Do you remember Microsoft 3D Movie Maker? A free demo of it came with Windows 95. If you really liked it, you could buy the full version on CD-ROM. Basically, you could make your own 3D movies using preset actors, props, and scenes. You could even add your own dialogue & sound effects using the computer's mic. It was such a hit that it developed its own cult fanbase.
A little-known fact is that if you go to the intro page of the talent book and type in “socrates,” you'll find a live-action featurette on the making of 3D Movie Maker, originally known as “Project Socrates" to the developers. It's a pretty fun watch, and I highly recommend it!
What I do not recommend, however, is “Project Caligula.”
I am (very begrudgingly) going to explain the process by which you can access Project Caligula. To start, you must make a movie, choosing Misty City as the scene, and the small café as the camera angle. As a prop, select the sphere, color it red, flatten it all the way, and put it under the left most table. As actors, select S'kelly and Augustin. Change Augustin's outfit to the tuxedo and put him in front of the café door, between the tables. Place S'kelly horizontally at his feet. You can do this using the adjustment tools in the part of the toolbar that is initially covered up.
Next, change the music to “Geist Evil Theme.” Select the Sound effect “Laugh Maniac" and place it on Augustin. Finally, make his action “At Rest" and have him stay like that for EXACTLY 17 frames.
Conclude by clicking “New Movie.” A prompt will ask you if you want to save your movie. Do so and save it as “caligula” (all lower case, no quotes). When the screen comes up, go to “Open Movie" and select caligula. Unlike other movies, whose preview pics are the first frame of the film, the screenshot will be a 3D graphic of the phrase “Welcome To Hell" in the font Bloody (which is not available in the original edition of the game) in front of a black background.
When you open the movie, instead of the preview pic, you will see a blood red background. Again, this is the first of many things you'll see that are not presets of the game. Clicking play will play 21 frames of the screen with an off-key version of Lacrimosa by Mozart playing on piano in the background. The screen will then spiral wipe to the actor Bongo in front of the black background for 13 frames. Then, his skin appears to melt off quite graphically, followed by subsequent layers of muscle, tissue and even organs, until it reaches the skeleton. This skeleton, unlike the default S'kelly, looks eerily... well…
…like it belongs to Bongo.
The shape, lines, and even proportions, are fitted to Bongo's unique build. The music gradually fades, replaced with a crescendo of tortured screams. The skeleton then opens its mouth and says one of the preset lines:
“Those bullies won't bother me now!”
While this IS a line attributed to Bongo, the line is distorted to sound deep and very demonic.
The final thing you see is a text in front of one of the basic backgrounds from the Nickelodeon edition of 3D Movie Maker. The front is hard to read, not only because the color almost completely blends in with the background, but also because it's in a strange font. When translated, it reads:
“Let all those who see this film beware! For whosoever seeks to make it their own shall suffer a fate worse than death.”
I had heard about a member of the 3DMM community who did try to modify the movie, so I found out where he lived to ask him about it. When I got there, the lawn looked like it hadn't been mowed for days, and there was several days worth of mail & papers present. I knocked on the door, but no one answered.
I looked in a nearby window and saw that most of the house was covered in blood, urine, feces, and various entrails. I opened the door only to have the severed torso of the person I was seeking fall towards me. His skin was gone, as were his legs & hips, he was covered in blood, and I thought he was dead.
Until he grabbed my ankle and gasped:
“Why… why won't he let me die?”
“Who,” I asked.
“E… Edgar…”
I called 911 immediately. The doctors made a startling discovery when they examined him: A piece of his brain was missing. According to some psychologists, this part of the brain…
…alerts the body when it dies.
As to the identity of Edgar, according to my research, he was apparently a programmer for Microsoft working on Project Socrates. He was fired for making horrifically graphic movies and later committed suicide. His suicide note read:
“You'll regret this."
I know I did...

Son 8.5 M, 45 lbs has abdominal pain since February. He doesn't go to school and stays in bed most of the time. It happened before but not as severe and went away after a month or so. We realize we need to wait longer for Amitripltyne to work but we are concened that he has rear good days (hours) and in bed most of the time. Normally he is a bright, fun and social boy and now doesn't leave his bed. Could this be something not tested for?
Current Outpatient Medications
famotidine 40 MG/5ML Recon susp - Take 2 mL (16 mg) by mouth at bedtime
gabapentin (Neurontin) 250 MG/5ML Solution Take 3 mL (150 mg) by mouth twice a day

hyoscyamine 0.125 MG Tab - does not help

amitriptyline 10 mg Tab - full dosage started May 2nd, makes him agressive

Medical History Summary:
8.5 years old has been constipating for many years. He has been diagnosed with encopresis in 2021. Ever since he was diagnosed with encopresis He was on MiraLAX .5 to .75 cup twice a day. This helped him to control his constipation. During all this time except for approximately a few weeks he was soiling his pants almost daily. He was also frequently complaining about abdominal pain. Per doctor’s recommendation we were reminding him to sit on the toilet after each meal. Feeding him with homemade meals and we try to limit processed food. We did physical therapy and psychologist therapy. He has a toilet foot stool and seat.
About 1 year ago (January 2023), a bowel cleanup was performed per Max’s pediatrician recommendations. One cupful of MiraLAX was given every 3 hours. (No fasting or clear food diet was recommended)
During that time evacuated lots of poops with diarrhea content. We did not achieve the yellow fluid and stopped after a couple of days. Since this cleanup Max experienced severe abdominal pain for about a month.
Per GI doctor recommendation, we were no longer doing cleanup to avoid severe abdominal pain. Instead, Max was back on his MiraLAX dose .75 cup twice a day with fiber gummies 4mg a day.
He has good apetite most of the time, except after a dose of Exlax. His stool was always help soft over these years.
Notes from GI visit April 22nd - Today he has more guarding, mild distension and tenderness. I can't tell if he has a surgical abdomen (ie volvulus, appendicitis) but it is not associated with vomiting or eating. His most likely diagnosis is abdominal migraines (abdominal pain and headaches) and anxiety at this point, but the pattern has been consistent without as much good days. Activity makes him worse, and we have considered ACNES as well. He has had multiple cleanouts, and the periodic soiling could be from inattentiveness. Perhaps this is from constipation, but should rule out surgical abdomen at this time. We had a long conversation today about abdominal migraines, but upon repeat exam, it is still quite guarded. Pain is daily / off and on. Has had 2 good days in last 3 weeks Appetite is good except when pain is high. No vomiting. Stooling daily with miralax. Sleeping well.
UPPER Endoscopy Diagnosis
A. Duodenum, mucosal biopsy:- Duodenal mucosa with no pathologic change. B. Duodenum, bulb, mucosal biopsy:- Duodenal mucosa with a small lamina propria lymphoid aggregate. C. Stomach, antrum/body, mucosal biopsy: - Antral-and oxyntic-type gastric mucosa with focal features of mild reactive (chemical) gastropathy. D. Esophagus, distal, mucosal biopsy: - Squamous epithelium with rare intraepithelial eosinophils (up to 2 per high-power field). E. Esophagus, proximal, mucosal biopsy:- Squamous epithelium with rare intraepithelial eosinophils (up to 1 per high-power field).
The overall findings are nonspecific. The esophageal findings do not meet threshold numerical criteria for a diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis. Reflux related changes are favored. Clinical correlation is recommended.

CT ABDOMEN PELVIS W CONTRAST

Narrative

IMPRESSION:Normal appendix. No CT evidence of inflammatory changes in the abdomen or pelvis. Moderate stool burden in the colon.NarrativeINDICATION: o appendicitis/abscess - GI requesting CT d/t guarding/distensionEXAMINATION: CT ABDOMEN AND PELVIS WITH CONTRAST - CT Abdomen And Pelvis W/ Contrast InjectionTECHNIQUE: Multiple axial images were obtained of the abdomen and pelvis following IV contrast. A radiation dose optimizationtechnique was used for this scan. DLP: 29.8 , CTDI vol: 0.63IV Contrast dosage and agent: 63 mL of Isovue 300Oral contrast: Administered.COMPARISON: None.____________________________________________FINDINGS:LOWER CHEST: Lung bases are clear without any infiltrate. No pleural effusion noted. There is no cardiomegaly or pericardialeffusion.LIVER: The liver has a homogeneous density. No focal masses noted. There is no intrahepatic biliary ductal dilatation.GALLBLADDER AND BILIARY TREE: No calcified gallstones. No gallbladder distension or wall edema. No intra- or extrahepaticbiliary ductal dilation.PANCREAS: No focal cystic or solid mass. There is no pancreatic ductal dilatation or peripancreatic fluid.SPLEEN: Normal size without focal cystic or solid mass.ADRENAL GLANDS: Normal.KIDNEYS AND URETERS: Both kidneys have a normal enhancement without hydronephrosis, renal cysts, masses or perinephric fluid.There is no hydroureter.PERITONEUM: No ascites or free air. No other fluid collection.BOWEL: No abnormal dilatation of the bowel loops is noted. Contrast is noted in several nondilated small bowel loops and in thecolon up to the splenic flexure. Moderate stool noted in the colon, including the rectum. Terminal ileum is visualized andappears normal. A normal caliber partially contrast filled appendix is seen in the right lower quadrant. A few scattered foci ofair also noted in the appendix. No adjacent inflammatory changes are seen. The appendix is best visualized on axial series #2,images 58-69/139.LYMPH NODES: No enlarged mesenteric or retroperitoneal lymph nodes.VESSELS: Vasculature appears normal. No stenosis or aneurysmal dilatation noted.URINARY BLADDER: Appears normal without wall thickening, mass or trabeculations.REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS: No pelvic masses.ABDOMINAL WALL: No discrete abdominal or pelvic wall hernia.BONES: No lytic or blastic abnormality.
Blood tests - Collection date: April 30, 2024 11:08 AM
Lactase 13.9 Normal value: >=14.0 nmol/min/mg Prot
Sucrase 51.0 Normal value: >=19.0 nmol/min/mg Prot
Maltase 201.3 Normal value: >=70.0 nmol/min/mg Prot
Palatinase 15.8 Normal value: >=6.0 nmol/min/mg Prot
Glucoamylase 24.2 Normal value: >=8.0 nmol/min/mg Prot

Sed Rate 9

Ferritin 24.7

C-Reactive Protein < .5

Lead, Venous, B <.1

White Blood Count 5.98

Hemoglobin 14.7

Mean Cell Volume 81.8

MCHC 34.5

Platelet Count 302

Red Blood Count 5.21

Hematocrit 42.6

MCH 28.2

RDW 12.4

MPV 8.8

Segmented Neutrophils (ABS #) 2.35

Final Absolute Neutrophil Count 2.35

Lymphocytes (ABS #) 3.8

Eosinophils (ABS #) 0.05

Immature Granulocytes (ABS #) 0

Monocytes (ABS #) .47

Basophils (ABS #) .03

Add: he has headaches on the right side and sensativity to light, not sure how often but at least several times a week.

This is my first attempt and thanks so much in advance for any help at all. The novel itself isn't super plotty so I struggled a little with the query letter. Also have been lurking for ages in this sub and wanted to ask your opinion on whether the prose is "good enough" to count as Lit Fic, or if I should query as Upmarket or Contemporary? My mentor says its firmly LF, but neither she nor I have too much industry experience. And so so sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but will my pitch look overconfident if I call it Literary Fiction but I haven't got an MFA etc? As in, is it advisable to query it as LF if I don't have the credentials for it?
Thanks SO MUCH in advance
(Intro)
After his teenage son dies in an attempt to burn down an arms dealership, a migrant oceanographer develops a fascination with collective bioluminescence: a phenomenon called kavaru in Kerala and mareel in the Shetland Islands.
Jomon had sworn off politics altogether when his card-carrying Marxist father was dragged off to jail under Indira Gandhi's dictatorship, leaving his fifteen year old son to look after the large family for half a decade. But after three degrees, 25 years and a move to Scotland, Jomon is greeted by a knock on his door and the news that his teenage son, the fiery anarchist Madhav, had perished during a foiled attempt to set fire to an arms dealership.
A meditation on grief, foreclosed revolutions and insurgent inheritances, The Best and the Brightest intertwines three "failed" migratory trajectories with the punitive borders that enabled them. It follows Jomon in the year immediately after Madhav's death, as he attempts to neutralise and navigate the public reaction to his son's death, and develops an obsessive interest in mass oceanic bioluminescence, a fixation inherited from the boy himself. Across 85,000 words, the temporally and geographically acrobatic narrative pins itself to "little uprisings" in the lives of the revolutionary patriarch Matthai, the apolitical scientist Jomon, and the radical antiracist activist Madhav.
(Closing - I haven't picked comps yet, but I'd say COVENANT OF WATER for sure… Do LMK if anyone has suggestions)

• 300 -

It is two years ago and they are in Kumbalangi, where the air tingles with the onset of a thunderstorm. The three of them have gone to the end of the world to fetch a cure for Madhav's relentless need to save the world, even as Jomon's bones tell him it is much too late. Wind howls in his ears, and somewhere a thousand clocks are ticking like ritual drums.
"Ithanu ninte priyapetta kavaru," says his father to his son, fondly, chest-deep in blue fire. "Ithreye ullu, kandille?"
Here is your precious shimmering sea. This is all it is, see?
Madhav, waterlogged knee-scabs and all, gives a conspiratorial nod. Yet another word in the language of changing-the-world Jomon excluded himself from. For him, it had always been plankton or little unicellular organisms or something along those lines and frankly if it turned out kavaru was in fact something fantastical beyond Jomon's understanding then so be it, he didn't give a damn. But Matthai is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his son and he feels an uncharacteristic, unnecessary pang of envy. Ennokoru chukuilla, he thinks blindly, I don't give a damn.
Madhav's back is turned and steady but his glee is obvious. He is turning to stone before Jomon's eyes and no matter how tightly he holds him he cannot save him. He clenches his fist and raises it in the air as if a laal-salaam could hold the little lights forever. But the luminescence fades from his skin with a thundering black stillness. The boy turns around, meets his eye, and says: "imagine it was just like this, the whole world wide".
Every clock inside of Jomon stalls, then stops.

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Tools:

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Gender: male
Race/Ethnicity: Nigerian
Residence: east coast US
Type of School: regular public school
Intended Major: computer science, information technology
Academics GPA (UW/W): 1.7/2.2( currently redo classes I passed with low marks , estimated gpa by end of junior year is a 2.0 UW)
Rank (or percentile): 157/271
SAT/ACT: 1040 SAT
AP/IB: i took 3 ap classes partly but switched out(ap environmental,ap us government,ap world history)
Extracurriculars/Activities:

• Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA): I won first in my district going to states for graphic design
  
• Science Bowl: Achieved first place in multiple STEM competitions, showcasing prowess in the field.
  
• Coding: I have a certification in basics of computer science and I made small coding projects like a personalized calculator
  
• Writing: I have certification from the black Writers Guild of state (certified by youth showcase program chair, & and president of black Writers Guild) I have a certificate of recognition from City (certified by Mayor )
  
• Art: Acknowledged for outstanding accomplishments in the 2018 Maea Student Exhibition. Hosted at Walter art museum
  
• Varsity Lacrosse I won the unsung hero award as goalie of my team
  
• Student Government Association (SGA)
  
• DECA( 1st place in regionals , honorable mention at nationals and 3rd in state for business law and ethics)
  
• Varsity football junior year
  
• Volunteer Tutoring
  
• Battle of the Books: • I won first place in battle of the books in 2017
  

Food donations helped packed, lift , and handout food,provided food to the less fortunate , helped with a food drive with black wallstreet charm city-9 hours(1 day event)

• ASSISTED LIVING: I became cpr certified I was the head volunteer for the group of volunteers that cleaned and organized the yard, i gave out tasks regarding maintenance and monitored the completion of them , (24 hours/week , 1248 hours/year, for summer)
  
• Upward Bound: I completed the academic and summer program certified by j sanghi
  
• Peer Mediation: Certified Peer Mediator Completed Peer Mediation Training with commendation.
  
• jv Wres*tling
  
• I am a part of Asa of my school (African Student Association)
  
• OPA: I am one of the youth leaders of the owerri people accociation (city branch) Participated and organized events that connects and worked with international group during their political season, Made financial contributions to disfranchised and less fortunate, Worked with the Nigerian government during the boko haram crisis
  
• black saga: I was a black saga(black history competition) finalist placing in 2nd place, (certified by John L. Billingslea, director of social studies)
  

-Online Business I ran a Shopify store selling niche clothing products and masks during 2020, profits were over 3k
-Breadth of Life Experiences: Trip to Owerri, Nigeria reconnecting with my culture/relatives and lifelong memories , and impact of a medical condition
Additional info : I had a serious health issue for years that impacted my attendance and my gpa since I was just trying to pass rather than excel
Essay : In the essay I talk about - [ ] when it started - [ ] The sadness it brought - [ ] Opportunities I lost due to it - [ ] Reason gpa took a hit - [ ] How I persevered - [ ] Opportunities where I won - [ ] Reason for my ambitious goal - [ ] And what I learned
ask and I’ll send it ,
The schools Im applying to : Towson
Umd
Umbc
Morgan state
Virginia state
Salisbury

Hi everyone, I just discovered this sub, lovely place so far.
I'm hoping for some help here, I've only submitted to 3 agents so far, and the last one hit back with a rejection so fast I felt winded after. I realized I really need to reach out to the wider community and start asking for help with this if I want a better chance in the future.
Thank you all for your time!
Thank
---
Dear Agent,
I’m currently seeking representation for RUBY BIRD, a 66,000 word whirlwind queer romantic drama which takes place as the first novel in my series THE FLIGHT.
His perfectly boring life is shattered in one irreparable swoop when fantasy erotica novelist Ruben Eberly discovers his wife has been seeing someone else, and believing her husband to be a closeted queer man, announces she’s done with their relationship for good. In an attempt to lick his wounds and piece his broken heart back together, Ruben finds himself falling into the arms of his long lost best friend, Paul McKenzie, a free-spirit who carries with him the burden of a terminal cancer diagnosis.
With the goal of enjoying his final days on a road trip from Florida to Texas before hopping a plane to Alaska to die in peace, Ruben invites himself along, and the two make a strong effort to reconnect, with unexpected feelings blossoming as the long journey becomes a series of trysts. Paul’s claim of a terminal diagnosis is far from the only situation on his plate however, as Ruben learns his best friend has fallen head first into a series of addictions that have strangled the beautiful artist into a shell of his former self.
With the reveal that Paul has lied about his numbered days and is in reality planning to end his own life once the pair reach their final destination, Ruben’s goal of celebrating the man’s life becomes a mission to help his best friend face his past childhood trauma, fight his inner demons, and save him from himself.
RUBY BIRD is the first in a planned series of three books that will handle identity, sexuality, addiction, mental health struggles, and trauma, all topics of which I have personal and researched experience with.
Previously, I have self-published two stories, one novella, FOREVER AND FOR ALWAYS, a lesbian romance taking place in a cult that forbids their attraction to one another, and HAIL SANTA, a coming-of-age YA novel about a young man struggling to separate the truth about the world from the lies he’s been told all his life.
While RUBY BIRD has previously been self-published, I retain all rights to my work.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
-Sullivan D. Cohen
-----
First 300 words:
The violent thrash of red and blue danced against white picket fences and pristine flat lawns in the suburban neighborhood I had once called home.
My father's calloused fingers patted my thin shoulder, his voice barely above a whisper as they wheeled her away in a lifeless black bag.
“I'm sorry, buddy,” was all he said, tears coating his throat, his strength failing him for the first time in my life.
I couldn't recall the moment before. My mind wrapped it up in a black cloth, shoved it in a locked box and hid it in a dark corner of my mind that I never dared to venture towards.
All I knew for sure was that she was gone.
Ten years after bringing me into the world, Marilyn Eberly left mine forever.
Chapter 1
An Ode To Norman
My wife clasped the white pages of the manuscript shut between her fingertips and looked at me with an eyebrow raised in utter disbelief.
“You can't actually be considering submitting this to her, Ruben.”
“She wants it.”
“Well I don't want to be the wife of the gay vampire erotica guy.”
“If it pays the bills then why do you care at all?”
“It's embarrassing, Ruben! Everyone is gonna think you're gay!”
It stung to hear, but she couldn't be right. Authors who craft tales of mobsters and organized crime aren't suddenly dubbed Al Capone. Sci-Fi novelists don't actually traverse time and space to weave their fantastical narratives. The men and women behind fictional espionage dramas aren't typically spies in disguise.
And a straight married man crafting a homoerotic fantasy isn't always a deeply closeted gay man.
Julie bit her lip and flipped forward a few pages.
“I just, I don't get why one of them can't be a woman. If your audience is women then one of them should be a woman, Fifty Shades, Twilight, Harlequin-”

There’s this quote from the movie ratatouille that always comes back to me whenever I get too vitriolic with my criticism of any media.
“In the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism deeming it so.” – Antoine Ego
Of course criticism is valid and this shouldn’t hinder us from doing it, but if you really think about it, us critics, especially internet critics, just sit back and spew nonsense about “bad writing” and “media Literacy”, when most of us have never even attempted to write a story.
Why do I say this?
Just to preface some thoughts I had about Dear anemone, a manga that is on its way to getting axed in shonen jump almost certainly. Lots of threads on the series talk about poor writing, and bad choices, that’s all fine….but I thought instead, lets take the perspective of the mangaka for a second….and see how our criticisms might seem from the perspective of being a mangaka in Jump.
What prompted this was the report that Rin matsui had deleted mentions of dear anemone on his own twitter account, which really hit me. Something about his art not even being recognised just made me feel sad.
https://twitter.com/ELECTRO_RING?s=09

The sheer stress of being a mangaka …..ie….why Bakuman probably romanticized it.

80-100 hour work weeks at the very least to pump out 20 pages, constantly being evaluated by rankings you are given access to after finishing, needing to adjust to the whims of an audience who articulate their grievances but probably know nothing about art and storytelling.
I couldn’t do it. Most cant. This doesn’t require sympathy on its own merits…. lots of jobs are hard, but goddamn must it be stressful.
Most reading this are either familiar with or have watched or read bakuman. Much of our knowledge of how shueisha works comes from this series. Some of it is outdated, much of it apparently true, but regardless…it establishes much of our “insider” knowledge of being a mangaka.
Details aside, the difference between bakuman and reality is that it is a story…obviously. But because it’s a story, we know that there is going to be a happy ending, a catharsis. He will get the girl and write the manga that becomes an anime yadda yadda. Hardship is character growth, narrative setup. Real life is not so kind….you might fail and never succeed and have your dreams taken away from you.
Lets paint a picture.
Rin matsui is in his early 20s. He does a one shot for dear anemone, while he is an assistant on my hero academia. He looks forward to his big shot and gets it. It a battle horror manga, not a common genre. He gets to serialization. His dreams come true…he is in shonen jump.
He gets the ranking back the next day or so, ( we only have the toc to go by, not an exact rank, and this is assuming the 7 week rule applies somewhat) and he ranks relatively low. A death sentence almost from the start. People online see the first ranking(much later mind you so he has to wait months knowing its coming) and scream DOA. It should have done x or y or would have worked in a seinen magazine. Weve heard all the arguments. They are blase at best, often repeating the same thing.
Maybe he frequents sites like 5ch and 2ch, and sees people ripping it apart by the second chapter. Talking about the similar looking characters, and meandering plot, and lack of intrigue. “God some of those criticism online are pedantic and infuriating, even if they have a point” is what I would think if I were him. Im not him though.
Heres some context as well. Rin matsui is doing the artwork with ink and paper, not digitally. He chose to do absurdly detailed art this way when most others in the magazine use a computer. Some might call this stupid, some might be more impressed….but the few weeks he missed his page counts make sense in light of this. Most people don’t know this though.
And then you have to hear people calling you “lazy” or “not ready” online.
And of course, by his second or third week, he was probably already aware he was likely getting axed…even if it wasnt official yet. Actually imagine what it must feel like to write a story knowing you have already failed by the time you just started.
I Couldn’t do it.

“Good” Criticisms of Dear Anemone….or why being constructively critical is hard unless you know what you are talking about.

Being a mangaka is hard in another sense. It is technically hard. You have to be good at both Art and storytelling.
Most people can spend a lifetime learning art or storytelling, let alone both. Mangakas have to be competent at both disciplines, and combine them as well. Novelists can focus on just their writing, artists on their form and composition, but no….a mangaka needs to know both.
Which is why criticism can often seem misinformed, disingenuous and cynical to the point of being useless. Here are some fancy schmancy “critical thoughts”
“Dear anemone has a fascinating premise that invokes the terror of nature to create a visceral tone of body horror rarely seen in Jump. However, it doesn’t leverage this premise very well after the first chapter, ditching its horror elements and becoming a traditional battle manga by the second chapter. Moreover, its characters lack interesting motivations, are hard to distinguish from a visual perspective and even though the art is stunning, it can be hard to track what is happening at times.
It sets up mysteries and intrigue, but resolves many of them a few chapters in, undermining the strength of its own premise. In Terms of plotting, it seems to just drag the protagonist along on events rather than him having agency in the plot, and the lack of characterisation for the side characters amplifies the degree to which this feels like marionettes being led by a storyteller, rather than an organic character led tale.
A few interesting twists were introduced later on, the other characters were also hybrid creatures, which explains perhaps why they were underdeveloped at first, maybe this is now a battle royale….. but the twist came too late. The problem is there is no sense of overarching narrative progression. We reached the lab by the third chapter, spent a few more there introducing antagonists instead of fleshing out main characters, and then got the data we were looking for in the most anticlimactic way, which did nothing to change the complexion of the plot. Imagine if the basement in attack on titan was this uneventful……”
Where is this criticism from?
Well….its mine. If I am doing this exercise I might as well be self- critical. This sound fine and dandy but really pay attention to this criticism. Its nothing original, it’s just fanciful speech reiterating points others have made but consolidating it into one passage.
What is actual constructive criticism? Its criticism as a form of kindness…that tries to meet a work for what it is and yearns for it to be the best version of itself. Its not like the passage above… a cynical kind of distanced critique that pretends to understand narrative and art. Instead…. it has humility. To do this you have to have empathy yes…but also insight, genuine literacy at art and writing. That passage written by me, is frankly useless. Junk not worth the effort put in by Rin matsui no matter how many issues Dear anemone has.
And this only really hit me when I saw he removed mention of dear anemone from his twitter.

“Im sure they will come back in the future, and I look forward to their next work!”

How many times have we heard this platitude? The fact that its true doesn’t make it less platitudinous, but regardless, this is how most threads compassionate about the hardship about being a mangaka go when news of an axed serialization comes out. We saw it with mamayuyu, phantom seer, red hood….rookies trying to make it big and that have talent, but just lacked that special something to make things click.
This isnt a pity party, im sure they wouldnt want it either…. this is what they signed up for. There is a three strike rule apparently, again another piece of “knowledge” from bakuman. And it does happen, Horikoshi from MHA only struck it big on his third serialization. People grow and change and hone their craft.
But we can just say this, they have to actually go out and do it. Face the circus again when they had a failed serialization. This takes guts in itself. Fusai Naba came back with Kyokute Necromance after aliens area within 2 years ….a quick turnaround. What is he met with?
“Its too soon, his writing is still mediocre, not another damn exorcist manga(I’m guilty of this), the lead character doesn’t stand out, the plotting of the first chapters is a little dry, it was boring, its tries too hard” etc etc
Yet he still came back and is facing the music, choosing a safer theme which makes sense, and is on twitter happy he is back, and even heralded as the author of aliens area. It wasnt pushed under the rug. We call it axed, but shueisha doesn’t actually frame it that way, it was just a completed serialization. The series has fans ….pretty good for “failed art”

The Spirit of an artist

I’m not going to be so pretentious so as to presume to be able do the kind of critique any artist deserves, but in an optimistic twist of fate, right after a time skip chapter that usually signals a mangas inevitable end(into a bizarre alice in wonderland esque twist ….what are you cooking mr matsui?), Rin Matsui tweeted about dear anemone again.
https://twitter.com/ELECTRO_RING/status/1789771892062027803
本日発売週刊少年ジャンプ24号に「Dear Anemone」第12話が掲載されております。たまたま目に入った一コマでも見て頂けたらとても嬉しいです。
“Chapter 12 of "Dear Anemone" is published in the 24th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, which went on sale today. I would be very happy if you could take a look at even just one frame that happens to catch your eye.”
I thought the least I could do is respect his wishes.
The man’s art is legitimately stunning.
https://twitter.com/DailyFairy24/status/1789759301864628698/photo/1
And so all I can hope for with dear anemone and Rin Matsui is that he recognize his own talent. Yes I can say I hope he comes back, and I look forward to his next work, and he improves at his craft, but more than that….I hope dear anemone is acknowledged for what it is…with all its flaws. Art isnt just a product, it’s a process….a living testament to the blood, sweat and tears an artist puts out into the world that documents a journey only one person has ever been through. I don’t know whats going through Rin Matsuis head….but all I can say is that his work is more meaningful than the words we use to critique it ever will be.
I hope he sees that too.

Transitioning from being a cook to an online virtual assistant or freelancer in the food industry can be an exciting journey. Here are some top opportunities and tips to help you navigate this shift:

Top 10 Opportunities in the Food Industry as a VA/Freelancer

1. Recipe Development Assistant - Assist chefs and food bloggers by developing and testing new recipes.
2. Food Photography and Videography - Capture appealing food images and videos for clients’ websites and social media.
3. Nutritional Analysis Services - Offer macro and calorie calculations for recipes for health-focused blogs or meal prep businesses.
4. Cooking Class Coordinator - Organize and manage online cooking classes or workshops.
5. Food Blogger’s Assistant - Help with blog management, content creation, and social media management.
6. Menu Planner - Provide meal planning services for busy individuals or health and wellness websites.
7. Social Media Manager for Food Brands - Manage social media platforms by creating and scheduling food-related content.
8. Culinary Content Writer - Write articles, blog posts, and e-books about cooking techniques, food trends, and recipes.
9. Customer Support for Food Tech Companies - Provide online support for startups that offer food-related apps or websites.
10. Food Market Researcher - Conduct surveys and gather data on food products for market research firms.

Tips on Transitioning from Cook to Online Worker

1. Identify Your Skill Set: Reflect on the skills you have developed as a cook that can translate to online work, such as recipe development, attention to detail, and time management.
2. Learn New Skills: Acquire new skills relevant to online work such as digital marketing, content writing, or basic web design.
3. Start Small: Begin by taking small freelance gigs that require a mix of your current skills and new ones you are developing.
4. Network: Connect with others in the food industry online through platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram.
5. Use Free Resources: Utilize free online tools and platforms to learn and showcase new skills, like using Canva for design or WordPress for blogging.

Creating a Portfolio as a Career Shifter

• Record a Cooking Session: Film your cooking process, focusing on clear, high-quality visuals and concise explanations.
• Edit with CapCut: Use editing software like CapCut to refine your video, add captions for clarity, and insert appealing background music.
• Create a Recipe Book: Compile your recipes into a digital book format, including high-quality images and detailed instructions.
• Design Nutritional Social Media Posts: Use graphic design tools to create visually appealing posts about nutrition tips or macro breakdowns of recipes.

As you embark on this transition, remember that the skills and experiences you have gained as a cook are invaluable and can differentiate you in the digital world. Embrace continuous learning and stay adaptable to new trends in the food industry. Most importantly, keep your passion for food at the heart of all your endeavors. It’s this passion that will resonate with your future clients and help build a successful online career.

If you’d like to add an event to our calendar, submit an event here. Please check with the event organizers to see if events change due to weather. Have a great week!
See the full weekly calendar on our website.

Noteworthy Events

The Lion King at DPAC

• Winner of six Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, this landmark musical event brings together one of the most imaginative creative teams on Broadway.
• Wed, May 15 - Sun, June 9
• $29.50+

Adult Recess at CCB Plaza

• Let your inner child shine as you play games, make crafts, and enjoy the fresh air during your lunch break!
• Wed, May 15
• 12-2 p.m.
• Free admission

Duke Baseball vs UNC at Jack Coombs Field

• Thu, May 16 - Sat, May 18

Bimbé Celebration at Rock Quarry Park

• This family-oriented event is a celebration of African and African American history, culture, arts, and traditions. This year's headliner: Monica!
• Sat, May 18
• 1-7 p.m.
• Free admission

Peter Pan at The Carolina Theatre

• This adventure begins at the London home of the Darling family, a typical evening in 1912, as the weary parents try to settle their children down for bed while the young ones insist on staying up late. Little do Wendy, John, and Michael know that a fantastic journey awaits them that night.
• Sat, May 18
• 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
• $32+

DPW Limit Break at Durham Convention Center

• Wrestlers from all over the world will gather in one place for a night you won't forget.
• Sun, May 19
• 7 p.m.
• $25+

Multi-Day Events

The NGIN Cityscapes Summit at Durham Convention Center

• Hosted by national nonprofit, New Growth Innovation Network, prepare to connect with like-minded professionals and engage with purpose-driven organizations. Immerse yourself in workshops and captivating keynotes from renowned speakers, featuring three tracks of insightful sessions: Inclusive Capital, Community Wealth Building, and Reimagining Systems.
• Wed, May 15 - Fri, May 17
• Registration fees vary

Durham Greek Festival at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church

• Enjoy fabulous Greek food, desserts, wine and beer in a festive outdoor atmosphere. Continuous Greek music and scheduled folk dance performances.
• Sat, May 18, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Sun, May 19, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
• Free admission

Historic Buildings Open House at West Point on the Eno Park

• Enjoy a look inside the historic McCown-Mangum House, Photography Museum, and Mill.
• Sat, May 18 and Sun, May 19
• 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
• Free admission

Movies at The Carolina Theatre

• Libeled Lady
• Dirty Harry & Assault on Precinct 13
• Cat City
• Back to Black
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
• UHF

Monday, May 13

2 p.m.
Board Game Night at The Glass Jug in Downtown Durham
5 p.m.
Arts & Drafts at Fullsteam Brewery
6 p.m.
Disc Golf Putting League at The Glass Jug in RTP
6:30 p.m.
Trivia Night at Ponysaurus Brewing Company
7 p.m.
Community Board Game Night at Moon Dog Meadery

Tuesday, May 14

Events at Durty Bull Brewing Brewing Company

• 12-8 p.m. - Food Truck: Mike's Vegan Cookout
• 7-9 p.m. - Bull City Beer Runners Run Club
• 7-8 p.m. - Puzzled Pints Game Night

Events at The Glass Jug Beer Lab in Downtown Durham

• 5:45-6:30 p.m. - Community Zumba Classes
• 6-8 p.m. - Music Bingo

Events at The Glass Jug Beer Lab in RTP

• 6-8 p.m. - The Glass Jog Run Club
• 6-9 p.m. - Stitch & Sip

5:30 p.m.
Boxyard Run Club at Boxyard RTP
6 p.m.
In Other Words at Arcana
Duke Baseball vs College of Charleston at Jack Coombs Field
Bring Your Own Vinyl with Jaffar at Rubies on Five Points
Women on the Wall at Triangle Rock Club - Durham
6:30 p.m.
Trivia at Durham Food Hall
Pony Ride at Ponysaurus Brewing Company
7 p.m.
Trivia at Beer Study Durham
Not Rocket Science Trivia at DSSOLVR Durham
Tuesday Blues Jam at The Blue Note Grill
8 p.m.
Comedy Night at Bull City Ciderworks
Jeremy 'Bean' Clemons Trio at Kingfisher
Enter Shikari at Motorco Music Hall
Vision Video + Tears For The Dying at The Pinhook

Wednesday, May 15

Events at Atomic Empire

• 6:30 p.m. - Dragon Ball Fusion World Release Event
• 7 p.m. - Flesh and Blood Armory Event

Events at Boxyard RTP

• 12-2 p.m. - Hear & There: Daniel Delorenzo
• 5:30-8:30 p.m. - Game Night

Events at ZincHouse Winery & Brewery

• 7-8 p.m. - Signature Wine Tasting
• 7-8:30 p.m. - Laughs Comedy Night

9 a.m.
Senior Short Game Clinic at Hillandale Golf Course
10:30 a.m.
Storytime on the Roof with Durham County Library at The Durham Hotel
12 p.m.
Adult Recess at CCB Plaza
3 p.m.
Durham Farmers’ Market at Durham Central Park
4 p.m.
Whiskey Wednesdays at Alley Twenty Six
5 p.m.
Free Wednesday Wine Tasting at Beer Study Durham
5:30 p.m.
Ride of Silence at CCB Plaza
6 p.m.
Queer Craft Night and Tarot with Joy at Arcana
Bimbe Community Block Party at Holton Career & Resource Center
Come Take a Flight With Us: A Bright Black Workshop at Proximity Brewing Company
Free RTP Business Rockstar Connect Networking Event at Sheraton Imperial Hotel
Sweet Social: Auntie's African Ice Cream at The Durham Hotel
6:30 p.m.
Trivia Night with Pickle at The Glass Jug Beer Lab in RTP
7 p.m.
Bottle Swap: Homebrew Club at Durty Bull Brewing Brewing Company
Skip The Small Talk: Speed Friending Event at Fullsteam Brewery
Hammered Trivia at Hi-Wire Brewing
Karaoke Night at Mavericks Smokehouse
Music Bingo at Ponysaurus Brewing Company
3rd Wednesday Jazz Jam Session at Succotash Southern & Creole Kitchen
Brett Chambers Open Mic at The Blue Note Grill
8 p.m.
Air Hockey Tournament at Boxcar Bar + Arcade
Trivia Night at Bull McCabe's
Karaoke at Moon Dog Meadery
The Weeks at Motorco Music Hall
Blends With Friends at The Pinhook

Thursday, May 16

Events at Boxyard RTP

• 7:30-8 a.m. - Bike Durham: Bike to Work
• 12-2 p.m. - Taking Back Thursday: Sheila Casalett

Events at Durty Bull Brewing Brewing Company

• 12-8 p.m. -Food Truck: Mike's Vegan Cookout
• 7-9 p.m. - Thursday Trivia with Nick

8:30 a.m.
Harnessing the Power of AI to Ensure Equitable HR Practices at RTI Holden Building
9:30 a.m.
Guide Supported Canoeing, Kayaking, and Standup Paddleboarding at Eno River
12:15 p.m.
Midday Meander: A Strolling Conversation at Sarah P. Duke Gardens
3 p.m.
Guided Museum Tour at 21c Museum Hotels Durham
5 p.m.
Thirsty Thursdays at Dashi
Righteous Roots Reggae Show at The Glass Jug Beer Lab in RTP
5:30 p.m.
Walking Club with Bull City Strollers at The Glass Jug Beer Lab in Downtown Durham
6 p.m.
Queer Trivia at Arcana
Vinyl Night with DJ Deckades at Gizmo Brew Works
6:15 p.m.
Pony Run at Ponysaurus Brewing Company
6:30 p.m.
AfterHours: Science of Beer at Museum of Life and Science
Line Dance Classes at Mystic Farm and Distillery
Space Code Youth Open Mic at NorthStar Church of the Arts
Boulders & Brews Meetup at Triangle Rock Club - Durham
7 p.m.
Trivia Night at Beer Tooth Taproom
Bimbé Cypher at CCB Plaza
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night at Congress Social Bar
Duke Baseball vs UNC at Jack Coombs Field
Summer Jazz Jam (Curated by Al Strong) at Missy Lane's Assembly Room
Community Board Game Night at Moon Dog Meadery
Al Strong Presents Jazz on the Roof at The Durham Hotel
7:30 p.m.
Trivia Night with Big Slow Tom at Clouds Brewing Brightleaf Square
Reverend Billy C. Wirtz / Armand Lenchek & Carter Minor at The Blue Note Grill
Pillow Talk: Speed Dating and Conversations About Sex / Sexuality at The Pinhook
8 p.m.
Weekly Single Mingle at Boxcar Bar + Arcade
Trivia at Fullsteam Brewery
Danny Lopriore at Motorco Music Hall
9 p.m.
DJ Halo Presents: No Requests at Rubies on Five Points
9:30 p.m.
Karaoke Night at The Tavern

Friday, May 17

Events at Atomic Empire

• 6:30 p.m. - Lorcana: Ursula’s Return Release Event
• 6:30 p.m. - Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Draft

Events at Durty Bull Brewing Company

• 5-9 p.m. - Food Truck: La Republica Taco Truck
• 8-11 p.m. - Open Mic Stand-up Comedy

Events at Mettlesome

• 7:30-9 p.m. - Wit: An Improv Comedy Game Show
• 9-10 p.m. - Hush Hush

Events at Moon Dog Meadery

• 6:45 p.m. - Lindy Hop Lesson + Dance
• 7:30 p.m. - Djam
• 9:30 p.m. - Bachata Dance Night

Events at The Blue Note Grill

• 6-8 p.m. - The Duke Street Dogs
• 9:15 p.m. - The Beautiful People Club

10 a.m.
Tasting at Ten at Counter Culture Coffee
12 p.m.
Co-Working Social at The Glass Jug Beer Lab in Downtown Durham
4 p.m.
Late Spring Tree Ramble at Sarah P. Duke Gardens
5 p.m.
Guided Museum Tours at 21c Museum Hotels Durham
Food Truck Friday at The Glass Jug Beer Lab in RTP
5:30 p.m.
LOJO: Log Off, Jam On at Boxyard RTP
6 p.m.
Aly J & Kevin Clark and Tarot with Kathleen at Arcana
Third Friday Art Walk at Downtown Durham
Friday Night Makes at Durham Arts Council
May Third Friday at Durham Arts Council
Counterpoints Exhibition Reception at Durham Bottling Co.
Third Friday at Golden Belt Arts
Duke Baseball vs UNC at Jack Coombs Field
Screenprint Roundup at The Fruit
The Patio Dance Parties : Clueless Fridays at Unscripted Durham
6:30 p.m.
Kayla Waters (Hosted by Marcus Anderson) at Missy Lane's Assembly Room
7 p.m.
Live Vinyl Spinning by PhDJ at Beer Study Durham
Early Show: John Howie Jr. / Ramona and The Holy Smokes at The Pinhook
7:30 p.m.
Evening Eno Exploration Paddle at Eno River
Evan Ringel & Ariel Pocock at Sharp 9 Gallery
8 p.m.
Pass the Aux at Boricua Soul
Stereo Reveries at DSSOLVR Durham
Karaoke! at Fullsteam Brewery
Cheekface at Motorco Music Hall
Dance Blues Friday at Studio 5
9 p.m.
Kayla Waters (Hosted by Marcus Anderson) at Missy Lane's Assembly Room
10 p.m.
The Floor: Special Guest THEYDYLIKE at Rubies on Five Points

Saturday, May 18

Events at Atomic Empire

• 11 a.m. - Pokémon TCG: League Cup
• 1 p.m. - Lorcana: Ursula’s Return Release Event
• 2 p.m. - Game Designers of North Carolina Meetup

Events at Boxyard RTP 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. - Will & Well: Grand Opening

• 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. - Saturdaze: DJ k.ward

Events at Durty Bull Brewing Company

• 1-8 p.m. - Food Truck: Death By Taco
• 3-7 p.m. - 3rd Saturday Vintage + Maker Market
• 5-9 p.m. - Home Brewed: CNOTE Art Spectacular

Distillery Tours and Tastings at Liberty & Plenty

• Every Saturday, 10-10:30 a.m. and 11-11:30 a.m.

Events at Mettlesome

• 7:30-8:30 p.m. - House Party
• 8:30-9:30 p.m. - Harold Night
• 9:30-10:30 p.m. - Mint Condition Standup Showcase

Events at The Fruit

• 5-8 p.m. - Menace To Society Album Listening Party
• 7:30-10 p.m. - HUMP! Film Festival
• 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. - Puro Perreo Pari

Events at The Pinhook

• 7:30 p.m. - Boogie Burly Nights... A Groovy 70s Show
• 10:30 p.m. - Drake and Friends 2

Guided Walking Tours with Triangle Adventures

• 2 p.m. - Downtown Durham Walking Tour
• 4 p.m. - Durham African American History Tour
• 6 p.m. - Downtown Durham True Crime Tour

7 a.m.
Lookin For A Cure at Bull City Running Company-South
8 a.m.
Durham Farmers' Market at Durham Central Park
parkrun Durham at Southern Boundaries Park
9 a.m.
South Durham Farmers' Market at Greenwood Commons Shopping Center
9:30 a.m.
Guide Supported Canoeing, Kayaking, and Standup Paddleboarding at Eno River
10 a.m.
Pop Up Record Show at Beer Durham
Durham's Home Goods Market at Black Wall St Gardens
Bear Awareness Week at Museum of Life and Science
10:30 a.m.
Mother's Day Brunch at The Durham Hotel
11 a.m.
Battle of the Blades 2024 at Historic Durham Athletic Park
12 p.m.
Springtime Outdoor Market at Boxcar Bar + Arcade
Crafternoons at Gizmo Brew Works
Preservation Durham Annual Home Tour: The Rambling Ranch at Orchard Park Picnic Shelter
1 p.m.
Duke Baseball vs UNC at Jack Coombs Field
Say It With Glass Workshop - Sam Nguyen at Moon Dog Meadery
Bimbé Celebration at Rock Quarry Park
2 p.m.
Closing Reception — Dan Gottlieb: Figure Ground at Craven Allen Gallery
Durham "Bullpen" Treasure Hunt - Walking Team Scavenger Hunt! at Fullsteam Brewery
3 p.m.
A Beautiful Noise Spring Concert by the Common Woman Chorus at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Peter Pan at The Carolina Theatre
4 p.m.
Family Fun Saturday: May Flowers at Guglhupf Restaurant
5 p.m.
Rooftops and Alleyways Community Canvas Wall Brawl at Dashi
Durham Blues & Brews Festival at Durham Central Park
Hops & Blues at The Glass Jug Beer Lab in RTP
6 p.m.
The Moon Unit and Tarot with Emily at Arcana
Peter Pan at The Carolina Theatre
6:30 p.m.
Kayla Waters (Hosted by Marcus Anderson) at Missy Lane's Assembly Room
7 p.m.
A Beautiful Noise Spring Concert by the Common Woman Chorus at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Crones of Anarchy: Blues, Rock, Americana at Succotash Southern & Creole Kitchen
7:30 p.m.
Jim Ketch Swingtet at Sharp 9 Gallery
Big Birthday Dance Party: Combo Platter with 2 Sides at The Blue Note Grill
8:15 p.m.
BBYMUTHA: Sleep Paralysis Tour 2024 at Motorco Music Hall
9 p.m.
Kayla Waters (Hosted by Marcus Anderson) at Missy Lane's Assembly Room
10 p.m.
Fortune Factory Presents: Taurus Dance Party at Rubies on Five Points

Sunday, May 19

Events at Atomic Empire

• 11:30 a.m. - Star Wars: Shatterpoint Tournament
• 12 p.m. - Battletech Campaign Day
• 1 p.m. - Lorcana: Ursula’s Return Release Event

Events at Durty Bull Brewing Company

• 2-4 p.m. - Hammered Trivia with Casey
• 4-8 p.m. - The Blood Connection Blood Drive

10 a.m.
Jazz Brunch at Lula & Sadie's
10:30 a.m.
Al Strong Presents Jazz Brunch at Alley Twenty Six
12 p.m.
Preservation Durham Annual Home Tour: The Rambling Ranch at Orchard Park Picnic Shelter
Sunday Dollar Bin Sale for Charity at Rumors Durham
Supernatural Sunday - Psychic Affair + Healers Market at Weldon Mills Distillery
Farmers Market at ZincHouse Winery & Brewery
12:15 p.m.
Public Tour at Duke Chapel
2 p.m.
Hillandale Golf Beginner Clinic at Hillandale Golf Course
3:30 p.m.
Davis Dance Company Spring Recital 2024 at The Carolina Theatre
4 p.m.
Showings at Scripps: Miguel Gutierrez at ADF's Samuel H. Scripps Studios
Carmina Burana at Baldwin Auditorium
Día de las Madres Kermes at El Futuro’s Therapeutic Green Space
String Break at Fullsteam Brewery
6 p.m.
Emma Jane's EP Release Show and Tarot with Joy at Arcana
Davis Dance Company Spring Recital 2024 at The Carolina Theatre
6:30 p.m.
Open Mic Night at Moon Dog Meadery
7 p.m.
DPW Limit Break at Durham Convention Center

Running Art Exhibit

Hometown (Inherited): Ten Year Retrospective at The Fruit

• This project examines the changing landscape of our city through a series of forty mixed media pieces the artist has created since 2014.
• Third Friday openings on Apr 19 and May 17, 6-9 p.m.
• Drop-in by appointment and Wednesdays 4-7 p.m.
• Free admission

Dan Gottlieb: Figure Ground at Craven Allen Gallery

• Each piece begins as a photograph, which is then printed on acrylic and worked with a variety of paints and compounds to create a unique surface.
• Sat, May 4 - Sat, May 18
• Free admission

Constellations: 40 Years of Explorations within Sacred Geometry by Steven Ferlauto at Horse & Buggy Press and Friends

• Sacred Geometry is an ancient field of physics whose equations are expressed through shape. Shape is a way to explore the universal fabric of our existence.
• Sat, May 4 - Sat, June 1
• Free admission

It Ain’t All Black And White at DAG Truist Gallery

• It Ain’t All Black and White is a photography exhibition that encourages us to consider emotions such as serenity, apprehension, yearning, and more.
• Captured by 11 dynamic photographers dedicated to documenting the fullness and complexity of Black life, this exhibition offers each of us an opportunity to see ourselves with renewed attention.
• Thu, Apr 25 - Sun, June 2

María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold at Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

• María Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold is a monographic exhibition of a visionary voice in photography, immersive installation, painting and performance.
• Thu, Feb 15 - Sun, Jun 9
• Every week, Tue-Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun 12-5 p.m.
• Free admission

Counterpoints at Durham Bottling Co.

• Counterpoints is a curated showcase of local AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) artists, delving into the convergence of AAPI identity and mental health. Inspired by the intricate layers of musical counterpoint, its purpose is to weave together diverse narratives and confront the stigma surrounding mental health within our communities.
• Wed, May 1 - Sun, June 16
• Mon - Fri, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Cameron Elyse's Divine Nine Legacy Memoir Exhibition at Hayti Heritage Center

• The Divine Nine Legacy Memoir delves deep into the history of the National Panhellenic Council (NPHC) or "Divine Nine," a collective of nine Greek Letter organizations founded on May 10th, 1930.
• These organizations were born out of the necessity to provide a voice for Black American students within the collegiate space. United by principles of service, community, brotherhood, and sisterhood, the Divine Nine work collectively to uplift society through acts of service to underserved areas across the nation.
• Fri, Apr 19 - Sat, June 1
• Free admission

What started out as a half-assed spark of inspiration from a recent reread of and catching up with current Jujutsu Kaisen has become a growing concept, both in how it occupies my mind and in its contents. I've gone through multiple bouts of "I've got it it!" and "Damn, nothings sticking" and am almost ready to give up on the entire idea.
The main issues that I see are a lack of a thematic throughline, with many ideas that conflict in themes and don't completely line up together, and a lack of actual context since I started with the system first and left the actual world/story it inhabits as a afterthought, causing it to only exist in a vacuum and to lack any narrative depth.
I'm hoping that by glibbing about all my loose ideas I'll be able to get things in order and maybe someone can find something worthwhile in all this or give a possible idea for how to give this system (and maybe the world too) some connective tissue. I realize this process is inherently flawed but I'm not actively planning on making this a professional thing, it's just a sort of fun idea.
Ayways, here are all my concepts:
• The energy source is negative in nature and is actively harmful to the magic users. This (as is the case with a couple of my other ideas) is very much inspired by JJK as I found the idea of tweaking the usual nature for a system's energy source to be interesting.
Basically, the energy of this system, known as Aevo (the name has no significant meaning) exists within the surroundings as Ambient Aevo. Magic users can draw this in and turn it into Innate Aevo which they can then harness. This energy is like a foreign agent and negatively stimulates and almost poisons the body over time. Eventually, a magic user must relinquish this energy and then re-absorb more it in order to avoid these harmful effects.
The idea of people's energy storage capacities being very limited and needing to always be aware of said levels is interesting to me and feels like it could give way to interesting dynamics in combat.
• Innate Aevo has physical properties. Although I'm taking major inspiration from various Shounen power systems, I had the idea of making the energy source less of a spiritual, liquid-fire like substance and more like something that could almost be classified as physical. IA would have some form of mass, weight, etc. The more one has, the more it effects their density and holding too much in one spot can effect their center of balance.
I think viewing the energy source in this way could give some unique properties to its basic applications, especially if it includes aspects of things like negative mass or other theoretical physics concepts.
• There are two main types of abilities: Manifested and Inherited.
Manifested abilities are, well, manifested individually. Through whatever phenomena that spawns them, they come to reflect less of the individual themselves or their personality but rather a specific part of them, their perception of themselves or whatever emotion was prevalent at the time of manifestation (I'm still unsure about this part). These abilities are flexible and have room to evolve and become stronger.
Inherited abilities are passed down from one person to another, typically in a biological fashion although their can be special cases that don't involve blood. These abilities are rigid due to them not being personalized and they cannot be added on to. They also can tend to accumulate a will of their own from previous users which can be an advantage or a hindrance depending on the ability.
• Abilties can almost be qualified as a form of information or code. Basically, you can think of it like magic users having an ability slot or inventory and their ability and techniques take up space within this (inspired by how Cursed Techniques in JJK are stored within the brain and imprinted onto the body/soul). They are measured in engrams.
Every person has limited space, with their core ability taking up most of it. How much space an ability and techniques made from it take up depends on their complexity and power. A spatial manipulation ability would probably only allow room for two techniques whilst a simple "any inanimate object I punch explodes" ability could allow for 3-5 or something. This space could probably be increased through either experience or forceful alterations.
•Abilities have different release forms. These were developed for energy efficiency reasons and most magic users have all 3.
-》Auxiliary Release: the weakest form with the least mass or range. Barely expends Aevo and is typically for utilitary purposes.
-》Primary Release: the most common and well balanced form, moderate Aevo cost that allows for prolonged usage and gives access to most of a magic user's techniques.
-》Absolute Release: the most powerful and taxing form, basically a one and done that then immediately exhausts one's ability and Aevo supply.
**•Abilites are most similar to stands or personas. They can take on some sort of form with elements that are symbolic of whatever aspect of the user they are based on. Some act like stands, some envelop the user, some fuse with objects or people, some act autonomously, etc.
• Abilities are viewed in a very mechanical way. Another thing inspired by JJK. Abilities can be segmented into various parts similar to say a code. There's a function, a process, input, output, etc. The speed at which an ability is activated and whether or not it can be deactivated mid-activation, how much inputed power is translated into output, that sort of stuff.
These aspects can be modified like how the qualities of a Domain Expansion can be altered and understanding them gives way to the possibility for evolving an ability.
• Tools are a very common and important part of every magic user's skillset. They are often employed in order to work around energy limitations and almost everyone has one for combat (like how Persona characters have their weapons). They'd be grouped into the following categories:
**-Sidearm/Supplementary: used in combat, often tailor-made. A magic user can imprint engrams of their ability and techniques onto it, allowing them to use it in conjunction with their primary means of utilizing their ability and allowing them to use their ability even after exhausting it, though the amount of times they can do this is limited.
-Embedded Tools: technically another ability category although it can be either Manifested or Inherited. Instead of storing the ability within themselves, the ability is stored within the tool. This would provide some sort of advantages (which I haven't figured out yet) along with vulnerabilities. This often causes the tool to gain some form of personality or pseudo-sentience to it.
-Transfigured Tools: tools made from the parts or entirety of magic users through various laborious processes and rituals or whatnot. Highly taboo and reviled but sought after by many for their rarity and high power.
**•Some sort of Anti Aevo, like Antimatter. It annihilates regular Aevo. It could maybe have the opposite effect of Aevo and could do things like replenish biometrics or extinguish an opponent's Aevo supply or ability at the cost of doing the same to your own.
Hard to master and has a more limited output in comparison to regular Aevo.
•Every individual has a set limit for how much genetic damage they can take from Innate Aevo that's called Biometrics. Bio's are set at birth and can be vastly different between different people. Higher bio's allows one to absorb more Aevo and to cycle it in at a highefaster rate before reaching a critical state.
•Much like in worlds like Bleach, there are both unique abilities and open-source techniques which I'm simply calling **spells for now. These spells can be accessed even by those without abilities and can have a wide range of uses.
Maybe it's the case that only those without abilities can develop spells and the process of doing so is lengthy and generally requires a collective effort of creating seals, mantras, rituals, etc. that can take decades. I don't know how to properly explain it but you can think of these spells as being stored in some massive data bank that can only be accessed by those who are aligned with the specific school or organization or whatever else that created and owns these spells.
Although non-ability magic users are usually less powerful than ones with abilities, some have managed to become viable combatants and can even challenge some magic users with abilities.
• I don't really want to restrict the kinds of abilities that can exist in this world so in typical shounen-esque fashion, anything you could imagine can be an ability.
Current ideas include gross, floating mouth orbs that can record, alter and amplify sounds, being able to revert objects or people back to specific points in space and time, forcing the user and a target to follow a set rhythm in their actions or be punished in some way, etc.
**•Something like Restrictions (HxH) or Binding Vows (JJK) exists within this system. These self-imposed conditions are actually the foundation of one's ability as in its natural state, an ability is only tied to the individual in some vague, esoteric way and cannot impact reality so by imposing a condition onto one's self (like a hand sign or shouting out a name or gesture or outside stimulus) the ability gains material form and can then affect reality.
•There are a plethora of animal species born with Aevo infused into them. They are often used like familiars for various purposes. They are also often used as material for certain Tools.
**•Some kind of monsters exist in this world who I'm currently thinking are like mutated humans exposed to too much Aevo or something. They lose most of their personality and morality but still hold on to some part of their old character and can have varying degrees of sentience. They're like walking nuclear reactors and can throw around Aevo all willy-nilly unlike the magic users.
They possess Innate Traits that are essentially their form of abilities. I could imagine that the magic users often hunt them down to eliminate the danger they pose and to harvest them in some manner, maybe as part of some important cycle in this world's power system and greater ecosystem.
**•There exists a power-up/critical hit known as "Brightburn". I don't know why I chose that name and am not sure of whether I like it or not. If it's gas, I'll keep it but if it's ass, I'll toss it.
Anyway, there exists a form of Aevo known as True Aevo which takes on a brilliant, blue hue. Most characters are actually using an impure version Aevo (though I don't know what it's colour would be). I initially viewed Aevo through the lens of radiation and thought of impure Aevo as a process of fission and True Aevo as a form of fusion.
This energy is nearly boundless yet dangerous because of it. No one can use it for more than a couple of minutes continuously and it's akin to spawning and trying to contain a nuclear explosion. A lack of skill or ineptitude can lead to a violent and explosive demise. Most who've mastered this simply use it in short bursts to boost singular moves.
It could also maybe come with certain secondary benefits like replenishing biometrics or something.

I think those are about all the ideas I've got so far. In terms of the story and world, I have small ideas like:
-》There being some event that occurred in the past tha fundamentally altered human beings, making them susceptible to an energy source that they shouldn't naturally have access to and this being a running mystery throughout the story
-》The major events of the story taking place in some hidden continent from which this incident occurred that characters with Manifested powers get transported to for some reason.
-》The existence of a second sun invisible from conventional instruments and eyes that is the source of all Aevo
-》The phenomenon which grants magic users their Manifested abilities causing some near death experience that places them in contact with some sort of enigmatic entity or or group which promises to save them and grant them power in exchange for their autonomy or something the value and forcing them into some grand but vague mission or game.
In terms of possible thematic throughlines, the main idea I have right now is in regards to the human ego. A person's identity, carnal desires, environmental influences, etc. I'd want to explore my ideas about identity and the ego and whether the latter is truly important if I went with this.
Trying to blend science and mysticism is also a idea I have.

There is a broader conspiracy at work but it's not very complex. People are trying to connect too many dots and it's only making things murky. There's three different angles at play here:

1. The beef is mostly about money. Drake is eating off everyone's plate. He's more of a label exec or a conglomerate at this point than an artist. He steals other artists' music and likely profits off their masters as part of his contract with UMG. He throws every rapper he signs to OVO into a ghostwriter sweatshop. Playing gangster, banging other dude's girls, his pedo antics, and appropriating the culture were just more reasons to hate him. He's been getting away with all this for years because he's directly protected by UMG CEO Lucian Grainge and other industry execs. The beef is actually a revolt against UMG. UMG got cocky. They saw big dollar signs and assumed they could simply buy Drake a win by using bot farms and labelling Kendrick as a domestic abuser. They clearly got outmanuevered. Now they have to sit down at the negotiating table with an independent label and focus on salvaging Drake's image.
   
2. The Ebony Prince thread is just a sideshow. Drake is being extorted/blackmailed by some street dude who makes a living reselling high profile celeb memorabilia. He probably keeps workers at luxury hotels on his payroll and has ties to the industry. That's how he linked up with Kendrick. I don't think this is directly connected to any broader conspiracy. Obsessing over it is a waste of time. He just wants a bag.
   
3. The Actual Conspiracy: Drake has been openly grooming young girls for years. A lot of the evidence is out in the open for anyone interested enough to search for it. He's likely implicated in an elite sex trafficking ring funded by money laundering and directly tied to organized crime. Nearly everyone with knowledge of it is either kept in line through blackmail, paid to look the other way, or intimidated into silence. I've seen at least one document suggesting UMG and certain execs (including Lucian) financially benefit from this enterprise and/or are complicit in a cover up. If true, UMG is criminal enterprise that makes BMF look like a "mom & pop" shop operation in comparison. The feds would have to bring RICO charges to take them down.
   

Tl;dr there's one obvious conspiracy and two semi-related narratives that are only incidentally related. Looking at them as one giant jigsaw puzzle is a mistake.

Context: I played Fallout 3, 4, and New Vegas before this. I'm not interested in putting my words into a coherent review, but more of my personal experience and emotions playing Fallout 1.
This game is old, it's so old that it needs the original PC box that came with a manual, which contained the keyboard controls, Thank god for the internet. This has no tutorial and my god has it aged visually that I wondered if my eyes were dying. I need to remember to F6 (it's not F5 to quick save here) a lot before I do something unintentionally stupid. My strength was too damn low to even hold up a hand gun??? Restarted with a new character at least 4 times before I got to the 2nd town and got my ass handed to me. How the fuck does sneaking work and pickpocketing work?
With all these complaints set aside of learning how to play an old ass game.
This game great, it doesn't hold your hand and rewards you greatly with solving problems like an old time adventure game and takes the table top style role playing game seriously. The exploration is addicting like the newer iterations where you rummage every bookshelf or locker and talking to every NPC to collect as much info as you can. The quests aren't logged and there's no direction or map pinpoint to show you where to go much like Elden Ring as a recent example.
Oh you think you can be a brain dead player following an indicator on your map? No you dumb fucker, you're gonna have to actually read carefully and remember an NPC's name and location. You missed or ignored a side quest for a few days? Guess what, those NPCs are dead cause the Super Mutants invasion plot is taking over since the plot is moving forward. That's right, there's a 100 day countdown and 100 day extension (1000 caps to send water) to save your vault. So you can't bankrupting the towns or save a settlement that needs your help (Preston cries in settlements) with this urgent plot moving forward fast.
So I built my character on speech and small guns going for a charismatic, gunslinger and thinking I'll be the talk of the town. Well the game takes your cockiness into consideration when a deathclaw hands your ass in a near beginner quest. Apparently you can sneak past it, but I don't know how that works. So I worked on getting to the brotherhood of steel to get that sweet power armor. Wait, you can't wear it cause you don't have a carrying capacity unless you get rid of a lot of the loot you collected. Killed the deathclaw, but disappointed i can't wear it like a trophy.
Talking my ass out thinking i can get out of any situation with 100 speech. Most of this is true. Then you snark in front of the Super mutant boss and he blows your ass off with a minigun. Or you join the mutants and the game ends. But wait, the mutant leader can torture you and see if you can take punches. As a result you get thrown in prison and you can't escape unless you have high sneak. Well sneak these nuts, I'm reloading to a save before I got into that predicament.
Hey look. I got a companion named Ian, cool dude, I like Ian. then Ian got blown up by a rocket launcher from a random super mutant encounter. RIP Ian and his leather jacket. No companion respawns.
I beat the game talking to The Master to death. Hell yeah, my charisma and science check saved my vault. Wait they fucking exiled me after going through the meat grinder for them? Then Ron Pearlman narrates there were side stories I missed and had some very bad endings for the side characters.
This game is merciless and a roller coaster of emotions unlike the modern games which have a more action rpg focus that let you off pretty easy with little consequences. This entire game feels like a wack a mole of consequences and I love it. I barely even talked about 1/10th of the things that happened in my play through. This is a game where you want to talk about your journey, because of how difficult and strange it can be going in blind.
As for the lore, I'm very impressed to see where the later games took the baton and grew from there including my man Harold, the mutated dude who turns into a tree in Fallout 3. I didn't know you had it so bad Harold.
I have to replay the game with a different build and take a different exploration path. But what really made this my favorite fallout game was the Bramen cows saying "Moo, I say."
further random thoughts.

• the action point system being able to shoot specific limbs must have been extremely impressive back in the day.
• Still not sure what backpack and bags do, apparently they're for organizing inventory. I thought a backpack would increase carrying capacitor.
• still can't find ammo for rocket launcher. My only shot went past the super mutant I intended to shoot and killed another further away. Beautiful happy accidents.
• They had a stacked voice cast. Jim Cummings, Tony, Ron Pearlman, Richard dean anderson, Cree Summer, David Warmer, Tony Jay, Clancy Brown, and so many others.
• The best written Fallout? Not in overall narrative, but it was very thoughtful in writing out the choices and letting them play out. Especially if intelligence is 1 point.
• There's something very special about the crude full motion videos back in the day.
• I would love to have Fallout return to the table top style game play one day.
• I will play Fallout 2 as soon as I get all the good endings and exterminate all the deathclaws.

My fellow gamers, for too long has our community suffered the indignation of an intolerable culture that has denigrated, besmirched, exploited, and has outright demonized our culture of unique individuals with a genuine love of a hobby that they see as profitable and progressive. They have taken beloved IP’s (Intellectual Properties) and twisted them into their own personal ideological crusade of undermining and humiliating the core aspects of characters they deemed as “Toxic” or “White Supremacy”. Through the guise and protection of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity) & ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) they have used our influence in the entertainment industry to push their narratives and agendas that have stigmatized our culture with numerous anti-consumer practices that they call “being progressive”. But the truth of the matter is they were never really looking to be a part of our community, they simply wanted to use our community as a tool of activism and propaganda in the entertainment industry as it was extremely profitable, and they wanted inclusion in that division. Ever since GamerGate & Female Frequency, we have had to endure the incursion of forced ideologies, xenophobic behaviors and inferior overpriced products that have never been in our best interest and have been flat out disgraceful towards foreign media.
Before Gaming had become a major source of entertainment, we were often categorized as anti-social or societies rejects where because we found more enjoyment in playing fictional characters and not spending as much time out and about, we never fully assimilated in society (which is a good thing if you ask me). From 1998 to 2007, at the height of innovation, creativity and production, Gaming had reached a golden age in which it had revolutionized society. Hollywood Execs who had ruined the movie industry turned their attention to video games as a source of income since video games had outperformed movies in terms of profit. No one was concerned about gaming, much less diversity or inclusivity until it became profitable. This makes people like SBI look extremely disingenuous as they were not interested in gamers as a community with its own culture. They simply wanted to use it as another weapon in identity politics.
Microtransactions; the hidden enemy to gamer progress and inducer to mental laziness of our community. Microtransactions have been around for a long time; however, it has never been more potent and apparent than in recent years. It has aided in the dismantling and segregation of players on the ideology of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and has created another sub-culture of gamers who have no real drive to be better outside of how much money they put into the game. This has degraded our culture as well as we have become “fat” off transactional gaming but at the same time we have been “starved” of purposeful gaming where our achievements were our sustenance. I am not saying that microtransactions are bad, but when they are exploitative and predatorial like they have been and don’t give gamers room to grow, we become lethargic and unwilling to improve ourselves as gamers. Oversaturated microtransactional games are one of the many reasons why we have become complacent and unwilling to fight against the exploitative tactics used by big brand game companies such EA, Ubisoft, ActivisionBlizzard, NaughtyDog and so many other western business model companies. Western style games were not like this in the past, they had much more depth and actual effort put into them with the gamer in mind. This has not been the case for over a decade and our connection to western developers has been whittled down to just being transactional. That is one of the reasons why you see so many remasters and remakes in today’s gamer community. They have lost their willingness to improve as developers of games and simply accept corporate/share holder rules.
Game journalists also do not have any real integrity or purpose outside of being funded for their involvement in promoting IPG (Identity Political Games) in a positive light to the public whether it’s positively received or not. They are not interested in what we have to say, they all support the same agenda and that is why they are a dying breed. Within the next couple of years, they will be out of the job and more than likely they will not be able to stay in the industry giving how they have responded to past articles that have clearly been scripted on the premise of diversity and racism. Not only that, but most of them are also extremely hostile to the community as they stereotype and defame the individuals that are a part of the community they are supposed to serve. We have been mentally liberated from their lies and coercive tactics as we tend to laugh at their obvious attempt at virtue signaling while hiding their misdoings so that they can play the victim.
My gamer brothers & sisters, I would not suggest the following action that we must take now without good cause. I have weighed our options and the best option for us now is this…...CULTURAL SECESSION. Naturally this is a form of segregation where they would more than likely claim they are being segregated by the dominant culture of the gaming community but that is incorrect. For years now we have been the ones who are often marginalized and ostracized for the smaller portion of our community. And when we aren’t, we’re exploited for more funds so that these companies can stay in business only to subject us to low quality products that coincide with the “WOKE Agenda” that are often huge expenses to these big brands i.e. AAA/AAAA games that will eventually flop for its obvious forced diversity and bug infested product which will undoubtedly piss off the consumer to the point of wanting a refund. Losing copious amounts of capital and stock in the process, not to mention their reputation is permanently marred.
We must separate on every cultural level in terms of entertainment and ideology. We must reject everything from the west that promotes toxic western beliefs, practices, and exclusion from other cultures (i.e. Southeastern Countries such as Japan and Korea). Japan & Korea have been the targets of unjust discrimination from Western Developers, Western Journalists, Western Localizers (The Wokelizers) and Western Society Prejudice regarding their sense of aesthetics as Westerners hate the aesthetic sense of these countries. The reason why they resort to such base tactics isn’t just because it weaponizes the ideal female form but it’s also because they have deep-seated insecurities about their own looks so when they see attractive female characters, they use terms such as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized” to establish the moral high ground. But the truth is, they want to feel superior to that which is ideal, so they insult and dehumanize this figure that portrays natural female beauty because they see it as an insult to their own social superiority in what they believe is a hierarchy of them being at the top of all other women. Because of this and so many contributing factors, their movies flop harder than the Fat Chocobo landing on a group of enemies and their games seismically fail just as much if not more. We must sever our connection to Western Developers, Publishers, and ALL Western-Centric Entertainment for they seek to mentally enslave us to their Xenophobic ideology.
Let’s define Western Culture and its traits. Western Culture/Society is composed of more than several different ideologies that work in unison with one another to facilitate dominance over multiple aspects of society. Business, Social, Political, Technological, and sometimes even Global Affairs are affected by these ideologies that portray a specific mindset of Western beliefs. What are those ideologies you ask?

• Perpetual Victimhood: By weaponizing the fact that they are marginalized and of a small portion of western society, they can push their agenda to absurd standards that ultimately ostracize the main demographic. And when companies don’t capitulate, they are labeled as anti-progressive/misogynist’s or cohorts of White Supremacy. They use this to cancel their targets and silence them through societal defamation to keep the public on their side. They also use this mindset to justify their own lack of self-agency as they tend to throw companies who do adhere to their demands but miserably fail to turn a profit under the bus so that they can maintain face in front of the public while denying their actual involvement. They will never accept “Sense of Agency” when it’s negative but will gladly accept it when a positive outcome shines on them as if they are entitled to it.

Official Wiki GamerGate Page)
​

• Societal Terrorism: This is another form of ideology weaponization that they use in order to make companies “toe-the-line” with their agenda. By weaponizing cancel culture, they exert dominance over these companies but in exchange they also reimburse those companies with DEI & ESG funds that raise their credit score as well as having social status with the marginalized demographic. However; cancel culture has not succeeded in years and developers and publishers probably only want the money and the DEI ESG rating. But they have to maintain the image of having social economic power so that they can continue to strong-arm other developers into compliance and promoting financial benefits of DEI & ESG. In other words, if you are not for sale, they discredit and stigmatize you in the industry.

Asmongold Clips.
https://youtu.be/Iq86DnmX2xY
​

• “Its not us, its you who’s wrong” Mentality: This mentality is especially annoying as they tend to use it to hide their incompetence. They often look down upon gamers who are not in the industry to hide their obvious lack of knowledge on game development thinking that their job title grants them special status that they believe gives them the right to be condescending. But the truth they never wanted revealed has already strangled their careers of all credibility. They were never GAMERS, they were INVADERS. Community Colonists that seek to indoctrinate next generational gamers into their hive-mind and brand previous generations of gamers as villains.

@GeeksandGamers
https://youtu.be/1HbrTkqQFuM
​

• Double-standard Enforcement: By labeling something as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized”, they can claim this is morally wrong if it promotes traditional dynamics between men and women. Heterosexual relationships are condemned while at the same time Same-sex relationships are praised. Additionally, heterosexual relationships with main white male characters turn antagonistic and spotlight stealing. This is deliberate as to promote the “Girl Boss” ideology to indoctrinate women into the Feminazi state of mind. While at the same time, should a male character also adopt the “I don’t need male/female” ideology its seen as Toxic Masculinity which isn’t even a real thing. The idea of a strong male character is taboo while enforcing strong female characters is the ideal.

@MugenLord
https://youtu.be/to5Uciy_yeg
@EndymionTv
https://youtu.be/7TPTR8-qmbk
​

• Dehumanization/Demonization: This is something that most military branches use in order to remove conscious inhibitions such as mass slaughter is wrong or categorization. By enforcing ideologies to denounce humanity in certain targets, it deactivates your conscience by saying this is not human therefore its ethically okay to treat this target without compassion and deny the fact it has sentience. We gamers fall under this category for journalists, developers, companies and society at large. This is a tactic we are familiar with to an extent as it implies that we are not normal when we do not do what everybody else is doing. “Geeks are the worse” or “Nerds need to fall into a pit of lava” are verbal dehumanization forms that most people in society say and we as Gamers tend to be relegated to those categories. This is their way of imposing the social hierarchy on us by establishing superiority. We know this as Gamers as we see it very often in the games that we play and some times experience it in real life.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Gamergate#The_end_of_their_relevance
​

• Deflection/Projection: This is basic psychology 101. By redirecting the conversation away from their mistakes and back on to the opposing view to avert blame and justify their innocence they can avoid criticism. However; deflection is a CONSCIOUS decision, meaning they have no real argument to justify their incompetence. If you can consciously process the situation, you have self-agency which means you don’t have a legitimate excuse. Projection is something else entirely. Most times, Projection doesn’t work on conscious decisions rather it is automatically deployed when feeling threatened, anxious or both. Instead of accepting accountability for feelings or actions that are deemed socially unacceptable they accuse others of committing that unacceptable behavior thereby exonerating themselves and proving that those feelings and/or actions are not their own.

@TheTrentReport
https://youtu.be/bPIPSKruYRo
These traits are so nefarious and unconscionable that I have a hard time believing that anyone could harbor them. However, given the social, political, and economic climate that we are in, those in power who use their influence on controlling society most definitely possess these insidious traits. Everything that they do is all about control and since video games are the biggest market in the world, they want control over it and the communities built around it to accrue more wealth and to use that wealth to subjugate other cultures. Mainstream media is a tool as well as mainstream organizations and sites to help accomplish this goal.
The government recently announced its intentions towards what they believe is “GamerGate 2.0” and now even the ADL has made an official appearance, referring to gamers as “extremist’s”. We know EXACTLY what they are doing, and they aren’t even trying to hide it anymore because they don’t think we are aware of their motives. This is just a pretext for them to exert even more control and we know why, it’s because they want the influence we as a community have to must serve them. So here is what we do my fellow gamers-
“In light of recent events and years of mainstream stigma, we the members of the Global Gaming Community [GGC] must officially renounce ALL TIES to the corporate western video game market. We have been financially exploited through predatorial monetization schemes, pelted with numerous articles of disdain and intentional misrepresentation from game journalists, news outlets regarding us as dangerous individuals and, even subjected to inferior products not only riddled with bugs but also products meant to push political agendas. For the preservation of our community and its unique culture, apart from a few select game development studios we officially sever all connections to western owned video game companies & their mainstream affiliates. From this point onward, we will no longer support western corporate developers, journalists and publishers that do not coincide with the goals of our community.”
Naturally this is completely optional. If you are okay with the state of the gaming community as it is, feel free to ignore this. But if you wish for real change and a break away from oversaturated monetization in the games you play and the push for radical ideological reform, then you are in the right place. Lets sever these rotted miasmic ties once and for all so that our community can be preserved and made better for future gamers. If you agree with this, share it with whoever you think might be interested. The more gamers who get involved, the easier it will be for us to finally break free from mainstream game companies and their associates.

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During the Covid era a lot of people that held views opposite of the established narrative were being censored. It was said that misinformation was killing and harming people, but it turns out that a lot of the people that were being silenced and oppressed were actually right. One of the most notable examples of this is Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, coauthor of the Great Barrington Declaration, who to his own account lost nearly 30 pounds of body weight as a result of the anxiety caused by what he calls "the inquisition".
It is fair to assume, that the pressure on this man was so intense mostly because other voices were not allowed and even forbidden to be heard. If the censorship on internet platforms such as Twitter hadn't been so bad, maybe a lot of harm could have been prevented and more doctors, scientists and experts would have stood by the side of Dr. Bhattacharya, who not only showed courage but also true virtue by standing up for what he believed in.
LGBTQ
We saw also, that this censorship led to less free speech in other areas, such as the topic of gender and LGBTQ. People that held conventional views based on biology were unrightfully banned and punished. While we did see bullies being punished on the side of the conservatives, bullying from the side of the of the trans community was met with a closed eye. As a result of this biased censorship on Twitter and other platforms, the trans hype could spread deeply into society without being met with proper criticism as many critics were cancelled causing many others to stay silent due to the peer pressure.
Since the takeover of Twitter, now X by Elon Musk we've seen a balancing of forces once again. Voices that were quenched are now able to speak up and soon we will see the effects of this in society. That's why I predict that the trans hype will die out very quickly. Data about suicide rates as well as detransitioners speaking up is about to reach the general public, putting those that once affirmed these beliefs to shame and causing serious offenders such as medical professionals to be punished.
With this change of powers, I also see a grave danger. As of right now I sense that the opposing forces are in balance, but with the narrative of the trans identity being something precious and divine crumbling more and more, we will see those on the side of the previously oppressed becoming more and more oppressive. We will also see a demand to censor misinformation from some of those that previously suffered from censorship themselves, proving that they have not quite learned their lesson.
If that happens, I sense that lives might be in danger. People of the trans community could be targeted more and more by bullying and may even be driven into suicide, which is not right and should be prevented, if possible. With their community becoming smaller and smaller, protection of singular individuals by the collective will also lessen, allowing outside forces to quickly make advances and cause harm.
My warning
During these last years a lot of lives were lost. Viktor Frankl wrote in his Opus Magnum that the best did not survive. I dare not regard my fate as equal as the terrible suffering that this inspiring man had to endure, but I dare to say that during a crisis of great magnitude it is indeed those with the kindest souls that pass away early, such as my mentor, Gunnar Kaiser.
A lot of people also grew numb to the abuse they had to endure, and thus it is my estimation that many among the just and meek are not capable of speaking up against injustice to the same degree as they once were.
As of right now, I do not believe society as a whole is ready for unrestricted free speech. I'd advise to observe the extremists on both sides of any topic carefully, making informed and collusive decisions to censor radicals, if necessary. The societal resistance to radical ideas and extremism is a lot weaker than it used to be and I reckon that it will take up to 5 years to achieve self regulating levels. If censorship is indeed to be applied, I recommend using warnings before banning and temporary bans with public reasoning. This way, unjust and arbitrary abuse of power may be criticized, allowing any authority to correct their course, implying they are self reflecting enough. Censorship is only to be used as a scalpel, never as a broadsword, as the damage that is inflicted by blind swings may cause serious harm to the organism that is our social well being.
The goal should be to allow free speech to prosper. This is a difficult process and free speech shouldn't be viewed as a total state, rather a spectrum. Just as democracy is not a total state, but an ideal worth pursuing. Unfortunately if something is precious, it's very often also quite fragile, which is why caution is to be advised.
Thank you for reading, and have a nice day.

$CEEZUR is doing great before their paid marketing roll out, this is everything I look for in a memecoin, building a good narrative and slowly forming a core community.
The last thing you want to see is a token sky rocket from launch and a tonne of bots get in and start dumping, so this organic launch on $CEEZUR looks amazing.
The Roman Empire meme is huge, and CEEZUR is the OG of it.
The team is consistent with new artwork coming daily and even doing giveaways for holders. They’ve mentioned that they will be getting an animator on board as well as applying for coinmarketcap and coingecko in the next 1-2 weeks. I see this going well above a million in the coming weeks.
The fact that this could all be done before the paid marketing whilst harnessing the power of the community and socials is the best long term play in my opinion.
I'm allocating a % of my portfolio to $CEEZUR and the Ancient Politifi narrative.
100K MC is so small and this is extremely early, team really seems to know what they're doing.
Here's the CA: J5T1Fkdn76Byu9hkd9C8nHCpdXc9Fcb9jPxKJfPKPjJg
And Webby: https://ceezursol.com/

$CEEZUR is doing great before their paid marketing roll out, this is everything I look for in a memecoin, building a good narrative and slowly forming a core community.
The last thing you want to see is a token sky rocket from launch and a tonne of bots get in and start dumping, so this organic launch on $CEEZUR looks amazing.
The Roman Empire meme is huge, and CEEZUR is the OG of it.
The team is consistent with new artwork coming daily and even doing giveaways for holders. They’ve mentioned that they will be getting an animator on board as well as applying for coinmarketcap and coingecko in the next 1-2 weeks. I see this going well above a million in the coming weeks.
The fact that this could all be done before the paid marketing whilst harnessing the power of the community and socials is the best long term play in my opinion.
I'm allocating a % of my portfolio to $CEEZUR and the Ancient Politifi narrative.
100K MC is so small and this is extremely early, team really seems to know what they're doing.
Here's the CA: J5T1Fkdn76Byu9hkd9C8nHCpdXc9Fcb9jPxKJfPKPjJg
And Webby: https://ceezursol.com/

$CEEZUR is doing great before their paid marketing roll out, this is everything I look for in a memecoin, building a good narrative and slowly forming a core community.
The last thing you want to see is a token sky rocket from launch and a tonne of bots get in and start dumping, so this organic launch on $CEEZUR looks amazing.
The Roman Empire meme is huge, and CEEZUR is the OG of it.
The team is consistent with new artwork coming daily and even doing giveaways for holders. They’ve mentioned that they will be getting an animator on board as well as applying for coinmarketcap and coingecko in the next 1-2 weeks. I see this going well above a million in the coming weeks.
The fact that this could all be done before the paid marketing whilst harnessing the power of the community and socials is the best long term play in my opinion.
I'm allocating a % of my portfolio to $CEEZUR and the Ancient Politifi narrative.
100K MC is so small and this is extremely early, team really seems to know what they're doing.
Here's the CA: J5T1Fkdn76Byu9hkd9C8nHCpdXc9Fcb9jPxKJfPKPjJg
And Webby: https://ceezursol.com/

PART 2

Max spent the evening jimmying the door back open. Then he set himself about seeing what kind of reactions he could get out of Ruth. So far it seemed only to be nature stuff, no politics or sports seemed to spark any interest. There had been a brief moment when he thought she started lighting up when he put the news on but, as it turned out pretty fast, she started to go still, the little stud bits stopped rotating and the ‘elements’, (as he remembered,) started to sink. Frightened, he quickly put on another documentary with an interesting narrator. She perked up again a short yet agonising minute later.
As a precaution he left the same channel on repeat so she could watch, and then he retreated quietly to his study so he could Google stuff like ‘artificial intelligence’ and ‘can water come alive’ and ‘alien machines’. Needles to say, he came away frustrated and no closer to understanding what the hell this thing was, though he did learn about some outlandish theories that the pyramids were built by aliens.
He peed, shoved a ham sandwich down his Gregory Peck, brushed his teeth and quickly shoved his joggers and a t-shirt on, dragged his bedding downstairs and onto the sofa. He adjusted the cushions across the room from the table and re-squared the carpet again.
At this moment, Scat, the long-haired tabby that he inherited from his mother, jumped arthritically onto the table. He stared with wide pupils at Ruth for a moment and snuggled himself down on the shiny table-top, as close to her as the bamboo plant would allow. He fell asleep almost instantly without his usual routine of ‘feed me, love me, now get the hell off me and let me sleep for 16 hours straight’.
“Right, Ruth,” he told the contraption, “I’m going to be sleeping here until... well, I’ll be sleeping here. If you don’t mind. If I snore, I would tell you to kick me but you don’t have legs now, do you? Maybe we’ll have to ask your maker, huh? When he comes back I’ll tell him you want to walk! Haha, he’ll think I’m a nutter. But I ‘spose talking to you I’d be a nutter by anyone’s standards, wouldn’t I?”
Ruth just stared at him.
Max felt a little uncomfortable again, now the windows were blacked out by the night and the only light that seemed to come from anywhere was the now-muted TV, the occasional passing car and Ruth. The only sounds came from a slightly squeaky nostril of a dead-to-the-world cat. That feeling of being watched had returned and somehow things seem more sinister in the dark, when it’s quiet, when nobody else is around, when everyone else is asleep…
He got up, turned all the lights on in the room.
Standing by the switch seemed ludicrous but he couldn’t help it. She was definitely watching. All the glitter was at his end of the tubes again, and it followed him as he sat down and pulled the duvet under his chin again.
“Well, night then… see you in the morning… sleep well…”
She didn’t answer.

Max woke up at some point after midnight. He had been having nightmares about being chased by something he couldn’t see, about some big raging ball of energy being just over his shoulder or in his periphery. He never caught sight of it but it touched him and he jolted awake.
Everything was exactly as it was before he fell asleep, except the TV had clicked into standby and was making a faint high-pitched squeal.
Should have got a new TV by now Max, he told himself.

The next morning Max woke sitting bolt upright, Ruth glittering her way towards Scat’s side and generally giving off the vibes she likes him. Th cat evidently heard Max move on the sofa, propped his ears up, yawned and stretched.
“NO, SCAT!” Max shouted and leapt towards the cat, just as he was doing his insanely stereotypical cat-like stretch where his chest goes down and his outstretched arms go forwards and butt goes backwards… right into Ruth.
“Don’t touch it, Scat!”
Oh, but he had. He set Ruth rocking slightly and Max could only stand and watch with his hands stuck to his head like he and his mates did when they were watching England trying to win the World Cup with penalties, painstakingly failing every single attempt.
I can’t touch it if it goes over it’s so screwed I’ve lost him the Nobel Prize this thing is alive does that mean I’m a murderer because of my cat what have I done what do I do fuck fuck fuck what can I do what can I
Ruth rocked her final rock and settled back onto the table without a final bounce-back. She sat as if she was glued to it now, never to be moved again.
Max sat and let out a relieved shuddering breath.
“Ohmygod. I thought you were a goner, Ruth! Bloody hell. Right,” Max stood up, pointed his irritated finger at Scat, “you, come here!” He grabbed the nonchalant son-of-a-gun from the table and promptly plonked him outside the kitchen door.
“You have no idea what you just did. None! I’d strangle you if I wouldn’t miss you, you know that?” he told Scat. In response, Scat rubbed himself over Max’s jogging bottoms and meowed for food.
“Fine. But you’re eating out here, you’re in the doghouse, mister,” he said, trying to maintain his anger despite his relief.
Max scooped out half a tin of the expensive stuff and mashed it in the bowl. Scat had a ear condition that his mother had been insistent was due to insufficient and inadequate food, hence this kitty being much much more of a kitty when he was inherited, though he turned out to be the right amount eventually. The problem was, because of her ridiculous and overly pompous pampering even by Max’s standards, this is all the damned creature would eat and he was getting skinny in his old age.
“You idiot,” he told Scat. “You could have scuppered us both, buddy, and we don’t even know what we got yet. When you’re done stuffing your face I’ll come let you in again, ok?” He stroked the full length of Scat’s back to the tip of his tail. “But stay off the damned table.”
Max wandered back into the front room to spend some more time with Ruth.
“So, Ruth, I was thinking, I know you like the nature documentaries and all, but the…”
Once again, as Max rounded the corner he stared at Ruth. She had changed shape. No longer was she a mass of glass tubes and glitter, she was an untamed riot of glass tubes and glitter which distended at the centre into that could only be described as a flat glass bubble with one tube going in and one going out on each side. Most of the glitter had formed clumps in the middle and was blobbing back and forth and looking like if Flubber mated with fairy dust and smoked weed while dancing the rumba.
“You gotta be kidding me!”
Max flopped down onto the sofa again, staring. It seemed to him he spent most of his life staring, these days. Staring at Ruth, staring at the TV, staring at the back of his eyelids, staring at Ruth some more…
Maybe that’s how flies feel, he thought, they don’t have eyelids. Must be horrible always having to stare around, not being able to control what you’re looking at. Annoying and stupid. Not like they understand what they see, anyways.
Max called in sick. Told them he’d be out for at least a fortnight.

He let Scat back in a few hours later, a Scat who ungratefully only ate half his food, altogether bypassed Max, shunned his table banishment and delicately placed himself next to Ruth again, immediately falling back asleep and making Max jealous.

It wasn’t until a few days later that Max realised he had no food in the house, except for one of Scat’s tins, and he absolutely was not going down that road. He had eaten cat food once as a dare while in college and he had thrown up for an hour solid. He made sure the first instalment went directly over his flatmate’s shoes. Serve him right for daring him in the first place.
Dare him to dare me anything again! Yeah!
Reluctantly it was time to go shopping. Instant noodles and trail mix could only sustain one’s life force for so long, and that ‘so long’ had come and gone.
Groceries unloaded, Max had a special little baggy of handmade organic treats in hand that he fully intended on unloading on Scat the second he got in (no, Max told himself, not to try and win my cat’s affections back from an inanimate object, that would be ridiculous.) Where was that cat, anyway?
He ambled into the front room, Ruth as solid and purposeful as always. Scat was where he had been, doing his best round rock impression on the table. He hadn’t been allowed on the table before Ruth arrived, (table-top fur floating into his breakfast eggs was not something Max would tolerate,) but now Max figured it was too late to break the habit. Perhaps once Ruth was given back to her rightful owner he would have to proverbially piss on the boundaries again, mark out what Scat was and was not allowed to do, and hope it worked. It probably wouldn’t. Dopey old thing.
And here was the dopey old thing, soft as ever, tucked up around that bamboo that was finally growing!
He poked Scat on his shoulder and wiggled the treat bag in front of his nose.
“Come on, up you get. Got summat tasty for ya!”
Scat didn’t move. He stroked him and gently called his name. Nothing. Ruth was glittering her way towards Scat again, fiercely and somehow tentatively, lovingly, bobbling around in the flat bubble. A sharp stab of fear thrilled through Max. He dropped the treats and picked the cat up but he flopped gently in his hands, tail limp and dangling.
“Scat! Scat, no! Come on, bud, wake up! Scat!” He started to sob, held him up to his face and cried into his fur. Max held him for what felt like hours, until finally he dug a hole in the middle of the lawn where he could see from most rooms, put him in a blanket-lined box three feet down, and planted the lucky bamboo on top of him.

$CEEZUR is doing great before their paid marketing roll out, this is everything I look for in a memecoin, building a good narrative and slowly forming a core community.
The last thing you want to see is a token sky rocket from launch and a tonne of bots get in and start dumping, so this organic launch on $CEEZUR looks amazing.
The Roman Empire meme is huge, and CEEZUR is the OG of it.
The team is consistent with new artwork coming daily and even doing giveaways for holders. They’ve mentioned that they will be getting an animator on board as well as applying for coinmarketcap and coingecko in the next 1-2 weeks. I see this going well above a million in the coming weeks.
The fact that this could all be done before the paid marketing whilst harnessing the power of the community and socials is the best long term play in my opinion.
I'm allocating a % of my portfolio to $CEEZUR and the Ancient Politifi narrative.
100K MC is so small and this is extremely early, team really seems to know what they're doing.
Here's the CA: J5T1Fkdn76Byu9hkd9C8nHCpdXc9Fcb9jPxKJfPKPjJg
And Webby: https://ceezursol.com/