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art men technology

Gingerpotter: Ralph Khoury guest blogs from Lebanon

Hello, I am Ralph Khoury, a Lebanese artist. My artistic journey started around three years ago when I decided to take my art seriously and push myself to create something new every week. This led me to grow my portfolio made up of illustrations, paintings, doodles and animations tackling mental health, my different thoughts and current events in my country and the world.

Lost

Although it was fulfilling to be able to create like this, it wasnt really paying the bills especially living in my country where art is not really appreciated, and where the minimum wage has dropped drastically because of the huge inflation that the country went through since 2019. The prospect of having to take a full-time job that would be underpaying me, would still be a better form of income then selling my art.

Beirut Beauty

That outcome was becoming an eventuality until the NFT space came to my attention and basically changed my life in every way for the better. Finally, I was able to value my art for what it was worth. I was also able to showcase it on the international stage, and people all over the world supported me. I am happy that I have gained so many friends in the community.

Gingerpotter, the artist himself

And after selling my art as non-fungible tokens, I realised what a powerful tool blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies can be for my artists in Lebanon. If they can bring themselves out of the depressing cycle our country has thrown us in, they will be able to make a good living doing what they love. Hopefully, their collective strength will lead to reforms on a larger scale for the whole nation.

Colorful nights

Through my art I was able to make a decent living in a short time, and I have earned what I would have only been able to achieve after many years work in a regular job.

What’s the exchange rate today?

Even though Open Sea recently banned Lebanon from being able to access their website, and my government already bans cryptocurrencies in general, these two bumps in the road will not deter me from onboarding more people in this space.

We have become early adopters, hopefully putting up the building blocks for a brighter future that our current political class could never dream to achieve.

At the end of the day, I truly believe that even if art is bigger than artists, individual artists will always find a way to stand out. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

Categories
art opinion poetry technology women writing

Octophina: Life and the art of healing

Fine artist Octophina

Not every artist’s origin story begins with the artist falling unconscious to the floor. But mine does. My name is Sophie. I am a Bulgarian mixed media abstract artist, TEDx speaker, and mental health advocate. Until I turned 32, I was an artist in denial. And I say that because I never had the courage to admit that I wanted to make art.

Octophina is on Twitter

After a very challenging period in my life, creating art helped me sculpt a new self-identity. I was also able to redesign my reality. The process saved me, and every day, I share my story with others to help them find their true calling.

I call myself Octophina because I’ve always felt like a human octopus, who like a real octopus, has at least three hearts and nine brains. Art helps me to use my “bugs” as features. This way of thinking enables me to see every challenge as an opportunity to grow. My path to becoming an artist was an unexpected journey of healing through inner exploration.

If my life had a prequel, it would be my corporate background as a trained journalist specialising in graphic design, PR, and IT. I was also a prominent international food blogger, a certified Mind Body Eating coach and founder of a social enterprise. And yet, despite everything I achieved, I struggled with depression for over a decade. Navigating the world through this brain has been a weird experience. Today, I capture all of that in my art.

In recent years, after numerous traumatic events, including the pandemic destroying my business and leaving me broke, moving alone to a new country to restart my life at 31, and my mom getting diagnosed with breast cancer, I was emotionally, physically, and psychologically drained.

On May 8, 2021, I fainted in my kitchen and when I woke up, I felt completely apathetic about the projects and initiatives I had been passionate about for years. It was as though my entire identity had been wiped out. Over the next four months, I was trapped in major depression. And it was difficult for me to articulate what I was experiencing internally. I felt terrified.

My therapist encouraged me to start making art to clear my mental cache, improve my emotional metabolism, and practice self-care. Today, almost six months later, we are working on a start-up which will merge psychotherapy, art, and blockchain technology. We started this business to help people improve their mental health and financial well-being.

Follow Octophina’s journey on Instagram

In celebration of this resurrection of life, presence and hope for the future, I launched a collection of NFTs on Open Sea called Pain to Power. This is a constellation of reflective artwork I created between November and December 2021. The date of the release is January 19, 2022, is the date my mom got her breast cancer diagnosis last year. After almost a year in hell, my mom recovered completely and is doing well. Sharing my transformational healing art with the world on the anniversary of her diagnosis is for me a celebration of resilience, which is what makes the human experience special.

Art has helped me discover my identity outside of social conditioning, peer pressure, and others’ expectations. As I create art, I am healing emotional wounds and building a healthy sense of self-worth. I invite you to stay with me on this journey.

Outro
Happy Friday, everyone. Thank you for reading Sophie’s story. We are five days away from her genesis drop (first collection of NFT art) on Open Sea. Let us send her our best wishes for the sale of her collection. In the meantime, why don’t you go ahead and visit her website, then follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Medium. She is looking forward to sharing her adventures in art and life with you.

Categories
Earth health People technology women

Kin Plaa Kaeng: School nutrition project in Thailand

Love eating fish: A rural school in Thailand prepares for a project

Intro
Happy Thanksgiving, to readers who are celebrating. To mark this special occasion, I would like to highlight the work of my wonder twin, Isreyah Pradabvate. She is an early childhood educator, entrepreneur, former United Nations UNESCAP volunteer translator. She works full-time in a leading Japanese entity in Thailand. In this post, I pay tribute to artists and activists like her who give their time and talent towards making the world a better place for future generations. So proud of you, my sister.

The pond is flourishing

Project details
Hello everyone, my name is Isreyah Pradabvate. I am an early childhood educator, entrepreneur, former United Nations UNESCAP volunteer translator and an NFT creator with a full time job in a leading Japanese entity in Thailand.

“Kin Plaa Kaeng” (in Thai this means “Love Eating Fish”) is a project initiated by the co-founder of a startup where I used to work. His name is Krit Sangvichien, and he works with me, as well as with Kansuda Koompairoj, who is the project president and community leader.

Children enjoying protein-rich meals

Love eating fish
Kin Plaa Kaeng has one objective: To turn small schools in rural Thailand into self-sustaining food producing locations. Because of depopulation and a centralization of economy that circulate only in big cities. Small schools are being shut down. Imagine what will happen to those children in affected areas?

Also, children consume insufficient amount of protein in their daily life. Due to many social issues which I would love to avoid getting into it. Protein is the most important nutrition that we need. We are made from Protein. Our brain, heart, muscles, body consume protein as their food.

Pond with water

Reason
Unfortunately, good or alternative protein in Thailand is as expensive as in the United States. Balance that with the fact that people here are still facing unemployment due to the pandemic and even before. As a result, they can not earn enough to provide to their family. So how could they afford healthy meals for themselves and their children?

The school

In some areas, children are able to only have streamed rice with fish sauce. Schools here have provided lunches but with a small budget, some people take advantage of the funds distributed so the meals never reach the children themselves.   

Solution
We came up with the idea of building a fish pond. We wanted to turn every poor school into self-sustaining food providers with at least one pond per school. We want parents and the community to be sure that they don’t need to worry about making a bigger income to provide good meals for their children. Some children do not even have breakfast because their can not afford material to prepare for them.

Sureenibha Noppakloa (L) with Isreyah Pradabvate (R)

Outcome
We have built one pond for Champanuang School in Srisaket Province in Thailand. Crowdfunding is done via this site linked here. We would love to build another pond for this school. And we want to build at least one pond for every school because they told us that they were really happy with the outcome.

Project leaders in Thailand

We want the children have delicious fish to eat and fill up their tummies. In the morning, some children will go to school, knowing that they will have free good food to eat. For the sake of a better world, let us work to raise the quality of life of these children.

Project cofounders Krit Sangvicien and Isreyah Pradabvate

Outro
Thank you for reading this presentation. It takes Isreyah 10 hours by train to travel to the Champanuang School in order to oversee this project. And she wants to build more ponds in more schools. Amazing that she gives so much of her time to helping others, and I am hoping that you will be inspired to continue doing good work in your own communities. Until I hear from you, be good.

Categories
art Earth entrepreneurs men

Street Spirit: Photographer Sreeranj Sreedhar

Janma Ashtami Festival

Best wishes for All Souls’ Day, everyone, and welcome to a special photography showcase. In this post, I will introduce award-winning photographer, Street Spirit, Sreeranj Sreedhar. We became acquainted during a space (Twitter Spaces) and enjoyed some pleasant conversations. Then, after I asked 3D artists to hang out here, one of Sreeranj’s followers told me I had to create a feature here for him. I knew he was an esteemed photographer, so I sent him a message and held my breath.

Holi Festival is featured in Color Splash, an NFT listed on Foundation

I was relieved when he agreed to be featured. And then, we took our time and worked out the details. One of the things they never teach you about social audio is that a good host needs situational awareness. Social spaces tend to flatten hierarchies. Which means that if you are present, you are equal to everyone. But your authority as a host is defined by your ability to pick out the jewels from among the crowd. And you do that by listening.

Janma Ashtami Festival

Reading the atmosphere surrounding people is important because some of the most special ones have humble spirits. This skill will bring opportunities to meet and learn from the best and brightest. This was how I came to know about Sreeranj. He has a gift for capturing the colorful sights of his hometown, Kerala, India.

Aranmula Snake Boat Race

For the past three years, Sreeranj has worked as a full-time photographer. During this time, he has documented the culture and traditions in his hometown. Before that, for twenty-eight years, he held a corporate position in Dubai.

Departing Souls: Cattle Market

Sreeranj became interested in photography in 2011, when he became fascinated by unusual moments of daily life, including festivals all over the world. He has attended masterclasses by Magnum Photos and other respected photographers in order to fine-tune his skills.

Aranmula Snake Boat Race

He now gives photo tours in addition to hosting workshops and being a mentor for aspiring photographers. If you are interested, you can register for them via his website. He is the administrator and curator for various photography groups from India and Dubai. Sreeranj is one of the eight members of the Indian street photography group, ‘In-Street Collective’.

Guruvayoor Edatharikathu Kavu Talapoli

Presently, he is working to document all the major festivals and cultural events of Kerala. He wants to help promote some of the dying art forms in the region as well as to encourage artists to continue celebrating them. Through his activism, he hopes to encourage people to engage in responsible tourism.

Outtake from Puli Kali (Dance of Tigers)

His photography has been exhibited all over the world. In print, he has been published in National Geographic, NatGeo Traveller India, Lonely Planet Traveler Magazine, Digital Photo Magazine USA and Wanderlust Travel Magazine UK, among others. He has also received many photography awards in this short span of time. His portfolio can also be seen at his website, sreeranj.com, where you can purchase photos. On socials, you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Notes: Today is Tuesday, November 2, All Souls’ Day, and this post is dedicated to the late father of our guest. Sreeranj lost his father right after agreeing to be introduced to you here, and because of that, he was not able to connect with me until this past weekend. To readers who have lost loved ones in recent years, this post is also dedicated to you.

Categories
about me art fiction poetry women

Fantasy Waltz: Midweek Serenade

Happy Wednesday on Thursday, everyone. I am being sneaky here, and presenting you with a musical interlude from my upcoming musical album. The ninth track is still being composed but I wanted to share this one with you.

I have decided to use Vimeo for sharing this album. It’s so quiet over on Vimeo because there are no ads interrupting my flow and messing with my mojo. I never have to worry about some rando screaming at me in every language to give him my life savings.

The video was created on Canva with one of my logo images as the backdrop. Hope you like the joyful feeling you get when listening to this track.

Thank you for listening.

Categories
about me art artificial intelligence creative writing fiction opinion People technology

Instagram’s smart tech is a loving me thing

It is Saturday afternoon and as I write this, I am waiting for a meeting to resume. Unfortunately, two expatriates seated at the far corner of the conference room are talking loudly about assorted bedroom activities. I gather that the man is gay and his friend is a married straight woman. I suppose they are comparing notes?

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

It was impossible to hear myself think, so I am standing near an open window to let the sound of traffic drown out their voices. And while I am here, I thought it would be good idea to update you with my Instagram goings on.

At the moment, I’m hardly posting on Instagram. But for the past eight days, every 23 hours to the hour, I see that I have 25 new followers. This exact number, at exactly the same time, tells me that this is the work of a machine. 

Remember that last year, Instagram was burning my posts. And now, after two months on the platform, the smart tech is working for me. I was advised in a Clubhouse room, a couple of months ago, that Instagram was doing a big reset. I was also advised to take advantage because this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. The problem is that I am an introvert and going live on video will never happen. Because of that, I needed a modified approach.

Photo by Tim Gouw

Here is what happened after two months and 18 reels, 3 (15-second) stories daily, no lingerie selfies, and zero live posts. I am at 472 followers. My account is growing every day, so I will continue on this path. (If only Twitter were as malleable).

Metrics 

  1. This is a business account. 
  2. I do not pay for ads which means that all of my engagement is organic. 
  3. All of the new followers brought over from Instagram’s smart tech are 85% artists in the NFT community, 5% follower boosting accounts and 10% crypto investors. 
  4. Quite a number of my other followers are from Clubhouse. The apps share data with each other. Instagram will automatically suggest my account to anyone following me over there and vice versa.
Photo by Fiona Art

Posts and engagement  

  1. After my first five posts, I started posting reels in the form of animated videos showcasing my artwork. 
  2. Avoid captions. Only a few of my reels have them. Instead, I tell a story in a slideshow or MP4 video. 
  3. Nearly zero hashtags on posts or reels. Instagram treats hashtags like spam. 
  4. Edit all videos or images (to create a slideshow) in the IG native editor using filters.
  5. Add music and carefully choose clips within the song to match the story. Music choice is the number one compliment I have received so far. People seem to have a positive emotional reaction my artwork because of the music. 
  6. Repost my own reels/posts to stories. 
  7. Hashtags only in stories – limited to one per story and this is always NFT related. 
  8. Follow back as many accounts as possible. Check occasionally to make sure that all followed accounts are active. 
  9. Restrict spammy, fake looking accounts and never follow sales people (crypto investors). 
  10. Reply to all comments and respond to private messages. Delete messages I don’t want to answer. Accounts look spammy if they don’t talk to each other. 
  11. Mute accounts that post more than 5 reels in one hour. These kinds of accounts rarely engage with my posts. Then I look spammy to the smart tech. 
  12. Visit new followers’ profiles and engage with posts. 
  13. Engage with my timeline. Hide, mute, like or share posts to friends.
  14. Join live broadcasts even for a few minutes. Send comments and reactions while there. This signals that I am a real person.
  15. Engage with my followers’ stories by sending reactions and comments. Gauge feedback to these and mute accounts that are not responsive. 
  16. Remix posts from active followers and share them to my stories. Add music, fun stickers, gifs, scribbles, text and mentions.
  17. When a follower adds the above remix in their stories, immediately share to my stories.
  18. Use voice memos or calls where possible. 
Photo by Steve Johnson

If you are interested in testing this approach, try it on your Instagram account. I must point out that I am niche specific. I am an artist in the NFT community. I focus on graphic design and I’m interested in paintings from visual artists. And though I never tell Instagram what my specific niches are by using captions or hashtags, the smart tech introduced me to blockchain specialists, abstract painters and 3D/animation artists in the NFT space. Then, bear in mind that I spend no more than 30 minutes a day creating at least three stories. I also respond to all of my messages.

No selfies, no bikinis, no bare butts. Only plenty of good music, interesting stickers, and artwork to inspire me. Best of luck.

Categories
art creative writing science fiction technology writing

Weaving Silk

Sculpting with light on the Silk web app

Happy Thursday, everyone. I am having an epiphany after using AI software to sculpt with light. It was an interesting conversation, with much guesswork on both our parts, but I think we understand each other. I am using the Silk web app for a second day in a row. If you want to try from your desktop browser, it takes a lot of tapping around, but eventually, you will get used to it.

Layered

Back to my epiphany. I wonder if anyone reading this is familiar with the hypothesis that we are living in a simulation? By familiar, I don’t meant listening to Elon Musk worshippers who say, “Our world is a simulation”. I mean have you looked at the math and tried to weave a hypothesis on your own?

I have some thoughts about this. The math says that in a complete simulation, the processor speed would intervene in the operations of the simulation. Put differently, if there is no level five of a video game, a genius player will spool for eternity at the end screen of level four. At some point, this player will resist every attempt to gaslight him about what’s going on.

Sainted

Some scientists have taken plant-based substances in order to access the cheat codes and escape the program. They seem not clever enough to acknowledge that they lack the correct plugins to decode what they are experiencing. Or perhaps they use the math as an excuse to go on trips and escape the truth, which is that a genius rigged this game and coded them into it.

Many trips later, they are left with a pile of printouts on their office floors, and no-one knows what they are talking about.

Blended

PS: Thank you for viewing my video installation. If you are using social media to share your work, and your reach is low, do not take it personally. Yesterday, the results of my first attempt at light sculpting went viral on Instagram. I was getting audio messages to please post more. Weirdly, the same presentation had only a few views on Twitter because the smart tech did not show it to anyone. The same thing happened this morning, with this version, so I will have to rethink the “get seen on Twitter” theory that is being sold to digital artists. Glad this is happening now and not when I have something major to release. Have a great Thursday.

Categories
about me art creative writing fashion women writing

Everyone wants the cherry on top but it takes work to get there

Commitment Cupcake

Does anyone remember who said, “Follow your joy”? I think this quote is popular because everyone can imagine feeling happy at the final stage of a project. Recently, I told Caring for Art that my nightmares have become work product. I was not exaggerating. Public speakers will never tell you that you must hard work to find the thing to which you can happily commit. If they told you to face reality, nobody would pay them $50,000 to talk about themselves for 30 minutes.

And because I know that the truth is hard to hear, I feel confident that no-one will copy my secret formula, which I am going to share in this post. This is my recipe for staying committed and focused on the way to finding joy. First read it, then scroll down for a taste test. 

🧁 Commitment Cupcake 🧁

Ingredients
Absolutely everything real about you right now. 

Directions 

  1. Write down every idea you have but stay loosely attached.
  2. Seek advice from qualified experts. 
  3. Listen to advice and evaluate for quality.  
  4. Search for useful ideas in negative feedback.
  5. Be assertive but never argue, no matter what.
  6. Lose fixation on irrelevant details.
  7. Shut down anyone who attempts to devalue you. 
  8. Transfer your idea from a “hard” medium to a “soft” one. 
  9. Follow up on each new idea (see item 1).  
  10. Table, pin, or expunge unworkable ideas. 
  11. Shred your lists.  
  12. Start over. 
  13. Keep at it. 

The taste testCovers only
Item 8 became especially important this week when my plans came to a full stop. And though I was feeling isolated and trapped, I decided to shred everything and start over.  

Contessa Magazine: Cover 2 in Icelandic

One of many ideas I had written down was “launch a magazine”. However, I threw it out because there are billions of writers, millions of magazines, and only a handful of subscribers.

From that, I imagined what it would be like for a young writer to dream of launching a magazine only to hit roadblock after roadblock. How would this writer solve these problems? The answers to that question became the treatment for a writing project. My preferred medium for presenting that story is a “hard” one, so I pinned it for later.

The transfer to a “soft” medium was a frictionless fusion of my interests. After careful research, I did some math: photography + fashion + world cultures + health + making stuff up + graphic design = a concept that I really like.

That is to say, I will only produce the covers. I’ve posted two test copies for you and I hope you like them. 

Contessa Magazine: Cover 1 in English
(Spoiled it, so don’t look too closely)

Categories
People

I just wanna (love) you over

I just wanna (love) you over
Are you moved by the spirit?

If you’re an artist and you feel apprehensive about showing your work, don’t overthink it. Please take a good look at that page of a fashion magazine. I really like it because it shows you don’t need to have the best handwriting ever to use yours as art.

I had one of those days when I felt truly ****** over and it seemed appropriate to scratch something meta on the side. Then, in a different magazine, I found a monochrome photograph of a man’s left hand. I cut it out, dressed it up, and put it in a box. As I photographed it, I realised I had a fun throwback story for Thursday.

Collage from magazine prints and other objects
Skin care for a dry, paper hand

A few years ago, I was approached by a chocolatier out of the blue. Chocolate-making is profitable here, so they were adding a bistro to their shop. They needed a huge favour. They said, we heard that your handwriting is totally unreadable so we want to use it for our handwritten menu cards so that nobody can say we copied theirs. Plus, we don’t know how to translate katakana to French with proper spelling because we don’t know foreign languages.

And I was like, okay.

Daiso is successful because they give good quality advice
Daiso gives good quality advice

The bistro was a gorgeous, modern, stone structure with stained wood interiors and a sunken kitchen. While I sat there staring at the printed out pages of the menu, the chef brought out the first plate of the tasting menu.

One of my friends, who decided she was going to come along and watch, was the designated taster. And she was elated at the chance to eat gourmet food for two hours while I chicken-scratched on menu cards in two languages.

I have to say I really enjoyed that job.

Hoping you have a great Thursday.

Categories
art women writing

I’m an artist and I’m allowed

3̵̢̡̢̧͕̻̝̝̫͔̠͙͈͙͎̺̙͎̝̣̫͍̰̪͈͙̲̳̩̹̥͍͇̳̲̭̗́̏̾͆̑̌̔̿̏̌̃̂̀̿̏͆̿̅͆͊̒͛͂̄̑̚̚͜͝͠͠͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅͅ ̵̡̨͓̮̍̈́̾́̉̉̂̽̔̀͌̎̂̋͊̈́͑̔̽̓̋͊̃̅͂̕͠͝3̵̢̧̧̧̺̰͉͕̰͔̩̫̪̗̭͇͚̘͈̰͓̬̩̘͓͔̝̪̭͙̫̟͓̮͓̰͇̗̥͍́̀̄̔̈́͒͛̑̊͗̚̕͜ͅ ̴̡̨̢̧̡̥̱̺̯̤̫̠͔̬̭̯̥̮̱̺̹̻̩̠̩̩̯̼̮͇̱̠̬͈̹̘̑̋̀3̶̨̖̦͈͋͛̈̈́́̂̿́̅̆͌͂̐̎̆͋̔͆̚͝ ̷̤̘̖͔͈̤̗̽̾̿̇̀̔̉̀͋̏́̎͂͛̂͌̈́̚I̶̧̢̛̛̤̣̪̞̖̯͔͖̣̞̘͍̘̳̘͈͙͔̱͛͒͆͒́̀̈́̐͗͗́͆̔́̐̈́̇̐̈́̀̑͋̓̈͛̍̏̇͛̇̄̚͜͜͝͠͝͝ ̵̢̡̧̢͓̗̳͍̘̥̮̜̯̺͍̫̤̱̮̻͚͓̠̲̪͕̭͓̤̲͉̻̭̗̼́̏͑͝a̶̠̗̳͚͕̹͖̠͚̪̫̮̹̭͇̟̩͖͋m̶̧̧̛̪̻̖͓̮͙͉̪̲͔̀̓̈̀̽́̈́̿̅̓̄̽͗͂̈́̀̈́̏̓̔̈́̈́̄̇̇̓̆̾̈́̚̕͝͠ ̷̡̡̧̦̙̝̯̝̱͍̱̪͔̣͈͙͙̠̫̠͕͖̩̭̭͙̦̹͈̪͉͇̏̀̽̈́͗̆́̅͝͠a̶̡̨̢̨̯̝͙͎͔̙̤̬̘̬̰͓̗̼͖͚͕̖̬̬͈͚̐̎̆͑̒̈́̇̓̇͗̎̓̽͐̾̐̽̉͐̕̕͠ņ̵̧̧̨̧͍̜̼͖̩̤̖̭̞̪̲͉̼̔̌̀̕̚͝ͅ ̸̨̡̧̛̠̭͖̹͚̬͓̩̭̬̪̜̟̞̬͇̭̯̫̫͙͙͙̰̼͚̻͉̫̥̰̖̻̻̝͎̰̲̟̊͒̎̎͆͆͛͛̈̏̐̆̇̓̅̇͗͒̈̄͒̽͑̈́̀̕͘̚a̶̧͍͖͖͙̝̫̬̩̺̮̭̦̠͔̗̗̥͎͛̈̀̀̚͠r̴̡̢̡̜̳̦͙̰̥̖͖͍̜͎̺̬͓̟̝̻̪̗͍̳͈͉̥̫̪̘̹̟̼̣̔̾ţ̴̧̡̛͈̝̭̮̹̣̭̠͕̝̰̭̙̱͕̱̭̲̞͕̤̭̘̻̼̙̓́̿̉̄͑̊̈́̓̈́̐̍̒͂̔̂̅͘͜͝ḯ̵̢̡̨̢̦̮̮̪̱̹͙̜̳͚̻̜̟͖̪̼̹͖͔̤̫̻̻̘̘̠͚̘̼͕̑͂͗͋̈́͗̾̑͊̿͗̀̾̓̓̉̒̆̀̈́̈́̊̇̄̍͂̄̚͠s̷̢̙̼̤̫̼̗͚͆̿̍͒̇̓̈́̇̄́͗̑͋̏͒̃́̀̏̅̄̎̉͘͠ͅt̷̡̧̧͙͔͓̮̤͕̺̱̹̪̼̜̭̺͖̝̲̫͓̲̫͇̤̖͔͇͛̈́̑̃̀͑̐̊̈͂́͂́̕͝ ̴̡̢͕͕̩̥̳̠̣̭͈͚̰̼̪͕͙̤͕͕͚̥̩̱͓̦̫̼̉̊͒̔͛̀́́̊̀̒̾͂͗̏̌̿̀͛̈́̔̓̾̐̆̓̄͗̇̀̆̊̄̏͘͜͜͠͠ͅͅä̴̧̧̛̬̺͈̬̣̦͙̱̝̮͍̰̘̤̠̼͖͎̳̹̻̟͉̬͇̯̘̱͕̣́͐̾̆̔̇̓́̊̌̊̾̐̀͝ͅn̶̛̛̯̩̫͖̝͔̠̣͒̅̋̍͗͐͋̏́̌͑̍̂͋̈͋͛͂̍͛̒̔̓͊̃̽̀̑̉̔̈́̓̃̏͘̚̚̚͝͠͝ͅd̶̡̨̧̙͖͕͈͎͓͔̙̰̪̺̲̙̟͖̼͓̰̼̳̻͎̙͓̞̭̩̍́̋͐̒͑̐́ ̶̫̹̱̋̀̿Į̷̮͚͆̽̂̈́̿̐̇̂͆̋͐́͌̀͐̐̏͋̑̄̒͆͊͌̀͘̚̚͝͝͝ ̶̩̜͓͙̯̏͌̇͑́̽̎͒̈́̉̔̔͑̐̕̕͠a̷͎̪͐̎̽͒͐̃̓̂͂̐͐̿̀̍̋̍̈̓̄͂̇̓̈́͝͝m̸̡̨̨̢̛̛̩͎̼̦͓̣͖͉̖̝͕̖̳͇͎̩̲͖͔͓̝̗͔̙̤̭̭̘͙̤̯̪͖̮͍͕͗̀͊̅̅͋̍͂͌̀́́̋͆͐́̏̃͂̀͐́͆̀́̐͂̌͂̎͋͂̾͐̕̕͜͝͠͝͠͝ͅͅ ̸̧̡̡̖̥̳̝̦̬̙̗̲̣̓ǎ̷̡̢̛̗̳̙̯̝͉̱̫͓̳̺̤̪̜̠̱̻͍̙̦̝̤͔̊̈́̌̀͆͑̓̀̍̅̽̀͗̈͊̂̄̄͘͘̚ͅͅͅl̷͔̑͗͐̃l̸̛̙̳̫̫̖͇̪̻͓͙̖̤̞̟͈̗̭̥̬̜̳̤̥̣̃̉̈̑̅̈́͆̈́͑̓͐̐̈́̅̈́̀̂̃̏̍̉̊̈́̓̉͊̎͂̑̚̕͜͝͝͠͠͠͝ơ̷̡̡̱͙̥͈̩̫̯͎͎̹̭̭̬̥͚̰͎̪͑̐͗̃̈̃̃̿̀̈̃͂̉͂̄͋̍̂̾͋̄̑͛̑͌̈͊͒̍̕͘͝͠͝͠ẇ̶̨̛̱̳͍̫̰̤̩͈̪̥̖̝̦̘͙̞̣̻͇̘̖̯̮̗̪̤͓̱̮̜͕͍̱̰̳̳̎̌̇̄̀̐̆̊̑͘͠é̷̡̨̨̝̮̗̝̻̦͍͚͕̩̦͓̩͓̺͓̥̙̠̖̟͉̜͕̺͖͔͔̖̘̝̀̎̃̈́͌͆ͅͅd̶̢̧̛̛̛̗̞̮̮͓̮̻̟̗̭̝̰̥̪̙͕͈̬͖̟͇̻̘̏̀̀̽̑̅͋͗̓͊̈́̌̍̃̾͜͠ͅ

̸̰̳͎̰̫̳͖̫̺̤͂̄̇͌̈́͂̂͑̏̋͆̈͐̄̐̈́͑̆͐̃̈̕͝ͅc̸̡̨̧̘̪̘̥̭͕̤̻̜͇̤̬͈͓͕͍̝͐̇̀̉̎͂͑͐̀̋͗̍͆͛͆̓̈́̈́̒̈́͐͊̋̈́̏̇̚̚͘̚͠͠͝r̶̛̲̰͙̺͈̦̻̘̝̘̀̿͜͜͜ā̷̡̛̛̛̛̛̞̻̩͇̱̳̦͎̖͚̭̱̩̲̮͈͙̜̯͓̱̾̀̿͋̏̌̒͌̿̑̊̂̄̂͊͒͊̾̀̓̅͛̀͑͒̚̚͜͝͝z̷̡̛̬͈͉̩͈̯̦̣͖̣͉͍̲͉̠̩̗͎͊͑̑͒́́̀̀̀̆͌͗̽̌̓̏̾̚̕͝͠͠į̵̛̗̙͔̭̰̮̣̠̙̫̬̭̳͚͉̞͖̤̫̓͂͂̀̐̊̅͑̑̋̊̓́̀̄̓̃̒̂̋̃̏͆̎̃͊̔̉͌̏͘̕̕͜͜͠͝͠n̸̛̼̟̺̖͈̎͗̄̂̓̊́͌͂͆́̀̂̀̀͛̏̔̕͘͝ę̸̨̨̱̝̲̥̣̩̫͇̟̪̗̳̣̟̞̞̠͓͓͉̻̼̹̮̺͉̟̤͔̺͍͔̼̣̞̟̠̽̍̔̌̓̅̈́̔̊̿͗̑͗́̀̐͂̿̆̀̑͂͘̚͜͠͠͝ͅs̵̨̨̢̧̢͈͍̫͎̯͎̦̟̲̜̗̪̯̳̘̞̺̲̣͓͓̻̣̤̟̖̘̟͔̫̎̾͂̿́s̸̨̢̧̛̛͕̜̖̦̥̖̦̬̤̲̰̦̞̤̺̖̯͕̱̦͔̤̭͙̺͓̩̪̖̥͇̞̘͎̼̠̞̏̃͒̎̈́̈́̃͆͐̈́̏̎͜ͅͅͅ ̷̧̣̭̬͈̻͚̣̭̜̠̯͍̭̠̺̫̣̘̪̈͌̈́̅̒̿̈́̿̍̚̚͜ l̴̡̛͕͙̗̜̺̲͎̮͑̋̽́͛̓͊̍͒̄̀͌̊͗͐̓̀̒̎́͐͑̑̎̓̇̆̈́̏͐͘͘͘̕͜e̷̢̺͓͔͇̦̦̾͌̀̓̏̍́̈̃̌̃͒̈̌̾̍͑̅̋͂̀̉̕̚͜͝͝͝v̸̛̟̠̱͓̪̟̙̑́́̏͒̎́͆̿̀̾͂̏̈̔̃͗̕ẹ̸̢̪͕̲̖̜̙̳̪̱̙̯̙̳͓̥̱̩͚̈́̋̉̊͂̑͊̓̓͂̋̔̎̔͑͑͌̂̈́̐̓̔͊̐̇͘͠͠ͅͅļ̴̛̟̱̦̤̞̙̜̹͖̘͉͖̞͈̘̹̮̟̼͈̒̎̓́̀̎́̓͑̓̾̎͒̏̈́͌̌̍͛͌̔͗͒́͛́̍̆́̐̾̚͘͝ͅͅ ̸̢̢̢̡̫͔͓̻̱̙͇͙̜̺̙̘͔͗̂̃͋͛͑̿̈́̈́͌͠<b r≯̢̤̹̫̖̪̲͎̱̱͔͆͛̇͑̊̌͂͂̍̕̚͝t̷̛͎̝̗̜̪͚͉̝̲̲͊̀̾̈͂͑͐̀̈́́̅̈́͝͝ô̴̧̨̡̧̰̭̬͚̺̤̹̹̫͔̖̞̖̳͖̟̦̒̓́́̄̑̚͜ ̷͈͓̝̲̲̼̠͆̎̅̒̽̔̆͐̀̃͊̒͂̋̿̈́̓̈̇͒̐͋̽̒̈́͗̄̅̆̃̕̕̚͜͠͝͝t̵̤̭̘̀̽͒̈̒̌̑̈́̎́̆́̓̕͝͠ḩ̴̢͈̣̤̱̟̠̓̊̇̍́͐͗͜͝͝ȩ̸̨̛̜̱̣͇̥̫͚̲͓̭̗͈͉͍̭̲̗̰̬̠̲͕͈̞͎͚̯̖͖̓͌̎̎͆̊͑̀̒̍̒̌̏͌̇̓̅̓̽̈̿̊͐̅̉̐͑̐͆̌̂͒͗̂͌̊͘̚̚̚͝͠͝ ̶̮̃̓͂́́̃̽͋̏̽̇́̎̌͌̈́̆̃͐̉́̂̄̑͑̇̅͠ḿ̴͚̩̣̤̜̯̮̣̠̙̖̹͇̲̓̑͛͒̎̀̇͌͑̀͊͆̉̊̎̏́̅̎̄́̿͆͜͜͝͠͝a̸͈͇͚͈̞̩̭̙͔͈̘̻͖̠͙͎̻̼̱̝̻͉̺̭͇̳̫͚̐̐͒̊̽̈͋̏̉̇̽͛͗̓͊̍͑̔̓͆͋͋̿̉̃͂͂̈́̀̂̍̏̏̚ͅx̴͔̥̞͉̦͇̞̮͕̹̯̗̤̠̿̂́͊̂͑͆̈͑̌̔̿͐͋̃̀̑́̀̆́̅̽͌͑̅͒͌̚̕͜͝͠͠ͅͅ ̶̱̝̳̂̓͂̐̔̓̆̀̇̐͌̚̚͝t̸̡̡̟̙͉̜̖̘̹͍̤̪͚̰̟̫̣̜̩͈͙̳͕͍͇͉̣̺͎̦̫̬̟͉̝̙̠͍̖̫͚̱̉̉́͒͛̚̚ͅṟ̷̨͙͙͓̜̞̥̫͎̗̺͔̰͚̼̦͉͍̈́͜͜͜ͅą̸̡̛̟̻͕̮͇̹͉̺͂̒͐̏̀̓͊̈́̃͑͑́̌̀̃̅̽̒̅̉́̃́͒̈̽̀̂͗́̌̂́̀̑̌̌̍̀̕͠͠͠s̴̡̛̳̙̣̠̰͙̱̱̮͖͈̲̟̤͉̱̩̼̮͕̠̺̈̓͒̍͊̀͊͂̾̈́͑̓̃̄̽͒̓̂̀͛̇̿̒͆͒́̔́̚̚͘̚͜͜͠͝ͅh̸̢̨̡̛̖̗̫̫̞͍̣̭̬̠̝̘̯͖̖̤̯̬̪̥̣̱͈̺̝͖̥̭̥̝̭͇̎͆̏̌́̏̓̊̄͒̃͊͌͒̓̃͛̎͊̋̎̎͂́̏͆̈́̋̏͂̔͐̈́͗̿̓͂̀̌̕̕͠ ̵̧̢̣͈̱̻͎̻̤͚̣̥̜̰̳̯̻̤̘̺̪͈̻̙̏̾͂̂̽̈́̆̋̆͊͋̾̇̂̀̊͌̌̆̿̏̊̐̊͒̄̈́̉̍̑̊̆̉̓̒̋̕͘͜͝͝͝͝͝͠y̸̧̤̠̣͖̋̀̎͐̔̐͜͠ọ̵̡̧̣͚͔̗̭̯͙̱̼̩̹͉̬͍̼͖̪͚͍̗͓̟̰͙̯̹̭̋̚u̷̢͕̣͔̳͔̤͍̥̞̦̱̗̗͕̫͚͔̞͙̥̫̤̳̣̙͇̭͕͖͛̔́̅̓͋̾̆̂͐͛̂̎́̀̓̊̍̒̔̚͜͜͜͝͠ͅr̵̻̭̰͋͑̂͋̾̉́̚ͅ j̸̨͉̦́̑̕u̸̡̢̨̡̡̻̞̼̟̬̖̮̟̜̣͉̳̣̫̣̠̞͕̟̦͓̳͕͎̮̺̗̮̜̹̬̒͆͐̿̒͊̓̐́̎͗̈́̽̅̈̑̃͐̈́̈́̀́̅̾̃́̅̀̎͂̚͜͝͝͝͝n̸̢̨̨̢̨̡̨͈̜̟̝͉͖͚̹͍͉̟͉̫̬̭̙̞̰͎̙̯̲̜̩͚̰͍̭̝̥͙̘̤̳̮̥̎̓̐̈́͊͐̽́̕̚k̷̢͕̰̲͇̩̜̰̻͖̠̗͗͌̃̉̒͌͂͗̈̔̚͝ ̶̧̼̥͔̭̮͈͖͓̥̫̞̳̫̰̳̈͊̑̓̃͆́͊̆̎̾́͋̒̍̈́̐͒̓̈́̓́̒̋̈́͑͑̆͛͆̑͒̓̒̆͜͜͠͝͝͝ḋ̷̡̡̡̢̨̖̭̙̲̤͎̟͙̞̹̯̱̗̹̲̞̲̤͇̤̘̺͙̹̭̤̮̟̝̯̞͒̒̇̔̌͛̍́̔̉̐̾́̈͑̓̑̔̀͒̓̀̿̑̓̂̆̒̎͐̅̀̀̚̕͘̕̕̕͜͠͝ͅȩ̴̢̧̡̢̧̩̟͎̞̖̥̜̞̜̜̥̣͎̖̮̮̞͚͚̹̪̤̯̻̰̳̞͈̠̪͚̫͌̆̃̈́̏̓͆̇͂̐̏́̐̓̈́́͊́̀͌͘̕͝͝ͅͅp̵̛̻̗̂̓̑̉͆̒̏̽̆͊̾́̔̈́̾͌̍̎̃͒̕̕a̶̧̨̡̢̧͍̰̦̭̬̠͔̩̣̬̟̺̟̞̪̙̗̠͕̭̗̟̫̱̰̫͙͐͘r̷̟̙̦̯̈́́̌͑͛͐͂̐̋͑͊͗͐̀̀̋̂̃̇̇̆̉͒̐̐̊̈́̍̀̋͝ţ̷̡̛̠̰̝͚̭̹̰̫̮̭̌̃̋̌̄͛̑́̈́͛̉̈́̒̔̍̈̄̕͝͝͠m̸̢̧̢̧̛̲͚̼̯͕̩͇͓͓̣͙̯̬̳̙̬̙̔͋̈́̾̓̎̍̈́̅͗̊̍̈́͌̐̾̇̓̅̐͛͌͐̔̒͘̚͝͠͝ͅȇ̴̢̨̠̬̗̠̗̗̘͍͈̲̹̫͇̲͇̹̦͙͍͖̖͚͓̠̜̗̦͚̙̙͍̣̭̐̾̆̎͗̊̐̍͒̓͊̑̎̍͋̐̐̾̀̽͆̊͘̚̕͜ͅņ̴̨̨̛̦̤̼͙̘̮̹̼̗͓͉̞̫̺̗̺̲͔̦̣̠̱̦͓̣͔̪͉̱͓̦̮̝̺͖́̽͊̍̄̓͛̓̾̿̎̒̽͘͘͠ͅẗ̷̛̘̮̟̫̱̞̣͍̬̼͆̆̎͛͗̆̒̀̈͋̌̏̋͆̈͐̌̿̔̃̃̉̽̍͌̊̇̈́̚̚͘̚͠͝͠ͅ

̷̨̡̛̮̖̘̤͍̰̻̬͔̰̖̤̣̹͍̣̗͙̙͔̤͙̥͙̗̟̮̜̹̝͉͓̻͍̞̫͈̼̻͉̐́͆̍͑̒̐̍̂̓̿̔̒͋̓̀̏́̔̓̽͒̿̑͑̑͛̓̓̈̈́̈̿̅̌̽̚̚̚̚͜͝͝ͅf̸̨̧̧̨͙̩̲̩̰̱̳͚̩̻̟͚̬̥̤͓͚̤̥̹͙̳͉̞͉̩̘̠͚̜̠̩̪͕̹͑̂͛̐̔̈́̈́̔̅͋͐́͐̀̽̍͑͂̀̇͑̿͗̔̈́̈́̅̏̓̈́̒͑͗͘͘̚̚̕̕͝͠͝ì̷̢̧̢̢̧̛͙̥̫̪̯̖͎̫̙̙̙̪̦͎̤̜͎͉̝̩̞̙̺̦͔̬̮̣̠̯̻̗̫̾͗̏̅̈́̍̉̽̔̇̚̕̚͜͜͜͝ṙ̶̢̨͖̻̅͒̔̈́͌͛͌͒̎̚͠e̴̛̲̓̌̌̓̓̑̅̎̋̿̎̐͛͋̈͑̑͌̾̒̿͂̈́̊̈͛̊̑̌̒̔̽̚̚̕͘͝͝͝͠͠ ̵̧̛̛͉͍̳̗͙͈̘͈͙̺̱͙͖̼̹̜̩̭͎͕̖̟̙̩̽͊̑͑̂̃̅̈́̈́́̿͆̈́̈́̀́̎͊̃́̅̄̌͌̈́͒̓̓̈͆̍͊̕̚͠͝͠͝ͅͅͅt̶̛̳̣̪͖͉̓͛̾͊̇͆̈̿̅̍̔̅̓̈́͠ȟ̶̢̢̛͕͍͖̩͖̹͙̙̦̜̰̮͕̤̰̼̦͍̯̹͈̠̹̔͑̈́̆͂̔͐̾͐̑̒͆̑̋͐͆͑̐͂͌͑͑̾̇̕͝o̵̢͎̲̱̗̫͉̐̈́͊̅̉̆͂̊̓͂̀̍́̈́͆̆̈́̀̀͐͂̈́̆̐͊͑̏̿͛̐͌̉̐͌̌̈́̇͋̈́͒̕͝͝͝s̸̡̧̨̧̝͉̥̖̝̥̩͓̺͖̖͎̄̆͑̃̔͐̓͒̿́͑́̒̂́̐́̑͒̐̄̑̋̓́̈́͌́̚͘͝͠e̴̡͙̙͇̹̞͚̯̼̖̻̻̩̳͔͔̣̺͓͓̝̺͙͉͍̘̊̓́̂͊́̅̅̈́͑͗̈́͒͑́̋́̽̈́̔̓͐̒͂͛̆̂̇͗͑͘̕͘͜͜͜͠͝͠͝ ̸̡̓͌͝͝g̵̨̢̧̡̡̡̛͕̗͈̣̙͕̻̥̱̺̭̫̣̟͎̳̞͓̳̤̹̖̠͍̮̖͔̗̼̞̉̑̀́͐̐̈́̏̀̀̇̆̉͘̚͝l̸̘̖̘͉̮̪̬͎͎͌̆͐̆͊́̏̉͆̂̓͒̍̀̏̌̾̀̑̔͊̽̀̏̈́́͂̆͛̈͘͘͜ȉ̶̡̨̛̝̭͈̘̩̺͚͓̠̤̖̼̳̄͛̔̒̆̀̀́̔̑͒̽̎̌͆̃̐̀̀̿͛͘͜͝͝t̸̢̨̨̡̨̛̮̺͚̤̲͉̩̟̳͙̱̲̰͙̖̲̗̾͗͗̍̏͌̏͐̊̓͆̾̈́̊͗̅͒̈̆͐̌͂̂͆͘͘͠͝ͅͅc̵̢̡̛̛̩͎̘͈͖͖͖̲̦̫̟̖͎̤̜̮̲͔̺̭̗̻͍̼̘͇̙̣̳̱͖̊͂̋͐́̊̒̂̊̋̀̇͐̄͛͒́̓͂̔̐̕͜͝ḧ̶̢̢̨̧͙͇̥̬̫̙̭͈͉̘͖̦͉̱͔͚͚͖̜͈̣̯͇̺͇́̈́́͛̈́͆͆̓̅̈̽̅̄̈́͑̉͋̀̊͑͋͊̉́͑̓͐͑͘͘͜͠͠͠e̶̱̓̃̊̈́͗́̈́́̔͋͒͒̿̈̆͒̒̃͒̊̑̅̈́̇̈́͒̓͊̂͆̿̚s̴̢̢̢͈̜̰̠̲̠̹͙͓̥̻͕͎̳̝͍̪͎̹̻̞͕̀̄͒̓̈́̊̒̃̐̓̈̎͒́̏̆̎̅̆͐̔̂́̇̓̓̈́͑̓̌̔̅̚̕͘͝͠͝͠ͅ ̸̨̢̨̧̢̻͓̮̝̲͚̪͓̜̦̲̞̬̙̪̳͈͉̼͉͈̩̙̤͎̠͉̣̽̈̽̕t̶̠͍̼͚͖͓̹̹̣͖͇͇͇̘̱̝͇̫̘̼̘̜̅̋͊̐̓͐̋̈́͒͑̕̚͘͘͜͜͠ͅh̷̢̢̢̡̻͉͉͎͎͔̗̩̯͙͕̠̩̭͖̩̼͖͙͎̰̻̺̼̦̟͇̣͖̖̞͉͙̣͇̝̞̫͍̔̇̀͆̑̽͊͛̃͗͛͆͊́͂̊̒̆̽̽̓͑̎̍́̊̚̕̚͘e̷̢̡̡̢̧͙̹͙̞̩͈̟̤̖͕̗͓̙̠̻̙̲̫̙͔͓̦̟̼̺̰̗͈̺̩͗͗͐́̐́̔̃͗͐̈́̽͋͒̏̉̈́̄͝ņ̴̛̜̼͈̝̘̬̦̲͔͙̭͖̜͓̖̥̣̣̘̳͕͕̮̝͇̺͕͓̟͇̪͓̺̥͈̊̎̐̂̇̎͒̄͐͐̌́̇̈́̾͛̏͜ ̸̡̢̧̪̹̠̪̙͇͉̠̱͙̼̻̪̹͈̲̳͇̤̘̜̫̳̬̼͖̜̺̯͇̭̟̔́̐̽͒̓̑̎̉̃̇̓̄̓̋̈̽̉̈́͊̋̓̚̕̚͘ͅë̵̢̢̡̻̣͙̖͔̪̗̦̦̤̞̦̘̘̺̝̥͓͚͙̤̳̣̮̺̞̹͎̱͎̝̘̬́͗͌̅̌̐̒͛̋͆̀̓̏̂̔͑́͑̓̂́̔̿̆̇̌̔̆̄͛̍̇̅͂̀̋̊̔́͜͜͠ą̴̣̣͚͙̰̱̫̘̫̰͔̯͔͕̬̙͙̞̠̞͕̠̱̠͍̹͚̦̱̥̜̮̘͕͂̋͊͋̑̐̈́͘͜͜ͅt̷̨̧̡̛͍̬̖̖̯͖̯̗̼͚̜̩̣͕̝̳̱̫̳͈̻̲̪͈͉̫̥̻̐̆̈̂̆̍̽̉͌͐̈́̾͋̅̔͛̈́̿̆́̈́̊̌̀̑̊͑̏̍́̈́̽̚͘̚͜ͅ ̷̡̧̡̨̨̛̟̣͔͔̠̯͎̹̠̜̟̯̯͕̹͕̪͓̫̗̻̖̗̫̤̼̼̟̞̝̺̤̫̲̓͌̓͋̂̌́̈́̒͆̌͌́͜͠w̵̛̼̯̞͙̹̒̈̍́̍̎̐͗̓̀͆͒̽̍̽͂͗̄̅̇́̆̉̓͒̂͋̉̀̄̉͒̅͂̚̕͘͘͝h̸̛̛̘̘̫̃̈́͛̈́͑͆̄͂̐̊͗̌̈́́͊̓̊̇̊̏̑͑͂̚̚̕ͅă̷̧̨̨̢̛̞̩̱̗̟̞͚̩̭͙̱̻͎͈̻͓͓̩͇̭̘̖͈̜̤̬̒̍̑̽͛̄͋̄̀̿͋̎̾̊͛̒̃͌͛̉̄̿̾̑̏̃̇͛̑̅͋̍͑͂̑̃̚͘͜͜͠ͅţ̵̢̨̦̺͓͚͚̱̯͖̮̫̰͈͔͚̲͉͓̻̠̞̞̜͙̬̖͓̝͔͔̠̽̽̇͒͒̓̽̍͌̊̆͜ ̵̧̛̱̞͍̥̜͚͙̼̜͎͈̟͕̙͓̤̘̰̭̑̀̒͌̐̏̈́̇̉̄̿̑̑̅̍̂̉̂̀̊̿̕͘͠͝ͅͅ ỳ̷̡̡̨̺͍̻̪̱͎̫͉͎̺̰͔̥̻̠̥̼̪͍̗̽̓̈́̉̀̆͒̓̈́̒̕͜ͅͅͅͅo̸̡̢̡̭̘̬̪̙̘̝̼͙̺̳̬̠̝̻͙̜̟̱͉̥͖̮̣̞̹̖͘ų̶̨̢̧̧̛̯̻̘̥̠̗̜͉̬̞̻͈̥̠̥̗͚̩̬͔̝͈̳͍͓͖͈͖̖̺̦̽̈́̓̾̆͂͂̓̕͘͜ͅ ̶̨̧̨̝̤̳̤̠̮̜̥͓̜̱͉̩̪̠͎̥̬͔̺̘̱̻̖͚̹̩̭̠͇͇͖͖͔̜̹͕̀̅͜͜ͅl̴̨̢̢̪̜̙̥̙̱̫͚̪͕͙̩̪͍̲͍̱͖͇͕͙̉̋̕͜͜͠i̶̢̡̡̲̤̬̩̣͍̫͉̰̝̙̘͖̖̱̝̠̮͉̬̮̱̝̅̓ķ̶̛̮̖̝̜̰̭͎̥͇͗̈́̈́̏̐̄̔̏̑͐̔̔̒̀̈͗̌̈̏͆̄̓̿̌̈́͂͋͒̈͆͒̉̊̒̒̕̕͘̕͝͝͠͠ȇ̵̡̡̢̧̝̭̗̪̲̻̘̬̞̥̭̲̲̟͈͖̙̰̰͛̒̔̾̈́̔̽̽͐͊̑ͅ ̶͚̩̗̬̖̻͌̉̽̀̃̂́̓̃̏̂̾̽̾͐͋̎̅̀̑̓́̐́̈́̈́̈̓̿̔͗̈͊͗̚̚͝͠͠͝͝͠

Today is the third day of the third month of the third year of the reign of the Emperor Reiwa. 3-3-3 is an auspicious day and as it was all over the news, I thought I would publish a post on this occasion for readers who love numerology.

3̴̡̧̧̢̡̡̢̨̢̢̨̢̡̢̢̢̢̡̢̨͈̬̳̦̮̗̺̞̜͕̥̲̪̟͔̮͓̼̙̩̬̬̦̭̙̠̻̬̹̱̟̘̻̪̤̻̦͈̺͍̰̪̖̱̪͎͍͙̙̼̘̤͖̦͓̱̘͕͙̗͎͚̩͙͖̳̘͔̠̳͕͉̠͇̺̥͓̹̜̺̖͈͔̥̟̫͖̣̱̣̘͈̹͉͖͓̘̗͖̙͓̹̞͉̱̳̩̥̰͚̱̖̬͚̱̦̘̱̦̘̰͍̮͚̠͓̩̻͎̗̫͎̲̱̹͉̪͈̝̙̈́́̆̀͛̓̽̎͐̈́͑͋͜͜͜͜͜͝͝ͅͅͅͅ-̵̧̨̛͈̪̟̳͇̳̮̺̺̝̳̞͍̟̼̲͉̲̬̙̖̗͍̜̙̝̝̤͋̅̍͗̎̋̉̀̏͐̑̇̑̂̎͂̋̒̂̔̈́̈́͆͗̑̓̇̔̈́̂͂̇̀͑̉̓̃́̿͑̈́̔̇̾͐̐̈́̍̃͒̇̍͂̄̒̋͊̂͌̃̑͒̾̅͆͊͒̒͒̑̅̀̈̄̾̅̒͂͛̐̒̋̾͗̿͆͒̈͋̋̀́͛́̕͘͘̚̚̚̕̚̚̚͜͜͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅ3̵̧̡̨̧̲̲̜͓̘͎͍͎̗̯̻̯̜͎̰͚͔̜̩̥͖͈̰͚̒̀͋͗̿̅̈́͌̎͊́̋̏͋͑͂̄̆̓̌͛̀̉́̽̔̉̈́͐̋̎͊̓́̓̇͑̃̀̆̌̊͂̆̅͐̓̂͆̒̇͆̐̾͊̏̔̋͌̂͐̈̐̔̍̅̕̕͘̚̕̕̚͜͝͝͝-̸̢̡̡̨̨̨̡̛̫͔͕̘̺̯̣̣͕͇̤͈̰̜͚̣͎͎̙̭̦̬̣͈̫̝͇̟͚̭̟͇̳̺̮̜̗̗̣̝͎̖͚̭̙̦̩̗̰̼̬̮̞̗̲̲̟͈̣̮͖͕̘̰̰̰̼̬̮̠̱͓̖͎͔̫̜͓̯̮̖̗͚͍̩̟͉̘̹̠̤̟̦̤̳̻̝͔̜̱̲̠̥̼̼͓͉̣͈͇̯̱̬̳̮̬̻̖̓͛̉͊̎ͅͅͅͅͅͅ3̵̡̨̡̧̡̡̢̛̝̝̟͙̥͙̣͕̜̬̺̝̼̝̘̪̘̬̭̼̲̹̣̭̱̠̟̰͖̲̲̲̱͎̩̰̹̝̮̯̱̘̩͖̭̟̣̞͖͚͕̱͕̣̘̺͎͈͕̹͍͈̠͉̭̙̜̼̟͉͔̙͕̼̗̲̝̳͎͖̤͎̙̟̦̯̟̬̮̪͔̼̯̠̣̞͇͙͕̤͚̘̼̬͇̫̬̫̯̮̂̾̾̾͒̀̎̀̿̔͒̈́͑̋͒̑̄̀̾͛͊̓̇̂̑̃̍̑̂͛̈́̈́͐̒̃̒́́̾͗̾̾̾̉͋̅̂̾͛̈͐̓̓̓̽̾͑͋̾̉̎̒̒̉͛̉͗̋͐̀̀̍̌̾̓̐͒̾͋͐̽̊͐̑͑́͆͘͘̕͘̕͘̕̕̚̕͘͘͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͠͠͝͠͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅͅͅ

Fun story. When His Imperial Majesty was Crown Prince (kou-taishi-denka) I was in the same banquet hall with him and that now disgraced CEO who was smuggled out of Tokyo into Beirut in a double bass case. I was, however, introduced to his brother and sister-in-law when I was an undergraduate. The mother of the future Emperor tripped and almost fell on top of me.

We were warned before the meeting not to touch them but had she fallen, she would’ve dinged her face very badly. Much to my relief, she caught her balance.

Oh yes, those were the days when people would ask me why in the holy muck was I studying a language with a writing system that looked like algebra and calculus got handsy with each other at a bar.

Perhaps I should stop being rebellious because I’m a grown-up now. But I feel inspired when someone tells me I can’t do something that’s lawful, perfectly doable and really fun to do. My ancestors martyred themselves to get shackles taken off and I am supposed to do what now? Be boring and bored. I cannot do it.


Ȉ̵̡̢͔̦̝̻̼͙̤͍̘̺͖̣͗͋͐̋̽̌̅̆͐̄͝͠͝ͅ ̴̗͇̙̥̞̠̒͛̑̽́̆̔̂̓̀͆̂͛̕͘͠ą̸̡̖̺͍̜͔͖̤͔̣̱̤̫̈̾̀̓͐́͆̇̅͐̓ͅm̸̛̰̦̱̤̪̐̀̅͑̋͊̇̌̓̎͆̚ ̵̪̖͖̲̬͆̒͒̎̌̀̊ͅͅa̸͉͊̀̇͛̃͋̓̌͐̌̒̈̅͝͝ņ̶̼͎̘̂̄̈́͑̈́͆͐̍̈́̈͐̄̔̕͘ͅ ̶̱̳̜̣̻͕͇͙̺͈͋͌̾͑̈̏̿̾͗̏͊͌͒ã̸̩̙̥͙̬̼̦͖̹̬͖̙͍̋̎͊̉͜͝͠r̸̨̛͕͉̙̠̖̗̖̦̠̓̂̂̐̔̒̈́̍̒̈͌̎̕͝t̸̢̹͔̣̪̲͕̩̟̘̬̠̫̃̄̑̂͛̒̄́̎̐͘͘͜͜͝͝ͅï̴̪͔̼͔͉͈̺̬͎̪̈́̑̊̇͂̆́̋͊̍̓̈́͌̈s̸̡̡̨̝̹̜̞̹̩͒͂̄̌̃̂͊̇͒̈́͒̈̾̈́̚͘ͅţ̸̢̱̠̤̹͕̬̑̅̈́̓̋̇͝ ̵̡̧͖̪͉̝̤̣̩̱͙͙̦̬̯͙̽̐̐͑́͊̀̓̄͘ạ̵̧̨̛͖͎͙̩̪̼͔̈͐̍̆̀̍̋̅̐̈́̌͛̓̂n̶̢͆̈́̃̔ḑ̶̡̙̭͕̩̥̮̻͚͈͎̃̔͜ ̷̨̨̡̢̙̀̂̚I̸̢̘̰̰̮̜̬͓̗͎̼̙̟̦̹̍̇̇̎̔̈͑̋̓͋͝ ̵̣̣͚̪̦̗͕̪͛̆ã̶̧̮͈̙͓̫͔͙̼͓̥͍͐͒̐͌̓͗̎̄̑̅̽͆͝m̸̡̘̥̬̺̙̝͎͎͖͚͎͕̳̩̟̍̋͠ ̴̻͊̓̍͛a̵̬͎͕̠̒̊ḽ̴̹͙͖̖̩̰̙̳̞̗̌̊̒̽̕l̷̲͎̦̣̰̣̥̯͆o̷̜̿͐̓͐͒̓͒͋̚w̵̹̖̩̣͚̫͖͋̂̂́͊̈́͂͑͑͒́̐͂̃͝͝e̵̢̧̹̭̱͇͉̦͖̺͕̹̦̔̇̓̎͊̾͌̓́ḑ̵̙̪̖͚͔̀͛̈̒̀̒͗̊̾̈́̋͜͝͝ ̷̨̡͍̹̫̞̣̥̹̣̙̾̍͊̾͂̊͗̍̇͋̋̑͝͝ͅc̷̱̻͐̎ṟ̵̲̹̗͖̞̰̭̭̦̦͓̍͌̚͜ͅͅą̵̨̯̣͈͇̱̋̈͑̅̆̓̂́z̴̛͔̱͎̞̟͇̜͚̱̼̫̈̓̂͝i̶̳͕̤̮͖̥̜̰̹̯̼̊n̶͔͎̜͐̊́̾̈́͐̅̚̚͜e̶̡̨̬͖͍̪̟̮̜̝̩̘̖̘͋̋̋͂͛̽̈́̾͘̕ş̴̰̮̪͉͔͗͂͛̾́̀͊͠s̴̨͔̲͉̳̩̼͎͕̲̦̺̤͎̲̬͗̓̍̒̾̀̈̇̚̚̕ ̸̡̺̤̣̟͔̝̝͍̹͇̬̞̣̍̒́l̶̛̛͙̮̩̳̊͌̋͊͑̂͂̃̽͠e̴̢͔̫͍̤̫̝͈̫̓͑̓̑̿͌͝v̶̨̞͎̼̪͚̄̽̒͂̋͐̿͠è̴̛̙̕l̴̹̩͍̹̅̋̐̐͘ ̷̢̧̨͎̤͈͙̘͈̥͖̥̻̊͑̎̔́̋́́̅̌̕͜t̶̡̪̝̝̙̜̗̾͗̐̆̀̊̀͒o̶̡̡̞̯̟̱̟͙̺̼̮͎͎̹͕͛̑̾̊̈́̈́̋ ̸̨̣͓̫͔̦͎̑̃͋̒̀͛̊ͅţ̸̡̢͈̩̹͎̤̇̀̎͌͠h̵̜͈͈͕̥̅̍͐̈́̊̽̆̑̽̅͂͝e̷̢̲͚͎͚̔͑͒́͗͒̄́͆͒̏ ̸̹͊̉̃m̴̢̞͚̥͍͎̙͇͎͎̹͔̊̄̀̾͗̋̊̾͋̈́͘͠a̶̡̡̨̪̗͔̺̞͖̅̒̇͆̈̈́͂́́͒̈́̔͛͘̕ẍ̸̻̙̭̻́͂̒

I will, however, wish you a lovely day. I have sent positive thoughts and prayers across the seas for your happiness, peace and tranquility on this auspicious occasion.

Categories
creative writing women writing

Formula (writing) is for babies


One of the main causes of writer’s block is the overabundance of writing advice online. These checklists, sorry to say, were created to raise the SEO of the sites that are posting them. Every day, as I scroll through my Reader, I can see that the pressure to conform to “structures” is sapping the mojo of my blogging colleagues.

Foil packaging for Japanese rice snacks
Foil packaging for Japanese rice snacks

There is no magic formula to writing because even large film studios, after using these checklists to spit out treatments for films, have to pirate their own releases in order to generate interest.

There exist deep learning algorithms so finely tuned that they can render writing samples resembling something that you would create. These algorithms are open source and anyone can request to be placed on a wait list to test them. They are trained by writers online who write to conform to these checklists.

A friend wants to hang out

One consequence that many of these writers are overlooking is the long-term viability of writing as a career. Large news publishing companies are already making huge profits using this technology and a skeleton staff of freelance journalists. Sooner or later, the algorithm will supplant us and nullify our creative efforts. I will not be shocked if next year, a New York Times bestselling novel is written by AI and an eight-year-old on an iPad.

Foil packaging for Japanese rice snacks
Black paper swirls

Or, we could tell original stories, the way we want to, and support fellow writers as they do the same.

I cannot repeat this often enough. The film version of Blanka Lipinska’s Polish-language novel, 365 Days, has 2 stars on IMDB and yet, she is raking in the mega-$$$ and is now besties with Oprah. When someone starts talking to me about my work as if I’ve done something offensive, I point in her direction and say, “Have you … seen … this display?” (Thanks for that, Blanka).

A new hairdo

You could be sitting on an idea for a viral micro series. You might have a beautiful concept for a live, improvised audio play on Clubhouse when it finally comes out of beta. But you might not develop your ideas because a list chastised you for writing what you like.

You are a human being, you are on planet Earth, and you have stories to tell. Are you going to wait until an AI checklist tells you that you are perfect, or are you going to write?

Categories
about me art creative writing fiction opinion women writing

Sunday, at the (home) office


On Saturday afternoon, I was waiting to take down an art exhibition and while I was waiting in the car, I decided to pull an Oracle card. I bought them because they’ve got a matte velvety finish and the gold inlay looks pretty. I could not for the life of me understand what it was trying to say.

Threads of Fate Oracle Cards "Patience"
“Patience” from the Threads of Fate Oracle cards

Hello everyone. Are you enjoying your Sunday? I have been at my “home” office all day. I am chuckling at the moment, because when I was searching my phone’s image library, I noticed that photo from yesterday and suddenly, my entire Sunday makes sense. This, for once, is not a rant.

I’ve had the most insane day. I had a vague project deadline circa now: Thirty episodes for a Japanese/English animated series. Sounds fun, right? Except, the criteria changed three hours before I submitted the scripts for TEN episodes.

There is a budget issue. “Smaller budget: remove characters.” So I asked three friends to help me out of a jam. Halfway through, when I presented a snippet of the draft, the graphic artist/animator demanded I write the script for the trailer first.

Now, the reason his company hired me was that the project team was led by a talented graphic designer and animator who was not a writer. Because I understood that, I explained to him that the writing process is not linear. One never starts with the summary. It appears that way because that’s how a story is presented to us. But you can start in the middle and work your way backwards or forwards. You know what I’m talking about, right? You’re all writers.

Colors of love by Thomas Bergersen

And of course, I might be the most non-linear writer of them all. I was giggling because he probably thought I was being unreasonable.

I say, “Should we have notes on the first ten episodes and then write the trailer script, which will happen very fast because we will know what the story is all about?” Doesn’t budge.

That’s how four of us were at one point editing the same sentence at the same time. I would like to give a special big up to Google Docs for facilitating that. When we were all finally done tweaking the scripts, the graphic artist texted, “I’ll take a look in two hours because I am going out.”

What?! It’s 7 past 22 o’clock (two hours later) and he wants to have a meeting at 23 o’clock. I, on the other hand, will be going to bed.

Categories
about me creative writing fiction technology

A short video, with thanks

(If you’re having any problems viewing the video embedded above, please tell me. It’s in my WordPress media library. The point of upgrading was to not have this issue, WordPreeeeeess.)

Thanks for coming over here to support me when I re-launched as a brand-new entity last Saturday.

Earlier, WordPress responded to the altar call and got right with the Lord, but is now backsliding and error coding my videos. I cannot penetrate this chaos with code, scripts, tags, or commands. Nothing can defeat it. And I have tried everything.

I wish you a brilliant, glitch-free Thursday. (It’s Friday.)

*Big ups to @TonyWijsVA (Twitter) for the ‘frustrated Kylo Ren’ voice over.

Categories
art fashion gourmet

Roses + Coffee

Drip coffee package with specialty rose shaped cookies - pink.

This morning, I received a surprise gift: A box of rose-shaped cookies from a Tokyo patisserie called Tulip Rose. I can’t have the cookies because I’m gluten intolerant, so I took photos before giving them away.

Drip coffee package with rose shaped cookie - blue.

The illustrations are from individually-wrapped drip coffee sachets. I received four from a colleague who found them while hunting for coffee deals on Amazon. I have had three so far. (When I say I have coffee, I mean a milk substitute, cream, sugar, and coffee as a flavour).

Rose-shaped cookies

I kept the packaging in case I could create some yummy photo art. The moment has arrived, the coffee brand is called Tasogare, and the beans are from Ethiopia and Brazil. 

Drip coffee in package - green. With decorative wooden clothespins, and graffiti.

Thank you for your support so far. Please enjoy the cookies with your beverage of choice, a warm hug from me, and best wishes for the months ahead.

Box of rose shaped cookies (cookie petals with semi-solid cream filling) from Tulip Rose, Tokyo. Thank you scribbled over the top.

( ^ω^ )

Categories
poem poetry writing

Dominae Sol serenat omnia

aikyo to aikyo 2019 postcard of oil on canvas painting by Anna Ishii
あいきょうとあいきょう

Dominae Sol serenat omnia

Dominae Sol serenat omnia - Latin poem based on the Mediaeval Latin verses in the Codex Buranus.

Based on Mediaeval Latin verses in the Codex Buranus. Below, you will see the English translation.

The Sun is my Empress, She shines over everything

I was tempted to put the full text here. However, I remembered that Chrome’s translation software would chew it up. I hope the two images render without any issues. If there are any, let me know. The raw text is available, so please contact me if you would like to have it.

Image: Postcard I received recently of Anna Ishii’s 2019 work, “Charming and mesmerising” – 193 cm x 193 cm oil on canvas.