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healthandweightloss23 · 4 months

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jurakan · 2 years

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Fun fact please?

Alright friend I'm sorry it took me so long, but my computer was throwing a fit and I couldn't get to this as quickly as I wanted. I apologize.

So Today You Learned about Pytheas of Massalia.

Pytheas was a Greek geographer and explorer from the 300's BC. Okay, well sort of--Massalia was a Greek colony in what is now France (Marseille, in fact), but the man was a Greek. His accounts were widely known in his own times, but sadly, they haven't survived into the modern day. Like many ancient texts that were famous, we have excerpts, and we have other authors referring to the things he'd written, so we have an idea of what he saw and talked about.

Also, he discovered Britain.

I mean, kind of. There were already people living there, obviously, but they weren't really known to the Greek world. You have to understand that the Romans considered the British Isles, like, the furthest edge of the known world, so hundreds of years before that the Greeks didn't even think of that as a place, though they had legends about distant lands. But he went there, apparently talked to people there, and brought back descriptions as well as complained about the cold weather.

His first written reference to Scotland calls it 'Orcas', from which we get the name of the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland.

Pytheas also described Thule, a place far to the north, which has been warped into being a lot of weird things by people over the ages. We're not clear what he meant. If this was Scotland, an island north of Scotland, Iceland, Scandanavia... unclear.

He also discovered the Baltic Sea for the Greco-Roman world, interacted with the Germanic peoples there as well. He went far enough north that he's the first recorded writer to mention the midnight sun and polar ice.

[Again, there were legends in Greece about frozen northern lands at this point, so presumably someone had been up there before him, but they were that--legends. Pytheas actually went and checked it out.]

Also! He made the connection between the tides and the phases of the Moon, the first scholar we know of to do so.

I don't know, maybe this sounds boring to you, and if it does, I'm sorry. But this blows my mind that in an ancient Greek colony, a time that we mostly think of as insular and not really interacting with the outside world, at least, not outside the Mediterranean, some guy hopped on a ship and started discovering different parts of the world, completely alien to his own home temperature and culture. And he hopped off the boats and talked to some of these people, trying to get a feel for what their lives were like. In the 300's B.C. And that these records were famous in their own day, but this isn't something that comes up in your history classes now (which isn't a complaint, I don't know how to work it into the curriculum).

And he's got this dope statue in Marseille:

#Pytheas of Massalia #Today You Learned #Fun Fact Friday #history #ancient history #explorers

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anewbrainjughead · 8 months

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I’m Scotland anon! We’re flying into Inverness and driving to visit my sister who’s living outside Aberdeen. It would be cool to know a couple good places to go, but also any tips to not embarrass myself as a tourist?? Ty!

Hi! I'm going to be honest, i haven't spent a ton of time up the north end of the country, at least not for a good few years, so i'm afraid i don't have a ton of insight on what places to go around aberdeen, especially if you're looking for nightlife and the like. I know that inverness has a castle and a really cool bookshop called Leakey's and thats about it. I've been to aberdeen exactly 3 times and all i remember about it was that the sea had foam so thick and yellow that it looked like old mattresses and that the seagulls there are massive hulking mutants who run that city through intimidation and stolen chips

I'm not sure whether you're planning on spending most of your time in the city or if you want to see more of the country, but there's some lovely countryside around the north/northeast. Stonehaven is a really nice picturesque seaside town about half an hour from aberdeen. There's a castle/ruins you can take a tour of, and tbh there's few things more scottish than eating ice cream and chips on a beach on a cold day, assuming you're going to be visiting sometime between now and like april lol. If you have the time it's worth checking out some of the islands. Skye is beautiful and one of the closer islands to aberdeen. I think there's a pretty regular ferry from there to the mainland and its less than an hour journey.

(i'm about to go on a food rant sorry) Scotland definitely isn't renowned for its food, but if you are looking to eat 'traditional' scottish food then the best thing to get is fish/seafood. You can get some really good, really fresh stuff in seafood shacks by the beach, but also just in restaurants in any coastal town/city, though i'd make sure to look at locals reviews on google so you don't get ripped off. Scotland is overall pretty good for vegan/vegetarian food too, and we have a lot of really solid indian restaurants and takeaways, which i'd def recommend. Honestly scotland's best culinary offerings are probably curry, ice cream, and whiskey. Also if you find a sweet shop (or more likely a newsagents selling old fashioned sweets) you should try soor plooms, these bright green boiled sweets (or hard candies if you're american).

I really don't think you need to be worrying about embarrassing yourself, i promise you that as long as you have basic human courtesy and aren't super condescending about scottish accents/culture nobody will be bothered by you. I will say that aberdonian accents, and accents around that part of the country are really fucking weird and not very similiar to any of the accents you'd likely have heard on tv, which tend to lean more towards a stereotypical highlands or glaswegian accent, so if you're alarmed by how people talk you aren't going crazy, they just do talk like that. I doubt this will come up, but scottish ppl might get pissy if you mispronounce certain things. Like scottish gaelic is pronounced gah-lick not gay-lick, edinburgh is pronounced edin-bruh, and glasgow is pronounced glaz-go. Also never refer to scotland as being a part of or the same as england, and generally don't refer to scottish people as british. Not everyone will be offended by being considered british, but it's generally a sore spot for people, and the english thing is just plain wrong. Also if you're american and have scottish ancestry its perfectly fine to be excited about being in scotland but if you're too enthusiastic about it people will give you the side eye and think you're obnoxious tbh

sorry i couldn't be more of a help, i actually would have advice about travelling around the middle/south of the country but i'm not sure whether you're planning on travelling down that far and i've already rambled on way too much. If you are thinking of travelling further down the country, especially around edinburgh or glasgow i would be happy to give more salient advice on where to go and what to do. I hope this helped in some way at least :) I really hope you have a good trip nonetheless

#this is way too many words for somebody who hasn't been further north than like perth in god knows how many years #asks #anewbrainjughead

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skinks · 4 years

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first, that ficlet damn near gave me a heart attack because i live in alaska and for some reason seeing references to it in media that isn't vampires (who would die they would DIE in the weeks when you peer outside and think, ah what a lovely 8pm i still have my whole evening ahead of me but the clock says 2am when you look at it and your whole sense of reality crumbles around you) or like weird living off the land crabfishing lumberjack male fantasy. and ice truckers i guess.

2. anyway SECOND, eddie would love alaska. they could stay for a month and he could drag richie up a mountain every goddamn day and there would still be another mountain to climb at the end of it. one of said mountains has stairs just right there for those who don’t want to scramble up a mountainside like a wild child. there will be bears, not of eddie’s preferred variety but still pretty cool. richie can’t ride a moose because they’re creatures of pure anger, probably because they have to haul a

3. head full of bone around all the time, but he can collect novelty moose poop from every gift shop they visit. there are ornaments. earrings. cocktail swizzlers. some truly wild bastard made a set of dice. these are all real things. so is the quote unquote world’s largest chocolate fall, a chocolate waterfall that is comprised of thousands of pounds of what i can only assume is decades old recycled chocolate because you are strongly advised by the gift shop that features it to NOT taste the

4. taste the chocolate. the embolism eddie would have is worth the visit all on its own. this was really supposed to be about the eternal sunshine of alaska summers, which i think is the best part for any tourist who doesn't live here to suffer through the reality of having a sun that does not cooperate with the regular schedules of man

I love this so much holy shit. This was about the sea otters ficlet, right!!! I’m glad you enjoyed it, though I have to admit my only exposure to Alaska IS the vampire movie and nature docs. I live far enough north in Scotland that during high summer you can still see sunlight on the horizon at 2am, and I went to Iceland once in July when the sun never set, but that was surreal enough for just a week so I can’t imagine how bad it messes with your perception of time over a longer period.

I love this because I love thinking about them going on holiday together, all the hijinks that ensue. How quickly they’d go unhinged from the lack of nighttime 👀 I’m so glad to hear Eddie would like Alaska... he’d get so Into buying outdoor gear

He’s like, “Of course we need a personal locator beacon, Rich, what if we don’t have one and we get lost and die? We’ll feel pretty stupid I bet”

Richie: “I can SEE the parking lot from here”

Eddie: “Aw :(“

Richie: “I know you’re desperate to live out all the survivalist fantasies instilled in that sexy little sea otter scout body of yours by 20 years of corporate team-building weekends on manicured ranches in upstate New York—”

Eddie: “maybe :(“

Richie: “Okay, so what if I channel my stage fight training and control my fall to sprain my ankle just enough to necessitate your emergency bandaging skills?”

Eddie: “I would like that, thank you”

Anyway, thank you for this. Richie definitely pretends he’s gonna stick his head under the rancid chocolate fountain for the bit. He also gets novelty moose poop earrings for Bev and she wears them to New York Fashion Week

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downn-in-flames · 5 years

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i was tagged in a thing by the wonderful @elanev91 a few days ago, and i’m finally getting around to answering it!!

Rules: answer these 21 questions, then tag 21 people you want to get to know better. (heads up trying to think of 21 full people to tag is stressful, i’ll probably get to like 8 and panic)

Nickname: uh, i tend to get TK or TayKay quite a bit. i had a teacher in high school who exclusively referred to me as girl scout for the entire last semester. other than that, i got nothing.

Height: 5′7

Last Movie I Saw: bohemian rhapsody. if you’re thinking ‘damn, didn’t that leave theatres ages ago?’... that’s exactly how often i get around to watching movies.

Last Thing I Googled: "constellations you can see in scotland in may” lol clearly i’m working on a fic here

Favorite Musician: taylor swift probably? tbh i’m just generally a big fan of most female artists with good lyrics and good beats.

Song Stuck in my Head: “queen” by loren gray - once again, big fan of girl power bops.

Other Blogs: i’m on staff for @hpfanfictalk , so i’m occasionally on that one? and @gryffindorhpft as well - but those are more taylor-doing-official-site-things, whereas this blog is much more taylor-does-whatever-the-hell-she-likes (you should follow them both tho ~shameless promo~)

Do I Get Asks: occasionally! i’m about as good at responding to them as i am at responding to text messages - that is to say, sometimes it’s immediate and sometimes it takes three weeks.

Following: 300ish?

Amount of Sleep: like 7 hours most of the time?

Lucky Number: coincidentally, 7. idk why i picked that one up but i did. 3′s also one for some reason, and i’m particularly fond of 73 as a result. where did any of this come from? no fucking clue.

What I’m Wearing: workout leggings, some weird strappy sports bra under both an oversized adidas sweatshirt and a vest, and converse. i just got back from the gym and am procrastinating getting in the shower haha.

Dream Job: tbh if i could live my whole life being some sort of instagram influencer (although NOT the type that sells shitty detox teas and hair vitamins because both of those products are garbage, and advocating unhealthy weight loss is like, the opposite of okay, but like, the type that travels the world and shit - that seems like a fun life)

Dream Trip: i really want to get back to london/the uk in general at some point this year? i’ve got some friends from when i was at oxford that i’d love to see, as well as heaps of internet friends that i want to finally meet in person.

Favorite Food: french fries, donuts, and sesame tofu from the chinese takeout place down the street.

Play an Instrument: i can still sorta play piano? i was great at it as a kid but definitely haven’t played as much since, and now all i’m good for is chords and the occasional simple melody.

Languages: english is the only one i’m fluent in. i can read and write french pretty well, but for some reason i’m trash at comprehending spoken french. i also know some basic spanish, but for some reason my brain gets confused and i like to respond to spanish with french - i did this a lot in costa rica last week and it became an ongoing joke with the bartenders

Favorite Songs: of all time? oh god. so “i did something bad” by tswift is up there pretty high, as is “blank space,” and my freshman year roommate will happily attest to just how much i listened to that one when it came out. “mr. brightside” by the killers for nostalgic reasons. also “galway girl” by ed sheeran, because i weirdly associate it with one of my favourite nights in oxford? and, uhhhh, “closer” by the chainsmokers/halsey is a guilty pleasure one. “good together” by shy martin. “you should see me in a crown” by billie eilish. “sugarcoat” by jaira burns. “power” by little mix. “without me” by halsey. y’all, my music taste is objectively just straight pop - especially fuck-you-i’m-a-badass-type-pop (lol), so if you were expecting anything edgy i’m sorry to disappoint lol.

Random Fact: my team won a world championship for competitive cheerleading when i was in high school.

Describe Yourself as Aesthetic Things: iced coffee in mason jars. gold glitter than somehow sticks to everything and you find on all your stuff like 6 months later. a handful of dark red liquid lipsticks. a corgi in a sweater. an entire drawer full of overpriced gym clothes, organized by color. coffee mugs with swear words on them.

tagging @adorablycutenonsense @drownout-thenoise @women-inthe-sequel @maraudersftw @shit-sass-and-sarcasm honestly i ran out of energy even earlier than expected, but if you’re reading this then tag you’re it too

but also if you’ve been tagged already or don’t want to do this whole damn thing, that’s totally fine too haha

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coreycorner · 7 years

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Blade Runner 2049 - CCCC1/3

I have had a long and slightly complicated relationship with Blade Runner in my life span. Before I get into reviewing Blade Runner 2049 I feel like I should tell the story of that relationship before getting into it for both of us to maybe have more clarity of my opinion.

For as long as I have lived I have known Blade Runner to be considered one of the best science fiction movies of all time, a master work, a piece of art yada yada yada. My parents owned a copy of it on VHS, I don’t really know what version it was I am assuming it was the director’s cut. When I go for my Christmas visit back home to Newfoundland I should look into it.

I remember watching it once or twice as a child and the movie obviously flew right over my head, I didn’t get it and it intimidated me at the time though I loved the world. Well I should say I didn’t love the world but I am the kind of person who loves movies that builds worlds for one to inhabit. I myself loved world building even as a small child where my parent’s basement was my world I could create and re create every day or week. After two watches or so I completely ignored the movie but the visuals and the look with the movie stayed with me forever more. More so in my dreams, if I was to tell you what my dreams looked like I would say it looked like Blade Runner but with FAR LESS smoke and more green but still very industrial. Maybe a few years before Blade Runner per say.

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Then in 1997 Blade Runner the video game came out, I fell in love with that game, if force me to list my top 10 all time favourite games I would have to list this game and if I didn’t smack me in the head and remind me of this game before my final decision because my memory can slip sometimes. I would say there are only 5 or 6 games in my life where I completely engulfed myself in it to where I literally locked myself into my room (or basement) and played only that game till I finished it (outside of going to school of course) and this game was it. The video game wasn’t a sequel or a prequel to Blade Runner it was simply a story within that world but the game got everything about the movie right. The look, the mood, the feel and even had some of the same cast.

The game allowed me to have a greater appreciation for the movie but I loved the game more because the story made more sense to me everything about it I felt like I could identify with while the original movie outside of the visuals and world I could not identify with.

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11 years later the final cut came out (well it came out 10 years later but I bought it a year or two after) and that is when I decided to give Blade Runner another shot. I remember buying it on sale and I brought it with me to work. At the time I often went to work an hour early or whichever because I am weird like that also because they had a big TV in the lounge area which was where I could sit down, relax and settle in before world. After watching the final cut once or twice I started to get why the movie was so beloved but even then I didn’t entirely get why. I thought the story was pretty simple and the only really good thing about the movie was again the world and the visuals.

4 years ago (which would be about 5 years from when I bought the final cut, fuck time flies) I watched the movie and it was then that I started to really get Blade Runner and it’s deep spiritual messages whether it was on purpose or not. Who knows you can look a anything and see what you want to see if you look at it long enough. That being said I still stand by feeling the movie is a bit over rated but it does go without saying it is the most beautiful movie ever made visually and the Ridley Scott is one of the best world building directors ever.

That is what always irked me though is most people know me for loving these kind of overly intellectual movies movies that in terms of cakes (if you haven’t read any of my reviews I often refer movies to cakes) I am a person who prefers his cakes to have little to no icing (aka special effects/action/explosions). I love movies that just give me a good story and force me to use my brain and to think about what is going on during and most importantly after the movie. A great example is a movie like Moon which I just rewatched last night. Another science fiction movie, there is very little if any action in that movie and what special effects are in that movie are there to serve the story and move plot and that is it and to me that is what special effects should do but I know I am doing more rambling than reviewing (not that that is a surprise to anyone who reads my reviews) so I will stick to my opening ramble and not go on another tangent. Long story short you would think Blade Runner and me would be a match made in heaven, buy the rings, plan the wedding, partners for life yet not really. Why?

I can’t tell you why, if I had to guess it is because I am a weird mofo, I have always been the person who goes right when everyone goes left, or vice versa. When the greater hive mind loves and movie instead of joining them I often become more skeptical try to look for flaws first. I guess that is why I call myself a real hipster before it was even a popular word (what is more hipster than that statement eh?). I guess I don’t like Blade Runner simply because so many other love it and put it on a high pedestal that to me I feel is undeserving. I do think it deserves to be remembered as a great peace of science fiction but the best all time I dunno, well I do think it is better than Star Wars in every way but I am not going to touch that wasp nest, so sir I wish to keep my head for another day.

A year later (don’t worry I will get to the review soon enough) was when I decided to drop everything going on in my life and travel around Europe to get my head straight. I was on the tail end of the trip, mentally exhausted from travel and tired of the long bus or train trips from one city to the next. I was in Glasgow Scotland and for some reason or another I felt like buying a book or two to read while I was on my train. I hoped into an old book store, the kind where the shelves are just covered with books, so many books that there are books piled on top of the shelves. I looked around for some books but I didn’t know where to start to I started with the genre that is always the starting point with me; science fiction.

It was there that I found Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which I knew was the book Blade Runner was based on so I decided to buy that for 2 pounds as well as another book from Phillip K. Dick. Suffice to say that book became number 2 on my all time favourite book list pretty quickly. There are not very many books int he world that grab me, sadly I have never been a big book person but this one grabbed me. I had the book read within 4 hours or so (it is not that big of the book to tell you the truth) and I just loved it. I still feel like I like the book far more than the movies and the video game but I do still love the video game for what it is. That being said I totally get why it wasn’t completely adapted, I don’t think the book matches Ridley Scott’s style. The books is very much a psychedelic fast paced mystery chase between Dekkar, who he is chasing and the Blade Runner police force he works for. Its a book that makes you spend a lot of time wondering who is a replicant and who is not and what it means to be human while the movies I feel takes the look and the major theme but slows it down and where you know who is a replicant it is more about whether they are no better than human or should be treated as such. What are the differences between human and replicant if both think, live and have desire. So I guess it was true but not in tone and overall plot.

So after the book I became a closet Blade Runner fan, still feeling the movie was over rated but the world itself to be awesome.

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When I heard they were make a sequel to Blade Runner I couldn’t help but sigh and I held that attitude right up until recently and for good reason. It seems like all Hollywood ever does is sequels and reboots and felt like this movie was only really going to be a cash grab on a already established IP and will probably be a movie that looks great but just be flat out stupid. Even after the first trailer I thought wow it looks beautiful but still I was skeptical and I was dead set on not watching it simply because I have a rule for myself to not watch 3B movies (Big Budget Bullshit) unless it is a comic book movie or done by a director worth noting. Then I watched Prisoners and then Arrival and while I didn't like Arrival I respected what it tried to do and it’s look, but I really loved Prisoners and when I found out this director did Polytechnique and realized he was Canadian (I am overly patriotic, deal with it) I recently felt like I was obligated to watch it and so I did.

Blade Runner 2049 is set about 30 years since the first movie, the Tyrell corporation is no more and another company just as corrupt and god pursuing Wallace Corporation headed by Niander Wallace and his James Bond like hench woman Luv. We meet a Blade Runner named K (he has other names but I will stick to this) who is on assignment killing a rogue replicant (human like cyborgs who look and are as human as one could be without being human). K eliminates this replicant but notices something that was buried beneath a dead tree. After having it dug up it is the skeleton of Rachel from the first Blade Runner.

At first it is like meh a dead replicant from 30 years ago so what but what they soon find out is that this replicant was able to do something no other female replicant could do; give child birth. The blade runners namely K and his superior Joshi whom both work closely with the Wallace corporation wish to keep this quiet because if this got out it would cause mass hysteria and a possible war between humans and replicants and if I gathered well enough if replicants could prove that they can give birth the way humans could they would be granted the same rights as humans and would be willing to fight for them (I may be wrong about this but this is what I figured from my first watch). Joshi wants K to investigate this matter, locate Deckard if he can as well as the child if he or she is still alive. The Wallace Corporation catches wind of this and also wants to locate this child in or to attempt to mass produce more replicants and gain more power than it already has.

From here on out if I say anything else it would be heavily spoiling the movie but suffice to say K is out to find Deckard and the child and to solve the mystery as to how this child could have been born.

Lets confront the elephant in the room first, is this just a sequel to bank off another IP? Is this like every other movie like it from he last 10 years and just a icing cake that brings nothing to the table? NO

Lets make one thing clear I was as skeptical as most people as I have stated but it took 15 minutes of this movie to convince me otherwise. This movie is very much a worthy sequel and quite honestly I think it is better than the original however that is simply my opinion. One that I know most won't share but suffice to say I do feel like this is a worthy sequel and I do feel that any Blade Runner fan who was afraid to see this movie in feeling like this movie would shit all over the franchise should be rest assured this movie doesn’t, far from it.

I don’t know if there is another movie like this outside of Mad Max Fury Road that was able to catch and recreate the world built from the 80s like this movie did and Mad Max had the benefit of having the original director and creator of that world helming it, Denis I think had a great challenge because he did not build this world but suffice to say if he succeeded in anything it is recreating that world 30 years later and making you feel like you are in that world again.

I have always liked this world simply because of all the future scenarios I have seen Blade Runner to me is the most realistic and the further we get to the future and the state of the capitalist consumer environment we live in I expect Blade Runner future to be what it will look like.

The movie simply looks beautiful and stunning. The money is on the screen with this I will say that, say what you want about this movie but you can’t say anything about the special effects of this movie because they are mind blowing but as you know me these things are not entirely what I go for with the movie. The cinematography is just damn near perfect in this movie, if Roger Deakins doesn’t get a oscar for best cinematography for this or at least a nomination it will just further cement how full of shit the academy award is (well it is full of shit and notation or not I will always think it is full of shit but I think you know what I mean).

The best part of the movie to me was the characters and the sort of plot. The story and messages I do feel I need to watch the movie again a few times to full get but I felt for the first time in awhile deeply connected with the main character of K. Maybe it is because I never knew my blood parents or I have dealt with the same issues K has dealt with in his life but I do feel like K’s story arc and the story this movie presents is far more fleshed and out and better than the original Blade Runner. The original was basically a Deckard chasing down these rogue replicants that we soon come to learn are more than mere replicants and maybe should be respected as humans but it is only until the end that we (or I should say I) truly sympathized with replicants and Rachel, besides that I was mostly just objective of everyone.

This movie does a excellent job in getting you invested into the main character of K and not just him but Joshi as well (or maybe it is because I am a fan of Robin Wright and everything she does, love that her career is in a renaissance period right now). This movie not only rebuilt the world properly but did a better job building characters within it. I have read reviews of this movie saying this movie glorifies Ford saying that Ford is able to be there as old as he is but there are no older women who are given the same respect right now. While I do respect that opinion and do feel there is truth to that I would say what about Robin Wright, her role is not as big as Ford’s was but still important and she has been in two big movies this year (this and Wonder Woman) and is apart of a huge Netflix so so suffice to say I think she is doing better than Ford right now so....yeah you go Robin!

I want to say more, especially talk about the ending but it was severely spoil the movie but I do like how much like the ending and the movie itself I won't say pays homage to Blade Runner but is respectful of it. This movie doesn’t try to one up Blade Runner it doesn’t try to rehash it either like so many other movies do. Blade Runner 2049 I feel is simply a vehicle for Denis to tell his own unique story in the world of Blade Runner. It does talk about similar themes the original does but I feel does a better job in doing so, less style and panache that Ridley Scott’s movies often has but instead gives a for a lack of a better term more human feel to it all, more cerebral than Ridley Scott’s version which I felt was only really spiritual thanks to Rutger Hauer’s closing lines. Blade Runner 2049 to me is again a true sequel that simply continues the story int he same world offering you something new but not something that betrays what came before it.

This movie has already tanked at the box office like the original but I do feel like the original it is the kind of movie like most good intellectual movies and just like me with Blade Runner in general it requires time and multiple watches for one to really appreciate it and see it for what it is. It is not a watch once and got it movie, this movie will require you to take it on a few dates, buy it dinner, take her on a walk along the beach and a few coffees before you get to really see this movie. I mean I only just saw this movie once and I am already looking forward to the next date I have with this movie.

My favourite scenes in this movie was K and his interactions with his holographic love interest. Saying anything else will spoil it but K and his character reminded me of Ghost in The Shell 2′s Batou. Much of the movie reminded me of Ghost in the Shell 2 (very under rated movie) both in tone and how they treat the main character as this lonely guy looking for affection and love isn’t really getting it to the level he needs like in Ghost in The Shell 2 he is only getting affection from his pet dog and in Blade Runner 2049 he is getting it from a hologram. Again I won't go further but that relationship is what sold me the movie and kept me engrossed.

That being said it does have a few weaknesses that being I felt that the plot was still a bit weak, I only said it was good because I am comparing it to the first movie and in that comparison it is better but over all I do feel like the overall plot could have been better. I felt like Harrison Ford’s role in the movie was mostly useless, I don’t think his character really brought anything to the movie at all. Lastly I felt they sort of dropped the ball with not having enough Jered Leto’s character in the movie. He is the main villain but like Ford he is barely in it and you would think the movie or the plot movement would revolve more around his actions but not really he is simply there chewing scene chewing here and there and then walking off. It is his replicant assistant Luv who is the one who is doing the main villain work and for the most part should be considered the main villain. In a way I like that because it gives a woman a stronger part to do and I am not really a fan of Leto anyway but why have him in there if he really serves no purpose. Maybe I need to watch the shorts leading to this movie to get his role more but again Leto and Ford served little purpose if only apply their star names to the project.

While I do love the visuals and the world again like the original movie much of this movie is encompassed by the world and visuals to where sometimes I felt like ok I know this was an expensive me yes you don't need to show me how expensive it was. Do we really need to see a Atari sign there? etc etc.

Bottom line however is if you are a Blade Runner fan don fear this movie is worth watching and you will probably love it as much (maybe not as much) as the original or if anything appreciate that while it is very respectful of the original it does try to do it’s own thing and be original during a time when original Hollywood movies are few and far between. The thing that sucks is I bet the Hollywood fat cats are going to see this movie’s financial failure as a reason as to why they only stick to PG-13 sequels and reboots that rehash the same story over and over and that artsy fartsy directors should not be given full reign and budget to do what they want. That movie goers only want big boobs and explosions and if there is a sequel to this movie they will get Michael Bay to do it. God forbid that ever happens but knowing them that is their thought pattern. I do hope we get to see more movies from fellow Canadian Denis Villeneuve because his unique vision is like a breath of fresh air in a movie world locked in room full of stale recycled air. This movie was well worth watching and I have already pre ordered the movie on iTunes so I can watch it again when it comes out. Maybe I should re review it again when I get it more, till then or ever I give it CCCC1/3 on the Corey Scale.

#blade runner 2049 #denis villeneuve #Harrison Ford #ryan gosling #science fiction

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anulstermanabroad · 7 years

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Fuji-San: Climbing the Giant Ice Cream

Many years ago now, I famously applied and failed in a previous quest to live in Japan. Fast forward four years and I'm finally here, living the Japanese Dream in Tokyo Wonderland. It wasn't all plain-sailing though. There was a a bachelor degree, an horrific interview and three years of simultaneously loving and hating life in China to battle through first.

Lets rewind four years. I'm in Edinburgh, Scotland and I'm interviewing for a reputable teaching scheme in Japan. I should be clear here, although I decided I wanted to move to Japan, in the grand scheme of things I had no idea about Japan or even a legitimate reason of substance. Despite having had numerous part-time jobs during my high-school and student years, I'd somehow managed to avoid ever participating in a real job interview. This was only going to lead to disaster. To cut a long study short, I managed to mention the war, Hiroshima and the 2011 tsunami and earthquake which devastated parts of Japan in my interview. I really left myself with less of a chance of moving to Japan than the possibility of a limbless man recreating the Mona Lisa. Six months later I moved to China...

One question I was asked, however, was ‘Where would you like to go in Japan?’ I hadn’t researched anything in particular for this question but there was one big reason I wanted to go to Japan - to climb Mount Fuji. For many, that may not seem like a legitimate reason for moving to another country but I had and continue to have, a strange attraction to Fuji. I’m not about to start rambling to you about some form of weird attraction that you’ll only find in the deepest, darkest corners of the internet, but for me, Fuji possesses a kind of mythical quality that I can’t describe. Whilst Japan is a hugely mountainous region, Fuji rises from the ground like a giant, almost totally isolated in it’s grandeur, unlike other mountainous parts of Japan. Fuji dominates the scenery around it and rises majestically, in it’s conical form, sculpted perfectly by Mother Nature herself.

On a clear day, Fuji is visible from Tokyo which is about a two hour drive from the foot of the mountain. I haven’t been lucky enough to see it yet from so far out but in the crisp, clear, winter days to come, I’ll be looking out with bated breath. The first time I went to Fuji was in April this of this year. Although it’s not possible to climb the mountain at that time because of the temperature and snow capped peak, the surrounding areas are very beautiful and a refreshing break from the claustrophobia of Tokyo. My first impression was, ‘Oh shit.’ I knew I would climb over the climbing period during July and August and when faced with Fuji, rising 3700m into the sky, I could see no way of possibility getting to the top. Due to its conical shape, the peak of the mountain looks almost vertical and it’s hard to imagine getting to the summit without climbing apparatus. Whilst I like to climb the occasional mountain, they usually tend to require nothing more than a pair of running shoes. As the day went on, it became easier to appreciate the sheer size of Fuji and how much impact it has on the surrounding area and Japan in general. I have three year old students who can’t put their own socks on, but even for them, Mount Fuji holds a special significance in Japanese culture. It helps that I also have Mr Potato Head, Fuji-themed socks to spark their interest even further...

So, on a late August afternoon, I climbed aboard a bus from Shinjuku station to Mount Fuji’s fifth station. Whilst it is possible to climb Fuji from the very bottom, the majority of climbers start from the fifth station which is around 2300m above sea level. Although this is higher than I’ve ever been in my life (whilst on two feet), in reality there are only around 1400m to the summit from the start point. We took the option of climbing overnight, beginning at 8pm rather than being extortionately ripped off to stay in a crowded mountain hut for a couple of hours. I had also never climbed at night before which filled me with fear, but in reality, the trails are very good. So as long as you’re careful and have some form of head-torch, the climb is very safe. Mount Fuji is made up of ten stations and by 9pm we had reached the sixth station, already. From that point on, the trail begins to rise rapidly, going from a steady incline to a more vertical incline but it’s still a relatively simple hike. For me, the climb between stations seven and eight were probably the most difficult. This is, effectively, the only part of Fuji that you have to climb. After 12 years of playing rugby and drunkenly falling down stairs at house parties, my knees are verging on dodgy, crumbling messes. During this section you need to climb over large, cliff-like rocks rather than the volcanic gravel trail prevalent on the rest of the mountain. It is also very accessible but whilst my hiking companion seemingly found it simple enough to stay upright, my abysmal lack of balance and sometimes raging winds required me to use my hands at times also. I became a very nonathletic Spiderman. If you’re like me, bring gloves to protect your hands and you will have no problems. And your web blasters.

I should point out that at this point I was terrified. Whilst it was relatively easy to climb up, the incline was extreme and I wondered how the hell I was every going to get back down without smashing my head off every rock on the mountain, as my huge body rapidly rolled to the bottom. It turns out most of the fears I had on the way up were totally irrelevant as the downward path is both different and incredibly easy. In short, don’t worry. By midnight, we were seriously ahead of time and had reached the eighth station at 3100m - only 600m from the top. Until this point, I had actually been climbing in a t-shirt but it was starting to get very cold. Only adrenaline and climbing had protected me for the previous hour or two. Luckily I had packed five extra layers and the further we climbed the more clothes I gradually slipped on. Think of it like a prostitute at work, but in reverse. Sadly also, nobody was paying me for this shit.

Having a rest at the eight station. Notice how we’re still happy and gloves aren’t necessary yet...

During this section of the climb, it was now seriously cold. As long as you kept moving, it was bearable; even pleasant. As soon as you stopped, however, no amount of layers could protect you despite myself looking like the North Face had sponsored Mr. Blobby. A big problem we also had was that we were running out of mountain. At the rate we were going, we would’ve been at the summit by 1.30am, a mere three and a half hours until sunrise. I could only assume that it would be colder at the summit and I didn’t fancy recreating the end of Titanic, except in reverse at 3700m above sea level as some strangers mistakenly referred to me as ‘Jack.’ Bearing this in mind, we decided to find a sheltered spot between the eighth and ninth stations and rest for an hour out of the wind. The mountain staff are surprisingly strict with climbers, to the extent that many climbers could be put in danger. At every mountain hut they will sell Pot Noodles and sometimes other hot food but you’re basically forbidden from coming inside unless you pay the full night’s accommodation fee - around 8000yen. Or £55-£65, depending on what Theresa May’s fair government has cocked up that week. There is plenty of space to shelter climbers from the winds, which are fairly extreme, but I could see it from the other side of the spectrum. Why should they aid mad bastards like us, who chose to climb overnight and encourage others to do the same long term, thus reducing customers and profits? People were so cold that they were hiding in toilets just to stay warm which prompted the addition of a ‘mountain toilet guard’ at one bathroom shack. What I will say is that, you will never take as many unnecessary shits as you will whilst climbing Fuji, simply to get out of the cold and sit down somewhere warm for 5 minutes. Ok, 10...

After an hour long break, we began our ascent to the summit at around 1am, knowing full well we would still be there early, however, staying still was no longer an option. Whilst I couldn’t feel a lack of oxygen in the air, I could feel that with every step and every bend in the trail, it was definitely getting harder. We both reached the ninth station around 2am which is only about 300m from the summit. We were both feeling tired but good and the summit was (probably) in view. All was going well until around 150m from the end. In the space of around ten minutes, my friend went from being slightly tired to physically ill. Headaches and nausea included. Until this point, he had more or less set the pace the whole way but it suddenly fell on me to become Sam and push Frodo up the mountain to destroy Sauron. Or, reach the top of Fuji. It’s the same thing really. Me being me, I hadn’t actually researched altitude sickness at all, hoping everything would just be ok. With that (lack of) knowledge, I figured it was best to push him to keep climbing the mountain and stop him from falling asleep; not really sure if I was helping him or slowly killing him. Every five minutes or so, we would rest for another 5-10 minutes, inhaling the oxygen we’d thankfully invested in pre-hike. By this point, I could see other experienced climbers, who were also clearly struggling and you could tell that everybody was a little bit wrecked. It’s kind of like watching that drunk guy leaving the pizza shop at 4am with his food. He’s walking so slowly and trying so hard not to fall onto the road but you know, somehow, he’ll make it home.

The last 150m took us around an hour - a massive difference compared to the rest of the hike - and we reached the summit around 3.15am, thankfully as the summit huts and shelters were opening up. A total climb of around six hours plus our rest period isn’t bad going. I got a massive buzz off it, so much so that I couldn’t even feel the cold anymore. I was even cheery, something I very rarely am, even at sea level. It felt good to climb higher than I ever had before and although I wouldn’t say it was particularly difficult, it was a massive challenge and a totally new experience. I left my friend in a sheltered hovel while I scoped out the summit and tried to find somewhere we could rest until sunrise. I ended up paying an extortionate amount for the best Pot Noodle I’ve ever had in my life.before going back to reclaim my friend. Thankful that he wasn’t dead, we hung out for an hour in a summit hut, which was wonderfully warm. Whilst he battled to stay awake, clutching a roasting hot green tea, I took the chance to socialise with some other climbers and hope nobody asked me to buy anything. Around 4.30am, it was starting to get light out and we headed outside to watch the sunset. My friend was still in a precarious state and by this point, after being in the warm indoors for over an hour, the effects of the climb had truly worn off. All you could feel now was the cold. So cold, in fact, that I couldn’t enjoy the Kit-Kat which I’d carried up the mountain, specifically to eat at the summit. My optimism went from, ‘Yay, sunrise time,’ to ‘When the fuck is the sun going to come up?’ in the space of about three and a half minutes. My friend took a seat on the edge of the mountain, whilst I moved around the summit, desperately trying to keep warm. The volcanic crater below is both simultaneously impressive and terrifying and not something you want to stray too close to on the windy summit. As the sun began to rise, I returned to my friend who had made his own little addition to the mountain by re-releasing the curry-rice we had consumed before the climb. It’s always good to give back to nature.

The sunrise was a beautiful sight but I was so cold that it was hard to appreciate in a full capacity. It was the first time you get a real sense of how high you actually are, however, and the mountain ranges you pass through on the way to Fuji are dwarfed in comparison. I could see a small mountain I’d climbed four months earlier with my girlfriend to get a good view of Fuji itself and it was like a pimple on the body of the world. Fuji is, well, something else. We began our descent about fifteen minutes after sunrise due to it being fucking baltic and my friend very quickly recovered as we began to descend. The views were wonderful for the first 25 minutes until the descent became potentially the most boring thing I’ve ever done in my life. Two and a half hours descending a path that is both repetitive and slightly too hard on the knees to be comfortable was so monotonous. By the time I got to the bottom I was thoroughly miserable, both due to tiredness and sheer boredom and felt sorry for my companion who had to put up with my foul mood.

Above: The stunning sunrise and other climbers observing the view.

Below: Waiting for my wonderful cup noodle in a climbers hut at Fuji’s tenth station.

Having a well deserved lie down on a very cold mountain top.

Would I climb Fuji again? The short answer is, I don’t know. Whilst it wasn’t particularly difficult, the cold does really hamper your enjoyment of the experience. Only if I stayed in a hut and could appreciate Fuji’s enormity and views during the day, would I consider doing it again. Climbing overnight was less congested but I could honestly see shit. The feeling of elation and adrenaline I experienced on the final moments before and after reaching the summit though, is something I’ll never forget. I flash-backed to that interview room all those years ago, accomplished in the knowledge that I’d achieved one of the biggest goals I’d ever set myself. But for now, it’s sayonara Fuji!

See more pictures below!

Standing in front of Fuji’s imperious crater. Below was as close as I was willing to get, though.

What looked like a moderate sized mountain range on the journey in are made to look minuscule in comparison to Fuji in the sunrise below.

Climbers navigating the summit (above) and the start of the descent (below). I’ve seen worse views, I guess.

#Fuji #Japan #Climbing #Lit #Blog #Travel Blog #Satire #Funny #Hiking For Dummies #An Ulsterman Abroad #TEFL #Teaching

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mypiecesofhope-blog · 6 years

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My Traveling Stories

I really love traveling. I hope to be able to travel many places in my future. My favorite part about traveling is the new people that you meet. You never fully realize how different our culture is from others until you’ve talked to the people. I find it really interesting how completely diverse every country is. Whether it be different languages, food, architecture, etc. I love exploring other cultures. Some countries that I hope to travel to are France, Greece, Italy, Australia, and Japan. My sister had the opportunity to study abroad in Spain and that’s something that I really hope to do because you are able to live everyday surrounded by a different culture. There are always new things to learn. When I was 10 years old, my family and I went on a mission trip to Brazil. We rode on a boat down the Amazon river and visited small villages on the edge of the river. Throughout the trip our daily routines had an evident change. We slept on hammocks and we constantly had to be aware of different bugs/insects that were around us. One night, we went to an ice cream place and they had bean flavored ice cream which I never knew existed. We were on a boat with about 30 other people from America. We also had several translators with us. At night, we would go alligator hunting. We would catch small alligators, bring them on the big boat, and then let them back into the water. Also, on the last day we visited the villages, I was riding back to the big boat when we saw two people jump off of the second floor of the 3-story boat. When we got back on board everyone else thought that looked like fun so we jumped in as well. This was despite the fact that along with alligators, there are also piranhas in the Amazon. Even though that was scary I’m glad I did it because it was a once in a lifetime experience. When we started leaving to go back home, we blew up soccer balls and threw them into the river. Then we would see kids from the villages jump into the water to get them. It was really cool to see how excited the kids were just for a soccer ball. The entire trip made me realize how blessed I am to have grown up with simple necessities. When I was 14 years old, my family and I went on another mission trip but this time it was to the UK. Just simple things like cars driving on the other side of the road and the food tasting slightly different was really weird because whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all used to having the same daily schedule for our lives. In order to get there, we had to take a flight to Germany and then England. When we first arrived in London the bus that was supposed to pick our flight up wasn’t there. So we had to walk around 3 miles with 50 pound suitcases in order to get to our hotel. Not to mention, this was our first hours in London, so we had to adjust to how different the streets were (mainly referring to the cars driving on the left side of the road).So that was an interesting start to our trip. While we were in London were able to visit Big Ben, the London Eye, and Buckingham Palace. After a couple days, we took a train to the more rural part of England. We stayed at an old airplane hanger that was surrounded by mountains. That has to have been one of my favorite traveling experiences because we went to an area where people didn’t really travel to as much. In the mornings, we would drive out to nearby neighborhoods and we would pick up trash and hold clubs after school for the kids. One day, we got to travel to Scotland and visit castles there. It was really interesting to see how the architecture there contrasted with England. I’m very grateful to have visited these places and to have met new people along the way.

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thelittlekicksband · 7 years

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https://belwoodmusic.com/2017/02/15/interview-the-little-kicks/

After taking some much needed time away to reflect and find some fresh perspective, Aberdeen indie pop band The Little Kicks are back and better than ever. Equal parts fun and finesse, silly and sophisticated, electronic and orchestral, their new album Shake Off Your Troubles is one of the most surprising and rewarding albums of the year thus far. I caught up with Steven Milne from The Little Kicks to talk about the new album ahead of it’s release:

Thanks for your time! You’re releasing your new album ‘Shake Off Your Troubles‘ next month; are you happy with the way it’s turned out? We are definitely really happy with the way the record has turned out. It’s been a lot of work and a few years in the making but to finally be at the stage where we are starting to let people hear some of it is very exciting indeed. It’s definitely in my opinion the best record we have made so far and I think certainly been the most fun to make and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it in full. Getting the vinyl and CDs in last month was really exciting and when we started seeing reviews come in or hear some of the tracks air on BBC Radio Scotland over the last month it’s really started to hit home that these ten songs that we have kept to ourselves all this time will soon be out there for everyone to hear and own!

You wrote and recorded the tracks in a little lodge by Loch Ness. What made you decide to work there and what effect did the serene surroundings have on the music? We have a great relationship with our producer Craig Ross and we have made our previous records at his studio in Edinburgh (The Depot) which is a space that we love. However, both the band and Craig felt that for this record we were looking for a change of scene and perhaps more of a challenge. In terms of our budget the cost of us de-camping to Edinburgh and living there while recording had the potential to be expensive, so logistically the lodge offered us a fresh space with none of the time constraints you usually find in the studio as we could make, record and write music 24/7 without having to pack up when the studio shut down for the night. The space also came at an affordable rate and having it for a week allowed us record, hang out, sleep and eat together in one location. The scenery there was amazing and being in the middle of nowhere there was no wi-fi, no phone signal, no nightlife or distractions and we were able to be solely focused on the record during our entire stay. We started off very much on a 9 – 5 basis but by the end of our time there it was more of a nocturnal schedule. It was the best and most productive recording experience I have ever had.

The album plays around with a more expansive, orchestral sound. Was that a conscious decision or did it just come about naturally while writing and recording? The strings were played by the Cairn String Quartet and added at The Depot during the summer after we returned from the lodge. The songs worked without them but we always wanted strings on the record and had planned to add them so space had been left on the recordings for them. We knew they would sound good but even during the early takes, we could tell it was going to be the icing on the cake for the arrangements. The guys did a great job and we were left speechless in the control room when the quartet asked us for feedback because hearing them play so beautifully on our songs was incredible.

What would you say were your biggest sources of inspiration for the new record? I was listening to a lot of varying things during the writing process but I also find films really inspiring too. David Bowie, The Beatles, Can, 70s disco, 80s pop, DFA Records, DJ mix-tapes, Fleetwood Mac, Local Natives and soundtracks or instrumental electronic music were all definite influences. We weren’t into the idea of copying bands or trying to sound like anyone but we did concentrate on individual sounds. We made Spotify reference playlists for each song and whenever I heard a sound or a feel that I thought would suit one of our tracks I would add it in to the list. Some playlists were pretty random and they varied from 10 songs to 250! So lots of things fed into the making of the album but I wouldn’t say necessarily one band, artist or sound was a direct influence for us on the record.

The music video for ‘You & Someone Like Me’ saw you donning motion capture suits and being transformed in skeletons, that must have been a lot of fun! Where did that idea come from? The idea came from the video company we work with Crow House Productions who wanted to experiment with green screen and originally it was to be robots not skeletons but the idea was always that we would be the ones dancing. This was actually pretty hard to do! Basically you have to put on the suit and exaggerate every movement so that it comes up looking lively on screen which is much harder work than you would think. We realised quite quickly that none of us are particularly Michael Jackson-esque when it comes to moves so we asked my sister who is a dance teacher to join in the fun by coming down to the studio. She single-handedly made the video look better! The final results are so cool and we were really pleased with it.

This album is the first new music after a few years away and to me it sounds like you’ve really progressed and evolved. Where are you guys at as a band? Do you feel more confident and comfortable in what you’re doing? I think we probably are yeah. There are several lyrics on the record that seem to suggest so. I feel like we used to be a bit embarrassed or shy to admit that we essentially write pop music and have a focus on melody but on this record we have fully embraced that. As much as I listen to a lot of “weird” music that I would love to be able to perform or play I think the reason that I like it so much is that I can’t write in that way. No matter what we do it always comes back to serving the song with a heavy importance on the melody, words and a fairly traditional structure as that’s what suits our style. In saying that I think within what we do there are plenty of quirky elements to look for and enjoy and I would like to think we are a more credible act with a bit more depth to us than what the term “pop music” would usually imply.

After the album release what does the rest of 2017 have in store? We will definitely release another single from the album before the summer, to tie in with playing some festivals and doing some more touring. Before the end of 2017 we plan to tour the UK/Europe again – most likely in the autumn. We also have some alternate versions and a couple of nice recordings from the sessions kept back to share in due course with everyone too – so there is still plenty to come from us! Essentially after the album comes out in the spring we will just be gigging as much as we possibly can to spread the word of the record and our music.

Massive thanks to Steven! The Little Kicks’ new album Shake Off Your Troubles is out 3rd March.

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