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raisingsupergirl · 3 years

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They Could NEVER Do That These Days…

So, I watched the movie Airplane the other day for the first time in at least a decade. And, well, it was an experience. First off, I laughed more than I have in a long time. The attention to detail, the quick wit, and the non-stop banter left me nearly breathless. But because of the sheer volume of jokes—which included plenty of physical comedy, prop comedy, puns, play on words, and jabs at contemporary issues (of that time)—I found myself frequently thinking, "They could never do that these days." In fact, I probably laughed the hardest at the scenes where the little old White lady acted as a "jive" translator for two Black men, but I knew something like that would never fly in our current culture. Which, of course, left me wondering if I'm an awful person. And I've been thinking about contemporary morality ever since then, most of which has included the "cancel culture."

You've probably heard about the death of Mr. Potato Head and Dr. Seuss recently, right? Gender norms and racial sensitivity are hot button topics right now, and the "cancel culture" seems to be wielding them like flaming swords. At least… that's what I've heard, anyway. It's entwined in conversations with my patients and plastered all over my Facebook feed. And to be honest, it's my gut reaction, too. But do you know what's great about being a grown adult living in a first-world country? I have the freedom, time, and resources to unpack those gut reactions—to dig deeper into the facts until I can form a sober-minded opinion that reflects a little more truth. And it took me all of ten minutes to stop being afraid of the leftist childhood killers.

No, I'm not a liberal. Soooo far from it, in fact. But that doesn't mean I'm sitting on the right side of the isle, either. In fact, if there IS a left and right side of the isle in whatever political building we're talking about, I'd probably be outside said building, chasing butterflies and rolling in the grass, blissfully unaware of the crazies locked inside on such a beautiful day. But anyway, now that you know just how UN-political I am, let's talk about politics. First off, Fox news is bonkers. Their stories and debates are laughably biased. I can't listen for more than a few seconds before rolling my eyes. Then again, so is EVERY other news channel! Why? Ratings! A network that vowed to only report facts without opinions would go bankrupt in a week. And what is politics without taking sides in a debate, anyway? The way I see it, it's all just Jerry Springer with a facelift.

But if that's really my stance toward politics, what business do I have talking about any of this at all? Why do I even care? Well, I care because I have kids. And those kids have to grow up in this world. Their thoughts and opinions will be impacted by this world. And because I think the way I grew up is the best way, my knee-jerk reaction is to be afraid of change that could rob my little girls of the pearls of happiness that shaped MY childhood. So who has more authority to determine the future of Mr. Potato Head—hypersensitive justice warriors or apolitical parents? My answer? Honestly? I don't really care. And let me tell you why.

It's a freaking toy! Hasbro, the owners of the Potato Head brand (one person tweeted that they should drop the "bro" and just be "Has," which I think is downright hilarious), decided that it would be a good idea to rebrand their marketing to be more inclusive to non-traditional family units. But do you know what they DIDN'T do? They didn't kill Mr. Potato Head or his lovely wife. They're still flying off the shelves. It's only the marketing that has changed. The argument could be made that outrage from outlets like Fox helped retain some of this traditional packaging, but… still… It's a hunk of plastic being sold at huge margins for mild entertainment. I wouldn't be sad if they burned the whole product line to the ground. It's lame anyway.

And what about Dr. Seuss? Decidedly NOT lame, and I don't trust anyone who thinks he is. So how in the would could "they" pull his books from all of our schools!? Lolol. Okay, thirty seconds of Googling clears up the situation. Dr. Seuss Enterprises has decided to stop printing six (6… SIX) of their books because of insensitive material. But they're still printing almost SIXTY other Seuss books. They've decided that ten percent of their material, which stretches back to before World War 2, is no longer culturally relevant. Honestly, that's amazing. Especially considering one of the earliest works was titled, "The Pocket Book of Boners.”

Book production is halted all the time. Usually it's because people lose interest. Sometimes it's because the book includes material that promotes racism in a positive way… to our kids. But it's always because the publishers want to continue making money. That's capitalism. If you don't like it, you're a communist (j/k… kind of). And besides, if you can tell me which six Seuss books are being "canceled," I'll eat my words. Every single one of them.

I guess what it all comes down to is that I've got bigger problems. I had to spank my daughter this morning because she was screaming (like, I'm surprised the neighbors didn't call 9-1-1) about the injustice of not being able to bring the "right" toys to her soccer game. The soccer game in which she would be playing soccer. Not playing with toys. Priorities. Materialism. Limited worldview. She won't miss six random Dr. Seuss books. She won't notice the rebranded Potato Heads. She will know that it's not appropriate to cry and wail and kick and flail (eat your heart out, Dr. Seuss) about toys when her teammates will be depending on her. She will know that Daddy is firm but loving, that he would do anything to keep her safe, that he only disciplines to prepare her for the best possible future. She'll know that, above all else, our purpose in life is to love God and to love others. She will know to choose people over things and to never give into misplaced fear.

Because, in the end, fear is at the root of this whole topic. We're afraid of losing control, losing our childhood, losing our freedom. But all of that melts away when we lean into something that can never be lost—our freedom to love and be loved. It's a simple fact that some will never lean into, and that makes me more sad than anything. More sad than the loss of a few toys or children's books. Even more sad than if the big, bad "cancel culture" came after some of the things that I love. Sure, the world wouldn't be the same without Airplane, but I probably wouldn't miss it. Lord knows I've got more than enough slapstick chaos in my daily life already.

#cancel culture #mr. potato head #potato head #dr. seuss books #book banning #social equality #gender norms #momblr #dadblr #mumblr #capitalism #politics

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botslayer · 4 years

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) review (Long)

Star Wars has a place in all of our hearts, I think. This series has had literally galactic-scale highs and lows. Be it the video games, the movies, the comics, the novels, what have you, Star Wars is one of, if not THE biggest sci-fi universe in the world and one of the most important in all of nerd culture. After the controversial madness that was EVERYTHING about The Last Jedi, I felt the need to see this one. How does this new Trilogy end? Is it any good? Well, let's dig in. 1. Technical aspects The movie looks good for the most part. It's a lot of good CGI and descent puppetry, a lot of explosions, and a lot of color. All the places that the movie goes do feel genuinely unique to one another, so points there, I guess. But it has some serious issues with the editing. The editing is god awful for most of the movie, the camera flips around too much, I think. I don't want constant tracking shots but they keep jump-cutting all over rooms and very suddenly for scene transitions. There are a fair amount of wipes but only one scene transition actually stood out to me at the very start of the movie, everything else was kinda dull. This has to be addressed, Carrie Fisher is still in this movie. What they did was cut snippets of her head out of unused footage from Force Awakens and Last Jedi, then put it relatively well over the face of a body double. This allows her to exist in the movie but it isn't good. From an ethical standpoint and from how it affects the flow of her scenes. Her tone of voice doesn't feel right for any of the scenes she's in and her answers to what people say are usually just kinda weird, as well as what people say whilst responding to her. 2. Acting and characters (very lite Spoilers) The acting in the movie is okay generally. It's nothing to write home about though. It's solid and generally does the job but the characters themselves are a different story. One problem is that the movie introduces a shit ton of them, including but not limited too, (Spoiler warnings for this paragraph), Zorii Bliss, An old Spice running friend of Poe's who is trying to ape a Mandalorian (Like the society) vibe in the look of her outfit but doesn't do it well. Babu Frik, her tiny alien boss and a surprisingly tech-savvy little so-and-so. D-O, a small droid consisting of a cone head and a single wheel, voiced by JJ Abrahms. And Jannah, who like Finn, is a rogue Stormtrooper from the first order. Everyone and everything else introduced are just more generals for the "Final order" (A rebranding of the First Order) and a bunch of background aliens and stuff for the resistance. The main problem with these characters is none of them have time to develop because of how many are introduced. They try with Zorii, bless them, but her scenes are too short so her character doesn't "Develop" it just starts at one point and changes at the drop of a hat. And the returning Characters honestly aren't handled great either. Rey is okay for the most part, but Finn contributed just about nothing, Poe wasn't worth much more than a ride between planets, Kylo Ren goes back to wearing his old helmet for some reason and again, seems to change without much provocation. Leia's death is weird and kinda pointless, although I'm happy they won't do what they did again. The only consistently good, solid characters in the movie were the droids (Especially C3PO) and Chewbacca. Characters with very few lines or who literally cannot speak. That's such a weird thing to say, honestly. 3. Plot and thoughts as we go (Heavy Spoilers) A transmission has gone all across the galaxy, Emperor Palpatine lives. Kylo Ren is hunting for a "Sith Wayfinder" and Rey is training under Leia to become a better Jedi. Kylo finds the Wayfinder and goes to a sort of hidden Sith planet whereon he meets Palpatine, here it is revealed that Snoke was a clone made by Palpatine's servants, "The Nights of Ren" and that Palpatine was "Every voice Kylo heard in his head." (Not too subtle change into Darth Vader's voice as he speaks.) Kylo and Palpatine have a short exchange where the younger pledges both his and the First Order's services to him, in exchange, Palpatine will add a whole new fleet of Star Destroyers to them. Star Destroyers he literally just summons up from the ground. Hangar bay doors don't open, these things just slam up from the ground like titans of myth rising from ancient slumbers. And while that might sound cool, it comes with a lot of issues. For starters: Who made these things? The Knights of Ren? How old is that organization, then? How old are these ships? Why don't they have hangar doors overhead? Hell, we learn later that these things will bolster first Order forces by "Ten thousandfold." How many of these things are there? How many ships does the First Order (Now "The Final Order") have at this point? Anyway, back with the resistance. After a cameo by the best fictional game in the series, Holochess, we find that they're getting information from an ally I never caught the name of, flanked by some sort of weird alien on the ship who's apparently on a first name basis with Finn and Poe. We also learn the Final Order has a spy and a decent chase scene ensues. All well and good, but all this and the conspicuous lack of porgs makes me wonder how much time has actually passed between this movie and Last Jedi. Especially when we cut back to Rey who is trying to hear the voices of past Jedi but just realizes she can't and immediately drops the meditation in favor of running a training course. She ends up getting distracted while running it and accidentally drops a tree on BB8. She says to Leia that she will one day earn the right to use Luke's lightsaber... But it broke in the last movie. Again, can we please get a time stamp? Poe, Finn, Chewbacca, and their crew return, whereupon there's a kind of funny back and forth about what Rey did to BB8 and what Poe did to the Falcon during the chase. The highlight of which is "At least BB8 isn't on fire!" "What's left of him isn't!" During this breif stop, we learn that The Final Order is broadcasting their plans, in sixteen hours they will lay waste to entire worlds because as it turns out, the new ships that Palpatine gave them all have planet-destroying laser weapons on the bottom. A Fleet of Star Destroyers, each with Death Star-grade power. That's definitely upping the anti, I suppose. During this, we also learn that the "Wayfinder" Kylo went after is important because its the only way to find the planet Palpatine is holed up on, a world called "Exegol," you won't find it on any other maps. So the crew goes on a quest to find a man in service to the Sith, a bloke named "Ochi" who was last spotted on a planet called "Pasaana" because for some reason, Luke and Lando Calrissian were tracking him. The movie doesn't explain why they were after him, nor why they seemed to abandon the search. (Or when any of that happened, for that matter.) Our heroes journey to Pasaana where, as it turns out, there's a festival happening. One that celebrates family and ancestry. Cue the best comic relief in the movie, C3PO, as when Poe expresses that he isn't psyched about working with a crowd of people all around him, C3PO expresses elation, "We are very lucky, it only comes once every Forty-Two years--" Etc. Honestly, C3PO is the best part of the movie. As the resistance crew goes about the Festival, Rye gets a necklace from a local who asks for her family name, not just her given, but Rey just says she doens't have a family name. Kylo contacts Rey with their weird psychic bond they had in Last Jedi, and they have an interesting exchange about the last movie and her wanting to take his hand at the end but deciding against it, and how when he offers it this time, she will take it. He steals the necklace Rey got from off her throat because as established in TLJ, he can do stuff like that. He has Final Order members analyze the necklace and learns of the planet Rey and her cohorts are on while they gad about the festival looking for any sort of clues or leads. They end up getting found by Final Order Troopers, but saved by Lando, apparently, Leia told him where they were. They mention the resistance could use his help, but he just says that his flying days are behind him before he sends them off. The gang is followed by Final Order troopers, resulting in a chase scene, one I quite like. The Final Order has jet troopers now, and the crew basically just have their sidearms as weapons, having stolen vehicles from the locals. It's a very intense action scene, even when the crew crashes into "Not-quite-quicksand." Everyone starts sinking in and Finn says he's always wanted to tell Rey something. What it is goes unanswered as he sinks down. The lot of them have fallen into a cavern of some sort. They explore the cave until they find two things, Ochi's land cruiser, and Ochi, who as it turns out is long dead, nothing more than bones and whatever he had on him at the time. Rey digs through his body and finds a scary-looking dagger that has most definitely been used for some less than savory deeds, Rey sensing the negative force energy off it. 3PO tells them that the inscriptions all over the dagger are in Sith Runic. He CAN translate it, but he can't say it aloud. It has to do with Old Republic regulations on translation modules. They keep the dagger, at least. There's also a giant serpent, one the cast calm into letting Rey get close, whereupon we learn she has the ability to force-heal injuries. The snake lets them out and she explains that it's basically channeling some of her own life force into whatever she's healing, and when she sees Ochi's ship, she's unnerved. She knows it from the day her parents left her. Some true madness begins to unfold as Kylo shows up in his ship and Rey cuts one of the wings off, forcing it to crash. Chewbacca is captured and ostensibly killed accidentally by Rey because she summons force lightning and blows his transport's engines. There's another brief exchange with Kylo about him seeing the lightning for real, thus her capacity for darkness, before Finn and Poe tell her they NEED to leave. They do and Kylo radios for pick up as the Final Order literally toes the Millenium Falcon into a Star Destroyer. It is here we learn that Kylo knows about the spy in their ranks and that Chewbacca survived. While they waddle about in Ochi's ship, thinking of a plan, C-3PO reveals that there IS a way to get a translation out of him. Essentially they need to do a factory reset. This means 3PO will lose all memories of his friends and life. But what is that compared to a galaxy dominated by fear? Poe knows the man for the job, trouble is they need to go to a world called "Kijimi" where Poe made a booboo before joining the resistance. But again, literal planets worth of lives are at stake, so he swallows his lack of pride and they go. A not bad tracking shot of Poe creeping around the streets and finding it crawling with Final Order troopers later, his mistake comes up to him. Both her pistols drawn, and one to his head. We learn that "Zorii" and Poe's old outfit were spice runners, and their old friend "Babu Frik" is the guy they'll need to crack 3PO's head open. Babu only sees people who are part of the crew, which Poe no longer is. They eventually convince her and the other spice runners to let them in. There's a genuinely heart-wrenching moment where 3PO goes completely silent before the process gets going and he says he's just taking one last look at his friends. Meanwhile, we see Poe and Zorii on top of a building, Poe mentions how no one came after the last movie, their distress call was for nothing. Way to invalidate the most controversial movie in the series, you dolts. Also, Zorii seems to have changed for no reason. She went from not wanting to look in Poe's general direction to inviting him out to her new life as a farmer on some rock at the fringes of the galaxy. Poe turns her down because he has a war to fight, whether or not he wins. She gives him a First Order Captain's badge, which would allow docking in any Final Order ship or planet because the rebranding is only so recent, I guess. C-3PO gets rebooted and the crew learns what the inscription on the dagger means, but again, the cost is 3PO's memory. He reboots and introduces himself as "C-3PO, human-cyborg relations, who are you?" Babu introduces himself and Rey fixes the wheel on a robot found on Ochi's ship, a little cone head thing we don't learn the name of until about an hour later, "D-O." At about this point, Rey realizes what's in orbit just overhead, Kylo's flagship... And Chewbacca inside. The crew boards the ship to free Chewy and get the Falcon back, along the way, Rey mind tricks a couple of troopers, the crew shoots a few dead, and then she goes off on her own, trying to find something. Her scenes on the flagship are pretty awesome, as she enters Kylo Ren's quarters and starts not only talking to him again but also fights him. This leads to some very interesting cinematography, a fight where when they accidentally break things in their respective locations, they appear in front of the other, so for example, Kylo is in the streets of the city the crew was in, specifically a market in it. He cuts open a pot full of berries/nuts and they all appear on the ground in his chamber while Rey is fighting him. It's pretty impressive. During the fight, we also learn A. the real reason Rey's parents sold her: Protecting her from her grandfather. B. Who this grandfather is. The Emperor. Rey is seriously Palpatine's granddaughter. C. Rey's parents died protecting her. Kylo learns she's in his quarters when she accidentally destroys a podium, on which was resting Darth Vader's semi-melted helmet. From there, it all spirals out, Ren has them lock down the ship, Rey snags the dagger and Chewy's gear, Chewy, Finn, and Poe are caught, only to find out that general Hux is the spy who saves them When his motives are questioned, Hux says he doesn't care if the resistance wins. He wants Kylo to lose. Rey and Kylo have one more confrontation before the falcon shows up and Rey literally leaps into space to get on the entrance to the falcon. Where Finn is. Audibly screaming at her. Y'all can say what you want about a downward bombing in space probably not working very well in Last Jedi, but this is a whole new level of bullshit. Rey leams OUT OF A RAY SHIELD into the vacuum of space. I don't care that Leia survived being out way longer in TLJ, at least she wasn't audibly saying things as she went, at least it felt like she was in space instead of just a big random fall. Also worth noting, to ver their escape, they blast the bad guys with the Falcon's engine trails, this burns or knocks back all the Troopers but Kylo, who is standing roughly the same distance as at least two of them, and Rey, who is closer than ANY of them are unaffected. This one moment is more agitating to me than most of The Last Jedi, honestly. There's Wardian grade plot armor, and then there's this. The crew gets away and Hux is killed by another general because he figured out that Hux was the spy, they end up at another planet because of the inscription and the Falcon crashes, drawing the attention of "Jannah" and her random tribe of people. They resolve to fix the Falcon while waiting for the water to calm, something they at once have zero choice or time for. Turns out the Sith Wayfinder is on a hunk of the second Deathstar. Rant to come. While waiting for the water to calm and repairing the Falcon, we learn Janna is a rogue Storm Trooper, just like Finn. Her entire company was meant to open fire on civilians, but ALL OF THEM refused. Finn mentions he didn't think there were others but I have to question where Jannah's entire unit gets off doing that. How did all of them fight their programming? Moving on, BB8 raises a concern, he hasn't seen Rey in a while. Turns out she stole the rogue trooper's sea skimmer and rides the waves JUST right, so she can make it to the chunk of Deathstar. I was never big into the idea that Rey was a Mary Sue until this happened. I was willing to write everything else off up to this point but NO. She has NEVER used something like this. She spent most of her damn life on a planet with NO water and no point actually drove anything like this save for the land boat she stole from the natives during the festival but even then, it didn't have the quirks this thing had (It's a repurposed ship of some sort, she needs to constantly raise and lower an arm of the ship to reduce drag, I suppose.) I know this seems like the most random thing to officially stand in that camp, but what's that old saying about straws and camel's backs? Rey goes to the shard of the Deathstar and starts exploring, it's full of old classic Storm Trooper outfits, mostly helmets. She goes to the Emperor's old throne room and through an old door, she ends up in a kind of trippy, maze-like space until she finds the Wayfinder and faces a seemingly Sithified version of herself with a dark robe and a collapsable double-sided lightsaber. This version of her fights her for all of four seconds and is never seen again because normal Rey flees out of the room and into Kylo Ren's waiting gaze. Now, my question is WHY would Palpatine keep one of these things on the Deathstar 2? In case he wanted to go to Exegol? Why not keep it in a more remote location than about thirty feet to your left? It's an ancient Sith artifact, you'd figure he'd be more protective of it. But nooo. So Kylo breaks the Wayfinder Rey found, wasting all of our time, before engaging in a lightsaber fight on the outside of the ruins. Finn and Jannah catch up to see this but can't do anything, partly because if they don't hug the ground, the turbulent water below will likely send a wave up just high enough to knock them into the ocean, Rey and Kylo, however, are clear I guess because they have higher ground away from the tides, they still get sprayed a lot. The fight ends with Leia dying from using what's left of her energy to reach her son, Rey stabbing and then healing Kylo before she leaves in his ship. The crew, save for Rey, and Jannah's rogues join up with the rest of the resistance where they find out what happened, and Chewbacca loses it. The Wookie collapses to his knees and starts screaming and wailing, beating into the ground, etc. He's lost all his human friends, 3PO's mind is wiped, the only things left from the good old days are R2 and the Falcon. This is a genuinely harrowing moment for longtime fans, I think. Meanwhile, Rose Tico shows up for the second time this entire movie, the first time being her explaining why she can't go with, she has lines that could have been given to almost any rando in the resistance which is honestly a shame. Then we cut to Ahch-To, The planet Luke exiled himself to in Force Awakens and TLJ, to find Rey burning Kylo's ship and very nearly, Luke's lightsaber. Luke's ghost shows up, catching the saber, and giving her a pep talk, telling her he knows now that exiling himself was stupid and that she needs to face the darkness in herself and the galaxy head-on. That delusion she saw getting her Wayfinder wasn't the first, she's seen herself ruling at Kylo's side as the empress, but given Luke's Pep talk, him showing her a spare lightsaber that used to belong to Leia, and the fact that Kylo had HIS Wayfinder in his spare ship, Rey agrees to continue fighting the good fight. But how will she leave the planet? Luke's force ghost raises Red five from the ocean. I'm not kidding, he literally just force lifts it with some show-offy joy. That thing has been waterlogged for how long? Even assuming Rey could fix it, where the hell is she getting fuel for it? Back with Kylo, we see him gawking out over the sea, a familiar old voice starts talking to him. Han Solo's ghost shows up and they start having a heart to heart oddly reminiscent of the one they had in Force Awakens. Han says he knew his son was in there somewhere, and when Ren says "Your son is dead" Han says "No, Kylo Ren is." In that spirit, I will now refer to Kylo as "Ben" for the rest of the review. Ben throws his lightsaber into the ocean and is left to his own devices by his dad's ghost. The resistance somehow knows that there are radio towers on Exegol that help the ships navigate through the constant storms and rain, Poe and Finn organize a plan, to distract the ships while a ground force attacks the tower and Chewbacca will go off and send another distress signal, allowing others to join the battle if they can. They come up with this because D-O has the plans for the ships and the like stored in his head if memory serves, and also 3PO gets his memory back, R2 had a back up, wouldn't you know it? The Resistance charges into battle against the Final Order over Exegol, And thus begins a fun clusterfuck of lasers and explosions. As one expects from this trilogy. Now, the first order has this actually brilliant moment when they realize they can shut down the tower, and start broadcasting the same helpful signals from one of the ships themselves. Which they do, this allows them to down some Resistance ships before Finn sees what's happening and has them do a ground invasion style attack ON that ship. As in they deploy troops over the top of it ON HORSEBACK. Honestly one of those things that's so loveably stupid. They end up in conflict with a bunch of troopers on top of the ship as they look for weak spots to plant bombs or the like. Rey, meanwhile, has snuck into the Emperor's hiding place, just as Ben lands on the planet. There's a lot of running around on all sides, dogfights under and around the larger ships, Ben fighting knights of Ren with just his bare hands and the Force, Rey being lured into Palpatine's grasp, Finn and Jannah's group shooting at troopers and passing ships as they look for weak spots. It would have all been fairly tense if the editing wasn't done by a coked-up squirrel. Almost nothing feels impactful in the fights, there are too many cuts in scenes largely about singular or just two characters. There are good elements to all this but I didn't care enough about most of these people. for it to mean much. Also worth noting: not much can be done. They've already lost so many pilots, soldiers, and fighters, Finn and Jannah's group haven't fulfilled their goal yet, Palpatine is giving Rey a very "Let the hate flow through you" speech about how it's all pointless and her friends are doomed, but if she kills him, and becomes the empress, the Final Order will be hers to control, she agrees for a moment, letting a bunch of the Knights of Ren and Palpatine begin ritual chanting as a horde of them look on, Poe is out of hope. Rey is about to give in and Ben is surrounded with no weapon. All hope is lost... Until Rey enters another sort of shat with Ben and gives him the lightsaber she was moments ago going to kill the Emperor with. Ben strikes down his aggressors and makes his way to Rey and the Emperor, they slaughter the knights in the immediate vicinity. While that's happening, an entire fleet of random people shows up to help the resistance. Zorri and Babu are right next to the Falcon, which contains not only Chewbacca but Lando. The fight begins anew as Finn and Jannah blow the antennae in the ship they're on and cripple the Final Order Fleet. Now all the Resistance has to do is blast the planet-killing lasers and the entire ship they're rigged up to will also be destroyed... Which makes some sense but is still a pretty massive design flaw. Down with Rey, Ben, and Palpatine, the youngsters try to strike the Emperor down, only to basically have their life forces partly fed upon. Ben goes flying down a naturally formed cave shaft, presumably to his doom. Palpatine has regenerated from the life steal thing and sits on this massive stone Sith throne just under the battle in the sky, and in a moment so absurd I was dumbstruck when it happened, sends lightning up into the sky. A massive MASSIVE pillar of it, so massive that not only does it reach the sky, but when it does, it fans out and strikes dozens, if not hundreds, of resistance ships, taking them right out of the sky. This guy is over a hundred years old, several of which he was DEAD for and for some reason now, he has power I would only be able to describe as "Godlike" for no damn reason. I forgot to mention earlier that he didn't live through being exploded in ep 6. He brought himself back to life somehow, just wrote it off as his access to the dark side. He still looked terrible though, like he was actually a corpse with rotten hands and pure white eyes and all that. But somehow, two random idiot children's life forces, nowhere near in their totality, are enough to rejuvenate him and give him power unseen by most of the deadliest Sith in all of Star Wars. Vader's apprentice from The Force Unleashed wasn't this fucking OP. The worst he did could be chalked up to gameplay, this one-man lightning storm bullshit is actually canon, though. So this creates a problem: How does Rey defeat someone with the power of a god on her own? She ignites Leia's old lightsaber from when Luke was training her and then redirects the Emperor's lightning back into his face, destroying his head. From there, the Final Order's fleet is destroyed and Finn and Jannah are rescued from a fiery death as the ship they're on starts crashing to the ground, I guess being the only surviving members of their attack squad. Ben climbs out of the shaft and gives his life force to bring Rey back from the dead, they share a kiss and Ben dies, allowing Rey to flee in the Red Five, much to everyone's relief. There are celebrations and hints of things to come, including Lando taking Jannah with him on adventures through the stars, Rose hugging some dude who ISN'T Finn, much to Finn's annoyance, and Zorii and Poe exchanging wordless gestures. The final scene is Rey going to the old Skywalker Moisture farm to burry Luke and Leia's lightsabers just outside the house. How she knew where the farm was or why she buries them is anyone's guess. She pulls out a new lightsaber, a Yellow one. Which... Okay, I guess but where did she get it? Did she make it? How? Where? Did she just find it somewhere? How? Where? But anyway, an old woman comes walking by and mentions that the hasn't been anyone at the farm in so long and asks Rey who she is. Rey says "My name is Rey." "Rey Who?" Luke and Leia's force ghosts appear and smile at Rey. She proudly announces that she is "Rey Skywalker." And her and BB8 watch the suns over Tatooine set. The end. 4. A Nitpick? Some of these are just little things I couldn't find a good place to put elsewhere: In flashbacks, we see Luke training Leia a bit, in those scenes, her lightsaber is green. In the modern-day, for whatever reason, it's blue. I'm not sure if that's an oversight or not. Also worth asking: Where is Luke's personal saber? I did some research and he apparently reclaimed it at some point in the EU (Which is no longer canon) but even in Last Jedi, the last we see of it is him almost using it on a young Ben Solo. Where the hell did it go? 5. Conclusion I see this movie has it’s good bits but it isn't enough to make up for how shoddy the overall product is. There are too many new characters to let even the pre-established ones breathe, let alone each other, the editing was total garbage to the point where I genuinely got a headache, the plot invalidates both episodes eight AND six, while itself being kind of terrible... Nothing can kill Star Wars for me. This movie certainly tried. TL;DR: Do not watch this trash, I don't care if it's your first Star Wars film of if you're a long-time viewer, it isn't worth your time or money. Merry Christmas, everyone, and have a happy new year. (FTR: This is something I stole from my own deviantART, I’m not plagiarizing shit, I’m just copypasting myself and adding edits if I see hiccups in the future.)

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minblush · 7 years

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Hi, it's the anon that first sent the ask about the credits and how the explain my lack of connection. I agree with you completely, I feel like this album has been a giant business move where bighit is trying to milk the billboard win as much as possible. It's quite literal even in how they've incorporated the subject into the songs. So they probably rushed wanting to put out something so that they can ride that american zeitgeist high you know. I love bts, like truly (cont->)

Anonymous said:cont- They helped me in a time where I felt really lonely and isolated, I'm always a bit of an outsider just my personality and I felt that they were too (this is early 2015). I loved how they were themselves so honestly in performances and that they incorporated that identity into the music as well. Now they kind of feel like the popular kids if that makes sense. Bragging about how successful they are and or talking about soulmates and finding the one. None of which I can relate to.. -->

Anonymous said:Sorry this got so ranty, but I still love them and for the fans that think that us criticizing this comeback means that we are worse fans or whatever that's just not true. I literally love them with every part of my being and will always support them, I just hope the next releases are a bit different that's all. You're allowed to have expectations and sometimes they aren't met. It's okay.

yeah i felt that way too, honestly i felt it was a bit awkward that they really put the speech in there, it was a big moment but i wish they recorded a skit where they talk about it or what it means to them, instead of putting it in there, it felt kinda hueh? to me, especially followed with mic drop hh... and yeah it was the same for me, and i feel like they shed that outsider and shielding image with the rebranding and this album just confirms that, they said it was a turning point and it just depends whether they’re turning to something you like or you don’t like, tbh i don’t like it, but i love them as people so much that i’m trying to swallow all the marketing stuff, it’s just hard these days... like i know they have to sell themselves but they had a lot of involvement with their music and they talked to us fans all the time through means that you didn’t really have to pay for, but now it’s harder to get past all the pr talk and the distance when they are kinda far away and we are getting so much less free content than before... anyway sorry i went on an unrelated rant too phewph... but yeah, i hope it’s not going to be forever like this, then it’d be so hard to stay a fan for me, their personalities can only do so much when there’s less and less channels to see them through

Anonymous said:i really vibe w that anon who was disappointed bc this is their first comeback bc i'm in the same situation... everything was hyped so much and it seemed like everyone had a great time with wings and i was so excited!!! but now it's just... not rly what i was expecting based on their past works n i feel kinda like the person who arrived to the party late while everyones packing up lmao but. i am Trying To Stay Positive nonetheless :/ thanks for listening to me ramble hhh

wow i’m really sorry you feel that way, honestly wings was the best era for me as a fan cause it had no scandals or injuries in the main duration of it, the music was all great and mostly really personal and you could see that from how the boys talked about it, now it’s kind of... yeah... i hope you can get past it and i hope that the next time will be better if you hang in there ;-;

Anonymous said: with all the new attention from the West. and the teasers came out and the music was kind of promising with the whistle part, although I really didn't like the concept of 'her' and romance, and frankly the clothes in teaser 3&4 were not my fav. Then the music video came out, and I just lost interest in the first 10 secs. I get that they wanted to be more Western, so they danced in a box, and it was so Kookie focused (and no hate cause i really do love him), but the other members should

Anonymous said: should have the chance to shine too. It's probably an unfavourable comment but it feels like kookie & the boys instead of BTS? So I have completely lost interest in this comeback, and it's such a conflicting feeling because I really do love the boys, and I want them to break all kinds of records, but I don't want them to break the records with this album because it's just not them. & now reading about the credits, it's just so heart-breaking. Sorry, I had to rant about my feelings :(

sorry seems like tumblr swallowed some parts of what you were trying to say 3: but i feel you about the mv, i honestly... haven’t even finished watching it, i thought it looked really ugly and busy and the song seemed awful to me, i still only listened to it just once, but i was really happy that i liked most of the other songs on the album so it wasn’t a tragedy lol ;-; i don’t know about the kookie focused stuff, i never got into the discourse about certain members getting less spotlight and stuff, cause i feel it changes every time, with wings hobi had a whole lot of attention on him for example, now jimin had a whole trailer to himself too, so i really think that’s fine, but then again i didn’t finish watching the mv so i can’t say whether it really was excessive or not.... and yeah, i wish they could break the records with a better album, hopefully next time? idek... there is only so much they can do with the power of their fandom, cause lbr the title track isn’t something that you would hear on the radio often anyway

#please guys stop apologizing about sharing your feelings with me #i know it can feel kinda isolating in the fandom sometimes when you don't like something #so i'm glad you can find some place to rant at least here ;;#ask #anon

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marcjampole · 7 years

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There were many moments when I found the imagery and words of the inauguration inspiring, and they were all the same moment: the views of the sparse crowds. The Pence family walking by empty grandstands. The aerial comparisons of the jam-packed mall in 2009 and the deserted mall of 2017. The news that groups rented more buses to bring people to the Saturday anti-Trump march—the Women’s March—than to the inauguration itself. Nationwide more people will take to the streets in Washington, D.C. and nationwide to protest the policies of the new administration than to celebrate it.

These images warm my heart because they prove that the United States is still a free country.

If we were living in a dictatorship, the streets would have been crowded with cheering admirers. Censorship would have suppressed the reporting of the comparison photographs and factoids. The surveys that show Trump’s unprecedented unpopularity would have been rigged to pretend the man is universally beloved.

The mass revulsion and renewed activism motivated by the Electoral College’s decision to elect this unqualified no-nothing gives me cause for optimism, although I can’t help but wonder how many of the marchers voted for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson or stayed home on Election Day.

Both a friend of mine and I noticed that in most of the video streams and photographs (but not the one gracing the front page of the New York Times), the Trump family looks grim and unhappy. I shrugged it off as the typical awe and trembling that the nouveau riche feel when confronted by century-old traditions which fill them with the anxiety of those who believe in their hearts that they are unworthy. They focus on playing their role to perfection, which gives them a certain stiffness and seriousness of purpose. Contrast with the smiles, kidding and other grace notes that have brightened the inaugural performance of every other president in my lifetime. Of course all of them, even Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, were long-time insiders who participated in transfer of power ceremonies before and knew how government worked.

My friend, a practicing psychotherapist, saw an unhappy family in strife. For unhappy families, milestones and public events often provide a battlefield for playing out their problems. Mentally stable people, no matter how pissed off or disappointed they are at their spouse, child or parent, will hide behind a public mask. We know Hillary Clinton learned to do that during the 1990’s. But the more troubled a family or an individual, the less they can control themselves in public settings. Does family unhappiness explain the first family frowns? Before their grand entrance, did Trumpty-Dumpty berate everyone with commands, chides and insults?

As to Trump’s speech, I think MSNBC’s Chris Matthews put it best. It was Hitlerian.

Not so much specifically Hitlerian, but with many attributes of speeches given by fascists and totalitarians since human history began, including:

· References to the people as an organic unity that feels, moves, suffers and exults together. “We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny” sent a shudder down my spine because it fit right into a speech by Mussolini or Hitler. Or the ancient Greek tyrant Pisistratus, for that matter.

· Explicit and implicit linking of the people to the ruler, as if the ruler is the people and the people are the ruler.

· The big lies, which in the inauguration speech focused on the current state of the country. To the degree that there ever was “American Carnage,” it has ended over the past 25 years, as crime rates, shooting of police by others and terrorism have gone way down. The education system is not flush with cash, as Trump averred. As the unemployment rate and income equality suggest, the problem is not a lack of jobs, but the low wages paid for most jobs nowadays. We have not, as Trump claims, depleted the military.

· The cry to put the country first, unlike what the old regime did, at least according to the incoming fascist dictator. “America First,” the rallying cry of the virulently anti-Semitic American fascists in the 1930’s and 1940’s, sounds no different from the Nazi proclamation to put “Deutschland űber alles.”

· The evocation of a special destiny for the country, the idea that the country is better, purer, more advanced. Both times that Trump declared American exceptionalism he implied or stated that it’s god’s will: the first time when he called us a “righteous public,” and more explicitly when he said that “we will be protected by God.”

· Glorification of a past that never existed. The past to which Trump refers is industrialized America during the twentieth century. Yes, we were an industrial nation, but always because we exported. As Sven Beckert’s magisterial Empire of Cotton demonstrates, the United States built its economy on trade from its very origins. Our manufacturing flourished in the 20th century because we were able to sell our goods everywhere. The other major inaccuracy in discussing our past was the idea that everything was wonderful back then—it was only wonderful for workers once they unionized, and then only for whites.

Embedded in the fascist rhetoric that both tore down the current state of the country and glorified the national ideal, were a mere three policy recommendations. Let’s pretend that we’re living in a logical world and consider those three initiatives the cornerstones of the Trump Administration:

1. Protectionist trade policies

2. War against “radical Islamic terrorism”

3. Investment in rebuilding our infrastructure of roads, bridges and highways

That’s a paltry program compared to what Regan, both Bushes, Clinton and Obama laid out in their inaugurations. Paltry, and mostly wrong-headed. Protectionist trade policies have been a contributing factor to most depressions in American history, as trade wars close off markets. Singling out Islam suggests a religious war, not a fight against terrorism. Rebuilding our infrastructure is something I and other left-wingers have been advocating for at least a decade. Too bad Trump didn’t say that he would pay for it by raising taxes on the wealthy, nor note that a national building program gives the country the opportunity to create the infrastructure needed for a post-fossil fuel economy.

But unlike other inaugural addresses, Trump’s remarks seemed less about describing a program and more about reminding people how lousy their lives were and how great they will be now that the big man is in charge.

While Trump channeled fascism in his inaugural address, his Administration got started with two symbolic acts that reminded me of Hemingway’s dictum not to confuse motion with action. Trump signed an executive order that allows agencies to dismantle those parts of the Affordable Care Act it is legal for the president to dismantle. No specifics, no commands, no timetables. Thus no real action.

All references to global warming suddenly disappeared from the White House website the moment the transfer of power occurred. But again, the act was symbolic at best, since the White House did not countermand any single regulation or rule.

I recently wondered if the Trump Administration would engage only in symbolic acts of branding and rebranding. I speculated that the kind of gridlock that this approach to running the country both reflects and initiates would be the best-case scenario for a Trump Administration. So far, so good.

#Trump inauguration fascism

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topicprinter · 6 years

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Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.Today's interview is with Stacia Guzzo of SmartyPits, a brand that sells aluminum-free deodorant.Some stats:Product: Aluminum-free deodorant.Revenue/mo: $58,000Distribution: Wholesale 80% Online 20%Retail stores: 850Web visitors: 4500Web conversion: 4.5%Avg order spend: $33Started: January 2014Location: Tehachapi, CAFounders: 2Employees: 7Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?My name is Stacia Guzzo, and I’m the founder of SmartyPits Deodorant. SmartyPits is free of aluminum, phthalates, parabens, and propylene glycol, and we give a portion of sales back to breast cancer research and survivor support.Our customers include anyone that is looking for a healthier alternative to traditional antiperspirants (which contain aluminum).our deodorantWe didn’t, however, start out as SmartyPits, nor did we start out with the idea to mainly make deodorant. Our path is a bit more winding. It’s a story of failure, success, flexibility, and paying close attention--and one that I’m excited to share with you.In the last 21 months, SmartyPits has grown from making under $100,000 in 2016 to making over $500,000 by the end of Q3 in 2018.What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?SmartyPits itself was inspired by my mom’s experience as a breast cancer survivor. When she discovered the lump, it was directly underneath her armpit.It was an incredibly aggressive cancer. We had no family history of breast cancer--no genetic predisposition, no family history at all. In fact, her doctors at the time told her it was likely it was environmentally influenced.This led me to do some research, and it was the first time I learned about the links that some studies had found between aluminum and breast cancer (and Alzheimer’s Disease).Knowing how aggressive this cancer was, and now having an immediate family history at the time, I tried to go aluminum-free at the time (I was an avid “clinical strength” antiperspirant user). However, I just couldn’t find anything that worked well for me--and that experience would eventually be the reason I created one myself.However, in order to know how I was able to do that, I have to jump around in time a bit. My mother was diagnosed several years before I learned to make skincare, and so when I couldn’t find an aluminum-free deodorant that worked for me, I went back to my antiperspirant for while, unsure of how to solve this problem for myself. I was a classroom teacher at the time--and while I had always been a creative person, I had never thought of making my own skin care.Then my husband and I moved to a much more rural location, and we became hobbyist beekeepers (something we’d wanted to do for some time). With our first honey harvest, we had excess wax, and I just knew I wanted to do something interesting with it.I found a lip balm recipe on the internet, and used the wax to make it...and it was awful. It was hard and crumbly, and I was so disappointed! I knew with a little bit of research I could figure out how to make it better. About 16 formulas later, I made the perfect lip balm, and was hooked on learning how to make skin care.That lip balm would lead to learning how to make soap, lotions, salves, bath salts and teas, and more--I became obsessed with learning how to formulate, and enjoyed selling at small farmer’s markets. In 2014 when I officially started what I would call Handcrafted Honey Bee, I grossed around $40,000 by selling in 1 or 2 local shops, online, and in local craft shows.Admittedly, though, there was no profit in that number. I hadn’t yet learned how to price my products appropriately, buy in quantities that would make the product profitable, or scale production beyond a few at a time. But I was building the foundation.Describe the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing the product.A couple of years into making my own skin care, I knew I had finally learned enough to begin making my own deodorant. It was a bit more complicated (what’s called a 3-phase process), but I had enough of a knowledge base by that point to give it a shot.Just like with the lip balm, the first iterations of the product weren’t the best...and yet, people wanted to buy it anyway! It was clear there was a need.In fact, deodorant began to quickly be one of our most popular product. We’d take a formula to a farmer’s market or craft show, sell it, get feedback on what we could improve, and take it back to the studio to tweak the formula.Back then, we made everything in very small batches--we made six at time, on a double boiler, in mason jars. We had a small studio that was adjacent to our home, so we had a space dedicated to manufacturing.manufacturing studioEventually, we got a small 13-gallon wax melter, and we were able to learn to scale production. We got to the point where we could make up to 500 in a day, which was huge at the time!Us making deodorantWhen we eventually moved into our current warehouse, we also got a couple of 45-gallon wax melters; each of those can hold enough base for 1500 deodorants at a time. That’s how we manufacture today.Our wax melters--we still have our original small one too.A snapshot of part of our current warehouseDescribe the process of launching the business.I didn’t really have an official launch that I can remember (or at least that I knew how to market). It was much more of an organic process, growing my business in person at local markets. Getting online was more of an outflow of those markets--I began to wonder if I people outside of my immediate area would be interested.The very first online presence I had was on Etsy. I had no idea about how to run an online shop, how to market, any of it--I just put the product up on the website and mentioned to my friends on Facebook that I was selling my lip balms and soaps for Christmas. I made $1000 off of that Etsy shop the first December I put it online, and it felt like a million dollars! I was floored.I then moved on to a simple Shopify store--I was amazed at the templates! It felt like Handcrafted Honey Bee was an official online business. In mid-2014, I won $5000 from a small business contest put on by Intuit. I used that money to have a designer create a custom website. It was beautiful--but there was a problem.The design, which gorgeous, just didn’t speak to my customer base. We didn’t see a lot of online traffic--and so I began to attend even more craft shows to drive business, as well as enter a lot of online contests to gain exposure.While this increased our traffic a bit, it was exhausting. I wasn’t able to keep up the pace of constant shows and contests (did I mention I had two infants at the time?). I was quickly running out of both money and energy...and my product design still didn’t speak to my customer base.In early 2016, I put all my remaining money into a complete redesign of absolutely everything--our logo, our website, our packaging, everything. We used the cream of the crop design team at Aeolidia and it was the best decision I ever made.The redesign cost me over $30,000, and at the time we had no money left after launch. It was a huge risk...and it totally paid off. Within 6 months of re-launch, our website traffic had increased by 1200%, and our revenue soared toward the coveted 6-figure mark.And yet that’s not the end of the launch story. Our traffic was soaring, and deodorant was quickly becoming our #1 product. But we had a big problem: people couldn’t remember the name. At the time, it was simply called “Handcrafted HoneyBee Deodorant.” And it just wasn’t a name people could remember.In late 2016, a name struck me: SmartyPits. I was in my car, driving home, and the name popped into my head. I literally laughed out loud thinking about it.As soon as I got home, I contacted my trademark lawyer--we filed for an intent-to-use trademark later that day.We rebranded the deodorant line as SmartyPits in April of 2017, and I can say with certainty that it was that single move that changed the entire course of our business. All the foundation we laid ahead of time had primed for this moment.Not only did our online traffic go through the roof, but our wholesale revenue did as well. We went from being in 30 stores to being in 150 stores by the end of the year (and now in over 850 doors 18 months later).Our return customer rate more than doubled. And our revenue hit over $200K by the end of 2017, with SmartyPits being 90% of our revenue at that time.Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?We’ve had some really great marketing efforts and some real flops.The biggest thing that has worked for us--and that has always been a pillar of our company--is cultivating and nourishing relationships. This goes for individual customers, sales reps, wholesale accounts, influencers, potential partners--every relationship matters.One thing that simply didn’t work for us? Facebook ads. We hired two different strategists with great track records to help us, but it ended up just being a money pit. I realized later that we’re up against some giants in the natural deodorant space; in addition, blind ads didn’t work as well with our cornerstone of building relationships.In fact, anything we do that helps to connect with our customers personally does well--from Facebook live, to email newsletters, to YouTube videos. My biggest hindrance with those right now is time and bandwidth and balancing those efforts with the time I need to put into facilitating the practical aspects of our growth.Tradeshows have also worked really well for us--especially shows like Natural Products Expo West and Indie Beauty Expo. Those shows have a press/blogger aspect in addition to the wholesale buyers, and we’ve gotten a lot of traction from giving out samples at those shows.Our boothFinally, we do have Amazon as a selling channel, but we don’t sell personally on Amazon. Instead, we have a wholesale account that sells as a third-party seller. We have an exclusivity agreement with them (so no other sellers can sell on the platform), and it’s worked out really well for us.Because they sell above our MSRP, it isn’t the lowest-cost option on the internet, but it reaches the Amazon buyer. The exclusivity agreement (which they monitor closely) ensures that nobody can sell on Amazon without us knowing, which also has been a big benefit to the relationship.How are you doing today and what does the future look like?Today, we are profitable--but it has taken us 4 years in business to get here. It’s also the first year I’ve paid myself a real salary, which has been really exciting.Part of the challenge of this stage (particularly 2018) has been the rate of growth. Because we’ve grown so quickly this year, we’ve had to invest a lot of money back into the business--buying an additional melter, investing in more shelving units, a forklift, and hiring more people. (Because we still manufacture and distribute completely in-house, labor is a big part of our budget; in exchange, we’re able to have a lot of flexibility and quick turnaround when it comes to filling orders that come in quickly.)Currently, the wholesale side of our business makes up about 80% of our revenue, with online sales the remaining 20%. We’re now in about 850 doors nationwide. Admittedly, from about June 2017 until now, our main focus has been on growing the wholesale side, and it’s been great for this stage of our growth; however, I’m looking forward to increasing our online revenue in 2019.Deodorant is now about 97% of our sales. We currently get about 4500 visitors to the site every month with a 4.5% average conversion rate. Our average order spend is about $33--not bad for selling deodorant!We’re excited that in December 2018, we’re going to be launching a new SmartyPits website--and knowing the difference the new website made back in 2016, we’re excited to see what this does for us in 2019.Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?As I mentioned before, relationships have been the key to growing our business. I’ve nourished relationships through some incredible networks (Indie Business Network, Savor the Success, and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses to name a few). The people I’ve met have been seed planters, soundboards, door openers, and givers of tough love.The other thing I’d mention that has been both an advantage and a disadvantage is that I’ve never been afraid to take risks. Sometimes, those risks have cost us a lot of money. Sometimes, those risks have been the key to taking us to the next level. Risk taking is very much a personal threshold--but in this case, it’s been a big part of our story.What platform/tools do you use for your business?I have two Shopify sites--one for our retail site and one for our wholesale site. We use a ton of apps, but some of the best include:Shipstation for streamlined shippingLocksmith to keep our wholesale site visible for buyers onlyRecharge for managing subscriptionsA great project/communications platform for my team has been Basecamp. Through Basecamp, I’m able to create different teams--one for shipping, one for manufacturing, one for marketing, etc.I create to-do’s, chat with my project leads, and can communicate general timelines to my team in a streamlined way. I love using Basecamp!For inventory, I just started using a system called Unleashed. We’re still getting everything in, but one of the best things about Unleashed is that it’s able to sync with Shopify and Quickbooks. It also is able to track lot numbers and batches--from raw materials through finished products--so we’re able to stay compliant with the FDA regulations for Good Manufacturing Practices.What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?I love the How I Built This podcast--I always listen to it when I have to fly somewhere. Hearing how these giants first began, and knowing that the entrepreneurial roller coaster isn’t a unique experience, continues to be inspiring to me.The first season of StartUp was pretty good, too. It gave great insight to getting a business off the ground and some of the crazy things that happen along the way.As far as other resources--I highly recommend finding a mastermind group (preferably with people outside your industry). It has been a game changer for us.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?I think one of my biggest lessons learned is that fast is not always better. When I first started, I thought scaling meant simply doing what I was already doing, but doing it more. So when we were making 500 deodorants a week, I thought to scale would be as simple as figuring out how to make 2500, then 5000, then 10,000 deodorants a week.But scaling is so much more than that. It’s new marketing strategy, it’s learning to manage a team, it’s figuring out how to connect with suppliers, it’s new methods of distribution, it’s storage, it’s a longer cash cycle. Learning these things one step at a time is way easier than being forced to figure it out all at once (and possibly making some critical mistakes because of it).The other thing I’d recommend is that no matter your size, take time to do an annual retreat. We do both an owners retreat (where we look back at the year prior and look forward to what is to come) and a team retreat. These retreats have proven to be some of the most influential experiences in our growth.Where can we go to learn more?You can find us at:www.smartypits.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartypitsdeoIG: @smartypitsEmail: [email protected] this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos.

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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coldstarlightharmony-blog · 7 years

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Survey: Acer's C7 Chromebook is $199 and feelin' fine (moderately) It's the least expensive Chromebook yet, yet is it a bit of junk?.

I have two major issues with Chrome OS and Chromebooks as an item classification. The first is I believe that Chrome OS, while a fascinating trial, is restricted by its extremely nature to a limited arrangement of utilization cases (generally people and private companies who depend overwhelmingly on Google and Google Apps for the majority of their work). The second issue is value: given how little Chrome OS does, the PCs running it have ordinarily been a bit excessively costly looked at, making it impossible to spending Windows portable workstations.

Samsung's ARM-based Chromebook tended to the second point by offering a moderately nice tablet for $249, a considerably more sensible cost than the $449 Series 550 Chromebook presented not long ago. Presently Acer has limboed even lower, offering its new Intel-fueled C7 Chromebook for just $199. Doubtlessly this tablet, which is basically a rebranding of its $329 Windows-running Aspire One AO756-2641, is being sold at an engaging cost. Be that as it may, are the exchange offs inborn to any tablet this modest worth making?

Body and fabricate quality

This Chromebook is evaluated at $199, yet the construct quality is sensible, certainly not as awful as some $199 and $299 netbooks discharged in the course of the most recent couple of years. It's somewhat chunkier than Samsung's ARM Chromebook; it's 1.08 inches thick, up from around 0.66 inches, and measures three pounds as opposed to the ARM Chromebook's 2.4 pounds.

As is not out of the ordinary, the body is all-plastic—the top and palm rest are a smooth dim plastic, and the base of the cover is a finished dark. The PC is little and firmly sufficiently built that there's hardly any bowing or flexing, even in the show. This isn't construct quality that they'll compose tunes about, yet it's very tolerable considering the price.The tablet's port choice is vigorous, yet not front line. There are three USB 2.0 ports, two on the privilege and one on the left. USB 2.0 is somewhat frustrating, since the tablet's Intel HM70 chipset gives four USB 3.0 ports locally, however it's famously excusable in a $199 Chrome OS tablet. Joining the USB ports are a 100 megabit Ethernet port, a VGA port, and a HDMI, sufficiently port to associate the tablet to both systems and outside showcases new and old. An earphone jack, and a Kensington bolt space round out the cast. While I had a few issues getting the ARM-based Chromebook to yield video over HDMI when I checked on it, both the VGA port and the HDMI port filled in as expected on the C7. A current designer channel work of Chrome OS really empowers an augmented desktop mode without precedent for the working framework's history. That is something that ought to stream down to the steady channel inside the following few weeks.The portable PC's greatest staying point is presumably the show, a 11.6-inch 1366x768 number. The shading and brilliance are in reality entirely great. Be that as it may, as is basic in the low-quality TN shows utilized as a part of low-end tablets, the differentiation proportion is awful and the survey points are more awful. With a 11-inch show you ought to as a rule have the space to open the screen as much as you need regardless of the possibility that you're on a prepare or plane. On account of the C7, this is fortunate on the grounds that taking a gander at the screen from something besides the ideal point totally washes it out in a rush. A stuck pixel on our Google-gave survey unit may likewise be demonstrative of not as much as immaculate quality control on Acer's part, however this is hard to find out from utilizing just a single machine.Not all is ruddy with the console either. It's the standard chiclet-style console you'll get in any purchaser portable workstation nowadays. As you'd anticipate from the C7's value point, the console is emphatically average and has nice key travel yet with somewhat of a soft vibe. The most exceedingly bad thing about it may be its format, however the issues go past Acer's peculiar molded return key. The single greatest issue is certainly the bolt keys, which are half-tallness on a level plane and additionally vertically. This renders them small and hard to touch-sort in case you're utilized to standard bolt key layouts.The trackpad is a standard-issue buttonless multitouch undertaking. Clicking and dragging, utilizing two fingers to right-click, and different movements like two-finger looking over all filled in as expected. I didn't have any issues with palm dismissal or lethargy. These sorts of trackpads are just essential in the event that they don't work legitimately and, at any rate in my use, I observed the C7's trackpad to be wonderfully unremarkable.

At last, the C7's legacy as a Windows portable workstation makes it somewhat unique in relation to other reason fabricated Chromebooks. The Caps Lock key is as yet a Caps Lock key as opposed to a Search key—rather, a Search key is found where the Windows key would be on a standard PC console. There's likewise no equipment "engineer change" to impair the safe bootloader. On the C7, you can get to designer mode by squeezing the escape key, the F3 key, and the power catch at the login screen to enter reestablish mode, then Ctrl and D to flip engineer mode.Compared to the ARM Chromebook, Samsung's putting forth is marginally more slender, lighter, and more appealing, however the screen quality is about the same as the C7. It's likewise fanless, which is desirable over the C7's single, in some cases whiny framework fan. Be that as it may, the C7 has the better determination of ports, and as we'll see, it really outflanks its more costly cousin in most significant measurements.

Internals, execution, and battery life

Most Chromebooks to date have incorporated some kind of energy productive, low-end processor, simply enough RAM to get by, and a little measure of strong state stockpiling. Chrome OS' concentrate on spilling and distributed storage implies that a little measure of quick stockpiling is for the most part desirable over a lot of moderate stockpiling.

The C7 proceeds with the custom of utilizing shoddy processors and little measures of RAM—a 1.1GHz Intel Celeron 847 and 2GB of DDR3 RAM drive the vast majority of the activity here. Be that as it may, it utilizes a substantial and moderate (yet cheap) 5400RPM 320GB hard drive for capacity. Since the Chromebook C7 is truly only a rebranded Aspire AO756-2641, it's plausible that it was less expensive, less complex, or both for Acer to keep utilizing an indistinguishable drive from the Windows form as opposed to swapping it out.

The drive's speed doesn't generally influence execution much, except for the still-moderately fast boot time. When it's stacked, Chrome OS doesn't get to the circle regularly enough to make things feel obviously slower than in a strong state-based model.

As usual, the tests we can keep running on Chrome OS are overwhelmingly just JavaScript benchmarks. JavaScript scores are for the most part futile for contrasting execution unless you're measuring them on two frameworks that are running the same working framework and program. For the reasons for this article, we'll simply ahead and stick to measuring it against Samsung's $249 ARM Chromebook.The C7 ought to offer interruption to anybody yammering on about things like the likelihood of ARM-based MacBooks: ARM's present bleeding edge design, the 1.7GHz double center Cortex-A15 utilized as a part of the $249 Samsung Chromebook, is quantifiably and reliably slower than a 1.1GHz double center Celeron processor from Intel. Making an already difficult situation even worse, that Celeron processor depends on the year-old Sandy Bridge engineering as opposed to the speedier, more power-productive Ivy Bridge. Anybody expecting ARM contributes a mid-or top of the line note pad still has a considerable amount of time to hold up.

ARM still holds a power utilization advantage, be that as it may. Samsung's ARM Chromebook is appraised at more than six and a half hours of battery life (we got around seven in our testing), yet the C7 is evaluated at a piddly four hours—we got around three hours and 45 minutes perusing the Web and playing Pandora music with the screen splendor turned as far as possible up. That is marginally down from Google's assessments yet certainly inside the ballpark. The C7's battery life is fundamentally more awful in spite of having a somewhat bigger battery—37Wh contrasted with the 30Wh battery in the ARM Chromebook. Intel's up and coming Haswell processors and present and future Atoms are as far as anyone knows really forceful about shutting this power utilization crevice, however this specific Celeron is generally control hungry.

Repairability

The C7 isn't exactly as svelte or appealingly worked as the ARM Chromebook, yet the upside is it's repairable and upgradeable not at all like any of the Ultrabooks and convertible PCs we've concentrated on throughout the previous couple of months. Simply be cautioned: opening this PC up in any capacity voids Acer's guarantee, most likely since Chromebooks aren't generally intended to be worked on.

Popping one of the Phillips take screws off the base of the PC gives you prepared access to its two RAM openings (just a single of which is being utilized) and 2.5-inch hard drive—neither of these things truly should be updated on the off chance that you anticipate utilizing the C7 as a Chromebook in the long haul. Be that as it may, on the off chance that you anticipate doing some tinkering with the PC, the capacity to supplant the significant parts so effectively is certainly an or more. Take note of that in case you're overhauling the hard drive, the C7 utilizes a thin 7.5mm high model instead of the more customary 9.5mm size.

Conclusions

Chrome OS is still somewhat of an intense offer, however the C7 and the ARM Chromebook are both sufficiently shabby to at last make it attractive. Nor is a particularly amazing portable PC, however at these value focuses they're a huge stride up from the little, modest netbooks that have been sold by these same producers at these same value focuses. In case you're going to play a part with the working framework's confinements and the corners that were sliced to slice the costs, the greatest question is which one to purchase.

The Samsung Chromebook is marginally more costly however general it's the better-made of the two PCs. Its fanless plan, lighter weight, and better battery life are all advantageous additional elements. The C7 sparkles in different zones.

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makeitwithmike · 7 years

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10 Risky Brand Comebacks on Social Media That Worked

By Kaylynn Chong

“Sorry to hear that. Please send us a direct message and we’d be happy to assist you.” For the majority of brands, this is what customer service on social media looks like. Polite, respectful, and helpful.

But not for every brand.

Businesses now use their social handles to deliver sharp wit, make clever jokes, and throw shade.

While having a sense of humor is important, there is a line. And crossing it can have consequences. Just ask the folks at Hawke and Co.

Still, several brands have been unable to pass up on opportunities for a good burn. In the following 10 situations, it paid off.

Be safe out there.

1. Tesco Mobile tells a hard truth

Tesco Mobile, a UK-based mobile network, is probably one of the sassiest brands on Twitter. They’ve earned a reputation for handing out some vicious burns, to the delight of their nearly 80,000 followers.

It was hard to choose the best Tesco Mobile burn. There are a lot of them. But this one stands out due to its reach.

@LiyahSummers When you realise your mates are ignoring you LOOOOOOOOL #nojoke

— Tesco Mobile (@tescomobile) June 30, 2013

Over 11,000 retweets and over 7,000 favorites should be enough to convince you that Tesco has the Twitter burn down to a science. They didn’t pick someone complaining about their product or customer service. They sought out someone trying to make a joke at their expense, and decided to defend their brand in an extremely relatable way: with a third degree burn right out of the school yard.

People have started following Tesco specifically because of the guile they show in conversations with their “haters.”

How many phone companies do you follow? Probably only the one you use. Tesco’s approach has allowed them to connect with a wider audience, including many non-clients. I couldn’t resist, here’s another one.

@JayFeliipe Are you really in a position to be turning girls away? — Tesco Mobile (@tescomobile) October 16, 2013

Call the fire department!

2. Wendy’s roasts a customer

The fast food chain made headlines when it delivered an epic comeback to a customer who accused them of lying about their “never frozen beef.”

if you’re having a bad day today, just remember that you didn’t get dragged by a fast food company on twitter http://pic.twitter.com/gUSuHwZLQR

— ΓRΛX (@Fraxtil) January 2, 2017

Since then, Wendy has continued to provide giggles on an ongoing basis. The burger joint has earned a reputation for handing out vicious burns—much to the delight of their 1.51 million strong—and growing—Twitter fanbase.

@ceophono No, your opinion is though.

— Wendy’s (@Wendys) January 3, 2017

With some tweets getting upwards of 10,000 retweets and 30,000 likes, Wendy’s is definitely getting noticed for their risky comebacks.

3. Discovery Channel teaches the Penguins a lesson

How did a simple tweet from the Discovery Channel turn into an awesome burn lauded by hockey fans? It all comes down to the innocent penguin.

In 2015 Discovery sent out a tweet on the average height of the emperor penguin.

On average, emperor penguins grow to be 3.8 feet tall >> http://bit.ly/2nnTozQ http://pic.twitter.com/PgLuwLYuBB

— Discovery (@Discovery) May 13, 2015

The Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team saw it as an opportunity to maybe spark some interesting social media conversations. They responded with a tweet of their own, on the average height of a Pittsburgh Penguin. Clever… except in retrospect, since it lead to this amazing comeback.

@penguins Strange. Our latest observations show no Penguin activity currently on ice in Pittsburgh. Where did they go? — Discovery (@Discovery) May 14, 2015

A little context: the Penguins had, only a few weeks earlier, been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Maybe Discovery’s social media manager is a hockey fan of a different breed? Either way, a network that is known for providing educational programming definitely taught the Penguins a lesson.

And it paid off to the tune of 31,000 retweets and 34,000 favorites.

4. #DearEverlane hashtag sheds light on the consumer experience

Everlane’s hashtag #DearEverlane encourages customers to share questions, concerns, and brand experiences online. Everlane then takes to social media to showcase some of their best interactions:

Dear Jayson and Karla, Sometimes we brag that this backpack is a steal. Guess he took it literally. Everlane #DearEverlane

A post shared by Everlane (@everlane) on Mar 30, 2016 at 10:41am PDT

In a specific #DearEverlane post, “Rupert” decided to call the clothing company out on the value of its products:

Dear Rupert, One sweater does cost us $57 to make; when you use natural fibers and invest in quality, it costs real money. But that’s not the ridiculous part. The ridiculous part is that other brands have a similar cost but mark their prices up so much more. Maybe they need the brain scans. Know your costs, Everlane #DearEverlane

A post shared by Everlane (@everlane) on Aug 27, 2016 at 9:00am PDT

Instead of burying the negative feedback, the clothing brand presented Rupert’s commentary on their Instagram account.

The retailer fired back with a smart explanation as to why their sweaters cost as much as they do—as well as referencing Rupert’s snarky suggestion to “get a brain scan performed.”

#DearEverlane opens dialogue on social media and gives the brand an opportunity to address topics off all kinds—the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s also another great example of using hashtags to drive engagement.

5. Smart Car proves how smart it really is

Smart cars don’t appeal to folks who prefer driving something a little bigger. The small size of these cars has made them the butt of jokes ever since they were first introduced. Rather than take offense, the company is pretty good at letting things slide.

But, just this once, they decided to take on a stupid joke about their product.

‘Oh our cars can be destroyed by bird poop can they? Maybe they can, but it would take 45,000 emus to make it happen. You and your joke have just been scienced. Good day.’

This isn’t so much a traditional burn as it is a mic drop moment. They took a joke made at their expense, proved they were paying attention, and actually transformed it into a brand win. If there was a tweet in this list that you might actually want to mimic, this would be the one.

6. Totino’s responds to S.N.L.’s Super Bowl skit

If there’s one Super Bowl commercial that is sure to delight every year, it’s Saturday Night Live’s Totino’s pizza roll skit.

The parody Totino’s Super Bowl ad sheds light on gender stereotypes when it comes to football. The main character is a Stepford Wives-inspired housewife who plays clueless about the game and gets ordered around at her husband’s Super Bowl viewing party.

Every year has been pretty spectacular, but 2017’s skit received significant amounts of buzz when Kristen Stewart and Vanessa Bayer fell in love on-screen.

When it came time for Totino’s to respond, they came back with a couple of cheeky but perfect retorts.

*watches new @nbcsnl* *sees another Totino’s parody ad* *sighs, logs in to work email for the next 12 hours*

— Pete Zaroll (@totinos) February 5, 2017

Hey, it’s like we always say: pizza rolls, not gender roles. #SNL @nbcsnl

— Pete Zaroll (@totinos) February 5, 2017

7. DiGiorno Pizza with the smooth delivery

Rapper Iggy Azalea made headlines on Grammy night in 2015, not for her award nominations, but for a Twitter battle with Papa John’s restaurant.

Iggy ordered a pizza and the restaurant employee who delivered it distributed her information to their family member, who proceeded to send Iggy unwanted texts. Iggy was less than pleased, with both the texts and the response of a Papa John’s manager, and she spread that displeasure on Twitter.

This was a potential PR nightmare for Papa John’s, which apologized and did their best to address the situation on Twitter. Another brand saw the situation in a different light, however, and rushed in to take advantage.

@DiGiornoPizza I know right!

— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) February 9, 2015

DiGiorno Pizza is a maker of frozen pizzas that uses the tagline “It’s not delivery, it’s DiGiorno.” The entire situation was a perfect match for their value proposition, and their generally casual and humorous approach to Twitter. Their tweet was simple but effective, and took advantage of a competitor’s screw-up (smh means “shake my head,” for the record). By entering the conversation, DiGiorno ended up with a quasi-endorsement from a famous rapper. One brand’s nightmare is another’s dream.

8. Arby’s embraces their enemies

In the midst of a rebrand, Arby’s decided to come back with a little more bite.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart had been making fun of the fast food chain for years, with jokes questioning their food’s edibility. “It’s like a shock and awe for your bowels,” the comedian once said.

Sometimes Jon’s jokes about us were hard to digest, but we kept watching #TheDailyShow anyway. #JonVoyage http://pic.twitter.com/FGoLhf6QyX

— Arby’s (@Arbys) August 6, 2015

When Stewart was about to end his hosting career, Arby’s took the opportunity to respond after years of being mocked. The fast food chain produced a farewell commercial called “Jon Voyage,” featuring a montage of Stewart’s harshest slights combined with the Golden Girls’ theme song “Thank You For Being A Friend.”

This was followed by a few clever quips to Stewart on the Arby’s Twitter handle.

Jon, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

— Arby’s (@Arbys) February 11, 2015

Well said, Arby’s.

9. Taco Bell adds a little spice

Taco Bell is known to be one of the most entertaining and humorous brands on social media. Their target audience is fairly young, making them the perfect target for funny, risky content. When Old Spice, another brand who doesn’t shy away from humor, presented them with the following opportunity, they were sure to take it.

@OldSpice Is your deodorant made with really old spices? — Taco Bell (@tacobell) July 9, 2012

Old Spice threw it up, and Taco Bell hit it out of the park. This tweet is the perfect burn. It doesn’t take down the brand, just the tweet in question. It makes you smile without ever feeling at all malicious.

Brand on brand burns are far less risky, since no clients are involved. They’re usually far more beneficial as well, since they benefit from the substantial network of both businesses. Case and point: RedBull tried to join in on this duel after the fact (though, in this case, it was uninspired).

@TacoBell @OldSpice No bull: the original Energy Drink is not made of wiiings.

— Red Bull (@redbull) July 12, 2012

10. Old Spice with the tough love

Since, as mentioned, Old Spice is another brand that embraces humor and risky tweets, they’ve also earned their spot on this list. Old Spice does a great job of throwing not-so-subtle jabs at followers and fans, especially those who send them weird tweets. Like poor old Sunil here.

@Sunillin try Tinder. — Old Spice (@OldSpice) October 31, 2013

In this case, the Twitter user sent something weird and off-beat, so Old Spice felt comfortable responding in a similar way. The burn is playful, not insulting, that’s a pretty good description of their Twitter presence in general. If you’re going to burn someone, burn someone who is asking for the burn… maybe even hoping for it.

Inspired by these comebacks? Use Hootsuite to monitor all of your social media activity and be prepared to take on any form of roasting—from every platform, all in one place. With Hootsuite, you’ll never miss an opportunity to join the conversation online. Try it today.

Learn More

This is an updated version of a post originally published in June 2015.

The post 10 Risky Brand Comebacks on Social Media That Worked appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

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