope. He’s already made them feel superior, and he has scapegoated the problems on and easy enemy. Now he must show the people at the rally that he is the person who can make this country move forward. Trump says in his speech “So we have the greatest economy, the greatest military. We’ve rebuilt our military, $2. 5 trillion, because when I took it over, it was a mess”(28:51) Trump here is boasting his accomplishments and showing the people that he is the person to follow. Once again this is an oversimplification of his success but for his rhetoricit fits perfectly. He needs to be seen by his base that he is the person bringing positive changes to the country. The ishow he will be re-elected. He goes on to say “We believe that children should be taught to love our country, honor our history, and always respect our great American flag. And we live by the words of our great national motto, In God We Trust.”(1:52:55) Trump is saying to hibase that he will bring back “traditional values”. He will restore America to what some people believe it should be. This is a strong message for his base. Trump knows he needs to show people that he will bring these values to the forefront. He needs to be seen as the person who can save America.

The fourth and final component is commercial use. For the rhetoric to make sense you have to only target the people against you. You want to go after specific policies and people, to make sure you don't alienate people who might support you. He also needs to make sure he does not attack the countries values. He needs to put blame on people without blaming the institution. This to could keep him from being able to reach people. Trump is selling himself to the American people and needs to be able to gain as much support as possible for his upcoming election. For example “Trump says We are one movement, one people, one family, and one glorious nation under God. America is thriving like never before. And ladies and gentlemen of Minnesota, I will tell you this with great certainty, the best is yet to come.”(1:54:19) Trump continually highlights that we are unified, however, he spends much of the speech talking about how the Democrats are ruining his country. This is the careful tightrope The president has to walk in order to campaign. He doesn't want to alienate voters, but he needs them to blame other people for problems, and give him credit for strengths.

Trump's use of the unification theory is very effective. He is able to continue to hold onto his base because he uses the unification concepts so well. He is able to put himself, and America on a hill. He highlights American exceptionalism constantly, which hits big white his base. He also is able to push blame for most problems with the country onto his opponents. He is able to make it seem like he and his constituents are the only ones with real answers for the problems facing America. He also makes it seem like his opponents are actively fighting to make our country worse. Trump uses the unification theory very effectively, and it is a big reason why he was elected.

Chang Liu supports this argument in the paper Reviewing the Rhetoric of Donald Trump’s Twitter of the 2016 Presidential Election. In the paper, Chang looks through President Trump's twitter to find out how is rhetoric of Trump's twitter was effective in getting him elected President of the United States. Chang looks through all of Trump's tweets to find rhetorical patterns that were effective for him. On page 36 Chang writes “The logic of Trump is that the society is divided two groups into "we" and "they",and these two groups are opposite. Trump places himself in "we "group as well as Trump tells public that "they" are in charge now that leads to "our" anxiety and dissatisfaction, so "we" should unite and challenge the social order to ensure the "our" interests.”(Chang) Change is clearly showing us how Trump is using a projection device to get votes. He is insinuating that the Democrats are the they group. They are causing problems in this country. He is also using symbolic rebirth to show that he is the one who should be leading the we group. He is the leader that the we group can count on to deliver what they want.

Chang concludes the paper by saying “In this large-scale campaign, Trump shaped the unprecedented 'Trump phenomenon' with his unique communication skills. Meanwhile, it shows that proficient language and rhetoric skills are enough to make a politician who has no advantage in every respect become a double idol of politics and the public.”(39) Chang agrees with the assessment that Trump's rhetoric is extremely effective with the voters. Trump's use of the unification theory has allowed him to pull off a stunning upset in the presidential election and he has continued to use it to keep and try to grow his base.

In conclusion, Trump uses the unification device extremely effectively. He uses each component of the unification device to further his political ambitions. In this speech, we see all the unification device and all of its components in full swing. The speech is a very productive use of the unification device.

Link to speech: https://www.rev.com/blog/donald-trump-minnesota-rally-speech-transcript-minneapolis-mn-rally-october-10-2019

Bibliography

Chang, Liu. Reviewing the Rhetoric of Donald Trump's Twitter of the 2016 Presidential Election. Jönköping University, School of Education and Communication, HLK, Media and Communication Studies., 2017, http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:1117157&dswid=7307.

“Donald Trump Minnesota Rally Speech Transcript: Minneapolis, MN Rally October 10, 2019.” Rev, 11 Oct. 2019, https://www.rev.com/blog/donald-trump-minnesota-rally-speech-transcript-minneapolis-mn-rally-october-10-2019.

Burke, Kenneth. “The Rhetoric of Hitler's ‘Battle.’” Readings in Rhetorical Criticism, 1939, pp. 188–201.

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hellosaltysaladcollectionstuff · 5 years

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Back to Sundance we go for another year of discovery. What's on the line-up this year? Out of the 110+ films showing at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, I've chosen 10 that I'm looking forward to seeing the most. To keep things well balanced, I've chosen 5 feature films and 5 documentaries from the line-up. There are so many films playing at the fest, and so many I'll end up seeing (30+), that this is a quick list to get everyone acquainted with some of the work premiering in 2019 (I just want to go see everything). There are new films from filmmakers like Ritesh Batra and Lulu Wang, and incredible documentaries that are also worthy of our attention, plus many other films. You never really know what will good or bad, but here's my first few picks.

This is my 13th year in a row returning to Sundance, starting back in 2007. I'm so excited to be attending Sundance once again, and can't wait to dive into the films more than anything. There's so many I am curious to watch from this year's line-up. For now, here's my Top 10 most anticipated films before the fest begins.

Alex's Most Anticipated \Sundance 2019/ Feature Films:

Hala Directed by Minhal Baig

I've been following filmmaker Minhal Baig (mostly on Twitter @minhalbaig) for a while now, and she is ready to finally break out big and show everyone how talented she really is. Hala is her second feature film following her debut 1 Night, and it's much more personal this time. The story is about a Muslim teenager named Hala - played by Geraldine Viswanathan - who lives in Chicago with her immigrant parents from Pakistan. There she copes with the unraveling of her family as she comes into her own. It's a coming-of-age story but told from an entirely different angle that we rarely see, as Sundance explains that Baig "brings a vital and layered female perspective to the coming-of-age genre." They add that she "crafts a character and story with immense relatability and unexpected consequence." I've been looking forward to seeing this ever since I first heard about it, and I'm excited that it's finally ready to premiere at Sundance. Congrats, Minhal.

Photograph Directed by Ritesh Batra

Back in 2013, I fell in love with a little film called The Lunchbox, starring Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur. After making two other English-language films, Our Souls at Night and The Sense of an Ending (both from 2017), filmmaker Ritesh Batra returns to his roots and his hometown in India with Photograph. Set in Mumbai, the film is about a struggling street photographer, pressured to marry by his grandmother, who convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develops a connection that transforms them in ways that they could not expect. As a photographer myself, I'm already intrigued. But I've also got a good feeling this might be a magical, lovely new film from Ritesh Batra and I'm looking forward to seeing where he takes us. If it's anywhere close to as sweet and as honest as The Lunchbox was, it will be another instant favorite.

Little Monsters Directed by Abe Forsythe

There's always one or two films in the Midnight section that I have to see, just because they sound so crazy and fun. Little Monsters is exactly one of those that I'm going to stay up late to watch. Described as a "film dedicated to all the kindergarten teachers who motivate children to learn, instill them with confidence, and stop them from being devoured by zombies." The massively talented Lupita Nyong'o stars as that teacher, taking on an extra bloody role that will hopefully allow her to show off more of her badass side. Plus there's always room for more zombies movies, right? Why not, they're always entertaining. "Armed only with the resourcefulness of kindergartners, [they] must work together to keep the monsters at bay and carve a way out with their guts intact." I'm fairly certain this will be a good one, especially with the late night audience.

I Am Mother Directed by Grant Sputore

One of the few sci-fi films playing at Sundance, which means I have to see it no matter what. But it also looks and sounds compelling. I Am Mother features a robot designed by Weta Workshop in New Zealand, and marks the directorial debut of an award-winning commercials director from Australia named Grant Sputore. And yes, the story seems quite promising. A teenage girl is raised underground by a kindly robot "Mother" - designed to repopulate the earth following the extinction of humankind. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger arrives with alarming news. This reminds me a bit of Moon (which premiered at Sundance 2009) mashed up with other sci-fi concepts. The robot's design is familiar but sleek, and the handful of images they've released so far all look better than expected. Don't let me down, Sputore.

Velvet Buzzsaw Directed by Dan Gilroy

So, this looks awesome! And totally insane! And weird, and captivating, and funny, and twisted, and sly, and wicked, and frightening. Velvet Buzzsaw is the latest film written & directed by Dan Gilroy, a screenwriter who turned director (or perhaps became a true auteur) making his debut with Nightcrawler in 2014, and following that up with Roman J. Israel, Esq. in 2017. This time he attacks the art world, with a film that seems to be about pieces of art coming to life and killing people. Something like that. The cast also is quite impressive: Jake Gyllenhaal, John Malkovich, Toni Collette, Rene Russo, Daveed Diggs. And this looks like the perfect follow-up to Ruben Östlund's Palme d'Or winning film The Square, with both films mocking and lambasting the absurdity of the modern art world. I'm so there. Watch the official trailer here.

More Feature Films I'm Looking Forward To Seeing: Lulu Wang's The Farewell, Rashid Johnson's Native Son, Paul Downs Colaizzo's Brittany Runs A Marathon, Nisha Ganatra's Late Night, David Wnendt's The Sunlit Night, Makoto Nagahisa's funky We Are Little Zombies, Noble Jones' The Tomorrow Man, Bert&Bertie's Troop Zero, JD Dillard's Sweetheart, Patrick Brice's Corporate Animals, Tayarisha Poe's Selah and the Spades, Daniel Scheinert's The Death of Dick Long, and May el-Toukhy's Queen of Hearts.

Alex's Most Anticipated \Sundance 2019/ Documentaries:

Memory: The Origins of Alien Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe

A documentary about the making of Ridley Scott's original Alien! Say no more, I'm already there, I wouldn't miss this for anything. This is the latest doc film made by Swiss filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe, who has been making docs about cinema and filmmaking for a while - including The People vs. George Lucas, and 78/52: Hitchcock's Shower Scene just before. I'm curious how much this will cover and how much it will uncover. It seems to focus more on how they came up with the original ideas and designs for the film, less so the filming or release. "Philippe's real interest lies in the deep resonance of myths and our collective unconscious. The strange symbiotic collaboration between Alien creators [Dan] O'Bannon, Scott, and H.R. Giger suggests a greater synchronicity across history, art, and storytelling, a synchronicity that gives us the Furies, creatures of Renaissance painting, and even chest-bursting aliens." Sounds damn good, right?

Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements Directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky

Another documentary that sounds exceptionally unique. The short Sundance description grabbed me right away: "A deeply personal portrait of three lives, and the discoveries that lie beyond loss: a deaf boy growing up, his deaf grandfather growing old, and Beethoven the year he was blindsided by deafness and wrote his iconic sonata." It's a multi-generational portrait of people dealing with deafness, capturing the complexity of silence and hearing. And I am more than intrigued to find out how filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky (of Hear and Now previously) examines these themes and weaves these three stories together. Sundance talks it up even more in their description of the film: "Brodsky explores the meaning of deafness, loss, and the power of silence as her son discovers his unique voice and her parents confront a new chapter of their lives," adding that it's "buoyed by a perceptive soundscape and luminous animation." I really want to see this doc.

Midnight Traveler Directed by Hassan Fazili

There's always a remarkable doc discovery, or two, hidden in the Sundance line-up telling an unforgettable story from somewhere else around the world. Read about this film and you'll instantly get a feeling that it's going to be something special. Midnight Traveler is a documentary made by a filmmaker from Afghanistan, Hassan Fazili, who flees his home country and takes us on a perilous journey with his wife and two young daughters as they travel as refugees across Europe searching for a new home. It seems to be a very personal, inside look at the life of a family just trying to surviving on the run from certain death. "Chronicling every step from inside the action", Fazili's camera captures "not only the danger and desperation but also the exuberance and tenderness of this irresistible, loving family." Just look at that shot of them all in the snow above! They seem so loving, wonderful, and authentic. I want to see this just to meet and learn about them.

Apollo 11 Directed by Todd Douglas Miller

I'm a space nerd. I'm a big time fan of NASA. I'm surprised we haven't seen a documentary like this before, but I guess In the Shadow of the Moon is close (focusing on all of the Apollo missions). And I loved Damien Chazelle's First Man, which is also about Apollo 11, so I'm totally ready for this next. The documentary is purported to be an exhilarating cinematic experience, something that demands to be seen on the big screen. NASA has been digging out old footage and photographs and other artifacts from the vaults, putting all of the original footage from the Apollo 11 mission online + uncut audio recordings and more. Produced by CNN Films and Statement Pictures, this film "features never-before-seen, large-format film footage of one of humanity's greatest accomplishments." Oh yes. Can't wait to experience this. Watch the teaser trailer here.

Hail Satan? Directed by Penny Lane

A documentary about the rise of the Satanic Temple religious movement? I'm certainly curious. And it's the latest doc film made by Penny Lane - a quietly talented, quirky, fun filmmaker behind other fantastically weird documentaries like Our Nixon, The Pain of Others, and Nuts! (about a guy who sold people a goat-testicle impotence cure - it premiered at Sundance 2016). I don't know how deep this is going to go, but I am intrigued to find out. Sundance references this eye-brow-raising part of the Satanic Temple's history in their description: "Through their dogged campaign to place a nine-foot, bronze Satanic monument smack dab next to the statue of the Ten Commandments on the Arkansas State Capitol lawn, the leaders of the temple force us to consider the true meaning of the separation of church and state." Sounds like something I have to see for myself, at the very least because no one else is making films about this fascinating topic anyway.

More Documentaries I'm Looking Forward To Seeing: Kenneth Paul Rosenberg's Bedlam, Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert's American Factory, Ben Berman's Amazing Johnathan Documentary, Ljubomir Stefanov & Tamara Kotevska's Honeyland, Petra Costa's Edge of Democracy, Garret Price's Love Antosha, Hepi Mita's Merata: How Mum Decolonised The Screen, Karim Amer & Jehane Noujaim's The Great Hack, Ursula Macfarlane's Untouchable, and Alex Gibney's latest The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.

For all of Alex's Sundance 2019 reviews and updates: Follow @firstshowing

For more Sundance 2019 previews around the web, highlighting early picks and potential breakouts, see: The Film Stage's 20 Most-Anticipated Premieres, and Indiewire's 21 Must-See Films At This Year's Festival. You never know what might be a big hit, and it's vital to have a pulse on the buzz – even before the festival starts. There's plenty of exciting and hopefully superb gems hidden in the 2019 line-up, bring on the films.

You can follow our Sundance 2019 coverage and updates in this category. The festival kicks off January 24th and runs until February 3rd, with lots of films to see every day. Let's jump right in and start watching.

from FirstShowing.net http://bit.ly/2FGN8w1

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beyondforks · 7 years

Text

Book Review: Emerge by Tobie Easton

Emerge (Mer Chronicles #1) by Tobie Easton Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy Romance) Date Published: April 19, 2016 Publisher: Month9Books, LLC

Lia Nautilus may be a Mermaid but she’s never lived in the ocean. Ever since the infamous Little Mermaid unleashed a curse that stripped Mer of their immortality, war has ravaged the Seven Seas. Now Lia lives in a secret community of land-dwelling Mer hidden among Malibu’s seaside mansions and attends high school with humans. To protect everyone around her, she must limit her contact with non-Mer. No exceptions. But when the new girl sets her sights on Lia's crush, she will risk exposing her deadly secret to stop Clay from falling in love with the wrong girl.

Emerge is the first book in the Mer Chronicles series by Tobie Easton. I'm in love with this world already. Lia is a descendant of the Little Mermaid. I'm not talking about the Disney little Mermaid either. Hans Christian Anderson got it closer to the truth according to these mermaids. Plus, the author added her own touches on the story that really brought it to life and gave it depth. For example, the story on how they got legs, the curse, and details on the "real" Little Mermaid. Their world intrigues me. Was it predictable? Yeah.. maybe at times. But, it was fun, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were lovable. There was humor, drama, suspense, and of course some romance. Speaking of romance, What about Caspian? I like Clay and all. So, I'm not throwing him to the sharks, but I felt like there was some chemistry with Caspian as well. Is it just me? I hope he gets his happily ever after. I'm pumped to get started on the second book. In fact, I'm going to read it now!

Emerge by Tobie Easton was kindly provided to me by Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

Chapter 1 I can’t swim. No matter how sparkly and tempting that water is. No matter how it glistens in the sunlight, ripples in the California breeze, or reflects the swaying palm trees. One quick dip and my legs will go poof. Besides, I’m late for P.E. Again. I run past the swimming pool and heave open the glass doors to the auditorium. I can’t keep relying on the twins to get me to school on time. I’ve got to learn to drive, but I need better control of my legs first. What dope thought giving a car foot controls was a good idea? All my classmates turn to stare, already in gym clothes. We finished volleyball last week—thank the tides!—so today we’re starting a new unit. About half the class wears P.E. shorts and t-shirts and stands near the entrance to the yoga studio. The other half mill around in bathing suits. So lucky. I scan the room for the coach. If she’s not here yet, I can pop into the locker room and be in yoga before she knows I’m tardy. I rush toward the changing rooms, salvation in sight, when out marches a woman whose long blond hair is at odds with her bulging muscles.Coach Crane. She was a professional wrestler on one of those gladiator shows in the eighties, and her biceps are bigger than my head. She stops in front of me, her massive frame towering over mine. “So nice of you to show up.” A drop of her spittle lands on my cheek, and I scrunch my nose, unable to wipe it off without her noticing. “I’m super sorry. My sisters—” “Hurry up and change,” she says, stalking past me. Phew!Maybe this day won’t be a total shipwreck after all. Then she adds, “Put on your bathing suit. You’ll be in swim class today.” I spin around. “What? I’m signed up for y-yoga, not swimming,” I say. Stay calm. “Yoga’s full up. You have a swimsuit, don’t you? It’s on your list of required materials.” I have a swimsuit in my locker, but it’s for show. No matter what happens, I can’t get into that pool. Sure, I can maintain my legs all day on land, but as soon as I hit the water, my natural instincts will take over. My tail will emerge, scales and all, and I’ll expose my whole family. I’ll put the entire Community of land-dwelling Mer refugees at risk. My breath comes in quick, shallow pants. “My mom filed a note in the office,” I say, clinging to the story my parents concocted for such an emergency. “I’m taking private swimming lessons with this coach my parents hired and I’m not supposed to have any outside instruction.” Rather than help me, this story makes Coach Crane’s nostrils flare. “I haven’t seen any note, so today you’re swimming. Now go change. I’m not going to tell you again.” “No.” Did I just say that? Hands cup over mouths as the room erupts in whispers. No one gets why I’m making a fuss. I wish Caspian were here. What I wouldn’t give for one other Mer who’d understand. “I’m not swimming.” I’ve never disobeyed a teacher before. But as much as Coach Crane scares me, that water scares me more. If I swim in the pool, the next place I’ll be swimming is a government laboratory tank, being poked and prodded and then chopped into sushi-sized pieces.“Please. My parents’ll kill me. And I just got over the flu,” I lie, floundering for a good excuse. “Listen up … ” the coach sticks one meaty finger in my face.Panic seizes me, and my legs tremble. My control over them is slipping. At this rate, I won’t even need to get in the water to reveal myself. If I lose my focus, I’ll be flat on my fins. “Coach Crane?” One of the guys steps forward from the group of yoga students. Clay. His dark hair shines under the fluorescent lights as he shoots me a reassuring smile. “She can take my spot in yoga. I have swim trunks.” “Clay, that’s not necessary. She needs to—” “I’d rather go swimming.” He cuts the coach off, determination in his hazel eyes. Twenty pairs of restless feet tap against the rubber floor. I’m holding everyone up. Then a sweet, chirpy voice pipes up from the throng by the doors. “At this rate, none of us will get to do anything.Can’t Lia and Clay just switch already?” It’s Kelsey, my closest human friend. She twists one of her corkscrew curls around her finger and stares blatantly at the clock. Coach Crane looks from the clock ticking away on the wall to me to Clay and back to me. “Fine. Ericson,” she motions to Clay, “go get into your trunks. And you,” she pins me with a fierce glare, “go change into your gym uniform. You’d better be in that studio doing downward dog in less than five minutes.”

Tobie Easton was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where she’s grown from a little girl who dreamed about magic to a twenty-something who writes about it. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California, Tobie hosts book clubs for tweens and teens. She and her very kissable husband enjoy traveling the globe and fostering packs of rescue puppies. To learn more about Tobie Easton and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

#Emerge #Mer Chronicles #Tobie Easton #Mermaids #fantasy romance #book review #excerpt #young adult

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teamgoatsgoatsgoats · 7 years

Video

youtube

Inside the World’s Greatest Scavenger Hunt, David Pogue - Yahoo Finance. A great piece on GISHWHES from 2016 - with some past Goats! clips!

Video and text compiled and reposted here for preservation as some of the links have broken on a few of the pages. The links to each part are here:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

David Pogue, Tech Critic, published April-May 2017

“It’s a tampoodle,” she told me.

She made this, uh, artwork as an audition piece—to showcase her creative skills, as a tryout for an elite team in some kind of national scavenger hunt. (She made the team.)

I thought the tampoodle was cute. I thought it was great fun that Tia was joining some kind of scavenger hunt.

I had no idea what kind of ride was ahead.

Meet GISHWHES

When most people think of a scavenger hunt, they probably imagine the list of items includes, you know, “Get the dean’s signature” or “Find a dog with a curly tail.”

GISHWHES is not that.

It stands for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. (Its creator acknowledges GISHWHES may be the Ugliest Acronym the World Has Ever Seen.)

Teams of 15 have one week to complete about 200 extremely difficult or hilarious tasks. They prove they’ve completed each item by submitting a photo or video of it; their $20 entry fees go to a charity, and the winning team gets a trip to some exotic location with Misha Collins, the hunt’s founder.

Sample items from past GISHWHES lists:

• Do a dramatic reading of your grade-school report card.

• Find someone you love and butter them up—literally. Cover them in butter and then give them a big hug.

• Glaciers are melting—so act accordingly. Pose at a major glacier wearing a swimsuit with floaties.

• Have a tea party with a pediatric cancer patient, where you’re dressed as a character from “Alice in Wonderland.”

• Tour a sewage treatment plant dressed in formal attire with an accompanying violinist or flutist.

• Get a child to write a letter to the universe. Launch the letter into orbit.

• Film an erotically charged conversation between a housewife and pizza delivery man. The actors can ONLY talk about grammar and fonts.

What astonished me is what a big deal GISHWHES is. Last year, 55,000 people registered to participate—not including all the friends and family members who lent favors, assistance, and props. (Registration for this year’s hunt opens this week.)

GISHWHES holds seven Guinness World Records, including Biggest Media Scavenger Hunt, Largest Online Photo Album of Hugs, Longest Chain of Safety Pins, Most Pledges for a Charitable Campaign, and Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits. (Why is there a Guinness record for Largest Gathering of People in French Maid Outfits!?)

But in the end, GISHWHES is an event that does good in the world. Over the years, GISHWHES list items have persuaded players to a) raise over $1 million for charity, b) donate hundreds of thousands of pints of blood, c) volunteer at soup kitchens, d) register thousands of citizens to vote, and e) register to become bone-marrow donors. (That last item has already saved two lives, according to GISHWHES producers.)

And the 2016 hunt raised $250,000 to buy homes for five Syrian refugee families.

So yes, GISHWHES is a do-gooder enterprise. But it’s also brilliantly clever, gut-bustingly funny, and positively unforgettable.

So my question is: Why haven’t people heard of GISHWHES? Why isn’t it a cultural thing?

Why isn’t it, at the very least, a reality show? It’d be the most entertaining show on TV.

Well, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. With the tolerance of my superiors at Yahoo, I decided to make my own darned reality show. Above on this page is Episode 1 of a five-part series.

GISHWHES was created, and is run to this day, by TV actor Misha Collins, a costar of the CW series “Supernatural.” (His heartthrob status helps explain why GISHWHES participants are predominantly female.)

“I went to the University of Chicago,” he told me. “The University of Chicago has a scavenger hunt that we call Scav, that has been running about 30 years now. It took place over the course of a long weekend. We would completely abandon our academics and our sense of decency for those three days, and go all-out for this scavenger hunt. And I loved it. I actually think that it was one of the most educational aspects of my college experience, and infused with the most joy.”

Years later, after a decade of struggling as an actor in Los Angeles, Collins finally landed a show. “I got on this TV show ‘Supernatural,’ and I developed a little bit of a fandom following, and I started to notice that there was a high level of creative engagement from our fans. That got my wheels turning. What can I do with this? How can I have fun with it?”

Collins’s first side project with his fans was a charity called Random Acts. “We’ve done some pretty big projects. We built an orphanage in Haiti; we’re finishing building a high school in Nicaragua right now. But we also do myriad smaller projects all over the world—as small as bringing roses into a senior citizen home.”

Then, in 2009, as a lark, Collins ran a little scavenger hunt from his Twitter account. About 300 people participated; they were instructed to photograph their submissions and send them to an email address that Collins set up.

“People engaged in it with an enthusiasm and a committedness that I could not’ve anticipated,” he says now. “I remember sitting in my apartment, looking at the submissions that had come in, and thinking, ‘This is amazing!’ The art people were creating, the tasks that I thought were impossible that people were pulling off—! I remember, ‘This is what I wanna do for my life’s work. This is awesome.’”

And so, in 2010, GISHWHES was born.

For the 2016 hunt, I embedded myself with my daughter’s GISHWHES team for the week. I filmed their efforts and followed their frustrations and joys. In the coming episodes, you’ll get to meet them—and you’ll get go to inside world’s biggest scavenger hunt.

Part 2: The hunt begins

At 7:30 am on a bright Saturday morning, five members of Team Raised from Perdition gather near San Francisco. (The team name quotes the first line of dialogue ever spoken by Misha Collins on the cult hit show “Supernatural,” now in its twelfth season. He’s GISHWHES’s creator and organizer.)

The other 12 members of the team join by video conference, via Google Hangouts, from their homes in Florida, Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Brazil.

Although this is the team’s third year in the hunt, most have never met in person. They’ve never been all in one place. That’s typical for teams in this hunt, which is very much a creation of the Internet.

Jason Sarten, an opera singer, reads off this year’s list, which includes items like:

Get dental work done while a string quartet plays live music in the room.

Enjoy some green eggs and ham (sunny-side up) on a boat with a goat.

Provide evidence of having helped at least 10 eligible United States citizens to register to vote.

Paint a portrait of a live model while both you and the model are scuba diving.

Get an Amazon senior executive to order a small item from you, in a timestamped email. Using a drone, deliver the item to the executive (who must be waiting outside the office building) in less than one hour.

Over 3,000 teams sign up to play GISHWHES each year, and there are nearly as many styles of running the hunt. On some teams, there’s nobody in charge. On others, there’s a captain who organizes but doesn’t actually perform any of the items. Flake-outs—people who say they’ll participate, but are no-shows when the hunt begins—are a common problem.

Team Raised from Perdition is run by a pair of co-captains, Nina Mostepan and Geoff McAnally, who also perform tasks. (In real life, Mostepan teaches at an Early Start program for the deaf and hard of hearing, and McAnally is an American sign language interpreter.)

The corn-husk gown

One reason Raised From Perdition starts off the week with a group pow-wow: To let the team members claim the items they’re good at.

For example, in Vancouver, Rob Fitz-James and Shiane Gailey live together and compete together. (He owns a tree stump-removal company; she’s a children’s entertainer.)

They have radically different skills. “We work well as a team because I’m outgoing and I’ll go and do stuff in person; she’s able to manage social media, uploading, and photo and video editing,” Rob says.

Shiane, fortunately for the team, is also wildly creative. After the hunt-launch meeting, she jumps on item 23: “Make this year’s must-have fashion statement: the Corn Husk Evening Wear!”

Rob persuades a local thrift shop to donate a Justin Bieber bedsheet. (“Thankfully, someone grew out of a horrible phase in their life,” he says.) Shiane duct-tapes corn husks to a hoop skirt—well, the front half, the part that would be visible in the photo. “Then we spray-painted it red and yellow to make flames, and then we went downtown,” she says. “I assembled that thing onto myself in a fancy part of time, and took the picture at the Convention Center. (We got permission, of course.)”

There were funny looks, she says, but she checked off item 23 as completed on the team’s master Google Sheets spreadsheet.

The space balloon

Meanwhile, in Connecticut, Tia is struggling with item 153: “Secure a legitimate contract with Space X, NASA, etc., to send a message into space, addressed to the universe and written by a child. You must submit evidence that your payload was successfully launched into orbit.”

It sounds impossible. Like NASA is going to carry a scavenger-hunt player’s note into space on short notice?

No wonder item 153 is worth more points (314) than anything else on the list.

Frantic, Tia Googles until she comes across a British company called SentIntoSpace.com. They sell near-space helium balloon kits to schools, hobbyists, marketers, and filmmakers, including everything they need to send small payloads into near space. Incredibly, the company responds to her email and agrees to donate a balloon to the cause.

The launch goes well; the landing, not so much. Upon its return from space, the balloon blows off course and becomes ensnared high in the treetops of a dense, mountainous forest.

Tia and her team of friends search until nightfall, following the signals of the satellite tracker in the payload box—but can’t find the thing. And without recovering the two GoPro cameras in its payload box, she won’t have the footage of space she needed.

And without that—no credit for item 153, and little chance of winning GISHWHES. Deeply discouraged, she returns home.

When things go wrong

Item 153 isn’t the only GISHWHES item that’s ever gone wrong. Almost every year, an item or two disappears from the list after the hunt is under way. That’s when GISHWHES mastermind Misha Collins realizes too late that he’s created a dangerous or foolhardy challenge.

“There have been people who have been arrested and court martialed and injured during the course of various GISHWHES over the years,” he says. “The second year, we had an item on the list that was, ‘Wrap yourself up in Christmas-tree lights. Plug them in and stand on the roof of a house.’

“And the very first day of the hunt, some of the submissions came in. And one of them was a photo of somebody standing on the peak of a three-story house, right at the edge, on the eave, completely entangled and ensnared in Christmas tree lights. And I immediately thought, ‘WHAT HAVE WE DONE?! There is no way that we can run this scavenger hunt and have somebody not perish from this item!’

“So I immediately sent out an e-mail saying, ‘Do not do the Christmas-tree lights on the roof item! Terrible idea.’

“And so that was sort of an ‘Aha!’ moment for me when I realized, ‘Oh, there are a lot of people who are doing whatever I say. I can’t just come up with whatever pops into my head and have them carry it out.”

The hunt is on

In 100 countries around the world, teams are sacrificing sleep, health, and me time as they scramble to knock off items on the list.

More or less simultaneously, they’re all discovering what Team Raised from Perdition has learned: that it’s very hard to get an item into orbit on short notice, that goats don’t much enjoy floating in boats, and that Amazon.com has no intention of permitting its executives to participate in item 161.

Join us for Part 3 of this series, which dives into the charitable side of GISHWHES—and documents the biggest water-balloon battle ever staged.

Well, in San Francisco.

In Dolores Park.

That we know of.

Part 3: GISHWHES for Good

Each August, as the world’s largest scavenger hunt is under way, the general public is usually unaware—except when teams perform their tasks in public places. Recent tasks have included:

Hug someone you love, motionless, in a very crowded location, for 20 minutes without moving—and time-lapse it.

Stand in a crowded public place. Ask people to sign a petition to Save The Endangered Unicorns.

Get everyone on a subway, bus, or train car to sing “Over the River and Through the Woods.” There must be at least 8 passengers (random commuters, not your friends).

But each year, the list also includes challenges to perform acts of kindness. For example:

Write and mail a thank-you letter to a teacher or mentor from your past that you never sufficiently thanked.

Have a tea party with a special-needs child or pediatric cancer patient, dressed as a character from “Alice in Wonderland.”

More than 10% of veterans returning from war suffer post-traumatic stress syndrome. Post an image of you next to an armed serviceman, with you holding up a sign with a message of gratitude to them and soldiers worldwide.

But for hunt creator Misha Collins (a star of the WB series “Supernatural”), neither GISHWHES nor acting were part of his life’s original master plan.

“[After college,] my objective was to go to law school and somehow try to make a positive impact on the world,” he says. “I thought probably the best way to do that was to go into politics. This was, you know, my 20-year-old brain.

“I was interning at the White House, but I just didn’t love the machine that I saw. I was very naive. I was exposed to this weird environment of, like, nepotism and yea-saying that I wasn’t inspired by.”

So he switched paths.

“I had this great get-rich-quick/make-an-impact scheme: ‘I’ll just go to Hollywood and I’ll become an actor and I’ll get famous enough that I can then leverage that celebrity into doing things.’”

Off he went to Los Angeles. “I thought, like, I’d be the next Leonardo DiCaprio in a couple of months. It took me 10 years to get on a TV show.

“And once I’d achieved a certain modicum of, you know, C-list celebrity, that desire to try to use my celebrity for some other purpose resurfaced.”

GISHWHES was born: a list littered with acts of kindness that tens of thousands of players attempt to fulfill every August.

Crowdsourcing for refugees

In the most recent hunt, item 175 is a perfect example:

“#175. According to the United Nations, 4.8 million people have fled Syria since the civil war began in 2011. Many of these families are living in tent cities with few resources and difficult lives. Let’s change the lives of one family that’s in particularly dire circumstances. The GISHWHES Item is to create a fundraising page for your team, where family, friends and others can donate.”

“We identified one particular family with a heartbreaking story. The mom had been shot in the spine tending to her garden. She was paralyzed, she’s been in a bed in this tent for two years. And we said, let’s just change this one family’s circumstances,” Collins says. “Let’s get them a house, and let’s get her medical care, and let’s pay for the kids’ school. And I woke up the next morning to see, oh my god!”

By week’s end, GISHWHES teams had raised close to $250,000.

“So we added another family, and another and another—by the end of the hunt, we materially changed the lives of four different families. We’ve been getting photos from these families, like them moving into their apartments that we just paid for. It’s just such a lovely thing to be a part of.”

The space balloon, continued

For Team Raised From Perdition, though, there are 174 other items to complete if they hope to win.

My daughter, Tia, also participated in GISHWHES. Several days have passed since she launched a weather balloon into space, bearing a child’s note to the universe. It came down into a nearly inaccessible Connecticut forest; she’s unable to retrieve it even after hours of searching. Item 175 is worth more points than anything else in the hunt; for her team, it will have to be marked “incomplete.”

But teammate Christine has no intention of giving up on the balloon’s precious footage. She tells Tia that she’ll just drive over to the forest to help look for it.

From Chicago.

Fifteen hours later, she, her husband Vince, and their children arrive, laden with gear. After hours of shaking, throwing things at, and yanking at trees, Christine’s 13-year-old son Josh climbs the tree. After an hour and a half, he dislodges the balloon. Item 175 is in the can!

The Haves and the Have-Nots

Not everything on the GISHWHES list is as exasperating as lost space balloons. Item 15, for example, sounds like fun:

#15. This is the final showdown between the Haves and the Have-nots. Show up at Dolores Park in San Francisco, dressed either as executives or in blue-collar apparel. At exactly 12:10 PM, the ultimate water balloon battle will ensue.

Nearly a thousand Gishers show up. They stand in two long lines, facing off across the park. They’ve taken the day off from work, driven for hours, even flown to San Francisco for this battle.

At the stroke of noon, GISHWHES volunteer Tone Rawlings raises her megaphone, ready to announce the open-fire.

But at that moment, a San Francisco park ranger runs onto the field.

Ranger: “Hold on! Hold on! You can’t do this! Not without a permit! Anytime you have X amount of people in a park, you have to have a permit.”

“This is like a 10-minute situation for charity,” Tone pleads. “It’s a flash-mob type situation.”

“Yeah, you guys can’t do it without a permit.” (A CBS News camera picked up the audio.)

The two armies can’t hear this, but they see that there’s a problem. It’s not the first time that GISHWHES stunts have tested the patience of society’s overseers.

Will they be deprived of their balloon battle because of paperwork?

Suddenly, a second park manager arrives.

Incredibly, he’s persuaded. “Here’s the thing,” he says. “You have enough people to get this cleaned up?”

“I will personally guarantee it,” Tone says.

“You should have a permit. But if you can make an announcement like that, and get everyone to agree, then OK.”

Tone lifts her megaphone.

“I know and you know that you guys are going to be responsible for these pieces of balloon when this fight is over! Is that right?”

The crowd roars in agreement.

“This can’t happen…unless you guys repeat after me: I solemnly pledge to pick up every last piece of balloony plastic thing on the ground! And I will throw it all away in the proper receptacles!”

The crowd roars.

“Haves and Have-Nots… Commence the water-balloon melee!”

The battle is on.

This time, at least, the forces of merry mayhem win the day.

Part 4: How to Win GISHWHES

In the early years of the world’s largest scavenger hunt, when you signed up to enter, you’d have to answer only one question: Have you put together your own team of 15 people? Or would you like us to add you to a team?

But sometimes, the team-building system failed—because people came in with different expectations.

Florida State University students Nat Jones and Kira Sullivan, for example, had a rough ride during their first years competing. “In our first years of the hunt, we were on teams that weren’t as competitive as the one we’re on now [Team Raised from Perdition],” Kira says.

“We were in it to win it, but no one else on our team was,” Nat adds. “They saw us as too competitive: ‘Why are you guys so obsessed with GISHWHES?’”

(Lots of people join just for the hilarity of it, without any intention of completing all 175 items. Some, for example, choose to execute only a few, but in spectacular fashion. GISHWHES offers two showcases for such masterpieces: an online Hall of Fame, and a hardbound coffee-table book that’s published after each year’s hunt.)

That’s why, nowadays, when you sign up to enter, the site asks which kind of team you’re interested in. Do you intend to play competitively, or are you joining just for fun?

Tips from the Pros

If you do intend to enter GISHWHES competitively, Team Raised from Perdition—a runner-up last year, and the team we’ve been following in this miniseries—offers some tips.

“Fill the team with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Spend some time bonding before the hunt.” —Suzanne Simpson

“You can’t win if everyone’s not 100% committed. I’m talking, no work for the whole week, no school for the whole week, no anything but GISHWHES for the whole week.” —Nina Mostepan, Co-Captain

“Another really essential skill to have in GISHWHES is the ability to not sleep for long periods of time. This year, I went for three and a half days on less than four hours of sleep.” —Christine Gervais

“A lot of teams struggle with keeping communications going. We talk to our team all the time [using a system like Slack or Google Hangouts]. Even all year long, we talk to them. We do a lot of practices, too.” —Shiane Gaylie

“Strategize in advance. You can look at past years’ item lists, and items created by top teams, for inspiration.” —Suzanne Simpson

“A good strategy is to have more than one person in a town. You have to have someone modeling, and someone taking the pictures. And someone to bounce ideas off of, or talk in the car on the way to the place you’re going to.” —Nat Jones

“Recruit a friend or family. Gishing is very social, so it’s always more fun if you have someone to do it with.” —Kira Sullivan

“We have a spreadsheet [a Google Docs sheet] full of all our items, and we claim them on the spreadsheet, so that everyone on the team knows who’s doing what.” —Shiane Gaylie

“We make up a laminated list of the items. So when we’re talking to someone about helping us with one of the challenges, we start by handing them the list, show them which item we need help with. It has explanations of everything that’s going on. A lot of the time, they’re like, ‘Hold on, I need five minutes to read this.’ (Laminated versus not laminated makes a miraculous difference. You don’t want to hand someone a piece of paper that’s floppy and has stains on it.)”—Rob Fitz-James

“We’re fortunate that we have a good camera, but some of our team members just use their phones. If you pay attention to composition and lighting, the results can be just as good.” —Kira Sullivan

The week winds down

So far, for Team Raised from Perdition, it looks like those tips are paying off; as GISHWHES week draws to a close, only three of the 175 tasks seem unattainable. Unfortunately, one of them is worth a lot of points:

#127. Do the “airplane” with an astronaut—you know, like your parents used to? Lie on your back with your feet in the air while an astronaut lies face-down, hips on your feet, hands in yours, pretending to be flying. This must be a real, official astronaut or cosmonaut, wearing appropriate flight garb.

NASA’s official response to team requests for an astronaut for this purpose is, of course, “Um, no thanks.”

(Overall, though, NASA has a good relationship with GISHWHES. “One year, we put an item in the hunt that was to get one of the eight astronauts on the space station Mir to hold up a piece of paper that said ‘GISHWHES’ and your team name written on it,” says hunt creator Misha Collins. “Which resulted in all of the people on the space station having their social-media feeds bombarded. And so NASA posted, ‘Please leave our astronauts alone. They’re doing serious work.’ So the next year, I put an item into the hunt that read, ‘Last year, NASA asked us to leave them alone. We know that they’ve been kicking themselves all year for this. So here’s your second chance. Get ‘GISHWHES’ written in space.” NASA ended up naming a mountain on Mars ‘GISHWHES,’ maybe just to shut everybody up.”)

Things are going more smoothly for item 41:

#41. Treat a Vermont dairy cow to the most pampered milking session in human/bovine history. At least three attendants must milk the cow. One person must be feeding her clover by hand, as another milks her wearing satin gloves, as another massages her gently. The attendants must be dressed in semi-formal attire. The milking must take place in a well-appointed living room.

By a stroke of good luck, Tia’s step-grandmother Janet Watton lives in Vermont—next door to a dairy farm. By a stroke of bad luck, the farmer informs the team that you can’t bring a cow indoors. Cows don’t respond well to new environments, and even Paula Deen, the sweet-natured cow he has in mind, might balk—or, worse, rampage.

Janet devises a plan B: In her small barn, there’s a space that she can dress up to look like a living room. She sheetrocks the walls with posterboard, hangs curtains and a chandelier, brings in furniture, books, flowers, paintings. It’s not an actual living room, but it’s close enough for GISHWHES work.

On the last day of the hunt, the attendants, including a violinist, arrive in formal wear; the farmer sets up to do the milking; and Paula Deen takes her place. Distracted by the bucket of delicious fresh-picked clover, she performs like a champ as the camera rolls. “She didn’t even relieve herself,” the farmer marvels.

The cow is in the can; now all the team needs is an astronaut.

They have six hours left.

Part 5: The Hunt is Over

It’s been an exhausting week for the 15 members of Team Raised from Perdition. In their fourth annual attempt to win the world’s largest scavenger hunt, they’ve taken the week off from work, palmed off children to relatives, and tested the limits of society’s tolerance for disruption.

They’ve also made personal sacrifices. “Sleep deprivation. Junk food all the time,” says co-captain Nina Mostepan. “Working out? I don’t know what that is right now.”

“We eat a lot of pickled eggs and chili in a jar while we’re driving,” adds Shiane Gaylie.

During the heat of the hunt week, “we get short with each other,” admits co-captain Geoff MacAnally. “Nina and I bicker about, like, how things should be running. And then we’re like, ‘I need to breathe.’”

As the deadline approaches—Saturday midnight—it’s clear the team won’t complete all 176 items on the GISHWHES list. (In the six-year history of the hunt, no team ever has.)

In the end, though, the team managed all but three tasks. They’ve pampered a cow in Vermont, played badminton in a food court, persuaded two old men to play chess in a movie theater, sold bottled air on the street, registered 10 people to vote, built a spa for a mouse, panned for gold in a public fountain, sculpted a life-size dictator out of maxipads, built a working rowing scull out of trash, wrote a phone app for dialing a rotary phone, and played a human piano.

The judging process

“Months pass between the end of the hunt and the actual winner’s announcement,” Christine says. “We spend that time obsessively combing over all the other teams’ entries and beating ourselves up for what we could have done better.”

In general, though, Raised from Perdition was feeing confident. “We figured there was pretty much no way we wouldn’t at least be a runner-up,” says Rob Fitz-James.

“Because we were runners-up the year before, and we did even better this year,” Shiane adds.

Rob agrees. “Better video quality, better photo quality. And submitting items before the deadline problem helped.”

According to hunt creator Misha Collins, the judging takes so long because, well, there’s a lot to go through.

“We take it very seriously. We have stages. We have lots of people that help judge in the first round, and then we narrow it down to the top 50 teams, and then down to the top 10 teams, and then down to the top three.”

Every year, some teams try to get by with “interpretive” items. “Sometimes, people will come up with a creative interpretation; they’ll do a cardboard cutout version of the real thing, or something like that. 19 times out of 20, they don’t get points for that, even if they put a fair amount of creative work into it. Our directive is very specific: you have to do the item as it is stipulated, and not some creative re-imagining to make it easier.”

Nowadays, his team actually employs Photoshop experts. “Because people cheat! One year, there was a team that would have won, but they’d Photoshopped a really big-ticket item. It was very convincing, and we were like, ‘Wow, they did it!’ But they didn’t. They had cheated, and we caught them.”

The GISHWHES judging process isn’t just long; it’s also opaque. Each item on the list carries a certain point value, but “there’s a high degree of subjectivity in the judging,” Collins says. “Like, we give bonus points.”

But the teams themselves will never know.

“GISHWHES never tells the competitors what their point total is,” Christine points out. “We don’t even get a cumulative point total, and we’re never told what the individual items are awarded. And it drives us crazy. Because it’s difficult to know how to improve from year to year if you don’t have a metric for what the judges are looking for.”

“That’s by design,” Collins says. “We don’t want people to get involved in petty arguments. So we don’t give them enough information to fight.”

The big moment

The contest wrapped up on August 6, but weeks—months—went by without any word as to when the winners would be announced.

“Sometimes GISHWHES can be a little disorganized, I find,” says Shiane. “They just kind of surprise you a lot. You don’t know when the winner will be announced, for example. You don’t know when anything will be announced, until it’s there.”

But then, one day in October, there it was: a tweet that Misha Collins would be making an announcement on Facebook Live.

Christine: “I’m sitting in my dark hole of a basement. We gathered over Google Hangouts and held our breath.”

Shiane: “He did the runners up first, and he did it alphabetically. As soon as he skipped R, which our team name starts with, we knew that we’d won. We were all freaking out before he even announced it.”

Geoff: “And then the moment: ‘And the winning teammmm is…’ That’s exactly how he does it.”

In fact, that is how Misha Collins said it. “And the GISHWHES 2016 winning teammmm… is… Raised from Perdition!”

Christine: “Everyone erupted.”

Kira Sullivan: “We were all freaking out. It was pure joy. I screamed. My roommates thought something really bad happened to me!”

Shiane: “I hit my head on the ceiling. I pushed Rob over a table. We yelled and screamed for, like, 20 minutes.”

Geoff: “I cried.”

Nina “Ugly crying! You can see it in the video. I’m like, ‘Waauuuugh!’”

Kira: “In that moment, we really felt like a team. We didn’t know each other beforehand, but we came together and we won.”

Suzanne Simpson: “It was the most surreal experience of my life.”

Geoff: “After three years of working hard, it was a euphoric feeling.”

The prize for winning GISHWHES is a trip to some exotic spot. This year, it’s Iceland. (For the 2017 hunt, which begins in August, the trip will be to Hawaii.)

Raised from Perdition arrived in Iceland today, in fact, to begin their five-day adventure, orchestrated by the GISHWHES staff and attended (at least for one day) by Misha Collins.

“Well, Misha’s pretty cool,” says Nat. “But the best part of the trip is meeting our teammates! We don’t know the people in San Fran, or South America, or Chicago, or Tennessee, or Connecticut, so we’ll get to meet them all! It’s all going to be great.”

Why GISHWHES

For many GISHWHES players, the greatest reward isn’t the trip.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say things like, ‘I was suffering from agoraphobia. I hadn’t left my house to do more than go to the grocery store in two years. My friend coerced me into participating in GISHWHES, and it somehow broke things through for me,” recounts Collins. “Or, ‘I did GISHWHES and I changed my major in school to art,’ or, ‘I did GISHWHES and I decided to go back to school because of it.

“I mean, I don’t want to be too grandiose about it,” he adds. “I don’t want to make it sound like it’s all about that touchy-feely stuff. It is just a scavenger hunt. But people do have some remarkable experiences.”

Of course, there’s something in it for Collins, too. He’s proud of his seven Guinness World Records. The million-plus dollars raised for charity. The five Syrian refugee families housed and fed. The lives saved from bone-marrow donations. The mountain on Mars that NASA named after GISHWHES.

And he’s especially proud of the 2011 hunt item that required launching a fully decorated Christmas tree into the air with helium balloons.

“There was something just magical about that image, of watching Christmas trees float away. It was one of those ephemeral, magical moments,” Collins says.

“But we didn’t really think it through all the way. Because what happens if untethered is, the Christmas tree just floats away! And there were some regional airports that were closed due to, ‘Christmas trees in the airspace!’ I love that item, even though people’s flights were delayed because of it.”

Over the years, GISHWHES has grown from an impromptu game that Collins ran on Twitter for 300 fans to a truly international competition with 55,000 participants. And in that time, he’s had to add lawyers, and insurance, and a staff, and a website. Is there a danger that GISHWHES might become so Real and Official and Regulated that it loses its sense of chaotic, spontaneous, hilarious fun?

“We want the tone of GISHWHES to remain irreverent and free spirited and kindhearted and challenging and humiliating,” he says. “But at the same time, we want it to grow to something that more people participate in. In my grandiose scheme, people all over the world dread the first week in August, because that’s when GISHWHES happens. That’s my ambition for our enterprise. And you know, we’ll see. If it keeps growing at this rate, by the year 2300, we might be a well-known outfit.”

Thank you for doing this piece, Mr Pogue!

#promoted by gish #gishwhes 2016

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sweetjubilee · 7 years

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#Blessed

Sermon on Micah 6:1-8 • Matthew 5:1-12 by Rev. Melissa Hinnen Preached at Asbury United Methodist Church, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Perhaps you are familiar with the term “Hashtag” as a popular social media tool. Essentially, it is a way of categorizing a statement . . . putting a label on it. Often if there is a news event or a gathering, people will use the same hashtag so that they can follow the global or local conversation about particular topics.

A popular hashtag is #Blessed. If you do a quick twitter search at any given time, you will often see people boasting about something in their life, followed by the reminder that it is a blessing. It’s a bit of a humble-brag. For example these were recent tweets using the hashtag Blessed:

· THIS is what's up! Whole wheat penne with spinach and shrimp scampi. My wife is #blessed · At work on a Saturday playing Seinfeld trivia #blessed · Greatest country singer of all time and I get to see him in concert #blessed @OfficialJackson #keepinitcountry · Blessed to say I have received an offer from the University of Alabama #rolltide #blessed

And while I can’t necessarily argue that acknowledging God’s role in our success is inappropriate, I wonder why we rarely hear people talking about the blessing that is found in more challenging times.

It is interesting to me that when I serve with youth who are incarcerated, so often they just want me to offer them a blessing . . . a magic word to give them luck or at least to comfort them when they are homesick or as they prepare for a court date. Perhaps some of us approach prayer more as a wish list than as a conversation that deepens our relationship with God.

Knowing that they are open to a blessing – to a connection with God, in my role as a pastoral counselor, I can then begin the work of probing . . .

· What exactly is your prayer – your desire?

· What would it feel like if your prayer is answered in the way you are looking for?

· How might you respond to that blessing in your life?

· What would you do differently?

· What is happening in your life that prevents you from experiencing that sense of blessing now?

So often we pray for specific things that we think are what we want without realizing that we are already blessed by God, even and perhaps especially in the challenging circumstance we find ourselves. God’s blessings are continuously being poured upon us . . . Perhaps then the blessing is the experience and recognition of God’s grace in our life. It is identifying that blessing in different circumstances that can bring us comfort and strength and hope to guide us through.

At the Bishop’s convocation, Bishop Bickerton suggested that identification of blessing can become our breath prayer. “Holy God, grant me peace, wholeness, gratitude” . . . we pray for the feeling that we want to experience and let God work out the details of how to get there.

We hear in the Beatitudes, Jesus offering a blessing to people who are perhaps not feeling too blessed or supported in their society. They are discouraged. They are frightened. They want a relationship with God, but they are just not feeling it. Jesus names their situation . . . He doesn’t just make the blanket statement: ALL Lives are Blessed. He individually names them –

· You are seen. You are loved.

· Your situation matters.

· And God isn’t finished with you yet.

· God’s justice is coming . . . on earth as it is in heaven.

All of us, at some point experience one of the categories that Jesus is blessing . . . of feeling marginalized, mourning, experiencing a sense of being poor in spirit.

Blessed to be a Blessing

And as we respond to the Great Invitation and deepen our relationship with God at places like Asbury where in our Wesleyan tradition

· we are assured of our blessedness . . .

· We are renewed in the promise of resurrection.

· In the good news of God’s deep love for us, we experience transformation.

As we more consistently fall into a rhythm of relationship with God through practicing spiritual disciplines, we begin to move from needing reminders that we are blessed to living out our faith as a blessing to others.

We become blessed to be a blessing.

We read in the words of the prophet Micah that to make up for the ways we fall short of perfect relationship with God and with each other, God doesn��t want us to sacrifice or beat ourselves up, but according to the Message interpretation the prophet tells us:

But God’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.

Or as we heard in the New Revised Standard Version:

Do Justice – Love Mercy – Walk Humbly with God

Sadly, the church is not always a place where people experience justice, mercy, or humility. And in fact unfortunately so often people seeking blessedness instead find shame, rejection, or judgment . . . the opposite of what Jesus said to reassure those who were seeking relationship with God.

All too often, churches that claim to welcome “all” don’t act accordingly and cause harm to God’s people who lose trust and begin to believe that

· “ALL” means everyone except People like Me.

· “Open Hearts Open Minds Open Doors” except to People Like Me

And so I was filled with great joy during our administrative council leadership meeting when Cathy and Tina presented and the council approved a welcome statement that we have been talking about for over a year and has been refined and edited with many of you offering suggestions that were incorporated.

The statement affirms that this is a congregation where we celebrate our diversity and welcome people of every race, culture, age, sexual orientation, ability, immigration status, gender identity, and socio economic circumstance” to fully participate in Asbury’s ministries.

This statement is an indicator that this congregation takes seriously the words of Micah to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God

This congregation takes seriously the words of Jesus:

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

This congregation is blessed to be a blessing

Hospitality

On inauguration day, I traveled to Long Island where Bishop Bickerton and the NY United Methodist Immigration Task force spent the day in ministry with people who have immigrated to the US. We heard some stories of journey and pain and we heard stories about the grace of God through ministries of advocacy of presence. We are a denomination that takes seriously the scriptural mandate: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”

And then yesterday, like many of us, I woke up to the sadness that our US borders had been shut down . . .

· Keeping some of the world’s most vulnerable people from entering this country.

· Keeping families apart and barring people who reside in the US from returning.

· Restricting many who had been vetted and who were fleeing terrorism in their homeland from settling as promised in the US.

This is not about politics but these are life and death situations concerning God’s beloved children. Our Judeo Christian tradition is one of hospitality and welcoming the stranger in our houses of worship and to the land in which we live.

Our denomination has stated since 2008 that

“To refuse to welcome migrants to this country-and to stand by in silence while families are separated, individual freedoms are ignored, and the migrant community in the United States is demonized by members of Congress and the media-is complicity to sin.”

“To refuse to welcome migrants to this country-and to stand by in silence . . . is complicity to sin.”

I believe that we are entering a time in our nation when people are yearning to reconnect in relationship with God and with each other. It’s not even something people are necessarily conscience of . . . but I wonder how much of the unrest and fear and isolationism is a result of disconnection from the sense of God’s blessing. Of people who need that blessed assurance that God sees their struggle and offers unconditional grace at whatever point they are in the journey.

People have lost the sense of connection from something greater than ourselves. As we see that disconnect take a very dangerous turn especially in recent days,

· What can we do to be agents of peace and justice?

· To offer a moral compass eternally pointed to the love of God through Christ?

· As disciples of Jesus Christ, what can we do to offer a blessing to those who are hurting?

· Those who are seeking?

In the past few weeks, I have seen secular people who are feeling discomfort and anger about the treatment of immigrants and refugees, particularly the treatment of Muslims – looking to progressive faith leaders for direction.

The Church Responds

How will the church – you and I – step out boldly to meet the needs of those whom Jesus is addressing?

· How will we the church comfort those who mourn

· How will we the church share with the meek

· How will we the church fill those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

· How will we the church show mercy

· How will we the church help others to see God

· How will we the church lead children of God to be peacemakers

How will we the church – you and I - be blessed to be a blessing?

How will we the church . . . be blessed to be a blessing?

I was at the Women’s march in NYC last week and being with a group of about 150 United Methodists, experienced perhaps a 21st century American version of the beatitudes as we prayed with our feet, yelled our chants, held our signs, sang our songs we declared:

Blessed are the immigrants . . . for they will experience welcome

Blessed are the refugees . . . for they will find safety

Blessed are the black lives . . . for they matter as much as white lives

Blessed are the women . . . . for their rights are human rights too

Blessed are the scientists . . . for they share the truth

Blessed are the lesbian and gay couples . . . for they know love

Blessed are those who condemn Islamaphobia and other acts of hatred . . . for they are protecting God’s children.

Blessed are YOU when you

do justice,

love mercy, and

walk humbly with God

for you are offering Christ’s blessing in the world.

Beloveds, may you be blessed to be a blessing in the name of Jesus.

AMEN

#blessed #lgbtq #no muslim ban #immigrant #refugee #sermon #revgalblogpals #Matthew 5:1-12 #Micah 6:8 #justice #prayer #umc

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firedupreadytogousa-blog · 7 years

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Day 9 (1/28): Temporary Ban for Muslim Countries Leaves Out Main Countries of Previous US Terror Attacks (Which Trump Happens To Have Business Ties To)

Featuring: -Yesterday, In Trumpland- The Resistance Report- Weekend Actions-

-YESTERDAY, IN TRUMPLAND-

RED ALERT! The Trump administration has demanded that all ads for Obamacare be canceled! That is $5 million of already paid ads just going down the drain. And you know how many procrastinators sign up late. There is always a surge in signups the last few days, so essentially the GOP are being assholes. You have until JAN 31st to sign up on healthcare.gov. So do so NOW!

Also, Trump signed 2 executive orders yesterday because of course he did:

- #1 “Extreme Vetting” (No One Knows What That Means Exactly)

Officially dubbed, “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals,” the order includes a temporary 120-day ban on refugees and visas of immigrants from 7 Muslim countries, excluding the ones that he has business interests in because remember he DID NOT divest anything and is STILL PROFITING FROM FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. Where the hell are all these people with these lawsuits!). Ironically enough, the Cato Institute reported that of the terror attacks that have happened, “Foreign nationals from those seven countries have killed a grand total of 0, yes 0, Americans.” In fact, “Terrorism by Muslims makes up one-third of 1 percent of all murders in the US.” Forget the fact that banning refugees from entering this country goes against all American Values, even if he thought he had cause, Trump didn’t even pick the right ones! Some of the countries on the list are known terrorist “hot spots,” but they haven’t committed acts of terror in the US. Vox helps us Break it down:

San Bernadino shooting that killed 14 people= US Born Pakistani and US legalized citizen of Pakistani descent

The Orlando nightclub shooter who murdered 49 people= US Born citizen of Afghan descent

The Boston marathon bombers= Kyrgyzstan, grew up in Boston

The militant who killed four Marines in TN= Kuwaiti Born US Citizen his parents being Jordanian and Palestinian

The attempted Times Square bomber= Pakistani-American

The infamous “underwear bomber”= Nigerian

The man who attempted to blow up a plane with explosives in his shoes= UK born, his mother was white, and his father was mixed race Jamaican

The man who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009= born in Virginia to Palestinian parents

The 9/11 Hijackers= 15 Saudi Arabians, 2 From the UAE, 1from Lebanon, and 1 from Egypt

Osama Bin Laden was from Saudi Arabia and his top dogs were all from Egypt

NONE of those countries are on this banned list! NOT A SINGLE ONE! And if anything this shows that people who would carry out an attack in the US are already here and are probably citizens.

Not to say that some countries on the list, like Iran, don’t make sense, but these countries are more likely to train other countries such as Yemen and Lebanon, to take out attacks against other Arabs, which is why those citizens are trying to escape the middle east in the first place. There was an incident this year when a Somali immigrant injured 10 people in Minnesota (But In NYC the American Subway slashers injured 11).

The order did say that the ban would be lifted only for those escaping religious persecution, meaning Christians Only. I wonder what the Pope has to say about this... But, with what the data show, (which i know a lot of people are allergic to facts these days) this is certainly not a serious counter terrorist move and if anything probably leaves us more vulnerable. But still, the likelihood of a US citizen being killed in an attack by an immigrant is 1 in 3.6 million. If you have a republican senator or representative, make them tell you where they stand and come with the facts! This is one of the most Un-American orders put forth thus far, and it’s only week 1.

Whether you are a republican or a democrat, we should all agree that this is NOT the right move!

- #2 “Military Preparedness” If he keeps this up we might actually need this one.

This one seemed more symbolic than anything else, but the President wants to add $300 billion dollars on top of the $584 billion dollars already budgeted to go towards building up the army for new planes, ships, tools and resources including upping the number of active duty troops by approximately 161,000. Sounds like a primer for war time type activities. So you’re probably wondering if this is a lot of money or what? Well we can tell you how much of our discretionary spending budget is spent on the military because unlike Spicer, we have charts… with actual facts:

NATIONAL DISASTERS. ACTUALLY SAD :(

Leaks Are popping up everywhere, and now they’ve extended to Iowa in probably the worst way possible. Less than 24hrs after Trump beamed about getting DAPL and Keystone XL pipelines moving again, IOWA suffered the worst pipeline leak it’s had in 16 years. You think folks might have changed their tune on these pipelines by now? Ugh, don’t hold your breath.

But hopefully IOWA can get some support because Trump still has not issued any Federal funds to help the Red States of Mississippi and Georgia recover from the deadly tornadoes that destroyed hundreds of homes. It’s been days, and still no response from FEMA. Must be because these Governors are not on Trump’s hit list for revenge; No time, gotta get that wall going you know? Thank goodness for Anheuser-Busch InBev for donating water to these poor people. Our thoughts are with them.