#scientific method is a great episode for so so many reasons

[galerymod]

the cultural heritage of mankind

As long as humans have populated this planet, drugs of various kinds have been used. Cultural history bears witness to this in many places: Mead and beer, hemp and opium, peyote and mescaline, tobacco, myrrh, frankincense, coffee, tea, betel, khat, herb or coca leaves - to name but a few - have fascinated people ever since they have been attached to some concept of pleasure. Sometimes drugs are a sacred medium of religious awakening, sometimes a means of a carnivalesque revaluation of all values. Sometimes they provide a collective ecstatic sense of purpose, sometimes they serve to make the hardships of everyday life more bearable: substances that do more than satisfy hunger and dispel thirst are firmly embedded in the cultural heritage of mankind.

Today, however, this diversity of means and motives for consumption is often minimised and instead a link between drug use and danger is suggested. The political problematisation of psychotropic substances began in the early modern period: at the beginning of the 17th century, the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV found it intolerable that tobacco and coffee houses had not only become places of consumption, but also centres of public discussion and thus places of criticism and opposition. He therefore had all tobacco houses torn down in 1633 and made smoking tobacco punishable by death. He used modern methods in the manhunt, such as undercover investigations and bogus purchases. The assets of those executed went to the sultan. Obviously, it was less about the drug itself; rather, the smoking ban fulfilled several useful functions: The criminalisation of a behaviour that was widespread on a mass scale and a sanction as part of - or under the guise of - drug control.

Until the 19th century, however, bans on drinking or smoking were rare. Since then, however, drugs and danger have become ever more closely linked, for example by the idea that all drugs inevitably lead to addiction and thus to ruin. Whenever there is talk of drugs or even "narcotics", the danger does not seem far away. The scientifically untenable but long-lasting talk of gateway drugs is proof of this - in fact, there is no reliable empirical evidence to show that the use of one drug often leads to another and thus deeper into the drug problem. Anyone who argues in this way has the slippery slope in mind, the fall that - for all those who have started - can only be avoided with great effort or not at all. Drug education in schools may have taken new, sensible paths at times. However, the actual and urgent reason for its necessity usually remains central: the danger.

However, the history of drug use is diverse and its widespread practices are only mediated, sequential or partially related to addiction and social decline. In addition, whenever people fall out of the social order, drugs were at worst a catalyst, but rarely or never the actual cause. The reluctant reference to drugs as the cause of social imbalances therefore has more the character of a handy and long-practised diversionary manoeuvre: those who hold drugs responsible do not have to talk about structural social imbalances.

It may therefore be time to turn our gaze round and look at the many and wide-ranging motives for drug use. After all, the matter of drugs is a kind of never-ending story, despite all the crusades and horrendous efforts in the so-called war on drugs. The following lines bring together - without claiming to be exhaustive, of course - a number of different reasons why people take or have taken drugs. In the process, a kaleidoscope of different episodes unfolds, the collection of which alone could illustrate how abbreviated the direct link between drugs, addiction and danger is in its contemporary form. Viewed from this perspective, i.e. detached from the overlapping perception of the problem, a different connection or at least an initial suspicion may emerge: which drugs are fashionable and how states and societies deal with them could be an expression of the respective social conditions.

Of course, this is not to say that drugs cannot tear chasms, that certain patterns of consumption sometimes lead to habits and damage health in the medium to long term. However, this is only one way among many, only one possible pattern, which also has to do with the constant social and economic marginalisation and political repression of youth cultures. The drug is only one factor. However, the almost exclusive focus on the practice of addiction and the social figure of the junkie has brought the whole subject of drugs and intoxication into disrepute and led to a sometimes bizarre practice of prohibition.

For the good!

The illustrious journey through the thicket of different reasons for drug use has countless possible beginnings and stops. The following passages of intoxicated transgression are not representative of anything, they merely show that different interpretations are possible. An arbitrary but interesting starting point is provided by a circular from the Faculty of Theology in Paris from 1444, which from today's perspective provides an irritating motivation for occasional but copious drinking. It states that "folly" is man's innate "second nature" and that "wine barrels burst if you don't open the lid from time to time and let air in. We, human beings, are poorly made wine barrels that burst from the wine of wisdom if it is left in uninterrupted fermentation of devotion and the fear of God. Therefore, on certain days we allow the folly (foolishness) in us to return to worship with all the greater fervour afterwards. "To resolve the footnote[2]

The regular drinking bouts were therefore doubly necessary: On the one hand, they were in keeping with human nature and, on the other, they were essential in order to live in a godly manner and pursue wisdom. The drunken feast, which thwarted all contemplation and fear of God, was thus part of the religious order. The culturally significant tradition of the festival, i.e. a "time between the times", has its last offshoots in today's carnival. However, there is little to suggest that much remains of the radical nature of the revaluation, of the character of the substantial time-out.

Just over a century later, the court marshal Hans von Schweinichen, whose diary entries have survived, was probably similarly drunk, albeit for completely different reasons. He was also fond of the "Tears of God" (Lacrimae Christi). He was so drunk that he "slept for two nights and two days in a row that people thought I would die". However, this did not cause him to turn away from wine. Quite the opposite: "And since then I have learnt to drink wine and have continued to do so to such an extent that I might well say it would be impossible for anyone to drink me full. But whether it brings me bliss and health, I leave to his place."

Of course, we can only speculate about Schweinichen's motives. It hardly sounds like a necessity of nature, a ritualised festivity or even a condition for religious wisdom. Rather, a kind of sporting competition without deeper meaning dominates, as is still often the case today.

Without any harm

While von Schweinichen described a social structure that apparently demanded his adaptation to alcohol, similar processes have also been passed down with regard to health aspects. Zedler's Universal Lexicon, for example, a kind of 18th century storehouse of knowledge, revealed that "opium can be used in fairly large quantities without any harm and with great benefit". It is well known that opium users "cannot refrain from it", i.e. that they cannot stop using it and, according to modern diction, become addicted. However, this is not a problem, just the opposite: "For if one is accustomed to poisonous things for a long time, they do no harm to nature. "5 The purpose of consuming opium here is to develop a habit in order to henceforth be able to enjoy the medical and psychological benefits of the substance without harm. Modern addiction research is no doubt throwing up its hands in horror. However, from a medical point of view, it is also known that opiates, appropriately dosed and consumed cleanly, trigger what we today call addiction, but cause hardly any physiological or psychological damage, provided that the social life around them functions.

At this point, however, the boundary between medication and drug becomes blurred. Strictly speaking, this boundary is only outlined either way on the basis of different consumption motives. Almost all drugs were or are also medicines - so it depends on the area of use and the reason for taking them. Opiates, for example, which include heroin, have been important substances in medicine for a very long time and still are today.

A letter to the editor that an elderly woman sent to the specialist journal "The Chemist and Druggist" in 1888 also shows how historically different the motives, practices and their categorisation as a (drug) problem are. It reads: "I have used morphine regularly for 30 years. (...) This medicine, so injurious in most cases, has done no harm whatever to my vitality. Nor has it in any degree reduced my vigour, which is very similar to that of young women, although I am now 67 years old. My zest for life is excellent, I am neither as emaciated nor as emaciated as most others who have undergone this treatment. (...) The only problem that probably stems from this medicine is that I am constantly putting on body fat. I would be extremely grateful if one of your experts would be so kind as to inform me whether my increase in adipose tissue is a natural consequence of morphine consumption. "

For medical reasons, the author of these lines had fallen into an opium habit that today would be labelled a severe addiction. At the same time, there are indications that the image of the typical addict ("neither as emaciated nor emaciated as most others") was (and is) more of a media spectre than a real experience or observation. What the woman is referring to is ultimately unclear. But the debate on addiction that emerged at the end of the 19th century was fuelled by stereotypes and exaggerated figures that correspond pretty much exactly to the typical image of the woman as a junkie. And finally, if there is an undisputed connection between the effects of opiates, then it is that they curb the appetite and can hardly be responsible for obese tendencies.

The letter to the editor shows two things quite vividly: on the one hand, it is recognisable how a modern addiction narrative creeps in and begins to re-evaluate things. The author was still very much a part of Victorian England, which had few reservations about opium. At the same time, however, she was already aware of the new era of rampant problematisation of drugs - if only to distance herself from it. On the other hand, the source also shows that debates on addiction, with their typical generalisation and focus on the compulsive nature of consumption, are to a certain extent blind to the motives, or at least less receptive to them. The same consumption practice, i.e. regular and high doses, can have many different reasons.

Between enlightenment and rebellion

A different spectrum of motives for drug use unfolds around attempts to help enlightenment with psychotropic substances. While the medieval circulars emphasised that wine-fuelled folly only provided the balance to strive for wisdom at all other times, the direct link between drugs and knowledge has a long history. The ancient Greek symposion (Latin: symposium) stands for social drinking in company, resulting in profound and perhaps philosophical conversations that lead to knowledge. The term has survived in the world of science, even if today's editions tend to shine with sobriety. The fact that there are always "symposia" on alcohol addiction is probably an unintentional punchline.

Newer versions of the link between drug and cognition focus less on social situations and more on individual experiences. To a large extent, we have the Romantic conquest of drugs in the first half of the 19th century to thank for this. Thomas De Quincey, for example - one of the first modern writers to deal with the insights and abysses of the effects of intoxication in literature - spoke in the mid-19th century of memory as a "palimpsest", i.e. a rewritable parchment that still bears all the older traces. Opium exposes these traces and therefore allows deep, otherwise hidden memories: "Life had spread a shroud of oblivion over every detail of experience. And now, on a silent command, on a rocket signal that our brain releases, this shroud is abruptly removed and the whole theatre lies bare to its depths before our eyes. This was the greatest mystery. And it is a mystery that excludes doubt - for to the martyrs of opium it repeats itself, it repeats itself ten thousand times in intoxication.

Since then, there have been many variations of profound, comprehensive, absolute, paradisiacal and constantly world-shaking insights in intoxication. The writer Charles Baudelaire stepped completely out of a purely subjective position and became a pipe smoker, only to subsequently become acquainted with the false paradise. His colleague Fitz Hugh Ludlow could "look into himself and, thanks to this appalling ability, perceive very vividly and clearly all the processes of life that take place unconsciously in the normal state". The philosopher William James did not experience his childhood as De Quincey did, but he experienced the truth quite directly: "For me, as for every other person I have heard of, the fundamental of the experience [of intoxication] consists in the tremendously thrilling sensation of a haunting metaphysical illumination." On nitrous oxide, "all the logical relations of being" were revealed.

The journey continues via the philosopher of life Ludwig Klages, who, intoxicated, experiences eternity in an instant, to the philosopher Walter Benjamin, who turns the tables differently - and more cleverly than the others - and recognises the emptiness or absence of truth in intoxication, via the writer Carlos Castaneda and on to the self-proclaimed leader of the psychedelic movement of the 1960s, Timothy Leary, who wanted to give LSD to as many people as possible. The motive for drug use is always the realisation, the hope of unravelling the mystery of life, the world or even the universe once and for all. Cultural history is full of attempts to enter into a Faustian pact with the devil in order to finally understand.

Sometimes realisation should be followed by action. Some who had seen or believed they had seen "the truth" wanted to use it in a revolutionary way and kiss a different society awake with the help of fabrics. Leary, for example, was of the opinion that the cybernetic-biological evidence, i.e. the unmediated truth of DNA, which LSD supposedly inevitably and undeniably calls to consciousness, must inevitably lead to people shedding the ridiculous mask called subject and inevitably overcoming capitalism. "Turn on, tune in, drop out" was the corresponding motto of the psychedelic revolution - which, however, failed to materialise. And the poet Allen Ginsberg, a Beat - i.e. hipster - of the first hour, declared to his Beat colleague Jack Kerouac on the phone: "I'm high and naked, and I'm the king of the universe", in order to then want to instigate the psychedelic revolution.

The drunken rebellion was not always preceded by total realisation. Sometimes drug use was and is a more or less rebellious rejection of the norms of society, of the status quo, combined with an attempt to expand the scope of freedom, even without a deeper layer. The writer William S. Burroughs and the aforementioned Beats, for example, used drugs as a provocation, as an antithesis and a means of breaking out of the puritanical straitjacket of the homophobic McCarthy era of the 1950s. And after the intoxicated euphoria of the 1960s, the motif of enlightenment faded into the background anyway. Punk became the new antithesis: a rebellion without revolution - but with drugs. Drug consumption can therefore also be motivated simply by the desire to set oneself apart from one's parents' generation and to emphasise one's own "No!" to the boredom of bourgeois life with a thick bag. Even the rave and techno movement of the 1990s had such elements of rebellion, if only because older generations didn't want to understand what this "endlessly booming music" was all about. Once again, a youth culture was spreading that wanted to cheat its parents and be different, including drug use.

Optimise yourselves!

Intoxicated realisations were booming - at present they have tended to retreat into scattered esoteric circles. And since the "new spirit of capitalism" has made rebellion the mode of accumulation, i.e. the creative class the driving force of capital, it is no longer so easy to drive parents up the wall with drug consumption. Instead, a whole spectrum of adapted consumption motives has become established; optimisation is the new trend.

In late modernity, a different place or rather a different, functional contour emerged for drug use, which nevertheless remained controversial. Since the 1990s, "avant-garde perspectives have been developing that deal with completely new types and dynamics of controlled pleasure production and functional enjoyment". In keeping with the neoliberal zeitgeist, in the context of which the individual and sometimes their intoxication became a resource, a pragmatic and purpose-orientated use of drugs shines through. As a result, consumption motives are also shifting. Drugs, which as alcohol, coffee, cigarettes or medicines are an everyday part of society, could - so the faint hope - be de-ideologised. This is primarily fuelled by the aforementioned "spirit of capitalism", which elevates flexibility and creativity to the highest economic good. The distinction between medicine and drug is becoming completely fragile, and the motives for consumption are becoming as diverse as they are customised with the new commodity form of the drug. In the foreseeable future, the flexibility of the norms will move drug consumption and intoxication out of the patterns of deviant behaviour and into a space of flexible normality. The flexible person has to learn new rules for dealing with themselves and the world and, not least, in dealing with their self-control: they only have to be careful to maintain a "reflexive distance".

Subject, substance, society

The multifaceted picture of motives or reasons for drug use presented here is truly incomplete. Other topics include Drugs for the purpose of martial disinhibition - such as Pervitin, a metamphetamine that was used en masse by Wehrmacht soldiers during the Second World War to reduce feelings of anxiety and increase performance - drugs to suppress socio-psychological baggage, drugs to speed up in order to keep up with the pace of the present and the beat, or drugs to combat the boredom of dull everyday life. On closer inspection, the different categories become blurred: Leisure and work, controlled consumption and addiction, hard and soft drugs or medication and drug. None of these pairs remains a real contradiction in the long term.

The triangle of subject, substance and society, with the help of which the Swiss historian Jakob Tanner attempts to capture the history of knowledge of the concept of addiction in the 20th century and free it from the clutches of medical self-certainty, also contributes to the dissolution. when it comes to the motives for drug consumption and its analysis. Subjective dispositions and constellations are always involved, as are the stimuli of the drug. Society always plays a decisive role, even if there is less talk of it at present, and on several levels: What is the legal status and moral connotation of drugs at what time? Are opiates regarded as a household remedy for free disposal or as the stuff of hell that inevitably leads to addiction and a crash? Or does drug use fall into the clutches of political aspirations or even movements? Is it labelled as rebellious, or does it have the reputation of holding irrefutable and earth-shattering truths? Is smoking weed a good way to start an adolescent row with the parents, or do the parents themselves like to grab a bag?

There is no doubt that motives are often mixed, and the reality of drug use makes it almost impossible to decipher things clearly. And often enough, users themselves don't know exactly why they take what. And yet it should have become clear that the link between drugs, danger and addiction does not stand up to historical scrutiny. The strong focus on the problem of drugs sometimes leaves the impression of a diversionary or evasive manoeuvre. From time to time, drugs did become dangerous to the general order, for example in the context of the counterculture of the 1960s. In each case, this led to a frenzy of lurid anti-drug propaganda, which pushed the dangers to the fore with all its might and had no inhibitions about spreading lies (for example regarding alleged chromosomal damage caused by LSD).

A kind of phenomenology of different motives and practices is therefore an important thing. Especially when the role of society in the triangle of subject and substance is taken into account. The whole subject area of drugs and drug use could ultimately serve as a kind of seismograph for different social conditions. According to a somewhat hackneyed saying, every society has the fashionable drug it deserves. This perspective could provide a whole panorama of interpretations. While the usual focus is on the influence of drugs on society (for example: "What does crystal meth do to people?"), it would be interesting to ask what influence society has on drugs, i.e. which drugs are used when, for what purpose and for what social or political reasons. The much-discussed opioid crisis in the USA might then appear to be an expression of a violently depressing time that is better tolerated with sedatives. Fast coke for top performance or weed for more creativity are then no longer the drugs of choice, but rather the painkilling opioid oxycodone or the anxiety-reducing benzodiazepine Xanax to endure the madness of late capitalism or at least the pains of transformation of a society in transition that can be felt everywhere.

Intoxicated by history

For thousands of years, humans have relied on the intoxicating effects of nature: a brief history of herbal drugs

Arno Frank

Prehistory: mushrooms in the desert

The history of plant-based drugs is almost as old as mankind. Their earliest depiction dates back to a time when even the Sahara was still a flourishing Garden of Eden and can be found in a sandstone mountain range in southern Algeria. There, prehistoric cave paintings show people with ritual headdresses dancing happily. They are holding mushrooms in their hands, from which dotted lines lead to the head - not only the oldest depiction of a drug ever, but also an artistic realisation of its effects. 10,000 years old and refer to the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms in early advanced civilisations. The psilocyn or psilocybin they contain has a similar mind-expanding effect to LSD. It leads to a change in the state of consciousness, to waking dreams and visions, but can also cause mental disorders. Among the Aztecs, the mushrooms were known as "Teonanacatl", "flesh of the gods". The oldest surviving word for drug is also of divine origin, first written down in Sanskrit in the oldest religious texts of ancient India, the Vedas. It speaks of "soma" - at once god, plant and intoxicating juice. Scientists still puzzle over the composition of this juice to this day. It is assumed that the basis was the fly agaric.

Early times: liquid bread for the pharaoh

The mushroom went out of fashion when the first civilisations cultivated agriculture. As a result, they almost inevitably discovered alcohol, almost simultaneously in the Middle East and East Asia. The oldest recipe is Chinese, but there is also evidence of breweries in Mesopotamia and Sudan. In Egyptian mythology, it was Osiris who taught people how to brew. Although there wasn't much to teach. Barley mash, stored in a damp place, begins to ferment. The wages of the labourers on the pyramids included not only bread, but also beer. Because of its effects, beer quickly became the subject of both draconian prohibitions and festive rituals. Anyone caught drinking beer among the Sumerians could be drowned in their barrels, and on high Egyptian holidays, getting drunk together was a social event. Anyone conceived during these excesses was considered a lucky child. The Greeks were more inclined towards fermenting grapes and even had a god in Dionysus who was responsible for states of intoxication. But even in Athens, alcohol served higher purposes. In the "Symposium", people drank, but also practised philosophy with their loosened tongues.

The Middle Ages:

Good humour with the herb witchIn dark times, it was very useful to know what "an herb had grown against" - and where you could find it. Little helpers grew by the wayside, from belladonna to "fool's mushrooms" and datura. In the wrong hands, they could cause a lot of mischief. In skilful hands, the soothing substances were used for healing. A mixture of mandrake, henbane and poppy was commonly used as a "sleeping sponge" for anaesthesia. In the Middle Ages, a powerful drug was extracted from the scarified seed capsules of the poppy: opium. The juice had a healing effect, as Hildegard von Bingen noted: "And this is what you heal with." As a thickened paste with honey (called latwerge), the opium poppy was used for anaesthetic purposes and was often used under the suspicious eye of the church, which considered illness to be a punishment from God. Anyone who knew too much could quickly end up at the stake as a "herbal witch".

Early modern times: leaves for the conquerors

The leaves of the coca bush have always been chewed in South America. They helped against hunger, tiredness, cold and helped the blood to absorb oxygen. A property that also helped the coca bush to enjoy a flourishing career in the Andes. Coca was also drunk as tea and always chewed with the addition of lime or plant ash. When applied with saliva, it even had a pain-relieving effect and the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors was the first turning point. It is known that many of them not only took a liking to gold, silver and tobacco, but also conquered their new empires with coca leaves in their saddle and cheek pouches. The effects of the coca plant helped the exploiters in their plunder. As early as the 16th century, a royal accountant in Peru rejoiced: "The Indians in the mines can stay 36 hours a day without sleeping or eating." Later, the stimulant even made it into the original recipe for a world-famous US lemonade, and a second turning point was the successful isolation of cocaine from coca leaves in 1859. But that's another story and has little to do with the plant.

Today: Marijuana for the masses

Cannabis, also known as marijuana, grass, weed, pot or ganja, is something of a classic in the garden of speciality plants. Cannabis was used for medicinal or spiritual purposes in ancient China and India. Although hemp was cultivated in the West, the active ingredient - tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC for short - was not valued for a long time. In Christian tradition, it was considered exotic and dangerous. Crusaders feared the assassins of the Syrian Assassins, "hash machines", which translates as "hashish people" - the Assassins allegedly used the drug to make their followers compliant. Which is probably a legend. The consumption of weed makes most people listless. Cannabis first made a career in the West in Paris in the exclusive "club of hashish eaters". Artists and intellectuals from Victor Hugo to Charles Baudelaire and the painter Eugène Delacroix met to consume "hashish" processed into a paste with cinnamon, cloves, pistachios and butter. Their aim was to expand consciousness and heighten sensory impressions - all motives that still tempt people to smoke weed today.

Cannabis is banned in most countries, while in others a rethink is underway that is not only enabling the legalisation of cannabis (for example in the USA or Uruguay), but is also bringing the medicinal benefits of the plant into focus. THC-free CBD drops have been freely available in Germany for some time now. Their active ingredient, cannabidiol, is also relaxing - but not intoxicating.

#CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE #drogs #CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0-DE #Arno Frank #robert feustel #freedom of expression #human history #mod studio #reality #the cultural heritage of mankind #culture #politics #equality #freedom #headdog #artwork #Complete nonsense who can read has a clear advantage #alcohol #cocaína #weed #and on and on and on #read more

[uncloseted]

What are some effective waya to become more productive?

what are some effective ways 2 be productive?

First things first, figure out what the problem actually is. Why are you struggling to be productive? Is it because you're a perfectionist and the idea of not doing the task perfectly stresses you out? Is it because you're lacking the motivation to do anything? Is it because you're struggling to concentrate, or because you're overwhelmed by the task, or because you don't know where to begin? There are tons of reasons why you might be struggling with productivity, and figuring out what the roadblocks you're encountering are can help you to find ways around them. Since I can't read your mind, I'm going to try and give advice that will work for most of the roadblocks you might encounter.

When it comes to big things, I recommend using the SMARTER & WOOP methods. SMARTER and WOOP are two tools that are really useful for behavior modification and other long-term goals you might have.

SMART(ER) is a tool to help you set the right goals for you.  Too often, we set goals like “I’m going to start exercising” or “I’m going to quit going on my phone”.  Those are great in theory, but without an action plan, it’s easy to not follow through.

SMARTER goals are ones that are:

Specific (simple, sensible, significant).

If your goal isn’t specific, you won’t be able to focus your efforts or feel motivated to achieve it.

Try to answer: what do I want to accomplish? Why is this goal important? Who is involved? Where is it located? Which resources or limits are involved?

Measurable (meaningful, motivating).

Having measurable goals is important because it allows you to track your progress and stay motivated by seeing how far you’ve come.

A measurable goal should be one that answers “how much”, “how many” and “how will I know when it’s accomplished”?

Achievable (agreed, attainable).

Your goal needs to be realistic in order for you to stay motivated and be successful.  If you’re aiming too high, you’ll become demotivated quickly because it doesn’t feel like you’re making progress.

An achievable goal requires you to ask “how can I accomplish this goal” and “how realistic is this goal based on other constraints?”

Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).

Relevant goals are ones that matter to you.  Make sure that these goals are ones that are important to you, not ones that you think you should be pursuing.

A relevant goal is one that can answer “yes” to the following questions: “does this seem worthwhile?”, “is this the right time?”, “does this match my other efforts/needs?”, “is it applicable in my current socio-economic environment?”

Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Every goal needs a target date so that you have a deadline you can focus on and work toward.

A time sensitive goal is one that answers “when?”, “what can I do six months from now?”, “what can I do six weeks from now?”, and “what can I do today?”

Evaluate

Every day, evaluate how you’re doing on your goals.  Long term goals can be easily ignored if they’re not evaluated every day, and if you don’t evaluate how you’re doing on your goals regularly, you might miss the things that are preventing you from achieving them.

Readjust

If you find that your approach isn’t working, you may need to readjust your goals.  That doesn’t mean that you’re failing at your goals or that you should quit; it just means you have to rethink the approach you’re taking.  Maybe the goal isn’t as relevant to you as you thought it would be, or it’s not as realistic as you expected, or your timeline is too short.  Identify which part of your SMARTER goal is tripping you up and readjust it.

The best goals are ones that include trying new things instead of quitting old ones.  Quitting things is hard; learning something new is easier and more exciting.  If you’re looking to quit something, replace it by establishing a new habit that takes its place.  For example, “I’m going to stop going on my phone,” is hard, but “when I feel like going on my phone, I’ll read a book for ten minutes instead” might be easier to maintain.

After you’ve figured out your SMARTER goal, it’s time to WOOP.  WOOP is something like the scientifically proven cousin of “manifesting”.  Just visualizing our goals or positive thinking on its own can be counterproductive, because it fools our lizard brains into believing that we’ve already achieved the goal.  By using the WOOP method, you can prevent that from happening and actually achieve what you want to achieve.

WOOP stands for:

Wish: Identify a wish that is challenging, yet attainable.  This should be your SMARTER goal.

Outcome: Imagine the best outcome as a result of your wish (as vividly as possible).  Really daydream about what your life would be like if you achieved your goal.

Ask yourself, what is the biggest benefit you could receive from achieving this goal?

Obstacle: Identify and imagine what obstacles will get in the way of your wish.

What might get in the way?  Thoughts, feelings, beliefs, old behavior patterns, bad habits, social pressure… identify as many as you can, then prioritize their likely they are to happen and how significant they would be if they did happen.

Plan: Create an if-then plan to overcome the obstacles you identified- “if [obstacle occurs] then I will [plan A].”  Do your best to pick the most effective path you can for each obstacle, and identify a few different plans in case your first plan doesn’t work.

For example, if you wanted to start exercising, your WOOP might look like this:

Wish: Go on a run 3x/week after school/work for a month.

Outcome: Better energy, confidence, and health.

Obstacle: Feeling tired and hungry at the end of the day…Not wanting to go.

Plan: Pack a snack for the end of the day, and put on gym clothes right when you get home.

Or if you wanted to stop watching TV and read more:

Wish: Watch only 5 episodes of TV per week, and read when I feel the urge to watch TV for a month.

Outcome: Learn a lot. Get smarter. Feel better. Enjoy the great ideas. Feel like I’m spending my time wisely.

Obstacle: Not feeling like it. Preferring to watch TV.

P: If I catch myself watching TV, then I turn it off and start reading a book instead.

The last thing you can do to increase the chances that you’ll achieve your goal is to get someone else involved.  Either find a friend who’s setting the same goal that you are, or tell someone about your goal and ask them to help you achieve it by checking up on you.  It can also be helpful to put money on the line- give money to a friend with the understanding that you’ll get it back on a set date if you’ve achieved your goal.  If you really want to ensure that you reach your goal, tell your friend that if you fail, they should donate the money to a group or cause that you really hate.

For smaller, more day to day tasks:

Make a list of everything you need to do. Sort them into four categories- tasks that are Urgent & Important, tasks that are Not Urgent & Important tasks that are Not Important but Urgent, and tasks that are neither Urgent nor Important. Focus first on the tasks that are Urgent & Important. This can help you prioritize which things to work on first.

From there, take a look at each individual task and break it down into very small steps that you can't fuck up. These can be as small as "open laptop", "open Google Docs", "write name at top of the page", etc. If it helps, you can assign each one of these steps a point count, and then give yourself a treat once you collect enough points (10 points, 20 points, 50 points, and so on).

Once you have your list and have identified all of the steps, just do the first step. It can be daunting to start a big project or task; it's way easier to just do one thing. And once you do one thing, it feels easier to do just one more thing, and just one more thing, and so on until the task is complete.

Once you build up some momentum, I would recommend using the Pomodoro technique. Work for 20-25 minutes (or as long as you can really focus) and then take a 5-10 minute break. Stand up, get a drink, get a snack, watch a short TV episode or a YouTube video, look up that thing that was on your mind, whatever will give your brain a break. Then, set another 20-25 minute timer and get back to work. After three or four cycles of working and taking a short break, take a longer break.

A few other things that I think it's important to remember when it comes to productivity.

Anything worth doing is worth doing badly. You don't need to finish things, and you don't need to do them perfectly. If it's a choice between doing something badly or not doing it at all, it's always better to do it badly.

You don't need to do things the way other people would do them- do it how it works for you. Sometimes that won't make sense to other people, but that's all right. The only person it has to work for is you. If bouncing back and forth between different tasks works better for you than focusing on one task until it's done, then bounce back and forth between tasks. That's okay.

It's okay to ask for help. If you have trouble doing things, that's okay- find someone who can assist you. Maybe you're bad at projects that don't have someone to be accountable to. Find a friend who will hold you accountable. Maybe you're bad at projects without deadlines. Set deadlines for yourself and get someone to make sure you meet them. Sometimes you don't need to work through your shortcomings- you just need to find a way around them.

#advice #executive dysfunction #motivation #productivity #adhd tips #goals #goal setting #studymotivation

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Ep 28 - Risk assessment of restarting events, German experiment.

K: Hi, Lets start this week's episode of The Freedom of Expression. Joe san, Tasai san, welcome....Oh, I forgot to say 'This is Dir en grey's Kaoru'.

J, T: Hahaha.

J: Well, say it now, haha.

K: No, well, Im always saying this, but the preparations to get this show started each time are so slow!

J, T: Hahaha.

K: I got here about 90mins ago!

J: Yeh, honestly for me, sorry about this, but I mistook the time and the day, I only noticed when I saw Tasai's LINE message.

T: I was thinking, 'this is not good'.

J: 'Joe san! We're all already here!' And I thought, 'Eh!?', and I rushed here in a panic. But  they still weren't ready to start recording.

K: Seriously, they havn't ever got it all set up quickly and smoothly.

T: Thats right.

K: We're waiting for so long.

J: Yep, there's been a lot of waiting to get to this point. But we do have time to have a meeting about the theme.

K: Yeh, we do that. But why does it never work out properly? They only have to do the same thing every time. We're talking about this every third episode.

J: Yeh, and we record three at once, so its like every time, haha.

K: Hahaha

J: Yep, we start each recording session with this conversation every time. Its become famous already.

K: We are kinda grumbling a bit.

J: The viewers have no connection to this.

K: Well, anyway, for today...Joe san, could you please?

J: Yes, 1500 at a concert - risk assessment of event restarts in German experiment. With the reopening of music and sports events in mind, which have faced huge restrictions amidsts the spreading of Covid-19, German researchers conducted an experiment on the 22nd, analyzing the risk of infection at a real live concert. On this day, a team of researchers from Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany put on a concert by the singer Tim Bendzko in an indoor venue in Leipzig. 1500 people took part in the experiment. Masks and small size tracking devices were distributed to the audience, and their hands were applied with fluorescent gel before entering. This was to record areas of high contact within the venue, and identify where people are touching the most. Professor Gekle from the same university's medical department said, 'I want to be able to offer some means of making a reasonable decision as the whether or not events can be permitted. We need the means to predict how many people will be infected after events are reopened.' Three scenarios were tested: a pre-pandemic environment, a mid-pandemic/strengthened infection prevention environment, and a limited audience environment. The team will analyze the gathered data, and evaluate the success of  the prevention methods using a mathematical model. They will announce their results within this year. Soo, this has finally gotten started.

T: It was picked up on a 26" Sharp *1

J: Yes, in the end 1500 people took part in the experiment.

K: Didn't they say they wanted 4000 people?

J: Yeh, maybe they couldn't gather that many.

K: Yeh

J: Sounds like it.

T: I think so. It looks like the data is split into three parts. The first group is like at the start of the pandemic with everyone...

J: Everyone crammed in. Doing a live show in a packed space.

T: Yeh. The second group was testing the prevention measures, like using alcohol, with a certain amount of social distancing. And the third group was keeping a strict distance of 1.5 meters between each person, and making it perfectly spaced out. Then they could gather these three sets of data.

J: Yeh, I see. It looks like we could get some good guidelines out of this.

K: But if they say the results will be out within the year, thats still quite a way off, isnt' it?

J: Yeh, we may have to wait a bit, but as for big events in Japan, the government made an announcement on the 21st of this month (*Sep or Oct 2020*). They will continue with their 5000 upper limit of people allowed in indoor or outdoor facilities. As to why they will continue this, a govt. person had this to say in an article for Mainichi Shinbun. 'Experts are saying we have already passed the peak, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't extend the limit on spectator numbers. The rest of the world would never forgive us'. Germany is using this kind of scientific logic, but Japan is saying 'we won't change the 5000 people limit, because the world wouldn't forgive us'!

T: Yeh..

Kami: Can I say something? ..Um, I listened to the report, and I got distracted by the names of that singer and that professor, Tim Bendzko and Professor Gekle, so I didn't really listen to the rest.

T: Well, yeh, those names are pretty interesting  to Japanese people.

Kami: So I wasn't listening much...but you said, 'The rest of the world wouldn't forgive us'..if they were to lift the limit on 5000 people?

J: Yes, yes. Not me, someone connected with the government said that.

Kami: Thats pretty amazing, isn't it? They won't lift the limit because the world would never forgive them?

J: Well, experts are saying we are past the peak, so..ordinarily, this would be a good time to lift the limit.

Kami: Even though experts say we are past the peak, the world would never forgive us, so we won't lift the limit...Japan is really keeping up with the trends, isn't it?

K: Its cute, right?

J: Yeah

Kami: Its great, isn't it?

J: Its like, we know the science, but we don't wanna get bullied!

Kami: Even I didn't think of this. Thank you very much for this.

J: Well, its a new discovery...

Kami: Yes, I started to really love Japan.

T: Its a politician's job to explain this type of thing properly tho.

Kami: I really love Japan now.

J: But this really isn't any kind of scientific logic.

K: But the rest of the world aren't doing live shows as much as Japan is...they can't can they?

J: Ahhh....yeah.

K: In that sense ???*2

J: Japan is always in this kinda grey zone. There's a lot of talk about this request for self-restraint, like what does it mean? Like, Can I? Can't I?

K: Nothing has been forbidden though, has it?

J: Yeh

K: Also, what was it? A kind of bike event that took place in North Carolina..

J: Yes, thousands of people attended. Events like that are happening in America. At the moment, there are no penalties for doing anything.

K: People are just not doing stuff by exercising self-restraint

J: Thats it.

K: So that means Japan hasn't even ???*3

J: Yeah.

K: No, well it depends how you say it! Didn't they have anything clearer to say?

J: It wasn't very scientific.

K: We've only spoken about Japan, but in Taiwan they are holding concerts with over 10, 000 people.

T: Thats amazing, isn't it?

K: Because they have a really low rate of infection right?

J: Yeah, they do.

T: This was on August 8th, right?

Kami: The world has forgiven them right?

J: Well, yeah.

T: Doesn't this photo have quite an impact?

K: Its great, isn't it? Its a packed live show.

J: It is. They are wearing masks, but there is no distance between them.

T: Its just like normal.

K: That means they've returned to daily life then? In Taiwan?

J: Well, I guess so.

K: I spoke about this before, but I wonder if they will do experiments on other areas of life, not just live shows. This German study is only looking at live shows, right? Other things...

T: For example, public transport?

K: Mmm

T: Public spaces, they could do the experiment with public transport and stuff.

Kami: If Japan conducted this kind of experiment, the world wouldn't forgive us, right?

J: Well, you might not even be able to gather participants.

K: Well, conversely it would be seen as raising the infection risk, if Japan did it.

T: Are you slightly envious when you look at this, Kaoru? The Taiwan live show? 10,000 people gathering like this..

K: Well, i mean, at our lives people aren't all sat down like this, so I'm not sure. It doesn't feel like authentically back to normal. Its great that so many people can be allowed in there though.

Kami: Haven't Dir en grey ever played in Taiwan?

K: We have. It was good. How many times did we go? Twice?

Kami: Was the food nice?

K: Emm, yeh, haha.

J: Hahaha. The topic has turned more relaxing towards the end, haha.

T: Kami sometimes says cute stuff.

J: Yeah.

Kami: What did you eat?

K: What did I eat? Hmm

J: He's quite interested in this, isn't he?

K: I don't really remember.

Kami: Did you go out during the night?

K: Eh? Err, I think I did, yeh.

Kami: Did it taste nice?

K: Did it taste nice?? Well, I don't think I ate at night.

T: Did you try that Stinky Tofu?

K: I have never tried it!

J: Ahh, it really stinks doesn't it? That..

K: The smell is too offputting.

J: That knocked me flat...But you could do live shows if you went to Taiwan though?

K: They wouldn't let us in.

J: Ahhh, right. At the moment..

K: Yeh, we wouldn't be allowed in.

J: Now we have this problem.

K: They're not allowing people in, so...huh? *a music box sounding tune starts playing*  Whats that?

J: Is someone's phone ringing? Haha, is this revenge from Kami? Are we ok?

Kami: You're ok.

K: They're not allowing people in, thats why they can do big shows. Probably.

J: Yeh

K: Well, who knows when Japan, or even the rest of the world will be able to do live shows like this, but im interested to see what kind of results this experiment will produce.

T: We can do an episode about it.

K: Yep. Well, the conversation was a bit all over the place today...

J,T: Hahaha

K: But please tune in again next time. Please subscribe.

*1 I don't know what he means by this.

*2, 3 Couldn't catch

#the freedom of expression #tfoe #dir en grey #kaoru #薫

[ramblingguy54]

Escape From The Impossibin!: An Exercise Of Trust & Hope.

So, I was predicting for this episode to have Della & Louie bonding time together, which there were cool moments with them to be sure. However, what I really liked about today’s story was how it focused on the aftermath of FOWL’s reveal to still be very much alive to Scrooge’s horror and Beakly’s greatly underlying concern. A couple of days ago before Impossibin premiered today, I chatted with some others on Discord about what this episode’s story would explore for its overall message, which the more I thought about, the more I leaned on the idea it would be centered around the notion of trust. Let’s Get Dangerous had a consistent theme of deceitful liars being revealed who weren’t whom they appeared to be, as seen with Taurus Bulba vs Drake Mallard & Bradford’s true nature being known to Scrooge at that hour special’s ending. 

Escape From The Impossibin is all about confronting the growing tension that’s become a threat to a content family lineage of adventurers, who now have to defend everything they stand for in their legacy, once again. That’s something I’ve always appreciated about DuckTales is even when it doesn’t entirely match my predictions, it finds other new ways to surprise me for what it can do. Della & Louie didn’t necessarily get the bonding time I had hoped for, which did admittedly disappoint me, but they did a serve a purpose in their own right that I’ll get to later. Anyways, the spotlight is on the older mentor figures, Scrooge McDuck and Bentina Beakly, who are all too familiar in dealing with FOWL’s antagonism before in Season 1′s episode, The Confidential Case Files Of Agent 22, that especially applies to Beakly’s past in fighting them as an agent of SHUSH for very much longer compared to Scrooge. With how much is at stake you’d very much expect there to be old feelings being drudged up, regarding Scrooge’s trust and respect for Bradford, as well as Beakly’s strict over protective nature with Webby to keep her safe from losing that optimism that makes her stand out as a beacon of hope to inspire others, which they do. FOWL isn’t like Magica or Lunaris who want to make themselves known flat out to the world with their egos. They’re very cunning and cold blooded with going about executing their plans for control of the Earth. Particularly, Bradford is the serious threat most of all because he’s the brains of this outfit giving precision in each order to those under his command. Combine Bradford’s knowledge with the muscle of Steelbeak, Rockerduck’s underhanded scheming, Gandra Dee’s scientific intellect, Black Heron’s lust for more power, and Phantom Blot’s ability to absorb all kinds of magic that gives the McDucks’ a severe scenario they’ve never faced. FOWL is the right combination to put an end to Scrooge’s adventuring because Bradford has kept a close eye on him for so many years. Bradford has seen plenty of Scrooge at his total best and worst most of all. He’s studied upon every detail of Scrooge’s life, for who knows how many years, and is finally putting all of it to use against him, where we get to see the extent of just how well Bradford can read every one of his moves. Lunaris’ intellect was simply a figurative puddle compared to what Bradford managed to accomplish with his high IQ.

The scary thing is Scrooge knows this reality himself, too. 

That’s one of my favorite elements of Impossibin’s purpose. We get to see Scrooge seriously doubt his abilities. In episodes, like The Most Dangerous Game Night and The 87 Cents Solution, Scrooge has always prided himself in being a very sharp individual who could see every angle and any detail that others couldn’t. Bradford, on the other hand, rivals Scrooge’s thinking that puts an eerie perspective on things for the old man. Scrooge always thought to be one step ahead of the game, but then realizes that someone who’s been by his side for so very long played him like a fiddle all those years. Who’s to say Scrooge isn’t probably thinking back on stuff such as Bradford shutting down his rescue operation for Della, controlling his money usage, letting Louie hang around Bradford in The Richest Duck In The World, finalizing Gyro’s inventions, etc? Scrooge realizes he’s had a dangerous character around the family manor all those years, which makes him doubt his ability to trust himself in protecting everything that he holds importantly in life. Scrooge isn’t just thinking he’s been fooled, he’s doubting every aspect of what made him competent to begin with. Doesn’t help among this moment of self reflection Bradford is there to further rub in that harsh reality of how much he knows about Scrooge.

This moment gave me chills because it completely put a spin upon the story’s concept. I figured that FOWL would hack Scrooge’s security system, with help from Gandra Dee’s abilities, and I’m glad it went this route, since it shows how dangerous things are this time. They’re not even safe within the confines of their own manor anymore, considering Bradford knows every nook and cranny of it. Scrooge thought only he knew the security system’s password, given its based on the amount of all money in his money bin, but Bradford covered that crucial detail, too. Bradford isn’t leaving any loose ends toward Scrooge in how he’ll go about using any little thing against him for future reference. That’s what makes the stakes higher here than compared to Lunaris’ invasion. This is a much more personal story between a clash of ideals with Adventuring vs Control. Lunaris lacked that emotional connection here Bradford is making Scrooge have to face that adds another layer of tension to this situation. Bradford wants Scrooge to know, “I have control over you. There is nothing you know that I’ve already figured out about yourself.”, and going about hacking the robotic version of himself is the best way to send home that message to him. It can also be interpreted as symbolism for Scrooge fighting his own insecurities when Bradford takes control of the robot to start attacking.

I need you, the two most cunning individuals I know, to spot any weaknesses.

Now, Della & Louie did serve a big purpose, despite the Plot A point focusing greatly on Scrooge’s existential dilemma, for they were there to remind Scrooge of just how much of an impact his life style has had on them. Della & Louie’s teamwork together throughout the episode is a perfect way to give Scrooge a reality check reminder for how skilled they are as adventurous fighters against unknown dangers. After all, Scrooge passed on his skills to Della, who’d later pass down her intellectual skills to him, too. Again, tying into the whole theme of legacy and what not about how much family can bring out the best in each other. If it wasn’t for what Scrooge had taught them, then he wouldn’t have been saved by Louie’s defining act of being a badass, by willingly diving into the pile of money, which got hit by a gravity changing rosa rune from the robot and ended up crushing it. I wanted to see more mature Louie, so him lifting Scrooge up about how much pride he has in the family lineage was a great nod to it. That in turn, allowed Scrooge to remember why he and their family are strong together. You know, after recent events that have happened in my life, seeing legacy be explored in DuckTales Season 3 means a lot to me now more than ever.

As for Beakly’s B Plot, in terms of how it ties into a neat bow with Scrooge’s story, shows how intense she’s getting at the notion of eventually facing FOWL again. Honestly, I’m not surprised if she’s getting flashbacks of whatever painful or traumatic events happened to her in those Agent 22 days. I mean, for God’s sake, she tells Webby to straight up incapacitate Huey, who was already so scared. Something Webby refuses to agree with as the best course of training methods to better prepare against the greater threat. Beakly’s characterization has always fascinated me with how well she guards her vulnerability, kind of like Goldie in a way, but the difference here is outta great concern for others rather than herself. My mind can’t stop thinking about this scene, as there could most likely be underlying context for why Beakly is getting so worked up over this training. It seems Beakly is carrying a tremendous weight on her shoulders, probably some heavy angst, that it looks like she wants to say, but can’t because of bigger story reasons we’ll find out later in Season 3′s final batch of episodes. Special mention to Donald Duck putting his foot down on Beakly’s very intense training session. Donald knows the trials and errors of what it means to be a parent. He was once very overly protective of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, but learned to let them experience the world for what it is and not hold them back, so I liked how it ties into Beakly’s dilemma of trying to protect Webby from FOWL’s heartless nature.

Beakly’s plot may have not gotten much focus, but it did a very good job setting up more angst to come between her and Webby’s relationship. Things are gonna get very complicated between them when more things come to light. I’m keeping an eye on Huey’s line specifically. When he said, “The one thing we know for sure is that we trust each other, right?”, Beakly did want to bring herself to apologize of course, but I also think she was close to wanting to confess something else to Webby, too. I’m expecting this moment to be called back to when stuff hits the fan with Beakly’s past and whatever Webby’s origins are.

Escape From the Impossibin may have unsettling stuff lurking around the corner with how FOWL managed to distract them with the security system, so they could steal away every missing mystery the family has found so far, but there’s a glimmer of light in all of that darkness. A light that is a reminder of what makes the McDuck family an unstoppable force of trust, hope, and most importantly love. Frank said that things were gonna start going into overdrive with FOWL’s battle against McDuck and he wasn’t kidding around. I’m so overjoyed were getting more episodes in November after this episode finished because that would’ve been a painful wait. Season 3 is gonna start giving things it built up a big pay off and I’m totally here for that!

#ducktales spoilers #escape from the impossibin! #ducktales season 3 #scrooge mcduck #bentina beakly #webby vanderquack #ducktales 2017 #della duck #louie duck

[erbferbatinlerb]

sorry for the long post, i'm on mobile and cant put a read more but.... drumroll please.... due to popular demand here it is! Phineas Has ADHD: The Essay.

Hyperfixation on building/inventing things: Even more specifically amusement park rides ("Rollercoaster", "Rollercoaster The Musical", "One Good Scare", "Leave The Busting To Us", "Don't Even Blink", "Cheer Up Candace", "Delivery Of Destiny", etc.) Now, you can argue that he's a kid, and rides are fun, so of course he likes them, but if you look at it from a building standpoint, from an engineering standpoint? Phineas' interest lies in fun, of course, but he also must have an extreme interest in the engineering aspect of a ride in order to be skilled and knowledgeable enough to build them, and to be able to focus on the task so wholly.

He also gets incredibly attached to very specific things that some people often find strange, which seems like evidence of hyperfixation to me. (E.g.: aglets in "Tip of the Day", dental hygiene in "Bully Bust", Bulgarian folk dancing in "The Beak", detective movies in "Finding Mary McGuffin") hot tubs in "Bully Bromance Breakup", "Lotsa Latkes", "Swiss Family Phineas")

HYPERFOCUS: He and Ferb will dedicate their whole day to just one idea that they have. Phineas is able to weaponize his hyperfocusing talent incredibly well and stick to one task, but only if it is something he is extremely interested in — for example: In "Bully Bromance Breakup", he becomes almost unable to function without the stimulation of inventing, to the point where climbing a mountain with his friends—something he, by all accounts, should enjoy—becomes a difficult task for him.

He displays forgetfulness: In "Mom's Birthday", Phineas forgets it is his mom's birthday until he hears Candace mention it, and then he feels extremely guilty. We then see a montage of him, during various situations from the previous episodes (on the rollercoaster, etc.) telling Ferb: "We can't forget mom's birthday." Even though this was of course, a bit, if you take this as being canon (which there's no real reason not to), it means Phineas was constantly talking about their mom's birthday for weeks leading up to the event because he really didn't want to forget it and he was worried that he would (and in the end, he did), implying he may have a consistent tendency to be forgetful.

Phineas has an intense love of summer, and is implied to have a dislike for school—  which is natural for any kid his age, but it's not hard to imagine that he might feel cooped up and creatively stifled during school. Especially if we put his attitude towards school next to that of Baljeet, with whom he shares a love of learning and knowledge, it's hard to ignore the difference. Being as we've seen Phineas get agitated when he's not able to build and invent freely and on his own terms ("Bully Bromance Breakup", "Summer Belongs To You"), it's easy to imagine he may struggle in a public school environment.

He has impulsive and thrill-seeking tendencies, which are evident in many of the big ideas. ("Escape From Phineas Tower", "Rollercoaster", "Ain't No Kiddie Ride", "The Beak", "One Good Scare", "Phineas and Ferb-Busters", "Leave The Busting To Us", ETC.) Adrenaline-seeking behaviour is common in individuals with ADHD and goes hand-in-hand with a low tolerance for boredom which Phineas explicitly states himself to possess in the very first episode of the show. ("Rollercoaster")

However, on the flip side to his aversion to boredom, he can also spend literally hours just standing in the backyard, not even talking, if that's just what he feels like doing that day. ("Best Lazy Day Ever")

He is highly energetic and is the most talkative one of his friends. He has also suggested having an awareness and perhaps an insecurity that he talks too much in some situations. ("Misperceived Monotreme")

He sometimes has trouble with listening, and interrupts people, especially when he's excited: in "Ready For The Bettys", when they stumble upon Perry's lair, Phineas assumes Ferb built everything and doesn't listen, constantly interrupting when Ferb tries to protest; in "Hail Doofania", he assumes that he knows what Isabella is talking about (not having seen a rainbow before) and makes it his mission for the day to do what he thinks she means, and doesn't take the time to hear her out when she tries to explain otherwise because he's too invested in/excited about the project he has in mind.

Obliviousness / missing of social cues: The most obvious example is Isabella's crush on him, which he consistently fails to notice. ("Chronicles of Meap", "Meapless in Seattle", "That Sinking Feeling", "Happy New Year", "Summer Belongs To You", "Happy Birthday Isabella", "Doofapus", "It's No Picnic") He also seems not to understand that Candace wants to get them in trouble, nor that he actually probably would get in trouble if his mom knew what he and Ferb were doing. In fact, he gets excited about sharing their endeavors with Linda, clearly oblivious to the potential repercussions. ("Traffic Cam Caper", "What'd I Miss", "Suddenly Suzy")

Highlighted Episodic Evidence

Chronicles of Meap/Meapless in Seattle

Phineas's dismissal of Isabella's "cuteness" comments shows again his difficulty picking up on social cues, especially when distracted by a mission. He does not seem to understand, or at least does not acknowledge, Isabella's clear frustration with him. He does not understand that he is dismissing Isabella's feelings, because to him it feels obvious that she is cute and he doesn't think he needs to say it. Followed up in "Meapless in Seattle" with the "You think I'm cute?" "It's a scientific fact!" interaction—Phineas is not understanding that this isn't really how to give a compliment; he does not seem to realize that by not acknowledging Isabella's cuteness he could be hurting her feelings/nurturing her insecurities.

That Sinking Feeling

Once again, he misses cues from Isabella about her feelings for him, or if he understands them, he does not outwardly acknowledge them. He also tries to create romance for Mishti and Baljeet by taking "scientifically" romantic things, based upon his research (mostly the movie Titanic): candles, live music, the situation of a sinking ship... He over-does these things in a calculated way to try and curate the most scientifically romantic situation possible. This also mirrors Candace's opinion about his cold, calculated methods in "Perry Lays an Egg".

Cheer Up Candace

Phineas cares about Candace and when he sees her upset, he wants to help her, and he makes it his goal to do so. He hears the first step from Isabella's magazine is a makeover and he immediately thinks of a clown. He sets off to execute his plan without consulting anyone (except Ferb) and after it goes, as you can expect, not well, he realizes in hindsight that his impulsive idea was built on flawed logic. However, rather than dwell on this, he decides to dive right into the next step and he continues to do wildly over the top, fantastical versions of the magazine suggestions. I think this demonstrates a lack of understanding for social cues as well as impulsivity and impatience. Furthermore, he doesn't even wait to hear step two before setting out to achieve step one, and he doesn't ask Isabella her opinion or even listen to her suggestions once he has entered his own Idea Zone. Also, the Mix 'n' Mingle Machine is a great example of his unconventional and greatly efficiency-focused thought processes—  

he thinks of it as the most efficient way to meet as many people as possible in a short time, demonstrating a clear misunderstanding of what the actual intent of "meeting someone" was in the magazine. He is also basing this idea on his personal notions of what he finds fun, not what Candace would necessarily want.

Summer Belongs To You

When stranded on the island, Phineas shows an intense frustration when he's unable to put an optimistic spin on things. He also has a clear discomfort when he is without any tools to build with. Again, we see his hyperfocus on inventing (in this case: fixing the plane) get in the way of Isabella trying to have a romantic moment with him, and in the way of relaxing in general. She sees the sights of Paris, alone time with him, and chances to enjoy themselves, whereas Phineas sees things he could use as airplane parts, single-mindedly focused on his mission. And again he misses or does not acknowledge Isabella's frustration with him in the "It seemed like romance was a foregone conclusion" scene. This is strong evidence for Phineas' hyperfixation because he gets so caught up in his own world when it comes to inventing/building/working that he doesn't even notice what's going on around him, then he fails to see the irony of him identifying Candace&Jeremy and Ferb&Vanessa as romantic interests while entirely missing the fact that Isabella & him are also "a boy and a girl, alone in the city of love."

Also of note is his complete focus on completing the Summer Solstice goal. Because, despite the fact that they made it back to Danville safely after being in a pretty perilous situation—which should have become their main concern being as they were just stranded on an island with no food or way to call for help—he cannot be satisfied with that. Needing to get home before the sun sets for the sake of winning his bet and symbolically representing his worldview, he yells at candace when she doesn't want to get on the trike, because he's determined to still get there on time, intensely focused on both proving a point and upholding his personal values.

Happy Birthday Isabella

Isabella does not want an over-the-top surprise party, all she wants is to spend time alone with Phineas, but Phineas is so focused on his idea of her perfect birthday party that he does not seem to realize what her wishes are. He sends her away from him so that she won't know about the surprise, and does not even do so very gently (getting Buford to carry her away in a sack) instead of even asking her what she wants.

Bully Bromance Breakup

In this episode, Phineas is shown to get extremely distressed when he has to go even a short period of time without building/inventing anything. This is representative of a need for constant stimulation (which would explain why he is so adamant that he cannot put up with boredom). This also evidences his hyperfixation on building/inventing. The whole time that they're climbing the mountain with Baljeet, Phineas is completely preoccupied by his ideas for inventions, and after Baljeet rejects his ideas a few times, he gets increasingly agitated, eventually gets to a point where he is unable to climb anymore and has to get pulled up by the others, and he is shown rambling to himself about all of the invention ideas he has.

This is by no means a definitive list, and I'm sure there are many more moments in the show that provide evidence of these ideas, but this is the ones that stood out to me. Anyway, in conclusion, Phineas has ADHD. If you're still reading this incredibly long post by this point: uhh, thank you, I guess! Have a nice day. 💖

#phineas flynn #phineas and ferb #pnf #adhd #i dont think i need to regail you with proof for doof and candace also having adhd #but the evidence for phineas is more subtle and i wanted to like. write it down so uhh. i did #THIS IS A HEADCANON. I WANNA CLARIFY THAT #this is purely headcanon based upon my personal interpretation of the canon and any other hcs for phineas and any other character are valid #♡♡♡ #tagging this as #dannywrites #i guess jshsn #idk how the formatting of this is gonna turn out but. take this

[judgmentofcorruption]

Episode 0

Judgment of Corruption, pages 4-18

Is it greed to wish to be pure?

.

This world has now become a bundle of impurity.

I don't think that's a bad thing. This world certainly wasn't originally created to be absolutely clean and free of imperfections.

Take, for example, "water".

This thing that is vital to so many living beings is not pure in actuality, by and large. Mud, sand, salt, bacteria, and other sorts of organic matter besides…Despite all these impurities being mixed in it still wets the earth, or falls from the sky.

You need to perform a little bit of effort if you want to get purified water. The simplest and easiest method that humans undertake is distillation. You heat water until it evaporates, and then you cool it so that it condenses back into liquid. What you produce by doing this is still not “pure” water in the true sense of the word, but it is at least relatively safe to use to slake one’s thirst.

Even such a fundamental component like “water” needs to go through these phases in order to become pure. And since it isn’t completely so even then…It’s obvious that it’s a much harder matter to make pure something more complicated than that, like “humans”.

You could say that for humans to become pure beings in a material sense is largely impossible. Therefore, humans seek a spiritual “purity”, and have the tendency to make this into a virtue.

This in turn means that when it comes to those who differ from them physically and spiritually in this world—Or perhaps calling it “society” would be more accurate?—they have a habit of taking these heretics in society and loathing them as “impurities”.

.

Leaving the preface aside for the time being, right now I shall elucidate on the sight that stretches on beneath me.

First, relating to the whole region that this area is in--Humans have given this place the country name of "Holy Levianta". There was also a time long ago when it was called the "Magic Kingdom Levianta". Or, going off of a denomination particular to this current time period, combined with several of its neighboring countries you could also call it the “USE (Union State of Evillious)”.

Anyway, a red-brick building stood at the very center of this country—and I was clinging to the ceiling of its biggest room.

A big black star was painted on the ceiling. I don’t know if this building was named “the Dark Star Courthouse” as a result of this feature or if it was because it’s called “Dark Star Courthouse” that this star was painted--I know I learned it somewhere, but I've forgotten which it is.

Here and now, a bit of history was coming to an end.

A woman who had sought to be “pure” was now, for that reason, being eliminated from society as an “impurity”.

This social event by the name of a “trial”—she was the lead role, standing in the center of the Dark Star Courthouse’s great courtroom as the defendant.

“I will declare my verdict.”

The young head judge's calm voice rang through the courtroom.

The whole visitor’s gallery was packed full of people. That spoke to how much of the world’s attention this trial had.

“For the crimes of murder, larceny, and violation of the special law on witchcraft, the defendant Elluka Ma Clockworker…is sentenced to death.”

Upon hearing the judge’s verdict, all of the audience started to rustle.

"Oh…Oh God."

"How could this be…"

All of those who clutched their heads despondently were wearing the same religious habits. There were also those among them praying, rosaries in hand.

They, and Elluka who had just received her death sentence, were clergy of the Levin faith.

On the other hand, there were those who smiled with satisfaction at the verdict, those who glowered at the defendant with anger in their gaze, and those who simply watched over the proceedings without changing their expression.

"Kill the witch!" someone in the gallery suddenly shouted. Perhaps one of those who had a grudge against the defendant.

With that shout as the trigger, the courtroom began to grow increasingly into an uproar, and the judge slammed the gavel in his hand twice against the stand.

“Silence.”

His voice was unconcerned, and by no means loud, but with that the court became quiet once more.

The power to command the room—you could say that was one of the abilities sought after by judges. Just by seeing this single scene you could infer that he was quite capable in his job.

After letting out a sigh, the judge began his explanation on his verdict.

"To begin with…Though all present to witness this today already know of this, bizarre phenomena have been occurring in every region. For example, the other day a small forest here in the east of Levianta changed into a desert overnight. That was something that occurred spontaneously. If that were the only thing it would not be entirely beyond the realm of possibility. However, the issue is not limited to just that. --A baby was born between a certain husband and wife. By all rights this should be a happy occasion, but the second he saw that child the husband went mad with rage, and the wife grew severely disturbed. Why? ...Because even though the husband was an Elphe, and the wife was from Marlon, the baby was born with black skin, resembling neither of them."

I could hear a woman sobbing from the visitor’s gallery, but the judge ignored it and continued on.

“The husband sued the wife for the crime of infidelity. This trial was conducted by one of my subordinates, and the end result was that the wife was cleared of any wrongdoing. For no matter how extensively the World Police investigated, no evidence came forward to suggest that the wife had had an affair. Perhaps there are those who think this absurd. But the Dark Star Courthouse judging the wife innocent was not done on the basis of this fact alone. –Examples like this are occurring in every household in the world right now. The birth of children that are unlike their parents or their ancestors, completely ignoring their genes…Things that are scientifically impossible are genuinely occurring.”

His explanation seemed fairly roundabout. I would have liked him to just get onto the main topic of the basis of his verdict, but perhaps it was appropriate consideration for a judge to have, given the world’s interest in this trial.

Not all of the people in the visitor’s gallery were highly educated. By so neatly explaining the line of his reasoning, he may have been trying to get them to understand how he arrived at sentencing the defendant to death.

“In the kingdom of Beelzenia to the south, creatures with skin an inhumanly white like limestone are said to be rampaging all over the region. The truth is unclear, but there are reports that these are corpses that have crawled out of graveyards. The world is in a whirlpool of chaos so severe that we cannot laugh these off as jokes. And the source behind all of these things—"

“Are witches!"

Again someone shouted from the gallery.

The judge cleared his throat, and pounded the gavel.

“—The USE unified government has concluded that the cause of this progression of bizarre occurrences is that they are done by the magic of ‘witches’. At first there were objections that this was an unscientific, even anachronistic conclusion. However…as a result of the research done by our scientists, we have already confirmed the existence of ‘witches’ throughout Evillious history. This was made clear by the testimony of historian Sir Heaven Jaakko given in this court.”

The judge dropped his gaze to the defendant's chair. The woman there—Elluka, having just received her death sentencing, made no sign that she was losing control. She only looked up at the judge’s seat, silent.

She just looked to be faintly smiling.

“—Due to the ‘special law on witchcraft’, the World Police have up until this point arrested many suspects who were thought to be witches, and in this Dark Star Courthouse all of them have been given the death sentence. However…the strange occurrences in the world have shown no sign of resolving. This does not mean the conclusion of the World Police and the Dark Star Courthouse is incorrect. This worldwide chaos cannot be brought about by a single ‘witch’. Peace will not come to the world until we have exterminated all witches.”

The judge once again looked at Elluka.

“The defendant is also someone who was arrested by the World Police under suspicion of being a ‘witch’. However unlike the others, she bears the name of the witch ‘Elluka’, who appears in history. This court is treating the name ‘Elluka’ as one that is passed down among witches throughout the generations, and has acknowledged that the defendant is the current holder of the title.”

Humans are clever creatures, but that doesn’t mean that they could always derive the correct answer on everything.

I knew that the woman in that defendant's chair was certainly "Elluka". But she by no means was a figure who had merely inherited that name.

The Sorceress of Time, “Elluka”, had always been the same being.

Of course, the average human wouldn't know that.

--It sounded like the judge’s story had finally moved on to the main topic.

“The immediate charges the defendant was arrested for was the murder of Sir Mata Corpa, the Minister of Finance of the Lucifenian Republic, and larceny. A priestess of the Levin church, the defendant did on the night of April 4th, Evillious year 944, sneak into the Corpa estate and murder the afore-named victim. Upon stealing the ‘Marlon Spoon’ which was being stored inside the estate, she was caught in the act by an investigator of the World Police’s International Works Department ‘Justea’. Thanks to investigation taken afterward it was confirmed that the defendant had eighty-four other offenses—”

After that the judge rattled off both the nature of those offenses, and just how heinous a person Elluka was.

“—Furthermore, the World Police’s main office has determined that the defendant is ‘Elluka Ma Clockworker’, who is thought to be the leader of all ‘witches’, and this court has now indicted her as such. The defendant has acknowledged all of her crimes but shows no sign of introspection in her conduct; the blame that she must take responsibility for as the cause of all the chaos in the world is enormous, and from a societal point of view I have determined that there is no other recourse than for her to face capital punishment.”

The long explanation on his verdict had come to an end.

“Court is adjourned.”

Immediately after the judge pounded his gavel one last time, the viewing gallery once more broke out into an uproar.

But the judge showed no sign of quieting them down. He silently stood up and then started to walk towards the exit. Other judges followed suit.

Several reporters with notebooks in hand dashed outside from the gallery. Their articles that “Defendant Elluka Ma Clockworker Given Death Penalty Verdict” would surely be front page news tomorrow.

Elluka did not look towards the viewing gallery. She showed no indication that she concerned herself with the cries and jeers from behind her, still simply standing there with the same expression on her face.

Two of the courthouse’s guards approached her, and seized her arms. She did not resist them, and was taken out of the courtroom.

.

I also left the courtroom, following after Elluka. When I caught sight of her in the hallway I once more clung to the ceiling.

Elluka and the guards walked on without saying a word.

But an intruder suddenly appeared there.

"Elluka!"

I could see a single man running towards them from deeper in the hallway, opposite the direction they were heading.

Three other guards were running after him.

Right before he could reach Elluka he was tragically seized by the guards.

"Let go!"

The man struggled but his lean body was no match for the brawny guards, and he was unable to shake them off.

Elluka stood in place, silently gazing at the man.

Her expression appeared to have changed slightly from when she was in the courtroom.

It was slightly…it was only slightly, but she looked sad.

After a moment, a new figure appeared from a nearby door.

"Release him."

It was the young head judge who had run the court session earlier.

“Uhh…But…”

While the guards holding the man hesitated, the head judge continued, "It doesn't matter. He has a relationship with the defendant. We can allow him one last conversation with her at the very least.”

An act of kindness by the soft-hearted judge…so it may have looked to someone watching.

But as the guards released the man he grew enraged at the judge.

"You bastard…So you betrayed me, did you!?”

“Betrayed you? Now now, what are you saying, Gandalf? I merely made a just and upright judgment…No more, no less. What? ‘The defendant will surely be found innocent, as she has the backing of the Levin church and the Freezis Foundation’--Was that your simplistic line of thinking?”

"Guh…"

"You're far, far too naïve. Unfortunately she earned far more enmity than necessary. ‘Elluka Ma Clockworker’ must be put to death…The people who believe such are in far greater number than you’ve imagined.”

“…And how much did you accept from these ‘people who hate Elluka’?”

“Ha ha, now what could you mean by that, I wonder…Are you suggesting that I, the director of the Dark Star Bureau, have been paid off by bribes? To think that I would be suspected of such by one of my own colleagues…how sad,” the head judge said, pressing on the inner corner of his eye in an affected manner.

“How dare you speak to me so shamelessly—"

“It’s quite unlikely, most unlikely for that to have happened, Gandalf. Unlikely, and yet…Well, let me put it this way…‘Money is the best lawyer in hell’.”

“Why you…”

Even now Gandalf grit his teeth as though he were about to knock him out, but the head judge quickly held a hand out in front of him as though to restrain him.

“Please calm down. I have no wish to make you a defendant too. …Honestly, on the contrary, you should be thanking me. Right until the end I never revealed your—relationship with Elluka. By all rights that is improper of a head judge to do. But…I didn’t want to tarnish your career with this. As a colleague, and as your friend.”

“…I no longer have any wish to stay in the Dark Star Courthouse. I’m fed up with this corrupt organization.”

“Are you insane? You would waste my help after I went to such pains…Fine. You’ve made your decision. I won’t stop you,” the judge related, his tone extremely mournful but his expression joyful.

Gandalf clenched his trembling hand into a fist, but eventually he let it drop, shoulders dropping with a crestfallen air.

No matter how he struggled, he could not stop Elluka’s execution—He had given up on it.

Someone else starting walking over from the entrance to the courtroom that Gandalf had run in from.

“Sir…”

It was a woman wearing a servant uniform, looking roughly thirty years old.

She was holding a young baby against her chest.

After briefly patting the baby’s head, Gandalf made this request of the head judge:

“In the end…Only a few words would be enough. Please, let me speak with Elluka.”

“Of course. That’s why I originally had the guards release you, after all.”

“With…the baby, if possible.”

“That baby—Ah, I understand. I see. So that’s how it is. Well, I don’t mind.”

Upon hearing those words, Gandalf gratefully inclined his head. Then he and the servant started to move towards Elluka—but there he turned back to the head judge for a moment.

"I said this earlier, but I will quit being a judge. …However. This doesn't mean that I have completely lost hope. This doesn't mean I'm going to quit being a man of "justice". I know that someday, someone who has a truly just heart will change this corrupt institution. When that happens, I know that rotten bastards like you will see hell. Head of the Dark Star Courthouse—Hanma Baldured!”

"Ha ha ha, that’s quite the bark for a beaten dog. …Well, I look forward to when that day comes." The judge--Hanma, returned once more to the door while laughing him off.

After seeing him leave, Gandalf turned back to Elluka and walked to her side.

"Elluka…"

"Gandalf…"

The two of them gazed at each other, bringing their faces closer and gently exchanging a tender kiss.

"That I should be parted from you like this--"

“I’ve been prepared for this, Gandalf. I do use ‘magical arts’. That is a true fact. …And you accepted me anyway, despite knowing that.”

“But…this trial is no more than a farce! I know there’s no way these bizarre events in the world are your fault. You—the Elluka that I love, could never be the kind of person who would do such things! It’s obvious that this story of you murdering the Minister of Finance is a false accusation!”

"--Thank you. It does my heart good just to have someone here now who believes in me."

The two of them kissed one last time.

.

A tragic parting of two people who loved each other.  An innocent defendant and her lover. Well, something like that I suppose.

But I’ll say it again. Humans are not always wise, and cannot always derive the truth.

I knew. It was indeed utter nonsense, this idea that Elluka was causing the chaos in the world with magic.

And not just Elluka. All of the "witches" judged at this Dark Star Courthouse were innocent.

These strange occurrences. Their cause lies not in “witches”.

These were errors induced within a much larger stream than that.

And the only ones who knew the true reason for them--

Were "Gods".

…In that sense, you could say that Elluka was innocent.

However.

The other crime that she’d been charged with—the murder of Minister of Finance Corpa, that was without a doubt something Elluka committed.

It was a crime she had carried out in order to obtain that “Marlon Spoon”…Or to speak more accurately, to obtain the being that was inside it.

.

The baby abruptly started fussing.

“Oh dear, do you need some milk? Or a new nappy?”

The servant flusteredly started to rock the baby.

Upon noticing that, Elluka leisurely made her way over.

"Lady Elluka…Please, hold your baby,” the servant said with tears in her eyes, handing the baby off to Elluka.

The moment that Elluka gently held him in her arms, the baby immediately ceased crying.

"…He's a smart boy."

“Yes, he properly knows who his mother is."

"And he also understands that his mother--is a 'scary woman when angered'."

"Ha ha…Perhaps so." While holding the baby, Elluka turned to Gandalf. "What you said to Hanma earlier--"

"Hm?"

“That one day, someone who has a truly just heart will change this corrupt institution…I hope our boy becomes that person.”

“…Honestly I have no desire for him to ever get involved with the Dark Star Courthouse.”

“…That’s pretty unfair coming from you, having already made your decision to quit this place.”

"I'm sorry. I know better than anyone what a weak man I am. But—"

“It’s alright. Not everyone has the determination to fight. But…the one who will ultimately decide what he does is this baby himself.”

“Yes…True.”

Elluka brought her face close to the baby and lightly kissed his brow.

“Bye bye. Grow up to be a good man like your father…Gallerian.”

.

Led along by the guards, Elluka disappeared further inside the courthouse.

As he watched her from behind—No. Gandalf could not continue to watch any longer.

He had fallen to his knees on the floor, and started to loudly sob.

As though following along with him, the baby being held in the servant’s arms also began to wail.

.

Well then.

This is a very intriguing matter to me.

In this world—this space that I call the “Third Period”—Elluka is a very singular being.

She possesses an extremely long lifespan, and has continued to involve herself in the history of this world.

…To speak more strictly, it’s a bit of a faulty expression to call who she is now by the name “Elluka”, but explaining that would be very complicated, so I’ll leave that alone.

She is a mere shadow of what had once been the Sorceress of Time “Elluka”…If you think of her that way you would not be mistaken, for the time being.

I’m not just interested in her, but also the fact that she’s given birth to a baby.

As far as I know, she has until this point never done such a deed before.

What sort of change has there been in her mental state?

And what sort of path will that child—Gallerian Marlon, take from here on out?

I think I shall observe Gallerian for a short while.

Perhaps he could become a savior for this world.

Or perhaps he could become a pest that leads it to its ruin.

I still don’t know which.

All I can do is to simply gaze on.

.

--I have yet to introduce myself.

It’s not that I’m trying to hide it, or put on airs about it.

Only, in this story I am a simple observer, and as such I don’t have any particular importance.

Even so, if you would like to know about me—

Then for now I will at least tell you my name.

.

My name is “Sickle”.

I am a simple bat, with nothing unusual about me at all.

directory------next>>

[scriptexecution]

Sample Pages from a Spec Script of the 2020-2021 Version of "All Creatures Great and Small" which aired on the PBS Masterpiece Theatre. Spec Script by Mark Pumphrey

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

EPISODE TITLE: THE AGRICULTURAL SHOW

SCENE ONE

INT. FARNON HOUSE SMOKING ROOM. DAY

Siegfried Farnon is off to York to be a judge at the Great

Yorkshire Show. James is left in charge and Tristan is more

than happy to leave it to him. Helen will be at James's side

at the surgery as well as on the farms, so Tristan can ramble

while Siegfried is away. The men gather in the smoking room

so Siegfried can enjoy his pipe before his departure.

Siegfried is sitting in his favorite chair, while James and

Tristan stand and walk around the room during the

conversation.

SIEGFRIED

It's only a few days, gentlemen.

You will be fine, I have no doubt.

JAMES

Oh, we will be alright. It is you I

am worried about, Siegfried. I know

how you like a party. Just remember

that York is a city, not a village

like Darrowby.

SIGFRIED

Good God, James. I am not a child.

I can take care of myself, thank

you.

TRISTAN

But why now, Siegfried? You have

never attended the Great Yorkshire

Show before.

SIEGFRIED

I am to be a judge in the cattle

show, for one thing. I have

certainly done enough of that in

these parts, so of course they

asked me. Word travels, you know.

TRISTAN

Yes, you are known far and wide, I

must say (looking at James and

winking).

SIEGFRIED

For another reason, this is the

centennial of the Yorkshire

Agricultural Society. They have

sponsored the show since 1837. It

was Lord Spencer himself who called

a meeting in York to discuss the

future of farming in Yorkshire that

year. From that meeting sprang the

Agricultural Society and it has

been in existence ever since. It's

high time, I should think, that I

got more involved. Our livelihood

depends on it, you know.

JAMES

But of course, Siegfried. A very

good time indeed. Good for you.

TRISTAN

(Raising a glass and handing one to

James and Siegfried).

TRISTAN (CONT'D)

I will drink to that!

SIEGFRIED

Now, Tristan, I'm leaving James in

charge of the surgery, but I expect

you to be standing by to help him.

TRISTAN

It is all planned, dear brother.

Now go or you will miss the train.

SIGFRIED

(Looking at his watch)

Good God, yes, look at the time.

SCENE TWO

EXT. GROUNDS OF GREAT YORKSHIRE DAY. DAY

Siegfried is in an open field in front of a high banner that

says "Great Yorkshire Show 1837-1937." Eldred Petherbridge, in

a suit with ribbons on the lapel, about 60, approaches him

from under the banner.

PETHERBRIDGE

Farnon. There you are. Right on

time, old chap.

SIGFRIED

(Turning to see

Petherbridge)

Ah, yes. Petherbridge, how are you?

Yes, the train was on time. No

stops.

PETHERBRIDGE

And loaded from one end to the

other with farmers I expect.

SIEGFRIED

Yes, I must say I met some queer

old fellows on the train. But it is

great fun. Why I like veterinary

services, besides the animals. You

meet some of the oddest, simplest,

and yet most sympathetic people on

earth, I'm here to tell you.

PETHERBRIDGE

I know what you mean. I miss that.

But someone has to keep the

organization...well, organized, I

suppose. No, I think I have hung up

my smelly galoshes for good, old

man. Well, come on then, over here.

I'll introduce you to your judging

partner. She's right over here.

SIEGFRIED

She?

PETHERBRIDGE

Why, yes, my good man. Did I not

tell you? You will have the

distinct pleasure of escorting the

most beautiful veterinarian in the

Yorkshire service under the judging

tents today. Miss Averill Day.

SIEGFRIED

Delighted.

PETHERBRIDGE

(Walking up to Miss Day

with Siegfried).

Miss Day, may I introduce you

Siegfried Farnon of Darrowby.

PETHERBRIDGE (CONT'D)

Siegfried is to be your judging

partner for today. Siegfried, this

is Miss Day.

SIEGFRIED

Charmed, I am sure, Miss Day.

(They shake hands as Siegfried tips

his cap. Miss Day is a beauty, age

35, and wears a smart but practical

frock).

AVERILL

Likewise, Mr. Farnon. But, oh,

please do call me Averill. We farm

girls do not hold to such

formalities. Everyone just calls me

Averill.

SIEGFRIED

Of course, Averill. And if you

please, call me Siegfried.

PETHERBRIDGE

Well, that's grand. And so I must

leave you two to plot your day.

Duty calls. Miss Day...Averill. I

shall see you later. Perhaps you

could show Siegfried to

the registration?

(Petherbridge leaves, smiling to

himself. Siegfried turns to Averill

as they walk under the banner and

into the tented show area).

SIEGFRIED

So you grew up on a farm? As did I.

AVERILL

Yes, and I am glad to be helping

today at the show. It was through

the primary school competitions

sponsored by the Yorkshire

Agricultural Society that I first

became interested in the future of

farming. My father was what you

would call a gentleman farmer,

using organized and scientific

methods, attending conferences and

workshops, and encouraging me, a

girl, to develop my love of animals

into an interest in veterinary

science.

SIEGFRIED

Fascinating. I have to tell you I

have never met a female

veterinarian before. Yet I find it

quite delightful.

AVERILL

Oh, yes, we do exist. There were

four other women who graduated with

me from the Agricultural College at

the University of Leeds. All so

long ago now. I have an established

practice in Northallerton, near

where I grew up.

SIEGFRIED

North Riding. Yes, I know it. Why

that's not far from where I'm

located in the Dales.

AVERILL

Yes, Darrowby. I have been there.

Charming village. I am afraid

Northallerton is mainly known for

the livestock market and our high-

quality manure! But I love it

there. It is home.

SIEGFRIED

Shall we go for some tea at the

food tent? We can review the

judging sheets. And I would love to

hear more about your practice and

your town. I believe the first

event is not until ten.

SCENE THREE

INT. FARNON HOUSE HALLWAY AND PUMPHREY LIVING ROOM. DAY.

JAMES

(James is speaking on the phone in

the surgery with Mrs. Pumphrey, who

is seen in her lavish living room,

holding her dog, Tricki Woo, with

her free hand).

Mrs. Pumphrey. How can I help you

today? And how is Tricki Woo?

MRS. PUMPHREY

Oh, Mr. Herriot, I just do not

know.

MRS. PUMPHREY (CONT'D)

I am so worried about Tricki Woo.

My baby. He is not eating for three

days. Well, meals of course. But no

treats. That is not like him at

all. He just lies under my bed and

moans. I cannot think what the

matter could be. Oh, you must help

us, Mr. Herriot. My Tricki is in

terrible pain...(bursting into

tears) and I do not know why!

JAMES

Not to worry, Mrs. Pumphrey. Can

you bring Tricki Woo into the surgery

right now?

MRS. PUMPHREY

Oh, yes, Mr. Herriot. We will be

right there!

(Scene changes to the

surgery with James taking

Tricki Woo, who snaps at

him, from Mrs. Pumphrey

and stands him on the

examination table)

MRS. PUMPHREY (CONT'D)

Oh, Tricki, my darling boy! He's

not himself, Mr. Herriot.

JAMES

Perfectly understandable, Mrs.

Pumphrey. If I were in pain I would

be unpleasant, too. Now, tell me

please what you have noticed. You

said he moans a lot?

MRS. PUMPHREY

Oh, yes, every night, Mr. Herriot,

under my bed, he moans and moans

without stop all night long. I have

not slept. If I could reach him I

would hold him to my heart, poor

darling. He only comes out to eat

his meals. He's on a diet, you

know, so he gets small meals more

frequently.

JAMES

How many meals would you say, Mrs.

Pumphrey, Tricki Woo gets in

an average day?

MRS. PUMPHREY

Well, at first it was six. But the

meals are so small and Tricki

looked so hungry I increased it a

little.

JAMES

And how much is a little, Mrs.

Pumphrey?

MRS. PUMPHREY

Oh, I would say...only...twelve?

JAMES

Mrs. Pumphrey! No matter what is

ailing Tricky Woo, that is far too

much food, even if they are small

meals. Tricky Woo will never lose

weight that way.

MRS. PUMPHREY

Oh, I do understand, Mr. Herriot.

It's just that I am very weak when

it comes to my sweet boy. I just

want him to have whatever he wants

and to be happy. But now this. Oh,

Mr. Herriot, you must help us.

JAMES

I will do all I can to help him,

Mrs. Pumphrey. Now tell me, have

you noticed any other symptoms

other than the moaning and not

wanting his treats?

MRS. PUMPHREY

Well, yes, Mr. Herriot. When he

does come out from under the bed to

eat, he walks with his little head

hanging down and pulled to one

side. And he seems to be walking on

one leg most of the time. And it is

as if every step is causing him

pain. He walks ever so slowly.

JAMES

I see. Thank you Mrs. Pumphrey

(James turns to Tricky Woo).

Alright, my young man, let's see if

we can figure out what might be the

matter.

JAMES (CONT'D)

(James rubs Tricki Woo's coat and

hind legs thoroughly, stopping at

points along the way to feel Tricki

Woo's body more intensively. He

then examines the front legs in the

same manner, and the head).

Ah, I think I know what we have

here.

MRS. PUMPHREY

Oh, Mr. Herriot. Is it serious?

JAMES

Not at all, Mrs. Pumphrey. You can

rest easy now. Here we are. (James

turns Tricki Woo's head around to

face Mrs. Pumphrey)

JAMES (CONT'D)

It seems Tricki Woo has gotten his

right front leg tangled up in his

collar. There we are. (James

carefully lifts Tricki Woo's right

leg and pulls it through the

twisted collar. Tricki Woo shakes

his long hair and barks. Mrs.

Pumphrey reaches for Tricki Woo,

then holds him in her arms, her

tears flowing).

MRS. PUMPHREY

Oh, goodness me. I never thought.

It's all that hair, you see. It

hides the collar. Oh, Tricki, my

sweet angel. (Tricki Woo licks Mrs.

Pumphrey's face). Mr. Herriot, how

can I thank you. You have saved our

lives!

JAMES

It was nothing, Mrs. Pumphrey.

Really.

MRS. PUMPHREY

On the contrary, it is everything,

Mr. Herriot. Now, please tell me

how much I owe you.

JAMES

Oh, no, there is no charge, Mrs.

Pumphrey. It was my pleasure to

help you. And Tricki Woo!

MRS. PUMPHREY

No, I must insist, Mr. Herriot. You

must let me pay you. Will one

hundred be enough?

SCENE FOUR

INT. FARNON HOUSE PARLOR. DAY.

James and Helen are in the parlor, sitting on the couch with

drinks and laughing.

JAMES

And then she said, "Will one

hundred be enough?

HELEN

James, tell me you did not take it.

JAMES

I tried not to. Believe me, I did.

But she would not have it any other

way. Consider it a down payment on

our trip to Majorca.

HELEN

And when will that be, darling? I

am worried that you are becoming

more like Siegfried every day, you

are working so hard. Such long

hours, James. Especially when

Siegfried is away. And Tristan is

not much help, especially when

Siegfried is away.

JAMES

Do not worry, darling. Siegfried is

not all about work. He can play as

hard as he works. He just knows

that when it is work, it is work. I

would do well to become like that.

HELEN

I do understand, James. I just want

you to remember to relax a bit

more, even if you are working. I'd

like to have you around for a while,

if you must know.

JAMES

I love you, Helen. (He kisses her).

HELEN

I love you, too, James.

JAMES

And besides, who needs Tristan? I

have the best medical assistant a

doctor could ever have.

HELEN

We mean to please (She smiles. The

phone rings in the hall and Helen

answers.

HELEN (CONT'D)

Hello? Oh, hello, Mr. Dalby. James?

Yes, he's right here. One moment,

Mr. Dalby. James? (James approaches

from the surgery).

JAMES

Yes, I heard. What has happened to

those poor people now? (Taking the

phone). Yes? Oh, hello, Mr. Dalby.

Yes. Yes. No, don't try to move

them. I'll be right there. Goodbye.

HELEN

James, what is it?

JAMES

Dalby says he has seven cows down

and they can't get them up. I don't

like the sound of it.

HELEN

I'll get my coat.

JAMES

Helen, it could be an infectious

disease that can be transmitted to

humans.

HELEN

I'll get my coat, James!

[testbabies3]

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[sidskywrote]

So Debatable Trek opinion time

I saw a post that goes around every now and then about how AOS Leonard McCoy could’ve had his license taken away for saving Jim in Into Darkness, and how guilty that must make him feel, and it’s been bugging me. 

Not to say the person doesn’t have a point, but I respectfully disagree on which ethical issue Leonard had to be worried about when saving Jim.

Because in my opinion, although Leonard could’ve lost his license, it’s not for the reasons everything thinks.

I’ll explain below.

I argue that reviving Jim is not something Starfleet would bat an eye at. 

They might, in fact, give Leonard a commendation for coming up with a new treatment for severe radiation poisoning, and a way to reverse the damage that’d already been done.

Some would say Leonard “played God” by reviving Jim, and that “it’s unethical to bring someone back from the dead.”

Well, that all depends on how you define “dead.” 

And at what point you consider medical intervention “playing God.”

If a drowning victim isn’t breathing when they’re pulled from the water, is CPR unethical?

If a person’s heart stops beating, is it unethical for a cardiac team to try to restart it? What about heart transplants?

A loss of breath and the lost of a heartbeat used to be considered the main ways to determine a person was dead. But now doctors have the medical know-how to keep lungs pumping even when a patient can’t do it themselves, and to sometimes force a heart to start beating again.

So from my understanding, the medical definition of death has changed in many cases to being determined by a lack of salvageable brain function.

I argue that this is the definition of death they use in Starfleet medical. If consciousness can be preserved, the person’s not really dead. 

Given the entire plot of The Search For Spock...I’d say that’s definitely the way the Federation’s medical community leans.

Not to mention that there’s an entire episode of Voyager that revolves around the revival of Neelix after an accident; if I remember correctly, the Doctor even tells him that he was technically dead for a couple of hours. The experience leaves Neelix shaken, and in a bit of a crisis.

But the crisis isn’t about whether or not the Doctor did something unethical by bringing Neelix back: it’s about Neelix’s belief system, and his society’s version of the afterlife. Nobody bats an eye at Neelix coming back “from the dead.” And nobody suggested doing an overhaul of the Doctor’s programming to root out an “unethical subroutine” after reviving Neelix. 

The Doctor used every method at his disposal to save a life; if it is scientifically possible to revive someone who would want to be revived (I’m not talking about DNR’s here), then the Doctor saw it as his ethical duty to do so.

And that’s most likely how Leonard views death as well.

And that’s why he froze Jim in a cryotube.

Leonard must have done scans; realized that, although Jim’s heart had stopped beating, and his organs were failing, his brain functions were still intact enough to hold a consciousness. 

So as long as they could stop Jim’s brain from degrading, then he wasn’t medically dead yet, even if his heart had given out. 

And if there was a way to reverse the damage, then Leonard might actually have been ethically bound to try.

So, if Leonard wasn’t in danger of losing his license simply over bringing Jim back from the “dead,” then why do I think he might still have almost lost his career?

Three words:

The blood sample.

You see, there’s this thing called bodily autonomy.

It’s the reason you can do whatever you want with your own body, and no one has the right to do things to/with your body without permission. 

(With the exception of the police wanting a blood sample, apparently, according to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling. They don’t even need a warrant now if they think the person they want the sample from was drunk driving. Guess who was on which side of the 5-4 split there.) 

It’s the reason you have to register as an organ donor if you want to donate your organs when you die, because it’s illegal to remove someone’s organs without their permission. 

Even to save a life. Even if the potential donor is already dead.

And that applies to blood samples as well.

Next Generation actually did an episode about this exact thing: Worf once had the opportunity to save the life of a Romulan patient by consenting to have his blood drawn, and a specific component used to cure the Romulan’s illness.

Worf said no.

And although Picard was disappointed in him (mainly because Worf’s motivation for denying the blood draw was based off his society’s hatred for the Romulans and not any medical concern) Picard did not have the authority to force Worf to have his blood drawn. And the Romulan died.

So Starfleet definitely takes bodily autonomy seriously, at least in the Original Series timeline.

Which raises the question: Did Khan consent to having his blood drawn for the serum, or was it just taken from him?

In my mind, this is where Leonard was so desperate to save Jim, that he just didn’t care. 

If Khan said yes: Great! Khan’s probably saying yes for some ulterior motive, but Leonard will take it!

If Khan said no: Leonard was desperate, and did it anyway. To hell with his career.

If Khan was still unconscious from that punch Spock gave him: Then Khan physically couldn’t give Leonard his permission. And yet the serum exists, so...

Two of those options are ethical violations. Ones big enough to put a license at risk. Ones that could end a doctor’s career.

And as the actual blood draw(s) that let Leonard develop the serum happen offscreen, it’s left to audience interpretation to decide just how desperate Leonard was to save his best friend’s life.

Thank you for reading my essay.

#Star Trek #AOS #medical ethics #doctors #Leonard McCoy #Khan #blood #bodily autonomy #debate #ethics #playing god #medical revivial

[ohhgingersnaps]

Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19

Hi y’all! I’m seeing some posts floating around about hydroxychloroquine and I just want to present some data, because there is a bunch of misinformation out there and I think it’s good and important to be well-informed!

Obviously, part of the issue here is that COVID-19 is such a new disease and researchers just don’t have answers to a lot of questions. That’s how science works! Unfortunately, right now that means that we’re trying to make decisions while we’re also in the process of gathering data and figuring out how this disease works, so the recommendations keep shifting as new information comes in. Sawbones actually recently did this great episode on how to interpret a lot of the information/misinformation out there. They give a ton of useful info about what the different types of medical studies are (prospective vs. retrospective vs. case study), how to tell how reliable a journal article is, and so on. They also did a really great episode on hydroxychloroquine specifically (although that episode was aired in April, so we probably have newer information than what they discussed).

TL;DR There are a lot of articles out there (I’ve collected a bunch of them here). Almost all of the reliable ones I’ve found conclude that hydroxychloroquine isn’t effective in helping reduce COVID symptoms, but all of the data is still very preliminary due to the evolving nature of the situation.

Long post with a ton of references under the cut!!

A few important definitions and notes for looking at the following studies (info about the different types of studies pulled from here)...

A prospective study is the most reliable type, and it’s the type of study you probably think of when you think about a clinical trial. You take a sample population and assess their risk factors before they’re ill, and then you administer medicine/placebos, study, and collect information about the population as time progresses.

A retrospective study is based on data collected after the fact. This is still really useful, but it can sometimes become problematic if it depends on the memory of the people involved.

A case study is based on one specific person’s experience. It’s definitely better than a Twitter or Facebook post about someone’s personal experience with the virus because the story itself has been properly researched, analyzed, and vetted for inaccuracies, but one instance is never enough to provide solid data. [edit: solid enough data for policy-making, I mean.]

Things published on preprint servers (like MedRxiv) have not been peer-reviewed. This doesn’t mean that everything in those papers is a lie, but the test methods, gathered information, conclusions, and analysis of data haven’t been reviewed by other researchers to determine whether it makes sense, so always take papers published on these types of platforms with a grain of salt!

Some journals are more reliable than others, but it’s often hard to tell which ones are which if you’re not a researcher in the journal’s particular field. One useful metric is often impact factor (calculated based on how often the journal is cited vs how many articles are published), although sometimes that’s unreliable because the impact factor is usually also smaller for journals that deal with more specific fields of study. If the article itself is cited a lot, that’s also usually a good sign of reliability.

Here is just some of the Official Info (TM) I’ve been able to find...

FDA cautions against use... -- This is a press release from the FDA telling people not to use hydroxychloroquine for COVID treatments outside of a clinical trial, due to the potential for negative side effects. An FDA review of the potentially life-threatening side effects can be found here.

NIH halts clinical trials -- This isn’t an actual paper, it’s a press release, but it’s from the NIH website so I’m including it. They concluded mid-trial that hydroxychloroquine wasn’t a useful treatment and stopped the study Some more info on the study can be found on the page, although a detailed paper hasn’t been released.

The RECOVERY Initiative -- Similar to the NIH trials, these tests were stopped due to perceived lack of drug efficacy. Some additional info on the study is here. The study is associated with the University of Oxford, and their results for some other treatments are published in the New England Journal Of Medicine (NEJM) here.

And a few papers that found little to no impact on recovery...

Hydroxychloroquine with or without Azithromycin in Mild-to-Moderate Covid-19 -- The NEJM is considered highly reliable and is often cited as one of the most reliable medical journals, with an impact factor of 70.670. This is a randomized clinical trial with 667 patients. The study concludes that hydroxychloroquine does not make a significant difference in the status of patients 15 days after the drug is administered.

Hydroxychloroquine in Nonhospitalized Adults With Early COVID-19 -- I’d consider this journal reliable; its impact factor is 21.317, but it’s the most commonly cited journal in its subfield. This is a randomized double-blind trial on 491 patients with placebos. They found that there wasn’t a significant effect on non-hospitalized people with COVID symptoms and likely exposure. (Unfortunately only half had a positive test confirmation from a lab, due to the testing shortage in the US.)

Another randomized controlled study indicating no benefits in 293 non-hospitalized patients.

A paper in favor of its use...

Treatment with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and combination in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 -- Not a doctor, so I’m not sure about the reliability of this journal. Like, it’s published by Elsevier, but its impact factor is 3.202, which feels really low to me, so...? I’m mostly including it because I want to be balanced, and this is the article I see quoted most often in support of this drug’s use. This actually does show some improvement in the death rates of patients treated after hospitalization, with a 13% (with) vs. 26.4% (without) death rate. This is a retrospective study on 2,541 patients, but a lot of their other conclusions also run contrary to established data (ex. they report Caucasian patients as having a higher death rate). This press release has a good summary of the info in the paper.

And an interesting bonus! (Incidentally, I think Sawbones also discusses this case in their misinformation episode.)

The infamous retracted article in the Lancet -- The Lancet is probably one of the most widely-regarded medical journals, and a similar article by many of the same authors was retracted from NEJM around the same time. This study used a massive database of information on patients (Surgisphere). Interestingly, this study actually showed a negative impact on survivability, but questions about the reliability of the data arose and as a result, the paper was retracted by a majority of the authors. I include this to show the efficacy of the scientific process. We’re human beings and so the process definitely isn’t objective or perfect (the article was published in the first place, after all) but ideally, we should be calling each other out for incorrect or faulty data.

So most scientists aren’t saying that we know this drug doesn’t work! But touting it as a cure, when most of the reliable data so far is either inconclusive or negative, is actually harmful, for three reasons.

Hydroxychloroquine can cause serious, long-lasting side effects, especially if you’re not careful. Misrepresenting it as a cure will lead some people to seek it out, even outside of the clinical trials in the hospital; at least one person has already died from doing this.

As Sydnee points out in the Sawbones episode, the drug itself is necessary for some people with ongoing medical conditions (lupus, arthritis, etc), and unnecessary shortages of the drug will negatively impact them.

People keep spinning this as some “secret cure” that doctors don’t want people to know about. This makes people more likely to indulge risky behavior or disregard professional medical advice, which actively puts themselves and others at risk. Honestly, this sort of mistrust of experts is part of why the US doesn’t have this situation as under control as other countries do.

I’m a scientist but I’m definitely not a medical expert, so if anyone has corrections or additions, please feel free to add them!

#hydroxychloroquine #covid #covid-19 #ok to reblog #long post #sorry it's so long y'all!! #there's a lot of misinformation out there but hopefully this helps

[uncloseted]

How to Make and Follow Through on New Year’s Resolutions

Hi everyone!  Happy New Year’s Eve!  Today I wanted to talk a little bit about setting New Year’s Resolutions and how to follow through on them, since I know a lot of you will be making them today.  

88% of people who make New Year’s Resolutions fail at them, largely because they’re not setting goals that are achievable. But it doesn’t have to be that way!  So I wanted to make a quick little post on how to choose goals that are achievable and how to get yourself to follow through on them. 

There are two specific tools that are super helpful in increasing the likelihood that you’ll achieve your resolutions.  You may have seen me talk about them on here before- they’re SMARTER and WOOP.

SMART(ER) is a tool to help you set the right goals for you.  Too often, we set goals like “I’m going to start exercising” or “I’m going to quit going on my phone”.  Those are great in theory, but without an action plan, it’s easy to not follow through.

 SMARTER goals are ones that are:

Specific (simple, sensible, significant).

If your goal isn’t specific, you won’t be able to focus your efforts or feel motivated to achieve it.

Try to answer: what do I want to accomplish? Why is this goal important? Who is involved? Where is it located? Which resources or limits are involved?

Measurable (meaningful, motivating).

Having measurable goals is important because it allows you to track your progress and stay motivated by seeing how far you’ve come.

A measurable goal should be one that answers “how much”, “how many” and “how will I know when it’s accomplished”?

Achievable (agreed, attainable).

Your goal needs to be realistic in order for you to stay motivated and be successful.  If you’re aiming too high, you’ll become demotivated quickly because it doesn’t feel like you’re making progress.

An achievable goal requires you to ask “how can I accomplish this goal” and “how realistic is this goal based on other constraints?”

Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).

Relevant goals are ones that matter to you.  Make sure that these goals are ones that are important to you, not ones that you think you should be pursuing.

A relevant goal is one that can answer “yes” to the following questions: “does this seem worthwhile?”, “is this the right time?”, “does this match my other efforts/needs?”, “is it applicable in my current socio-economic environment?”

Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Every goal needs a target date so that you have a deadline you can focus on and work toward.

A time sensitive goal is one that answers “when?”, “what can I do six months from now?”, “what can I do six weeks from now?”, and “what can I do today?”

Evaluate

Every day, evaluate how you’re doing on your goals.  Long term goals can be easily ignored if they’re not evaluated every day, and if you don’t evaluate how you’re doing on your goals regularly, you might miss the things that are preventing you from achieving them.

Readjust

If you find that your approach isn’t working, you may need to readjust your goals.  That doesn’t mean that you’re failing at your goals or that you should quit; it just means you have to rethink the approach you’re taking.  Maybe the goal isn’t as relevant to you as you thought it would be, or it’s not as realistic as you expected, or your timeline is too short.  Identify which part of your SMARTER goal is tripping you up and readjust it.

The best goals are ones that include trying new things instead of quitting old ones.  Quitting things is hard; learning something new is easier and more exciting.  If you’re looking to quit something, replace it by establishing a new habit that takes its place.  For example, “I’m going to stop going on my phone,” is hard, but “when I feel like going on my phone, I’ll read a book for ten minutes instead” might be easier to maintain.

After you’ve figured out your SMARTER goal, it’s time to WOOP.  WOOP is something like the scientifically proven cousin of “manifesting”.  Just visualizing our goals or positive thinking on its own can be counterproductive, because it fools our lizard brains into believing that we’ve already achieved the goal.  By using the WOOP method, you can prevent that from happening and actually achieve what you want to achieve.

WOOP stands for:

Wish: Identify a wish that is challenging, yet attainable.  This should be your SMARTER goal.

Outcome: Imagine the best outcome as a result of your wish (as vividly as possible).  Really daydream about what your life would be like if you achieved your goal.

Ask yourself, what is the biggest benefit you could receive from achieving this goal?

Obstacle: Identify and imagine what obstacles will get in the way of your wish.

What might get in the way?  Thoughts, feelings, beliefs, old behavior patterns, bad habits, social pressure... identify as many as you can, then prioritize their likely they are to happen and how significant they would be if they did happen.

Plan: Create an if-then plan to overcome the obstacles you identified- “if [obstacle occurs] then I will [plan A].”  Do your best to pick the most effective path you can for each obstacle, and identify a few different plans in case your first plan doesn’t work.

For example, if you wanted to start exercising, your WOOP might look like this:

Wish: Go on a run 3x/week after school/work for a month.

Outcome: Better energy, confidence, and health.

Obstacle: Feeling tired and hungry at the end of the day…Not wanting to go.

Plan: Pack a snack for the end of the day, and put on gym clothes right when you get home.

Or if you wanted to stop watching TV and read more:

Wish: Watch only 5 episodes of TV per week, and read when I feel the urge to watch TV for a month.

Outcome: Learn a lot. Get smarter. Feel better. Enjoy the great ideas. Feel like I'm spending my time wisely.

Obstacle: Not feeling like it. Preferring to watch TV.

P: If I catch myself watching TV, then I turn it off and start reading a book instead.

The last thing you can do to increase the chances that you’ll achieve your New Year’s Resolution is to get someone else involved.  Either find a friend who’s setting the same resolution that you are, or tell someone about your goal and ask them to help you achieve it by checking up on you.  It can also be helpful to put money on the line- give money to a friend with the understanding that you’ll get it back on a set date if you’ve achieved your resolution.  If you really want to ensure that you reach your goal, tell your friend that if you fail, they should donate the money to a group or cause that you really hate.

76% of participants who wrote down their goals, actions and provided weekly progress to a friend successfully achieved their goals, compared to that 88% of people who fail at their New Year’s Resolutions that I mentioned earlier.  With just a few small changes to the way you approach setting resolutions, you can greatly increase the chances that you’ll be successful at them.

If you’re making resolutions this year, comment on this post or send in what your resolutions are and how you’re planning to achieve them!

#new years eve #new year's resolution #new year's resolutions #2021 #resolutions #goals #goal setting #fitness goals #WOOP

[renlyisright]

Season 7 Episode 7 - Hey, We Won at Scheming, Who Would Have Guessed

Welp, I finished the master’s thesis before I finished the show. I can’t exactly say that I have grown up with these characters because most of them have stopped growing up for death-related reasons. Well, there’s the Stark kids who are still alive, and their careers are all on up-swing.

In this final episode of the season, we visit the ruins of the dragon pit, and they make me wonder just how large it must have been when the dragons were still super large.

The truce meeting is about to start, but Daenerys has brought her army to stand near King’s Landing, just in case. Both the Unsullied and the Dothraki. Euron’s massive fleet is protecting the Blackwater, against Daenerys’ fleet of… five ships.

The negotiators are allowed entrance, and are brought to the third hill of King’s Landing, and the one tourist attraction we haven’t seen yet, the Dragon Pit. Which is a big place, but sadly a ruin. Being a large pile of already-cut stone right in the city with no current use never helps any historical building, those stones can be put to a much better use.

As this meeting includes almost everyone of any importance, and also some sidekicks, there’s more reunions. Tyrion says that he missed Bronn. Bronn seems to have his business in order, bringing Cersei’s enemies to her and thinking of retiring with his reward if the negotiation ends with heads on spikes. But if Daenerys wins in the end...

Everyone arrives to the arena, and the Hound begins the game by threatening the Mountain. There’s clearly a duel being set up between these two death-cheaters, but as at any time either of them can be killed by, well, anything, I’m not holding my breath for a super smackdown between them.

Daenerys arrives fashionably late, and brings her two dragons to the dragon pit, and… how big exactly this place must have been in the beginning? Drogon’s wings almost cover the middle of the arena by themselves.

As Daenerys, Jon and Tyrion predicted, their enemies just laugh about the matter before seeing the evidence. After that, they present a bit of theater, as Cersei later reveals. Euron proclaims that he’s moving his fleet to the Iron Islands, away from the Dead, and Cersei gives a practised speech of accepting the truce.

So did they have intel of the evidence, or did Cersei make plans for the low-odds-event that the thing she has ridiculed every time it has come up is actually true. If so, that’s remarkably good planning, from her.

The showing of the evidence was quite a show, Jon used the one wight they had in great detail for everyone to see. Qyburn was especially interested… well, he has practised getting one almost dead man up and running, so searching this body for any clues for advancing the scientific understanding of life and death must intrigue him… Let’s hope he doesn’t create a new White Walker in the middle of the Red Keep.

Cersei asks Jon to promise to go back to the North and stay there. Jon can’t promise that, so the negotiation ends, just like that. Tyrion and Daenerys say that Jon should have just lied and not been so Neddy. But just because others do something universally agreed to be bad, it doesn’t mean you should too. Anyway, Cersei walks out and Tyrion goes to speak to him alone, as he matters the least if he gets killed.

But he doesn’t, even after coaxing Cersei to kill him for what he did. Cersei is too shocked to give the word, and it could also be that she simply can’t give people what they ask from her, it’s completely unnatural to her. She blames Tyrion for killing Tywin, which opened them for their enemies and brought about the dead of the rest of the kids. The legacy of Tywin Lannister… you know, if the only thing keeping everyone from attacking your family is their fear of you, that does not a good legacy make. The legacy of Ned Stark was the North supporting first Robb and then Jon out of respect to him, the legacy of Tywin Lannister was everyone piling up on the Lannisters once he was out of the way.

The result of Cersei and Tyrion’s discussion is that Cersei proclaims to join them in the fight against the Dead, while expecting nothing good to come to herself for that decision. Yes, what did we speak about lying just now?

Speaking of Ned Stark’s legacy, Jon and Theon talk about it. Theon betrayed his memory, but, as Jon says, he was more of a father to Theon than Balon ever was. And so they can use that bond to reconcile, and Jon can encourage Theon to take charge and take the lead of Yara’s men.

Symbolism, Theon is starting to change his weaknesses into strengths. This is symbolised by allowing the Ironborn he is fighting to kick him to the nuts, to no effect. Yes, this is symbolism speaking.

The man says to Theon “Stay down, or I’ll kill you”. When Theon has the upper hand, he bashes his head in with a rock for that mercy. I would say that the Ironborn have a specifically violent way to solve disputes, but… nope. Not specifically, not at all. But Theon gets to be the leader of the pride, and gets to go against the Ramsay-placeholder enemy to confront his trauma. Someone should invent better therapy methods.

In Winterfell, the winter continues to fall from the sky. Littlefinger tries to chaos things up, but his time’s up. There’s no room for him anymore in this new magical and thriller-pace world.

I read A Dance With Dragons last winter, and while I liked most of it, like the writing style, the characters, seeing more of non-royals, and the new locales, the ending was a disappointment. Or rather, that there wasn’t an ending. There’s more books to go (and I hope to get to read them), but this one just… stopped when the page count went over 1000. It had the same problem as the fourth one, people spent a lot of time going from one place to another, so that when they arrived the book was almost over (or in Victarion’s case, it was over), and the end result was just a list of cliffhangers. Like, imagine ending A Clash of Kings just before Blackwater, or last season before the Battle of the Bastards. It felt like the arc of the book was incomplete, and I wasn’t given a reason to care about the new side plots, like which of them will actually matter and which just padded the book until it had to end early?

The funny thing of course is that this show has now the opposite problem of jumping from one set piece to another without build-up or showing of the journey. And when you can’t keep up with this new world, you lose the game of thrones.

Littlefinger schemes a wedge between Sansa and Arya. He doesn’t want a trained assassin in the same castle as he is, now that he has supported Sansa to ladyship and is perhaps looking for a way to make her a queen as well… that was his weakness, stick to just getting power and you’d have much easier job, but no, you have to include getting a specific woman into your plans and that’s when you make mistakes. But it doesn’t matter anymore what he schemes, as magic has entered Winterfell.

Bran can cheat. He can see the past, and apparently can see exactly where and when he wants. So he traced Littlefinger’s steps, and found out all his betrayals. Many of them Sansa already knew, so the rest mustn’t have come as a shock. So the Starks, who value honesty and honor, now can see if they are betrayed or lied to. Once Jon gets to Winterfell, Bran can tell him what Cersei said after they left. Political intrigue, a corner block and most of the wall of the show, has suddenly become useless. The Littlefingers of the world can’t scheme anymore against the Starks. They have Won At Scheming.

The dagger, the dagger, is revealed to be originally Petyr’s. As I said earlier, the only way the revelation could matter anymore would be if it was someone’s who is still living, or someone’s whom we’d never think to order Bran’s assassination. And here we are, it was the Chaos Man. I’m not sure if the dates add up, how did he know of Bran’s fall so that he could hire the assassin, when he was in King’s Landing at the time? Maybe he wasn’t? And why use his own expensive dagger and lie that it was Tyrion’s, when a simple Lannister knife would have worked much better?

In the book the answer was different. Tyrion figured out that it was Joffrey, who stole his father’s dagger and gave it to the assassin. He never confirmed it with anyone, and anyway Joffrey died moments later. I can fully well believe it from Joffrey. But it’s been so long since Joffrey died that at this point one more evil deed to his name wouldn’t mean much. So the culprit is now Littlefinger, and wow, listing all his schemes like that tells how without him the status quo would likely be just where it was in the beginning. He has a lot of blood on his hands. Daenerys and the Dead would still be wild cards, though.

And so the king of the ash heap, Petyr Baelish, dies in the dark main hall of Winterfell, in the middle of the mess he’s spent years to create, without achieving his goals, without any allies and with absolutely nobody going to miss him.

As I have said, for being such a dark and gritty show, the villains don’t get any better ends than those who try to do better, and their legacies are usually worse.

Speaking of both the villains and those who try to do better, Cersei informs Jaime that nope, we are not going anywhere, she used the neat trick called lying. Euron went to get mercenaries with elephants (ooh!) from Essos.

This is enough for Jaime, who storms away, after telling Cersei to have the Mountain kill him for it if she so desires. In the end, she doesn’t, even after threatening him with that. But after listening to her lie and cheat for years, Jaime just says “I don’t believe you” and leaves. See, consequences.

Poor Cersei, losing everyone’s trust and being entirely alone at the end of the episode. Only her massive armies to keep her on the throne. Which is a funny thing, now that I think about it. She has managed to antagonize everybody, but because she has killed everyone in King’s Landing who has criticized her, she gets to still rule, because there is no one else in the city to take the crown from her. She’s taking advantage of the fact that no new important characters are going to be introduced at this point. Euron was the last one, in the season 6 of 8, and even he feels like he exists only as a mid boss so Daenerys’ invasion isn’t too easy, to be killed once fleets don’t matter anymore.

Of course Cersei takes advantage of the fact that her enemies are scary. New Targaryen invasion, with the Dothraki and Unsullied. Nothing like the good old rulers we have here in Westeros, who may blow up the most holy building on the continent to escape a trial and kill the servants of the main religion, but are at least… from the same continent?

It’s still weird that the Seven is the main religion, when it has been the most useless one in actual action. Did they ever do anything? When the Old Gods were driven from the South, were the Seven doing anything to support their believers? Well, did the Old Gods? Does the Drowned God? Well, if Euron’s fleet’s speed is a boon from the Drowned God, that would explain a lot.

The winter comes to King’s Landing as well. Snow will be next season’s color. Along with darkness, but if the scenery gets any darker I won’t see anything on screen.

A song of fire: Sam arrives at Winterfell, safe and sound. He must have found out about his father and brother on the way, but it’s not mentioned. He meets with Bran, and by giving him a hint of where to look, Bran sees the wedding of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. So they were legally married, and their child, Jon, is not a bastard, but the legal heir to the Throne, Aegon Targaryen. Boom. And there’s him and Daenerys being all Targaryeny.

Bigger thing than the heir business, is that Rhaegar is no longer sullied by the rape, which is the main thing he is remembered for. “He was a noble and great knight from the stories, a great prince, and a rapist whose horribleness brought about the rebellion.” But was that lie better than the truth? Or did someone, last generation’s Littlefinger, spin the story for the worst so a proper war could get started?

Anyway, has Daenerys fought all her battles so that she can give the throne to the rightful heir, who is not her, the Breaker of Chains?

A song of ice: Sansa and Arya talk, and remember their father’s words of working together: The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Legacy.

In the Eastwatch-by-the-sea, bad things happen. A dragon is a nuke option, and the Night King uses it gladly. Its power seems to be enough to destroy the Wall and remove the spells as well. And so the dead march to the lands beyond the Wall, bringing a new night with them.

After all the hype of the Wall, it couldn’t even put up a fight when the dead finally arrived. Beric Dondarrion and Tormund try to run to safety, and I can’t see if they succeed. But I’d presume that there would be a clearer shot if they died. And, well, we are talking of Beric Dondarrion here. He could always play dead.

But guess who from the Night Watch survived the apocalyptic event of the onslaught of the dead and the destruction of the Wall? And did it just by not being where the attack happened? My favourite watchman, Dolorous Edd. How does he do it?

By the way, Night Watch, Long Night, Night King, connecting these took too long for me.

#renly is right #game of thrones

[alternativeartifactspodcast-blog]

1 - Ruby Slippers

This week’s episode explores the unique story behind one of America’s most iconic and beloved objects: Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers.

LISTEN NOW

Resources Used (in order of reference)

Smithsonian History

“The Slippers” Documentary

Smithsonian Magazine

Henry Littlefield’s Piece on Allegory

American History Blog on Recovered Slippers

American History Blog on Conservation

Kickstarter Campaign

Learn More about the Ruby Slippers

Antique Roadshow Podcast

The Populist Movement in America

The Ruby Slippers of Oz

To access the transcript, click read more.

Greetings and welcome to Alternative Artifacts, a museum in your ear, the podcast that explores the strange stories behind the most unique objects in museum’s collections. Ever wonder how a gigantic Naked George Washington ended up in the National Museum of American History? Or why there is an entire museum dedicated to art made from human hair? Now you can listen to the stories of America’s most iconic objects from your favorite exhibit or from the comfort of your own home. My name is Lexi and I will be your tour guide. 

[Transition Music]

Our first season will focus on objects in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. Founded in 1846 with funds donated by British citizen James Smithson, the Smithsonian Institution is the largest museum complex and research centers in the world, and serves as an umbrella organization managing 19 museums and a zoo. Access to all Smithsonian Institution museums is completely free to the public. Beyond these publicly accessible venues, the Smithsonian also manages dozens of research centers throughout the United States and internationally, leading scientific research and disseminating knowledge. Some of the object’s stories we explore will expose the complicated, colonial history of the Institution, some will reveal how museum methods effect objects, and others will provide a glimpse into the lives of objects beyond the confines of the museum. Today’s object falls in the last category. 

Picture this. You enter the American History museum from the bustling DC street Constitution Avenue, you will need to head upstairs to see our first artifact. This object is so famous it has its own special gift shop, instigated an investigation led by the FBI, and inspired a documentary. It is regarded as an object of cultural significance, despite being linked to no significant religious or political event. In the newest renovation of its exhibit, this object now sits on a pedestal in its own room, surrounded by walls decorated with murals that harken to the object’s origin. Poppy flowers, emerald green, a sweet little dog, a girl in a blue dress…I am talking about the Ruby Slippers. An American icon visited as often as the Star Spangled Banner and regarded by generations of movie lovers as a symbol of the American film industry. But how did these slippers become icons of American history? How did they end up property of the federal government? Why is the FBI involved in the science of their preservation? And what is the weird history behind them so few of their visitors actually know about? Today on Alternative Artifacts we investigate the Ruby Slippers. 

[Transition Music] 

In L. Frank Baum’s original book “The Wizard of Oz” the slippers that took Dorothy home were silver. Spoiler alert, if you can even spoil something that’s 119 years old. Some historical scholars argue the fact that the slippers were made of silver was meant to serve as a symbol from American politics. In the 1960s a scholar named Henry Littlefield claimed that Baum’s fairytale of a magical land called Oz was actually a satire. Littlefield argues that Baum’s experience on the prairie, which overlapped with the establishment of the Populist movement, or people’s party, in the region, was fodder for the allegory present in The Wizard of Oz. But this detailing this allegory could make an episode all its own, so for today’s episode we will only be focusing on the ruby colored slippers from the MGM film and how they came to be. 

So how did the slippers we know and love today end up ruby instead of silver? During the early stages of production for the film “The Wizard of Oz,” MGM studios had a script that mentioned the shoes being silver. However, they decided to change the color to red during a round of script edits. There were several reasons for this change, but the most significant was actually quite simple and direct. If you recall the film, the scenes in Kansas are depicted in dull, black & white. The scenes in Oz are bright and colorful. Think of the yellow brick road and the emerald city. This was a very deliberate choice made by the film studio. While the Wizard of Oz, released on August 25, 1939, was not the first major motion picture to use Technicolor technology, the use of this tech was still very new and many audiences had little exposure to color footage. Making the slippers a vibrant color made them “pop” on screen, drawing viewers attention. 

During the production of the film several pairs of the slippers were created, using commercially produced high heels which prop designers dyed red and added sequins to. There are four known surviving pairs of these original prop shoes. Today we will focus on two. First, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History is home to one pair, donated in 1979.

Another museum which possessed a pair of the shoes was the Judy Garland Museum. In 2005, their pair of Ruby Slippers went missing. They disappeared almost without a trace, with the thief leaving behind only a single red sequin. More on this later.

In 2016, the Smithsonian launched a kickstarter campaign to preserve their pair of the Ruby Slippers. Prior to this conservation, the slippers could only remain on display for short periods of time yet remained an iconic object, one visitors inquired about daily. This most recent conservation effort addressed many issues facing the aging footwear. It also included in-depth research into the properties of the materials the shoes were constructed from to better conserve them and similar objects in the future. Then, the team working to restore the slippers received an odd call from an unexpected party inquiring about their research. 

[Transition Music - Suspenseful]

In a plot twist straight out of Hollywood, the Ruby Slipper conservators were about to become forensic scientists. The call was from the Federal Bureau of investigation, who had in their possession a pair of Ruby Slippers recovered in a sting operation. Suddenly, the conservation had become an investigation. The FBI asked the conservators to take a look at the slippers they had confiscated and compare them to the pair from the Smithsonian’s collection. The FBI wanted to know if it was possible for their pair of shoes to be an authentic pair of Ruby Slippers, and perhaps the ones stolen 11 years prior from the Judy Garland Museum. Dawn Wallace, the conservator leading the project, compared the moment she learned that she may be helping identify the pair of stolen slippers to the Indiana Jones films. After all, it is not often a museum professional gets the chance to fight crime. 

Upon examining the FBI’s pair of slippers, Wallace knew that they were in fact an authentic pair of Dorothy’s iconic shoes. This pair of shoes was in fact so similar to the Smithsonian’s pair, it lead to another question. Why were they so similar? What Wallace noticed while trying to answer this question an even more astonishing discovery. When comparing the slippers side by side, it became clear that they were in fact mismatched pairs. The next question the team wanted to address was obvious: did the swap occur before or after filming? The evidence suggests the pairs were in fact swapped when they were made, and filmed as mismatched pairs, just as they are presented and preserved today. This conclusion is drawn from the fact that the construction patterns are similar between the matching shoes, but the wear patterns are similar between the mismatched shoes, suggesting Judy Garland wore and used them mismatched. In other words, the prop team working on the Wizard of Oz made the two pairs of shoes separately, but at some point swapped one shoe of each pair, leading to mismatched pairs being used on the set of the film.

The Ruby Slippers have developed a life beyond MGM’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” and outlived many other homages to the iconic film, including its depiction in Disney’s Great Movie Ride. They serve not only as an attraction for tourists, but as a monument to two major moments in American History: the introduction of technicolor technology to the American people and the immortalization of a wholly American fairytale. Today the Smithsonian’s pair of Ruby Slippers keep the magic alive. They can be viewed daily in their humidity and temperature controlled display case at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History at 1300 Constitution Ave NW, Washingtion DC. 

[Transition Music]

Now here’s the museum tip of the week. Did you know the Smithsonian fossil hall recently reopened after being closed for 5 years? The newly renovated exhibit features 700 fossils and tells the story of 3.7 billion years of earth’s history. The only downside is that the Natural History Museum which houses the collection is also one of the most trafficked museums on the mall. The best time to go to avoid crowds according to a local? Wait until the weather cools down. By the end of October most of the Smithsonians will clear up, but the best time to go for an almost empty museum experience is always the month of January. Happy museum travels.

Want to learn more? Show notes including sources, further reading, links to cool stuff and podcast transcripts for each episode are available through our tumblr, alternativeartifactspodcast.tumblr.com. Alternative Artifacts is hosted through Anchor.fm, a free hosting service for podcasts of all kinds. You can subscribe to us on Anchor.fm directly or through Spotify Podcasts.  Interested in sponsoring an episode? Have an awesome idea for an episode? Want to be a guest star? Email us at [email protected]. Theme music was created by NordGroove and downloaded via Fugue. The sound effects were provided by zapsplat.com. Remember, there is no place like home and never stop exploring. 

[Outro Music]

#museum #museumlover #podcast #american history #wizard of oz #ruby slippers

[douxreviews]

Star Trek: Discovery - ‘Such Sweet Sorrow’ Review

Pike: "Sometimes we know the role we play, sometimes we don't. I'm not sure which is better, to be honest."

By nature I love brevity: A fine piece of build-up. This show has filler, transitional episodes down to a science.

The aptly named 'Such Sweet Sorrow' is filled with goodbyes, framed around the countdown until the big event of the finale. On the one hand, I'm pleased with most of the emotional beats 'Sorrow' hits, and there are a lot of them. On the other, this is almost entirely set-up and build-up, and it gets a little tiresome when you know you'll have to wait a whole week for the resolution.

But, as I said, the emotional scenes are mostly well-realized, so let me unpack them. Probably the most disappointing of them was between Tyler and Burnham. It had to be done, and I expect the show is only passing him off to Michelle Yeoh's Section 31 series, but I continue to be thoroughly underwhelmed by Shazad Latif. I didn't mind him so much in the first season, but all throughout this one he's been delivering poor performance after poor performance, and his character has been of precious little use. I won't miss him here, but I have hope that he'll fare better on the Section 31 series as his interactions with Yeoh's Georgiou are easily the best the character has.

Next in line we have the unfinished, unresolved feel of Stamets and Culber's bumbling goodbye. I very strongly doubt the show is done with their relationship, so I don't believe for a second that it's going to end this way. Their conversation, too, was awkward and cut short, and that leaves the audience feeling that something isn't right, and it's still unsettled. If the show vaults the Disco into the future as it promises to, I expect that either Stamets and Culber will both be aboard, or they will both leave the show together. But their conversation does have value, as the discussion of 'forward motion' seems to be a promise about the series more than it is about the two of them. If the show ends up making the jump to somewhere in the future, that would be a huge step of forward motion. Fans have widely decried Discovery's status as a prequel, and a time jump would certainly at least begrudgingly placate some of them.

One emotional farewell seemed particularly out of place for plot reasons, and this was the surprise visit of Sarek and Amanda. These two have been a large part of the series so far, and it seemed fitting that James Frain and Mia Kirschner be brought back one last time. It's the method of doing this that didn't work. The purpose of the episode's numerous countdown timers is to give the plot a sense of urgency, and that was heightened for most of it by a sense of loneliness. The Disco and the Enterprise are supposed to be without reinforcements and without aid, but the arrival of Sarek and Amanda on a Vulcan ship that then just kind of left completely shattered this. If Sarek and Amanda had time to get there, surely at least a few Vulcan ships could've gotten to that spot. And what about the ship that Georgiou must have used to get there? They said she 'arrived,' but gave absolutely no explanation of how. These kinds of questions are raised by the nature of Sarek and Amanda's farewell, and I wish they had gone with something less in-person for that reason.

I absolutely loved the sequences that involved the larger crew. The first of these, of course, was the touching recording of goodbye messages to everyone's families and friends. It was a nice look into Owosekun and Detmer's lives in particular, to see who they cared most about. The second nice, touching scene was the farewell to Captain Pike. Though he will of course be in the finale, he will almost certainly not be interacting with the Disco crew before they leave for times unknown, so it was good to send him off with the appropriate flair. I thought the scene relied perhaps too heavily on dialogue, but the moment at the end where they all stood as he left the bridge was well-deserved.

Notable by their absences are the departures of Spock and Georgiou. These, of course, are being saved for the second part. Spock must leave because he cannot exit the timeline according to canon, and Georgiou must leave because she will have to head up the Section 31 series. That they're saving these two farewells for later means there is something important planned regarding them, and I certainly hope they will be worth the wait.

Two characters made unexpected appearances here, and I'll be interested to see what happens to them in the finale. First is Reno, who is finally starting to have a role worthy of the fanfare her character received. Reno finishes the episode by staring into the time crystal, seeing all manner of horrible things. I wonder if this is leading up to a sacrifice in the end, or if she will be left broken or insane by the visions of the future. Also making her presence felt is Queen Po, whose existence can be explained by the Short Trek 'Runaway.' Yadira Guevara-Prip is clearly far more comfortable in her role here than she was in 'Runaway,' and I would almost say she is now too comfortable. Po's casual couldn't-care-less attitude is at times refreshing, but at other times it feels off and out of place. She is still on board at the end of the episode because reasons, so I wonder what role she will have to play in the final events of the season.

Oh yeah, and... THE ENTERPRISE! The bridge! The hand grips in the turbolift! The little grate things in the hallway! Useless blinking lights everywhere (courtesy of superfan James Cawley, whose recreation of the TOS sets is something any Trek fan should go see)! I absolutely loved the look of the ship's interior, and I'm very well impressed by the attention to detail and homage to Robert Jeffries' incredible original designs. This fan is happy with it, very much so.

Strange New Worlds:

The ship visited Po's home world of Xahea, but we never went down to the surface. It's now an extremely politically relevant planet, we're told, due to Po's scientific discoveries.

New Life and New Civilizations:

No new species or cultures here, or even any exploration of previous ones. I guess we're down to the plot now, and there isn't any time to explore.

Pensees:

-Rebecca Romijn's Number One makes a very brief appearance in this episode, but I thought she worked better here than she did in 'An Obol for Charon' earlier this season.

-Disco's auto-destruct system uses handprint recognition rather than voice identification and codes.

-The sound design of the Enterprise scenes was great, with classic noises for everything from door whooshes to torpedo fire.

-The teaser for this episode was 13, almost 14 minutes long. That's nearly a third of the episode's runtime!

-Georgiou doesn't like ice cream. Add that to the list of her bad-guy cliches.

-I don't like the way the Captaincy discussion was set aside. Saru's glance at Burnham when he said there were many things to consider made it seem like Burnham will be made Captain over Saru. Please don't actually let that happen, writers. Please?

-Dear Mr. Osunsamni, Please stop spinning. Sincerely, Everyone.

-Further evidence to support the still quite unlikely theory that CBS is planning a series set on Pike's Enterprise: The Enterprise sets, which were built fresh rather than redressed from the Disco bridge; the minor bridge characters on the Enterprise who had distinctive characteristics and were given names despite appearing for less than five minutes.

Quotes:

Georgiou: "I thought there were no bad ideas." Pike: "That's a lie." Cornwell, at the same time: "That's a bad one."

Po: "You look taller in your photos." Burnham: "Thank you?"

Po: "I don't have to listen to any snark. I made it an actual law."

Georgiou: "You flinging yourself into the future like some galactic rubber band with a martyr complex."

4 out of 6 truly bad ideas.

CoramDeo has never painted daisies on a big red rubber ball.

#Star Trek #Star Trek Discovery #Michael Burnham #Christopher Pike #Saru #Spock #Sylvia Tilly #Paul Stamets #Star Trek Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

[warehouse13pod]

Show Notes 103 "Magnetism"

Agents, you are getting sleepy… Very sleepy…

Click play on the player above to listen to this week’s episode while you read, if you so choose.

Wow! We covered so much this week! Where to start… Where to start…

Well, first of all, we had a lovely Warehouse Agent from our Patreon page where people can be Patrons for our show (Hey, did I mention we have a Patreon) introduce us!

This week’s Warehouse Agent was a representative from Emp-RSS.com, an online presence dedicated to empowering women to find their voice and providing mentors for young women entering the workforce. I can’t think of a Patron more appropriate to Myka’s arc this episode.

So, the first thing we had questions about was what all the jurisdictions were for the Secret Service, CIA, FBI, and NSA. I linked the answers above, They’re pretty dry, BUT—

The interesting thing I found—as a person who is decidedly NOT a law enforcement agent or a lawyer—is that basically the Secret Service’s jurisdiction is basically whatever protects presidents, vice presidents, former presidents and their spouses and children. Unlike other agencies that have geologically defined jurisdictions, the Secret Service’s jurisdiction seems pretty vague. I can definitely see how that could be exploited by the Warehouse. Pete and Myka are technically protecting those people but also protecting, like, literally everyone else in the world. LOL.

The episode opened with Pete and Myka in France taking the blade of the guillotine that took the life (and head!) of Marie Antoinette. Want to know more about Marie Antoinette and her grizzly end? Boy, oh boy do the History Chicks have you covered! They have an amazingly detailed and informative two part episode dedicated to her fascinating life—there was much more to her than a beheading and a misquote about some cake (Part 1, Part 2). The link to each part links to the audio for each episode as well as the show notes for each respective section. Don’t worry about the fact that the episode is called a “reboot.” You’re not missing something. The first episode of the History Chicks ever recorded was about Marie Antoinette, and it was very poor audio quality. They deleted the original file, re-recorded the episode, and included new information the second time around—hence, reboot.

Still not enough Marie? Don’t worry! There’s more! On the History Chicks’ side podcast, The Recappery, they recap the 2006 film, Marie Antoinette. That episode is also a two-parter (Part 1, Part 2).

There are so many emotional moments in Marie Antoinette’s life that could have led to the creation of artifacts. The History Chicks cover those and anything else you want to know, too! They did a series of Biography Channel mini-documentaries on famous historical women. Three(!) of them focused on Marie Antoinette: a general one about her life, one about the scandalous but rarely discussed affair of the diamond necklace, and one about her small house called the Petit Trianon on the grounds of Versailles.

Moving on, we talked about the famous Mission Impossible scene that Pete was attempting to imitate with perhaps, ahem, a tad less grace. This is the image we were talking about:

Miranda brilliantly discussed the importance of Affect Theory to the Warehouse and its artifacts. Here’s a very brief overview about that.

Miranda made a reference to the purple goo shower that Artie inflicted on Myka and Pete being like slime. For those who didn’t grow up watching the American television network, Nickelodeon, here’s what you need to know about getting slimed. It was a huge thing when we were growing up. On kid/family game shows on Nick (the affectionate slang name for Nickelodeon Network), contestants who lost or got a wrong answer or who won a prize were punished/rewarded with being slimed—i.e. having green goo rained down upon you from above. Why were punishments and rewards both related to slime??? 1) Because it’s always funny to see adults have copious amounts of green goop poured onto adults heads. 2) It supposedly tasted like vanilla pudding!

To this day, adults attending or presenting at the Kids Choice Awards (presented by Nick) should be wary…anybody can be slimed.

We also mentioned that Myka and Jill share a love of True Religion flap-pocket jeans. Here’s what those are.

We talked about the collaborative involvement between M.C. Escher, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison in the early days of the Warehouse.

Tesla and Edison didn’t like each other very much. And the internet is full of links that can fill you in as to why. I wouldn’t even know where to start. So, instead, please enjoy this rap battle between Tesla and Edison from the legendary Epic Rap Battles of History YouTube channel. (I can’t speak for Miranda, but I am totally #TeamTesla).

We also went into a little more detail on M.C. Escher. In particular, we discussed his art works, Relativity and Drawing Hands.

We also discussed his vital contributions to science and to mathematics (Math Link 1, Math Link 2).

Jill also talked about how much second-hand embarrassment she felt when Myka started talking about how much she hated men to Father Braid. Here’s actual footage of Jillian watching that scene.

That scene and earlier discussions of Myka’s feminist rage led to a discussion about the Bechdel Test. The test is a huge part of feminist theory, media studies, and film studies. And, honestly, it’s a super low bar that you’d be astounded how few pieces of media even reach. Want to see if your favorite movie passes the test? Click here! There’s actually a film festival dedicated to celebrating films that pass the test. The theory is not without its critics, however. Many people think that the bar of the Bechdel Test is not high enough and we need to expect more of female representation in media than their mere existence in scenes together and the absence of discussions about men. I’m inclined to agree that we should expect more, but I also think that the Bechdel Test is still a great way to assess if a piece of media is able to do a basic job of representing women on screen. Interested in the criticism? There’s an op-ed from The Washington Post and The Verge that might pique your interest.

When discussing magnetism, with Jill and with our incredible and intelligent guest, Kameron Sanzo, Miranda mentioned her (not really) favorite song (LOL). Here’s that song that asks the ever important question, “Fuckin’ Magnets. How do they work?!”

If you’re actually interested, this is how magnets work.

Anyway…

Other things Miranda discussed with our guest, Kameron Sanzo, include animal magnetism and mesmerism as well as hypnosis. Some cursory information about the founder of Mesmerism, Anton Mesmer, can be found here. A fun exploration of mesmerism can be found in the eleventh episode of the Audible original podcast, Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets, which has been linked before in a previous episode’s show notes, because of its relevance to Spiritualism. You can purchase the podcast from Amazon or with an Audible subscription.

Of course, this episode would not be complete without addressing the creator of this week’s artifact, James Braid. There was some discussion of the similarities and differences between hypnosis and mesmerism especially before and after the development of the scientific method.

Now, I’m not a doctor.

(And yes, I know that fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation just said “Not a doctor” in the voice from the end credits. Don’t worry, Internet. I’ve provided a clip of that for you, also)

Now that we’ve got that out of the way…

I’m not a doctor and don’t want to seem like I know too much about the evolution and modern usage of hypnosis/hypnotherapy in a medical sense. But what I can say is that—while mesmerism is widely understood by scientists to not be a real thing—hypnotherapy is actually still quite relevant to modern medicine. Its origin may share the outlandish nature of mesmerism. However, there is apparently a difference between traditional and modern hypnosis. There is also a difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy. The Mayo Clinic goes into more detail on the topic as does Psychology Today.

Kameron Sanzo also compared mesmerism and hypnosis with Reiki. Here’s a couple links that provide more information on what Reiki is (Link 1, Link 2).

Finally, we also discussed the use of filmic language and angles and how they can induce feelings of fear and anxiety. No one was better at this than Alfred Hitchcock. Here’s some information on the filmic language he created (high-angle shots, other techniques).

Now, let’s delve into some ~Heavy Themes~

We gave a shout-out to Eddie McClintock to celebrate his 18 years of sobriety! A monumental achievement!

Addiction is a serious issue and if the themes covered in this episode of the podcast or show regarding addiction affected you in any way and you need or want help, here are some links that may provide what you’re looking for.

For substance abuse, please consult Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. If you are a loved one of someone who struggles with alcoholism, there are resources for you, too! Please check out Al-Anon—not to be confused with Alcoholics Anonymous.

The episode also with issues of suicide, abuse, and gun violence. Please, please reach out if you are struggling with trauma or mental wellness as a result of abuse, mental illness, or any other reason.

Some resources that may help (where possible, phone numbers are listed beside links to resources in case your web usage is monitored and you don’t feel safe clicking links):

The Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: 1-800-622-HELP (1-800-622-4357)

For LGBTQIA+ listeners who are struggling, here is a whole list of resources.

The Domestic Violence Hotline: [phone]

Finally, if you are non-verbal or are deaf/hard of hearing/unable to use a phone for any reason: THERE ARE STILL RESOURCES FOR YOU!!!!

Please, don’t give up hope.

Check out the Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 

We love you. Stay safe, Agents.

#Jill Post #warehouse13 #warehouse 13 #Show Notes #mental health #hypnosis #james braid #artifact #kameron sanzo #emp-rss #true religion #magnetism #103 Magnetism #mesmerism #slime #nick #nickelodeon #rap #tesla #edison #escher #science #math #alfred hitchcock #insane clown posse #magnets #marie antoinette #history chicks #the history chicks #the recappery

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 3X13 - Witch Hunt

Hey! What’s Zelena’s favorite food?

A sand-WITCH, of course!

...Got it. Shutting up. Review’s below. Read it, bitches.

Press Release

Emma arrives in Storybrooke with Henry and reunites with her friends and family, only to discover that no one remembers how they were transported back - or the past year they had spent back in Fairy Tale Land. But Emma is sure that someone in town is responsible for this new curse and teams up with Regina in an attempt to uncover their identity. Meanwhile, in the Fairy Tale Land that was during the past year, Regina, with the aid of Robin Hood, attempts to break into her castle, which has been overtaken by the Wicked Witch.

Main Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness

Past

Regina and Zelena’s first meeting is just straight-up iconic! The buildup to it is incredible, with little hints scattered all around the episode that the two are related and that Zelena’s power is a completely different horse than Regina’s, even down to the color. But there’s this sense of relation because of how sassy the two of them are.

“Despite my shortcomings, I’ve made something of myself.” This whole scene perfectly characterizes Zelena. Regina has been a force of antagonism for a lot of people, but no one has had the strength to truly do something about it. The most that could be done is a level of subduing her or having Henry tame her. But now, an interesting balance was struck. Zelena is more powerful than Regina and puts her on the prowl with that sense of antagonism BUT there’s also another layer to it. She allows for the integrity of Regina’s character development to stay intact. Because her beef is with something Cora did and pointed at Regina for superficial reasons -- that of being born (And holy crap, I just noticed a parallel between this and the Daniel incident and that’s a topic for another day), Regina is still able to be a hero without coming across as torturing someone she already hurt. Mix this in with that gorgeous green all over Rebecca Mader’s body and various pieces of iconography and you have something truly cool!

Present

I really like the handling of the confusion and paranoia throughout the town.

Leroy (The embodiment of the town’s voice at large) as well as the rest of the “rabble” blaming Regina make a lot of sense to me. As I pointed out last time, while our mains have bonded with Regina and understand the depth of her love for Henry, the rest of the town hasn’t had those experiences. They’ve just seen her as the woman who cursed the kingdom and threatened them at nearly every public appearance she’s ever made. And seeing Emma and Regina aware of that and using it to their advantage was utterly fantastic! It’s a really methodical approach that speaks to how self aware they’ve become.

It’s such a clever plan too! The only thing that holds it back from being a straight-up success is their lack of knowledge about Regina and Zelena’s relation. And seeing everything play out is satisfying!

Insights - Stream of Consciousness

-Wicked always WIIIIIIIINNNNNNSSSSSSS!

-”A family could live on what this is worth. And she just left it all behind.” That begs the question: DID she leave that stuff behind? I mean, Regina dressed very differently in Storybrooke than she did in the Enchanted Forest, but why leave the jewels?!

-I like how Zelena uses magic for all the things that a normal person would use it for. Getting dressed is a pain? Use fucking magic for it!

-ROLAND! The precious baby!!!

-”I’m ALWAYS thinking about Henry.” Awwwwww!!!

-Go Mama Mills! Monkey’s flying at an adorable kid and Regina swoops in and saves him! Noice!

-Damn, Regina! That is a high quality toy you made!

-I love how whether they read the story or not, everyone just KNOWS that Snow can talk to birds.

-”Smart money’s on yes.” Why yell at him Snow? He’s not wrong! Pessimistic, maybe, but that’s literally in his fucking name!

-”He’ll show up Swan. He always does.” I really wish this line was said in good faith, but Killian’s eye roll makes me think it’s ship war nonsense. Dude! Neverland’s over! Let’s be done with the machismo!

-”The bookworm’s right.” Look at that little side eye.

-”Oz? That place is real?” Aww! Cute Snow/Emma parallel for later when she discovers the Wicked Witch is real.

-”We we cell mates.” Ginny’s freakin’ tone during that exchange! Yes, you, Mary Margaret, in your most preppy-prep school voice and manner, were definitely in a cell! XD

-Dude! That Regal Believer exchange was just the saddest thing in the world! Regian can hardly move, so much so that Emma basically has to usher her out to not cause even more of a scene.

-As a side note, I love Regina’s Storybrooke outfit in this episode!

-Emma and Regina’s exchange in Granny’s alcove is just so amazing! Emma’s not without her reasons to distrust Regina and makes that clear and Regina’s aware enough of that but not without reservations of her own to Emma’s accusatory nature.

-How much you want to bet Granny recommended the crossbow to Little John?!

-Okay, so I am a total carnivore and I laughed my ass off when that arrow missed! XD

-I love how Rebecca Mader is dressed so down that a shot and a music swell is needed to show off who she is.

-”Who knew an Evil Queen had a soft spot for children?” You pressed the Henry button, Robin. You shouldn’t have done that.

-”I may have done bad things in my life, but at least I own it.” Regina, NONE of that works the way you think it does. For one thing, a good portion of your time prior to the curse (As well as after it), you denied you were the Evil Queen. For another, admitting you’re bad doesn’t do anything to lessen the effects of the bad things you do. Regina, Reggie-kins! You were doing so well!

-”I inadvertently put her in harm’s way during a job.” I love how freakin’ vague this line is. Like, I feel like there was a “Murder Most Foul”-esque red herring twist -- even more so than the one we got -- that would gel with a Robin flashback (Which was desperately needed).

-I love how this is framed as Henry not being himself because he’s not reacting to baby stuff, but he’s a freakin’ kid! I’d be telling her to buzz off as well!

-”Baby’s are stronger than you think.” Did you enjoy that double entendre, Jane? XD Because I did!

-I like how magic has a scientific element to it occasionally. For just as much as it’s a matter of talent or an ability by birth, magic can be learned and some of the strongest practitioners got to where they are by studying their asses off. There’s a diversity to it that reflects the diversity of skills.

-”I know just who to tell.” Yes, Regina!!! You told the embodiment of the town at large!!! Awesome decision!

-Nurse! Stick the fucking syringe in Little John! Yeah, he’s acting weird, but he’s not attacking just yet, so get a move on!

-”I’m a doctor, not a vet.” We REALLY need to get a magical vet on staff. I feel like Storybrooke has way too many animal problems to not have one.

-I love Regina and Emma’s conversation about stakeouts! It’s so subdued and domestic and FUNNY! XD

-Aww! Henry has friends! I wonder if said friends are wondering what the hell happened to Henry. Like, are there fics akin to “Stand By Me” where his friend group goes looking for him? Does Henry still text them? There’s a fucking story here!

-“Enough with the martyr complex, Regina. Try growing up without a mother.” ...She has a twinge of a point there, Regina.

-”They’re both dead.” I love how Rebecca Mader plays off learning that information. Like, her facial expressions there are divine!

-Has anyone ever written a fic where Zelena DID make the time traveling spell and used it on her terms?

-”Someone to destroy.” OMFG! Lana’s face! I fucking love it!

-”Why’d she tell you all of this?” Dude, she said two pieces of info that are the most general topics in the world when dealing with kids.

-”Maybe we can stop for ice cream.” BAD IDEA!

-”He took on simian form with the added bonus of wings.” A touch redundant, Killian.

-”Seriously? She’s real too?” I love that adorably innocent way that line is given! It’s so cute!

-OMG! I love the Rumple reveal! First, we see some straw. Then we see a male’s hand. Finally, we see his rugged and haggard face! That was so small, but so good!

-Rumple’s poor floof! It’s all gross!

-Rumple’s cage outfit looks more Weaver than Rumple! XD

-Okay, seeing Rumple not in makeup and acting crazy may quite possibly be the scariest thing in this series!

Arcs - How Are These Storylines Progressing?

The Wicked Witch - Damn! Rebecca Mader plays Zelena playing a midwife flawlessly! It’s up there with Pan as just amazing! Also, Zelena is freakin’ clever as hell! She takes full advantage of her knowledge of the people of Storybrooke to get exactly what she needs. And as I mentioned before, the flashback scenes perfectly characterize her. She’s sinister, has greater depth to her, and is just so cool! And speaking of cool, while the player (Zelena) is revealed to the audience, there’s a great element of mystery still going on, keeping the season from just feeling like a waiting game. Why is everyone being turned into monkeys vampire-style? What happened during that year? Who knows!

Regina’s Redemption - Like with the past few episodes, I really enjoy Regina’s character development. We’re starting to enter the payoff stage of her redemption as she further grows on better terms with everyone and protecting not just herself and Henry, but others too.

Killian’s Redemption - “Is he alive?” I love the way that Killian’s eyes just show that it’s something he’s genuinely concerned about. Absent is the snarkier, less mature version of himself and here, we have a Killian who recognizes that a good person’s life is in jeopardy and genuinely just doesn’t want him to be dead.

Favorite Dynamic

Regina and Emma. Who fucking else? The friendliness between these two set up by Regina’s fake memories and her means of stopping the curse perfectly allows for the niceness between the two of them to fit like a glove! It’s not full on best friend niceness, but it’s a niceness that reflects what they did for each other in “Coming Home” and reflects well on their history.

Writer

Here we have Jane Espenson flying solo as the writer of this episode! She did a fantastic job. The stories throughout the segments are very simple, but the complexity is allowed to shine through the intricacies of the characters. The dialogue and thought processes of everyone are exceptionally well handled and there’s a lot of comedy that just works so well!

Rating

Golden Apple. While I normally reserve a Golden Apple for something with a bit more of a thematic resonance, the execution of the stories here is so good that it doesn’t need a theme in that way. The story and writing are exceptionally good here, playing it simple, but smart and allowing the nuances to speak for themselves. There’s a lot of great elements and great and iconic moments here. It’s a fun step on the journey of this new arc.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

Swan Fire - For all of the worrying that Neal does for Emma, it’s really heartwarming to see how much she worries about him!

Outlaw Queen - I feel like for purposes of full disclosure, I should preface this by saying that I’m not a super strong Outlaw Queen shipper. That said, I want to like them (As I want to like all things), and I’m really liking them in 3B (I liked them the first time around in my initial watch of 3B too)! Lana and Sean have good chemistry and the writing gives them a nice bit of banter. You get the feeling that while they don’t despise each other, they’re not on good terms and that trust has to build between them. And because this is early on in Robin’s existence, he’s allowed to be a simpler character. The love story between them starts out simple and to the point, allowing for it to be a great romance story.

Swan Queen - You really see the developed faith and trust between Emma and Regina and it’s so nice to see them being much more open with each other. Look at their dialogue in the office and how honest and kind they are to each other and it’s night-and-day compared to Season 1, but so well built! And look at those gentle smiles! It’s so sweet!! The payoff here is just so good!

-----

I’m so glad I was able to get more in-depth about this episode! Thank you all for reading and to those fabulous folks at @watchingfairytales!

Next time, we’ll see another looming presence that towers over our heroes. ;)

Season 3 Total (126/220)

Writer’s Scores: Adam and Eddy (39/60) Kalinda Vazquez (17/40) Andrew Chambliss (27/50) Jane Espenson (20/30) David Goodman (20/40) Robert Hull (20/40) Christine Boylan (20/20)* Daniel Thomsen (20/30) * Indicates that their work for the season is complete

Operation Rewatch Archives

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 3x13 #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat