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Tag: Desperate Housewives
Story Structure: Character Weakness, Need and Problem
Most writers are well-aware that a main character needs a weakness. Christopher Vogler and other high profile story gurus often talk about a lack:
It can be very effective to show that a hero is unable to perform some simple task at the beginning of the story. In Ordinary People the young hero Conrad is unable to eat French toast his mother has prepared for him. It signifies, in symbolic language, his inability to accept being loved and cared for, because of the terrible guilt he bears over the accidental death of his brother. It's only after he undertakes an emotional hero's journey, and relives and processes the death through therapy, that he is able to accept love.
Christopher Vogler, The Writer's Journey
First, there's the issue of the Hero's Journey as an ideology:One issue w/the "Hero's Journey": its insistence on individualism v. collective strength and community. Yes, the "hero" has help but those who help are relegated to the side, their purpose mostly reduced to further the hero's goals, often at the expense of others.
Tricia Ebarvia
Aside from that, Vogler's advice does not go far enough. Go one step further and break it in half.
Everyone who gives writers advice about characterisation has something to say about this topic. Author of the book Story Genius Lisa Cron says that it's the character's internal struggle that makes the external struggle important. This echoes exactly what John Truby says about external desires on the surface vs character weakness underneath.
What about children's books? Do they follow the same rules?
Mostly, but not always. Some picture books do not feature characters with weakness. These stories tend to be of the carnivalesque variety. A few standout examples feature the reader as protagonist. These, too, do not follow the rules of story.
Children's books for older readers do follow the same rules as those applied to narrative aimed at adults. Modern picture books which win big awards are also likely to follow these rules.
CHARACTER WEAKNESS
According to the rules of story structure aimed at screenwriters and writers with an audience of adults…
Every Main Character Needs…
A PSYCHOLOGICAL WEAKNESS: What are the fundamental flaws? (Lacking confidence, scarred by former lovers, afraid of intimacy, overly pessimistic etc.)
A MORAL WEAKNESS: How does this character treat others badly? (Lacking empathy, overbearing, two-faced, greedy, lying, selfish etc.) The Seven Deadly Sins feature prominently in this part of the weakness.
It's a very old idea. Aristotled called it 'hamartia'.
Harmatia is a term developed by Aristotle in his work Poetics. The term can simply be seen as a character's flaw or error. The word hamartia is rooted in the notion of missing the mark (hamartanein) and covers a broad spectrum that includes accident and mistake, as well as wrongdoing, error, or sin. In Nicomachean Ethics, hamartia is described by Aristotle as one of the three kinds of injuries that a person can commit against another person. Hamartia is an injury committed in ignorance (when the person affected or the results are not what the agent supposed they were).
Like anything, this rule of story has developed some tropes. As an example:
Common Weaknesses of Young Women
This trope comes from the Gothic tradition.
The story of the poor girl who overcomes obstacles and makes a good marriage in the end, what might be called the Horatia Alger story, is very common in nineteenth-century fiction, especially fiction written by women. This heroine does not have to begin in absolute poverty — even Cinderella's family must have been middle-class or her stepsisters wouldn't have been able to go to the ball in such style. But she does have to be in some way underprivileged at the start of the boo, and she must go through many difficulties before she can marry the prince.
Occasionally she is poor in other than the economic sense, as with some of Jane Austen's heroines: Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey is poor in intellect; Marianne Dashwood of Sense and Sensibility is naive and muddleheaded; while Fanny Price of Mansfield Park is … poor in spirit. Charlotte Bronte, even more daring, made the heroine of Villette plain.
Alison Lurie, Don't Tell The Grown-ups: The power of subversive children's stories
The weakness of being 'plain' continues to be explored in young adult fiction today, as beauty privilege continues to be a thing in modern society.
An Outdated Way Of Showing Character Weakness
In the simple thriller form the antagonist is marked out by their desire to control and dominate the lives of others. They don't follow the moral codes of the community; more often than not they're an embodiment of selfishness. They are also, historically, often marked by physical or mental deformity. Le Chiffre's maladjusted tear duct in the film of Casino Royale is the modern equivalent of Dr No's missing hands or Scaramanga's third nipple in the Man With The Golden Gun. In a more politically correct age, the physical flaw (clearly an outer manifestation of inner damage) has been scaled down to a level society finds acceptable. If the antagonist is internal, the same principles apply: the enemy within works in opposition to the host's better nature — it cripples them. It stands in opposition to everything they might be.
John Yorke, Into The Woods
Do Children's Book Characters Need A Moral Weakness?
Or any weakness at all?
The short answer is that, yes, an interesting modern children's book character needs at least a psychological weakness, and the story might also support a moral weakness. This wasn't always the case, as you'll already know if you've read from the First Golden Age Of Children's Literature. It was the amazing Edith Nesbit who changed all of that.
All of Nesbit's characters have both virtues and flaws: not only are the children's actions always a push and pull between their better instincts and their baser impulses, but the various authority figures they encounter are equally complicated. The magical Psammead creature is peevish, the Queen of Babylon is kind-hearted but imperious, and the upstairs scholar is helpful but blind to the magic he experiences.
Until Nesbit came along, adults who wrote for children believed children read as medicine. The viewpoint characters therefore had to demonstrate impeccable behaviour, or else be punished for wrongdoing, learning to be good along the way.
The older the reader, the more likely they are reading about characters with both types of weakness. But when it comes to picture books, no. That's because a picture book character is quite often 'The Every Child', and because children are all different, the writer doesn't always want to tell us much about the character at all. In this case, the child's main weakness is the fact that they are a child: naivety, weakness, lack of freedom, lack of knowledge. These are weaknesses common to all children and cannot really be called 'psychological' weaknesses. This is the main difference between a protagonist in a children's book and a protagonist in a story for adults.
Children's writers have to deal with something other writers do not: The expectation from a large proportion of the book-buying public that the empathetic character behaves in a model-like fashion. And if they don't? That's okay, so long as they're punished.
Must Children's Book Characters Treat Others Badly?
After looking at a lot of children's books with this exact question in mind, the answer is no. There are several reasons for this:
Some characters in children's books represent the Every Child. When a reader is meant to paste themselves onto the character we don't want that character to be too specific. For similar reasons a lot of picture book characters are cartoon-like and minimalist. (For more on that see Taxonomy Of Detail In Character Illustration.) Even in stories for older readers, these Every Child characters are given a 'cosmetic' weakness rather than a psychological and moral one, which makes them far more generic and less interesting. For instance, a common cosmetic weakness in young adult romance is 'clumsy'. Bella Swan is one example. Even in stories for adults you'll find the Every Man. Susan from Desperate Housewives is clumsy but this clumsiness functions to provide comedy. Susan has many other psychological weaknesses. She is unconfident and needy but also fake-nice and backstabbing. Susan's clumsiness has nothing to do with storytelling.
There are gatekeepers of children's literature — people responsible for buying the books and putting them into children's hands — who choose literature with the philosophy that characters in stories need to serve as role models for good behaviour. These people might approve of characters who treat others badly but only if that character is punished. For more on that see Picturebook Study: In Which Baddies Get Their Comeuppance.
The wish to avoid child characters as morally corrupt may come from JudeoChristian thought in which it is thought that people enjoy an 'age of innocence'. Strictly speaking, we're better off using the phrase 'age of accountability' because the Bible does not suggest at any point that children are sinless, but rather that children can't be held accountable for certain things due to their inexperience. Thirteen is the most common age suggested for the age of accountability, based on the Jewish custom that a child becomes an adult at the age of 13. This is no doubt related to The Magical Age of 12 in children's literature. (There's nothing in the Bible, however, to suggest 13 is a significant age.)
Complex, rounded characters simply aren't necessary in all types of stories. For action stories with exciting plots, or genre fiction — such as mysteries and thrillers — all the reader really wants is a great story. In fact, the characters can't change all that much if the book is part of a series. Series fiction is very popular with young readers and the best-selling books are all part of a series, year after year.
The view that badly behaving children's characters must be punished is increasingly challenged, mostly by writers and publishers who refuse to believe in the concept of the young reader as tabula rasa (blank slates), who trust children and young adults to read critically and not blindly follow their main characters into bad situations. The modern main character in children's stories will most definitely have both a psychological weakness and a moral weakness. In other words, they will be treating others badly in some way.
This wasn't always the case, and if you take a look at books from the First And Second Golden Ages Of Children's Literature you'll find many more Mary Sue/Pollyanna types, who have been written as model children for young readers to emulate. These characters are not well accepted by contemporary young readers, who have a vast selection of books to choose from and are not stuck with moralistic stories as earlier generations were.
The idea of child readers as tabula rasa was particularly strong in the Victorian era, and if young readers didn't want moral stories they really only had the Gothic to turn to. These stories offered all the bloodshed, villainy and titillation lacking in the 'stories for children'.
Not all writers of children's stories are interested in this concept. Hayao Miyazaki has never formally studied screenwriting or storytelling technique, and goes about creating his Studio Ghibli films in his own auteur fashion. Miyazaki's main characters don't tend to have an external desire. He doesn't bother with that. They do have psychological needs, however, and by the end of the story they haven't necessarily got anything they wanted — but by immersing themselves in a new world, they have grown emotionally.
For this reason I feel the very concept of desire is a Western one. In Japanese language, to say "I want" something is considered childish and you'll rarely hear those words (even though the grammar and words for desire exist). Instead, a Japanese interlocutor will avoid the assumption that you are a spoilt baby with desires and ask you what you 'need'. English: "Do you want a drink of water?" becomes "Do you need a drink of water?" I believe Hayao Miyazaki brings his specifically Japanese sensibilities towards 'desire' to the table when creating his main characters — Chihiro doesn't seem to want anything in Spirited Away — she is simply there, and if she works hard, things will come good. Desperately wanting to turn her parents back into humans would probably work against her cause.
Common Character Weaknesses In Children's Books
They may be common but that doesn't mean you can't keep using them:
Naivety. This is arguably the biggest weakness any children's book hero has. It's a good one, too, because the child can't help it. Failure to understand the world is an easy weakness to improve upon over the course of the story, providing ample opportunity for a character arc. Hence, every story is a coming-of-age story.
Cheekiness. These characters are fun to be around. They won't let horrible adults get away with treating kids badly without at least a little backchat. Judy Moody.
Talking too much. Anne Shirley grew up in an age when children should be seen and not heard. There are many modern Anne Shirleys, always getting into trouble but adorable nonetheless.
Shyness. Then you have your socially anxious characters who don't find themselves in trouble with authority but who must learn to stand up for themselves and others, and for what they truly believe in.
Below are some modern and not so modern case studies of weakness and desire in (Western) children's literature.
That said, the most popular, award-winning, beloved contemporary picture books for children often feature characters with a moral weakness.
The fish in This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen full on steals someone else's item of clothing. (Bear in mind that he is punished pretty heavily for it… behind the reeds.)
The boy in This Moose Belongs To Me by Oliver Jeffers wants to deprive a wild creature of its autonomy. Who Wants To Be A Poodle I Don't by lauren child is similar in that the adult character/child stand-in is not letting her pet dog behave like a dog.
Millie by John Marsden and Sally Rippin stars a girl who doesn't listen to her parents.
Wolf Comes To Town by Denis Manton is an example of a baddie wolf who is in essence a serial killer. Guess Who's Coming For Dinner? by John Kelly and Cathy Tincknell is similar but better known, for having won a big award.
Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey stars a selfish dog who hogs all his toys, contrasted with the caring, sharing Trevor.
In some of the older types of stories, the main character sometimes gets into bother by failing to follow the rules set down by the parents. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese is a good example of that. Today, failing to obey rules/parents/teachers is not considered a moral weakness. Rather, we're in a period where we glamorise and encourage independent thinking and questioning of authority, of which I generally approve, except a lot of these stories also seem to punish those characters who do do as they're told. (Usually Hillary Clinton types.)
Psychological weaknesses are also common:
The bear in I Want My Hat Back is ridiculously unobservant (i.e. stupid). Rosie's Walk is the grandmother of this kind of story.
Mog The Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr — the psychological weakness is in the title.
Wolves In The Walls features a child character who is anxious/scared. This is the psychological weakness of pretty much any monster picture book. The Dark by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen is a monster story which doesn't mention monsters.
Z Is For Moose by Kelly Bingham and Paul O. Zelinsky features a moose who basically throws a temper tantrum because things don't go his way. Max of Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is another child who faces his own temper, though in a completely different kind of story.
Sometimes the psychological weakness is one of the 'high level' ones, from the seven deadly sins. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is greedy and gets a sore belly.
Even in children's books, the most interesting and beloved characters do have both kinds of weakness. This character isn't necessarily the viewpoint character.
Scarface Claw by Lynley Dodd — Scarface is mean to the dogs but this particular story shows us that he is also a scaredy-cat underneath.
Olivia by Ian Falconer is basically a narcissistic little girl in a pig's body. While I personally have no love for Olivia, she is very popular.
CHARACTER NEED
There is probably a finite number of human needs, though so many you'll never be short of material. Take a pyramid you're probably familiar with, Maslow's hierarchy of needs. There are a few problems with this hierarchy, so it pays to look at it critically:
The modern integration of ideas from neuroscience, developmental biology, and evolutionary psychology suggests that Maslow had a few things wrong. For one thing, he never gave much thought to reproduction. He conceived of "higher needs" as completely personal strivings, unconnected from other people, and totally divorced from biological needs. Parental motivations were completely missing from his hierarchy, and he placed "sexual needs" down at the bottom— along with hunger and thirst. Presumably, sexual urges were biological annoyances that could be as well dispatched by masturbation as by having intercourse, before one moved back to higher pursuits like playing the guitar or writing poetry.
The psychological need of your main character is closely associated with their weakness.
CHARACTER PROBLEM
In children's stories where there is no psychological or moral weakness and won't learn anything or change in any way by the end of the narrative, your character will (probably) have a Problem. This problem is external to their psychology. Stories like this don't tend to be as emotionally interesting, but are appropriate for, say, humour.
In Stuck by Oliver Jeffers, the boy's problem is that something is stuck in a tree and he can't reach it down.
Dogger by Shirley Hughes is about the problem of losing a favourite toy.
Nickety Nackety Noo Noo Noo by Joy Cowley and Trace Moroney features a resourceful, heroic girl who is perfect in every way, but her big problem is that she's been abducted by an ogre.
There's another kind of story where the 'main character' is the reader. Where Is The Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek is one example of this: The reader's problem is that the book asks them to locate a green sheep, but that's impossible until turning the final page. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is another example of a perennial favourite which doesn't seem to follow any of the usual rules of story — again, this book addresses the young reader directly. The child is the character, saying goodnight to the items. This is more secular prayer than complete narrative.
Do all children's book characters need a Problem, if they don't have a moral or psychological weakness? Again the answer is not always, actually.
The Biggest Sandwich Ever by Rita Golden Gelman and Mort Gerberg is a carnivalesque story in which a man turns up and makes an enormous sandwich. In a carnivalesque story, there doesn't have to be a problem as such, because the unsupervised play itself is the story — equivalent to the battle scene in a more common type of story. A carnivalesque story is a 'toy story' — all about play and enjoyment with no 'broccoli'. However, even in The Biggest Sandwich Ever, the characters do face a problem by the end: After stuffing themselves full of sandwich, they are now faced with the task of eating a giant pie.
More! by Peter Schossow is a wordless picture book which celebrates the joy of walking (flying) along a beach on a windy day.
A golden rule about problems in story: The initial problem gets more complicated as soon as the main character tries to solve it.
comic by Poorly Drawn Lines
Sometimes the initial problem exists only to get the story rolling. This is what Hitchcock called a McGuffin.
Reversals and Reveals In Storytelling
Reversals and reveals are vital for creating momentum and suspense in a story. Certain genres are required to be more page-turny than others, and all children's literature must be page-turny. So you'll find reversals and reveals everywhere in children's literature.
A picture of a mountain because in stories, character revelations often take place on one.
WHAT ARE 'REVEALS'?
'Reveal' started out as a verb, but is now commonly used by writers as a noun. This happened when novelists turned to TV, apparently.
'Oh darling, [story is] just two or three little surprises followed every now and again by a bigger surprise.
– Peggy Ramsay, agent
A revelation is basically a surprise.
Revelation is seen by the audience as motion, even if nothing has changed but knowledge or insight.
WHAT ARE 'REVERSALS'?
'Reversals' are 'big reveals'. The audience's understanding of everything in the story is turned on its head. They suddenly see every element of the plot in a new light. All reality changes in an instant. 'Reversal' is a term writers use. Audiences tend to just say 'plot twist', but that often just means a sequence they weren't able to easily predict. For example, when Andy escapes in Shawshank Redemption, that's not a reversal. It might qualify as a twist because we generally expect life-prisoners to stay where they are.
The Sixth Sense, however, includes a genuine reversal because the famous revelation requires us to regard the entire story until that point in a completely different light. The big reversal reveal comes right at the end of the story. This has the advantage of sending the audience out of the theater with a knockout punch. It's the biggest reason this movie was a hit. (M. Night Shyalaman didn't come up with the idea of the psychologist being dead until well after his first draft. Though he managed to make it feel very new, Shyalaman was borrowing from a long tradition of Dead All Along characters.)
An example of a reversal is when the audience finds out who A.D. is on Pretty Little Liars. A mistake the writers of that show made was waiting seven seasons to give that information to the audience. Desperate Housewives, the writer's mentor series, wrapped up mysteries at the end of each season, not at the end of the entire series. This is called a 'reveal' but is also a reversal because we realise A.D. was in front of us the whole time. We are asked to think back on everything we've seen so far and consider in a new light.
An example of the frustration experienced by viewers when information is withheld across years.
The Greeks called this 'peripeteia'. A classic example is Oedipus Rex — it's the bit where he finds out about his parents. Fast forward a few years we have Luke Skywalker finding out who his father is.
A story can have more than one reversal. While minor reversals can occur in every scene, bigger ones tend to divide the work into specific acts.
A reversal reveal is most common in detective stories and thrillers.
But you must be careful with this technique. It can reduce the story to a mere vehicle for plot, and very few stories can support such domination by the plot. O. Henry gained great fame using the reversal technique in his short stories (such as "The Gift of the Magi"), but they were also criticized for being forced, gimmicky, and mechanical.
A subversion is not a modern invention but peripeteia itself; it is the tool that catapults the hero into the opposite of their present state — from thesis to antithesis, from home to a world unknown.
That's what inciting incidents are too — they are 'explosions of opposition', structural tools freighted with all the characteristics the characters lack; embodiments, indeed, of everything they need. Cliffhangers, inciting incidents and crisis points are essentially the same thing: a turning point at the end of an act; the unexpected entry point for the protagonists into the new world; bombs built from the very qualities they lack which explode their existing universe, hurtling them into an alien space of which they must then make sense.
The final pay off must follow the internal logic established at the beginning of the story. Scooby Doo is hokey, but did this very well. Now You See Me (the film) has a twist which doesn't follow the established logic and is considered a failure. It's not interesting for an audience to see a 100% change of a character's personality that has been built up throughout the whole movie.
The best reversal is the kind that creates the biggest surprise without ruining the established logic.
Create suspense by providing the audience with a certain amount of information, then leave the rest to their own imagination.
— Alfred Hitchcock
Give the audience just enough to see it coming but not enough to expect it. How to test if the plot twist works or not: The story is rewatchable/re-readable. It should be just as fun if not more fun to go back and see where the writers hint at that twist. This explains why studies show that spoiling a book before a subject reads it makes the reading more enjoyable. The path towards the reversal is more exciting, even though the reader has lost the enjoyment of the surprise. Perhaps this is why lots of stories spoil the ending at the very beginning.
For more on writing a twist ending, see this post.
EXAMPLES OF REVEALS AND REVERSALS
Gone Girl has a big reversal when we realise the victim is bad.
Victimised women who are actually evil in their own right may be a trend started by Gillian Flynn. In the b-grade horror/thriller movie Pet (2016) a stalker captures a woman he's interested in and keeps her in a cage in 'the tunnels' of a dog shelter where he works. Halfway through the movie the young woman is discovered by the security guard. The reversal is that instead of wanting to be saved, the captured woman encourages her captor to murder him brutally. The big reveal is that she is a psychopath and the reason the stalker creep has captured her is because by stalking her he has realised this about her.
Safe Haven is a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, which is fun to watch if you enjoy predicting romantic cliches. The minor conflict, the handsome widower, the woman who kids fall in love with. The downpour of rain, the first kiss… Eventually, however, just when there is nothing left (because they've fallen into bed), Sparks gives us the first major revelation: He tells the audience why his main character is being followed. All this time we weren't sure if she's a baddie, but now we know she's the victim, abused and stalked by her cop ex-husband. But another supernatural revelation occurs right at the end, when we realize the woman who has befriended our main character has been a ghost all along. This is a reversal, because it causes us to see the entire progression of the relationship in a new light — this coupling hasn't happened organically at all; it's been 'ordained' by a higher power.
REVERSALS AND REVEALS DONE BADLY
The Rug Jerk
Any gratuitous plot or character twist tossed in solely to jerk the rug out from under the reader for the sake of surprise or shock, without sufficient foundation, foreshadowing or justification (retroactive or otherwise). Essentially any story twist that violates Chekhov's principles: "If you fire a gun in Act III, it must be seen on the wall in Act I; and if you show a gun on the wall in Act I, it must be fired in Act III." The Rug Jerk fires the gun without showing it first or explaining where it came from afterwards.
The Reset Switch, aka The Reboot
Any device that allows a writer to completely erase any already-occurred events of a story and bring the characters back to a predefined starting point, with little or no changes to them or their universe. Time travel ("It never happened"), parallel universes ("It never happened *here*"), unconscious duplicates ("We're all just clones/simulations/androids of the REAL characters!") and dream-sequences ("It was all a dream!") have all been used this way. To be avoided unless the existence of such a phenomenon is, itself, the story's or series' central plot point (as in *The Man Who Folded Himself* or *The Left Hand of Darkness*).
— Critters.org
STORYTELLING TECHNIQUE: THE 'REVEALS PLOT'
When a story relies on reveals as its main source of interest for its audience, this is known as a 'reveals' or 'revelations' plot. Another name for this is the 'big plot', not just because there are so many surprises but also because they tend to be shocking. Although still immensely popular today—especially in detective stories and thrillers. Mysteries are required to include a big revelation, but other kinds of stories make use of revelation also. (Lord Of The Flies: Who is the beast?)
Came from: The heyday of the reveals plot was the 19th century e.g. Dumas (The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers), Dickens, The Portrait Of A Lady
The hero generally stays in one place, though it is not nearly so narrow an area as unity of place requires. For example, the story may take place in a town or a city. Desperate Housewives is a great example of a reveals plot. Characters don't leave the suburbs except to visit hospitals/schools/workplaces which are themselves a part of suburban life.
The reveals plot almost always covers a longer time period than unity of time allows, even up to a few years.
The hero is familiar with his or her opponents, but a great deal about them is hidden from the hero and the audience. In Desperate Housewives, the mysterious newcomers have secrets. Characters and audience learn about them as each series progresses.
These opponents are very skilled at scheming to get what they want. This combination produces a plot that is filled with revelations, or surprises, for the hero and the audience.
These plots tend to start en medias res, then take the audience backwards and forward through time. We're not just talking flashback here. One set of scenes might unravel a secret in the forward direction. Another set of scenes might move us backwards from the 'beginning' to the source of the mystery itself. In a detective story the plot begins in the middle of the story — the point at which the investigation gets going. In this kind of story, the plot progresses by going backwards in time. The biggest revelation will coincide with the moment of the deepest penetration into the past.
The inverse* of the 'reveals' plot is the 'journey' plot.
In the journey plot, surprise is limited because the hero dispatches a large number of opponents quickly.
The reveals plot takes few opponents and hides as much about them as possible. Revelations magnify the plot by going under the surface.
*Dickens actually blended the reveals plot with the journey plot. This shows what a master he was of plotting, since the two approaches are in many ways opposites.
Advantages Of The Reveals Plot
The reveals plot is organic because the opponent is the character best able to attack the weakness of the hero, and the surprises come at the moments when the hero and the audience learn how those attacks have occurred. The hero must then overcome his weakness and change or be destroyed.
The reveals plot maximises surprise. (Since plot basically equals 'surprise', surprises are always good.)
Plot in this kind of story comes from digging deeper and deeper into the same world, with each new level providing a whole new batch of reveals, and thus plot, for the audience.
A Common Misperception
A misperception I run into a lot: if a reader is not SHOCKED by your big twist, it's a failure. This isn't true! Here's why…
First, guessing a surprise twist beforehand (as long as it isn't insulting obvious) can make readers feel smart and vindicated to see they guessed right.
Second, when you use a trope where a certain plot twist/reveal is expected, knowing that reveal is coming ADDS to the tension, it doesn't detract from it. We're looking forward to him discovering *gasp* his gf is actually the empress! The anticipation is part of the experience.
So: a plot twist can have value not only in being surprising, but also in being anticipated. How to set up plot twists so they'll delightfully surprise readers OR add to our breathless anticipation when we guess them early: foreshadow adequately, but don't make it blindingly obvious (unless you don't mean for it to be a reveal to us, only to another character).
Try to ensure that your reveal will escalate the stakes and/or evolve at least one conflict (the main external one, an internal conflict, or a conflict between characters) in a new way. If it doesn't change things in some relevant way, it won't impact readers.
— @NaomiHughesYA
Types of Reveals
A few main types of plot twists/reveals:
1. those that surprise us but not the character (this type is used often for unreliable narrators; can be super fun, but can also make a reader feel lied to, so use carefully).
2. The type of plot twist that surprises a POV character but not us. Often used in dual POV stories where one character has a secret that we're in on, but the other POV character isn't. Great for driving up tension and anticipation as you build toward the reveal.
And finally, 3. The type of plot twist that surprises (or is meant to surprise; refer to earlier tweet about readers guessing it early not necessarily being a bad thing) both readers and the POV characters. Often happens at midpoint &/or climax.
Planning and Editing A Reveals Plot
John Truby advises writers take some time to separate the reveals from the rest of the plot and look at them as one unit. Tracking the revelations sequence is one of the most valuable of all storytelling techniques. You're checking to see if the sequence builds properly.
1. The sequence of revelations must be logical. They must occur in the order in which the hero would most likely learn of them.
2. Reveals must build in intensity. Ideally, each reveal should be stronger than the one that came before it. This is not always possible, especially in longer stories (for one thing, it defies logic). But you want a general buildup so that the drama increases.
3. Reveals must come at an increasing pace. This also heightens the drama because the audience gets hit with a greater density of surprise.
4. Start the hero's desire low and raise it with each "reveal". It's pretty typical in a story for the hero to be ambling along not wanting anything much and then something happens and they are forced into action. Then, at about the midway point the hero will really, really want that thing, doing everything in their powers to achieve the thing they never really wanted in the first place. The reveals are what drive the hero's increasing intensity of desire.
Further questions to ask:
Are these revealed secrets worth knowing? There must be a direct impact on the immediate situation.
Does the audience have enough context for this revelation to be meaningful?
Is the secret simple? If it needs heaps of explaining it won't have any punch when revealed. ("Luke, I am your father." Not, "Luke, I am your cousin thrice removed.")
Have you foreshadowed but not telegraphed?
Like endings, reversals should feel both inevitable and surprising at once.
Is this so-called revelation simply one of two possible alternatives considered from the beginning? If so, the answer won't be much of a 'revelation' — more like when you're expecting a baby it's probably going to be a boy or a girl. The surprise is pretty minimal in that regard. If you're stuck with this problem, consider audience misdirection or hint at something different but related.
Posted on March 8, 2017 January 12, 2020
Desperate Housewives Storytelling Tips
Desperate Housewives ran for eight seasons from 2004 to 2012. This show is a great example of a 'cozy mystery'.
Taglines are for the marketing copy.
Season One: Everyone has a little dirty laundry…/Secrets. Romance. Murder. All On One Street.
THE LOGLINE/PREMISE
For maximum narrative drive the premise should be all about the plot. A premise that works will contain some sort of contrast.
"Secrets and truths unfold through the lives of female friends in one suburban neighborhood, after the mysterious suicide of a neighbor."
The contrast in this logline is that 'friends' have 'secrets' in the 'suburbs', an arena we generally associate with 'knowing everybody's business' and 'nothing interesting ever happens'.
GENRE BLEND OF DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
drama, mystery, satire
When Desperate Housewives first aired in 2004 it was the tone which drew me in. I hadn't seen anything with quite that balance of 1950s housewife satire, comedy and mystery. It's easy to forget that now because we've since seen a number of TV dramas with a similar vibe: Pretty Little Liars for one was pitched as 'Desperate Housewives For Teens'. Like Desperate Housewives, there is a cast of four distinct female archetypes who are friends. There is also a slight supernatural overtone to the story, with a dead person pulling strings/narrating omnisciently.
The women on this show aren't real women — nothing like it. An excellent example of the 'unreality' of the characters can be heard in the audio commentary to episode 15, season one. Marc Cherry is especially proud of his writing of this episode (and it was the first time they shifted to their new, more expansive set), so he guides DVD owners through the episode they called Impossible. In this one, John's roommate Justin blackmails Gabrielle into having sex with him by becoming their new gardener. Gabrielle turns the gardener down, both for sex and for free garden work with obvious strings attached, but her husband lets him in and he surprises her while she's in her own bathroom upstairs. The male writer and producer tell us on the audio commentary that actress Eva Longoria did an excellent job of 'taking control of the situation' but was 'rooted to the spot' for the first few takes, terrified at the prospect of finding a well-muscled young man confronting her for sex in her own space. The scene is meant to be played as comedy. Longoria's acting made it somewhere there, but I did watch this episode the first time thinking that it's not good comedy material, and a 'real woman' would not react with Gabrielle's bravado — not with genuine bravado — in that particular situation. From my perspective, the male writer on this occasion simply did not understand how terrifying this scenario would be for a woman, and seemed a bit mystified about why Eva Longoria had trouble acting her part in it.
The men are archetypes, too. Even the children are preternaturally scheming/mature/creepy, harking back to a time before the concept of childhood existed. In this ways and many others, Desperate Housewives is a series of fairytales.
The show was originally pitched with 'comedy' in its genre blend but none of the networks were interested. When it was re-pitched as 'satire' suddenly it found a home. Networks had assumed it was just another soap. But they realised the audience was ready for a 'self-aware' version of the daytime soap, and changing the genre from 'comedy' to 'satire' did the trick.
OTHER SHOWS SIMILAR TO DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
Continue reading "Desperate Housewives Storytelling Tips"
Storytelling Tips From Kings Of Summer (2013)
Sometimes when you find out a story used to be called something different right up until the marketing team stepped in, the original name can offer extra insight. Kings of Summer was originally called "Toy's House". The main character is called Joe Toy, and I did spend a bit of time wondering if this is a symbolic name. The boys build themselves a house in the woods and set about pretending that they're living off the grid. And it really is a pretence, because all the while they're using a sum of stolen money to buy roast chickens from a nearby fast food restaurant.
After learning the original name I realised this is basically a Doll's House Story, in which characters play out a scenario in a form of play that becomes quite serious.
GENRE BLEND OF THE KINGS OF SUMMER
comedy, drama >> coming-of-age, adventure story
I will call this 'quirky comedy'.
Continue reading "Storytelling Tips From Kings Of Summer (2013)"


text:
Antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin a on mouse ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo
A. Chandrashekar Sharada, F. Emerson Solomon, Pathirisseri Uma Devi, Nayanabhirama Udupa, K. Kaitheri Srinivasan
Department of Pharmaceutics, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal
The antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin A (WA), a steroidal lactone from Withania somnifera, was studied on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. The acute LD50(14) for WA in Swiss mice was ~ 80 mg/kg. Twenty-four hours after i.p. inoculation of 106 tumor cells, WA was injected i.p. at different dose fractions (5 or 7.5 mg/kg x 8, 10 mg/kg x 5, 20 or 30 mg/kg x 2) with or without abdominal gamma irradiation (RT, 7.5 Gy) after the first drug dose. Increase in life span and tumor-free survival were studied up to 120 days. The drug inhibited tumor growth and increased survival, which was dependent on the WA dose per fraction rather than the total dose. Combination of RT with all the drug schedules increased tumor cure and tumor-free survival, the best effect seen after 2 fractions of 30 mg/kg each. In another experiment WA was given as 2 (40 mg/kg x 2), 3 (30 mg/kg x 3) or 4 (20 mg/kg x 4) fractions at 5, 7 or 10 days after tumor inoculation with or without RT after the first drug dose. At 7 and 10 days after inoculation the drug was effective only at 40 mg/kg x 2, but with RT 30 mg/kg x 3 produced an equal effect (20% survival) on 7 day old tumors.
Acta Oncologica
Radiation-Sensitizing Agents
Lethal Dose 50
withaferin A
Sharada, A. C., Solomon, F. E., Devi, P. U., Udupa, N., & Srinivasan, K. K. (1996). Antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin a on mouse ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. Acta Oncologica, 35(1), 95-100.
Sharada, A. Chandrashekar ; Solomon, F. Emerson ; Devi, Pathirisseri Uma ; Udupa, Nayanabhirama ; Srinivasan, K. Kaitheri. / Antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin a on mouse ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. In: Acta Oncologica. 1996 ; Vol. 35, No. 1. pp. 95-100.
@article{fefd4539f1124679ac341165f08e1416,
title = "Antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin a on mouse ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo",
abstract = "The antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin A (WA), a steroidal lactone from Withania somnifera, was studied on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. The acute LD50(14) for WA in Swiss mice was ~ 80 mg/kg. Twenty-four hours after i.p. inoculation of 106 tumor cells, WA was injected i.p. at different dose fractions (5 or 7.5 mg/kg x 8, 10 mg/kg x 5, 20 or 30 mg/kg x 2) with or without abdominal gamma irradiation (RT, 7.5 Gy) after the first drug dose. Increase in life span and tumor-free survival were studied up to 120 days. The drug inhibited tumor growth and increased survival, which was dependent on the WA dose per fraction rather than the total dose. Combination of RT with all the drug schedules increased tumor cure and tumor-free survival, the best effect seen after 2 fractions of 30 mg/kg each. In another experiment WA was given as 2 (40 mg/kg x 2), 3 (30 mg/kg x 3) or 4 (20 mg/kg x 4) fractions at 5, 7 or 10 days after tumor inoculation with or without RT after the first drug dose. At 7 and 10 days after inoculation the drug was effective only at 40 mg/kg x 2, but with RT 30 mg/kg x 3 produced an equal effect (20{\%} survival) on 7 day old tumors.",
author = "Sharada, {A. Chandrashekar} and Solomon, {F. Emerson} and Devi, {Pathirisseri Uma} and Nayanabhirama Udupa and Srinivasan, {K. Kaitheri}",
journal = "Acta Oncologica",
Sharada, AC, Solomon, FE, Devi, PU, Udupa, N & Srinivasan, KK 1996, 'Antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin a on mouse ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo', Acta Oncologica, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 95-100.
Antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin a on mouse ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. / Sharada, A. Chandrashekar; Solomon, F. Emerson; Devi, Pathirisseri Uma; Udupa, Nayanabhirama; Srinivasan, K. Kaitheri.
In: Acta Oncologica, Vol. 35, No. 1, 1996, p. 95-100.
T1 - Antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin a on mouse ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo
AU - Sharada, A. Chandrashekar
AU - Solomon, F. Emerson
AU - Devi, Pathirisseri Uma
AU - Udupa, Nayanabhirama
AU - Srinivasan, K. Kaitheri
N2 - The antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin A (WA), a steroidal lactone from Withania somnifera, was studied on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. The acute LD50(14) for WA in Swiss mice was ~ 80 mg/kg. Twenty-four hours after i.p. inoculation of 106 tumor cells, WA was injected i.p. at different dose fractions (5 or 7.5 mg/kg x 8, 10 mg/kg x 5, 20 or 30 mg/kg x 2) with or without abdominal gamma irradiation (RT, 7.5 Gy) after the first drug dose. Increase in life span and tumor-free survival were studied up to 120 days. The drug inhibited tumor growth and increased survival, which was dependent on the WA dose per fraction rather than the total dose. Combination of RT with all the drug schedules increased tumor cure and tumor-free survival, the best effect seen after 2 fractions of 30 mg/kg each. In another experiment WA was given as 2 (40 mg/kg x 2), 3 (30 mg/kg x 3) or 4 (20 mg/kg x 4) fractions at 5, 7 or 10 days after tumor inoculation with or without RT after the first drug dose. At 7 and 10 days after inoculation the drug was effective only at 40 mg/kg x 2, but with RT 30 mg/kg x 3 produced an equal effect (20% survival) on 7 day old tumors.
AB - The antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin A (WA), a steroidal lactone from Withania somnifera, was studied on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. The acute LD50(14) for WA in Swiss mice was ~ 80 mg/kg. Twenty-four hours after i.p. inoculation of 106 tumor cells, WA was injected i.p. at different dose fractions (5 or 7.5 mg/kg x 8, 10 mg/kg x 5, 20 or 30 mg/kg x 2) with or without abdominal gamma irradiation (RT, 7.5 Gy) after the first drug dose. Increase in life span and tumor-free survival were studied up to 120 days. The drug inhibited tumor growth and increased survival, which was dependent on the WA dose per fraction rather than the total dose. Combination of RT with all the drug schedules increased tumor cure and tumor-free survival, the best effect seen after 2 fractions of 30 mg/kg each. In another experiment WA was given as 2 (40 mg/kg x 2), 3 (30 mg/kg x 3) or 4 (20 mg/kg x 4) fractions at 5, 7 or 10 days after tumor inoculation with or without RT after the first drug dose. At 7 and 10 days after inoculation the drug was effective only at 40 mg/kg x 2, but with RT 30 mg/kg x 3 produced an equal effect (20% survival) on 7 day old tumors.
JO - Acta Oncologica
JF - Acta Oncologica
Sharada AC, Solomon FE, Devi PU, Udupa N, Srinivasan KK. Antitumor and radiosensitizing effects of withaferin a on mouse ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. Acta Oncologica. 1996;35(1):95-100.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
dujardin camille
Je m appelle Camille, j ai 15 ans. J'aime chanter et ce depuis toute petite :) si vous aimez mes vidéos n'hésitez pas à vous abonner :)
videoAuthor.getCity() France
Christina Aguilera - Something's Got A Hold On Me
Pop cover by dujardin
Europe 542 France 32 Cover 930 Christina Aguilera 1 Pop 429 Vocal 849 Woman 330
Singer Choir
26 1,053 90 11
The Greatest Showman - A Million Dreams
Sarah McLachlan - Angel
Demi Lovato - Warrior
Halsey - Sorry
Sia - Snowman
Zazie - Speed
Céline Dion - Ashes
Selah Sue - Raggamuffin
Annie Lennox - I Put A Spell On You
Sister act - Oh Happy Day
Birdy - Not About Angels
Andra Day - Rise Up
Edith Piaf - L'hymne À L'amour
Louane - Si T'étais La
Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good
The Hit Girls - Just Way You Are
Mélissa NKonda - J'ai Fait Tout Ca Pour Vous
Pauline - Allo Le Monde
Sam Smith - Writing's On The Wall
Elle King - Ex's And Oh's
Gregory Lemarchal - Sos D'un Terrien En Détresse
Sam Smith - Wrting's On The Wall
Céline Dion - Je Sais Pas
Indila - Love Story
Zaz - Si Jamais J'oublie
Marina Kaye - Homeless
Alicia Keys - If Ain't Got You
Frank Sinatra - My Funny Valentine
Céline Dion - Encore Un Soir
Zaz - Ebloui Par La Nuit
Céline Dion - Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore
Indila - Une Dernère Danse
Zara Larsson - Uncover
C'est trop facile
Calogero - Si Seulement Je Pouvais Lui Manquer
Vanessa Williams - Air Of Wind
Edith Piaf - La Vie En Rose
Mélissa M - Elle
Francis Cabrel - Je L'aime A Mourir
Michel Berger - Le Paradis Blanc
Christophe Willem - Si Mes Larmes Tombent
Emeli Sandé - Read All About It
Birdy - People Help The People
Michael Jackson - I Want You Back
Sia - Freeze You Out
Birdy - Skinny Love
Christina María Aguilera (, Spanish: [aɣiˈleɾa]; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, one Latin Grammy Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Aguilera ranked at number 58 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time in 2008, and was included on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. With estimated sales of 75 million records, she is one of the world's best-selling music artists. Born in Staten Island of New York City and raised in Pennsylvania, Aguilera appeared on television shows in her early years before gaining a recording contract with RCA Records in 1998. Her self-titled debut album, released in 1999, reached number one in the US and spawned three US number-one singles: "Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants", and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)". While recognized as a prominent figure in the contemporary teen pop scene, Aguilera sought to assume artistic control with Stripped (2002) and its lead single "Dirrty", which displayed her sexually emancipated persona and generated considerable controversy. The second single from the album, "Beautiful", received favorable response for its empowering lyrics and became an anthem for the LGBT community. Aguilera scored her second US number-one album with Back to Basics (2006), which drew inspiration from early 20th-century jazz, soul, and blues, and spawned the top-ten singles "Ain't No Other Man", "Hurt", and "Candyman". Her next three albums, Bionic (2010), Lotus (2012), and Liberation (2018), all experimented with various musical styles and reached the top ten in the US. Besides solo materials, Aguilera earned chart-topping entries with collaborations including "Lady Marmalade", "Moves like Jagger", "Feel This Moment", and "Say Something". Alongside her music career, Aguilera starred in the film Burlesque (2010) and was a coach on six seasons of the singing competition television series The Voice from 2011 to 2016.
Virus - Pronta Entrega
Cascada - Bad Boy
Christina Aguilera - Beautiful
Vocal cover by PostmodernJukebox
Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle
Christina Aguilera - Say Something
Live cover by John Vatsikas
Christina Aguilera - Fighter
Vocal cover by The Animal In Me
Vocal cover by Ezgi Erdoğan


text:
Q: SQL XML column - update child node value based on other nodes I am not used to use xml in an sql column and have a question about updating the content of that column.
I have a table (TableXML) with a column (ColumnXML) containing the following xml hierarchy : Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/
Each Item have a /Name, a list of PluginsProperties/Item
and each of these other item have a /key and value
For example :
<Xml>
    <Content Tr="1">
        <Queues Tr="12">
            <list Tr="13">
                <Item Tr="14">
                    <Name Tr="2">Data Load Exception</Name>
                    <PluginProperties Tr="15">
                        <Item Tr="16">
                            <key Tr="2">MSMQQueueType</key>
                            <value Tr="2">PrivateQueue</value>
                        </Item>
                        ...........more items
                    </PluginProperties>
                </Item>
                ...........more items
            </list>
        </Queues>
    </Content>
</Xml>

What I would like to do :
Update the value of the /Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/PluginProperties/Item/value tag to PublicQueue
where the /Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/PluginProperties/Item/key is MSMQQueueType
and the /Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/Name is Data Load Exception
No "Queue item" other than the one with name Data Load Exception should be affected and no "PluginProperties item" other than the one with key MSMQQueueType should be affected for it.
Thanks! =)

A: you can use replace value of clause to do this
if it was a single node then it can be done in with single statement like below
     update TableXML
     set columnXML.modify('
            replace value of    ((/Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/PluginProperties/Item/value)[1]/text())[1] with ''PublicQueue''')
 where columnXML.value('((/Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/PluginProperties/Item/key)[1]/text())[1]','varchar(50)') = 'MSMQQueueType'
  and columnXML.value('((/Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/Name)[1]/text())[1]','varchar(50)') = 'Data Load Exception'

AS there exists many nodes, we need to get the count of the nodes and do it using while loop like below
declare @elements int

select @elements = ISNULL(columnXML.value('count(/Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/PluginProperties/Item)', 'int'),0)
from TableXML

while @elements > 0
begin

  update TableXML
  set columnXML.modify
    ('replace value of ((/Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/PluginProperties/Item/value)[sql:variable("@elements")]/text())[1]
      with ''PublicQueue''')
  where columnXML.value('((/Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/PluginProperties/Item/key)[sql:variable("@elements")]/text())[1]','varchar(50)') = 'MSMQQueueType'
  and columnXML.value('((/Xml/Content/Queues/list/Item/Name)[sql:variable("@elements")]/text())[1]','varchar(50)') = 'Data Load Exception'

  set @elements = @elements - 1
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Justice Allen Krebs, 22, of Bedford, passed away on Friday, February 1, 2019.
Justice was a free spirit who loved the outdoors. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping. His dream was to backpack across America and volunteer in foreign countries. Justice was a caring and kind-hearted person who was always helping others. As an organ donor, his legacy will live on through the lives he helped to save.
Justice was preceded in death by his biological father, Shannen Krueger.
His surviving family includes his parents, Herbert and Seleena Krebs; sister, Shannen Krebs; biological mother, Stacy Little; siblings, Alyssa Rock and husband, Greg, Charles Sommers, Ryan Hadel and Nevaeh Harper; grandparents, Herb and Barbara Krebs, Calvin and Bonnie LaPradd, Carl and Charlotte Krueger, and Frank and Bonnie Carson; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.
The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, February 8, 2019, in the John M. Oakey & Son Chapel in Salem. A funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 9, 2019, also in the chapel, with Pastor Jake Huffman officiating. Interment will immediately follow at East Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made in Justice's name to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Virginia at 2224 South Jefferson Street in Roanoke, Va. 24014. Online condolences may be expressed at www.johnmoakey.com.


Maxville book club monthly meeting. The book for next month will be announced.
Learn new skills in couponing and coupon exchange.
In recognition of Asian Pacific Heritage month, learn how to make books using a traditional Japanese binding method called stab binding. Using this non-adhesive binding method, create a book with the Seigaiha or wave pattern on the cover, a common motif found prominently on kimonos among other things. For ages 5-12.


Stage 2 EVO 10 58/58 Anti-Surged XTR-Billet Extended Tip Compressor | "Turbocharger Systems" meeting all your turbocharged needs.
This was done by David Llerena in Miami. He is the owner of Kustom Tuning in Miami Florida. David is probably one of the best EVO tuners in the country. Give him a shout for any tuning needs you may have at www.kustomtuning.com . This turbo made 550 WHP at 33 PSI on David's personal car on E85. You can view the primary competitors come in at a couple hundred dollars higher on their equivalent models. If you return us a rebuildable core you will receive up to a $300.00 core credit best case scenario. You will receive no less than $200.00 on your core refund providing there are no cracks in the hot-side (turbine) housing and the center housing (bearing) is intact (re-useable).


text:
Q: What is the equivalent program to anonytun on Linux? Anonytun is an android application. It's like a VPN but it can use SSL tunneling and spoof host (image below). Here's the Google Play page of anonytun .
I'm looking for a program that can use SSL tunneling and spoof host on Linux. Is there a program like that?

A: Anonytun is a service that probably uses an HTTP CONNECT proxy on the server side to implement most of its functionality. So asking what the equivalent is on Linux is somewhat ambiguous. In any case you will still need a VPN server to connect to.
Tools you could use to make a tunnel are xl2tpd, openssh, apache using HTTP CONNECT over TLS, openvpn, openconnect/anyconnect etc.
On Ubuntu installing network-manager-openconnect-gnome would add functionality to the network manager to connect to anyconnect compatible VPNs with similar usability to that app. Furthermore without any special software you can change your proxy settings to use an https CONNECT based proxy (which is partially a tunnel).
"host spoofing" in the context of Anonytun is a somewhat incorrect way of saying that it provides an override to SSL Server Name Indication (SNI). While this information is not encrypted nor is the destination IP address and so a simple reverse lookup would probably reveal the same name meanwhile "spoofing" it will likely result in unexpected things happening. Since it is an SSL proxy this override is likely for the tunnel itself. In the case of anyconnect for example this information just isn't sent at all.


text:
Q: Chrome: window.content.document? I'm developing a Google Chrome Extension and I'm wondering what is the Chrome equivilant of window.content.document?

A: Looks like crome extensions depend on script injection if you want to interact with pages:
http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/content_scripts.html
You can inject code or .js files.
For extension <-> DOM communication:
http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/content_scripts.html#host-page-communication
To access windows: http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/windows.html
Lets just say there's no direct access to DOM from Extension as far as I can see.

A: There is no window.content in Chrome right now (August 2014)
but window.document works just as well.

A: Like BGerrissen said, there is no direct access capability across different windows.
It is a restriction that different domain script cannot directly access each other.
As an extension, the main script itself is in a standalone chrome process.
You can put many functions, computations, preference code in this background.html.
And inject small portion of JS code into the content of other tab or window to manipulate the HTML content. And there communications to each other can be achieved by using postMessage and message handler.

A: Yes, BGerrissen it correct. You need to communicate with web pages via a shared DOM using content scripts.
It's quite tricky, requiring you to register events and listeners and bind data to a DOM element that both scripts can access.
http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/content_scripts.html#host-page-communication
There's an example in Google Chrome labs where an extension script makes a web page red:
http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/samples.html#ede3c47b7757245be42ec33fd5ca63df4b490066


text:
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo's Call with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor
Readout
The following is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:
Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke today with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Pandor discussed strengthening U.S.-South African bilateral relations, enhanced collaboration in international organizations, and increased trade and investment. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister noted the upcoming arrival of U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks, who will focus on building mutual economic prosperity and ensuring the sustainability of successful U.S.-supported HIV treatment and prevention programs, which have saved the lives of millions of South Africans.
Bureau of African Affairs Office of the Spokesperson The Secretary of State South Africa
Treasury Sanctions First Vice President of South Sudan Taban Deng Gai
Sudan National Day
United States Sanctions Five Malian Individuals


View the threads wiggiej has started.
Leave feedback for wiggiej or read feedback left by other members.
View the member feedback wiggiej has written of others.
" A Michigan tree frog living in my Aechmea 'Blue Tango' this summer."


text:
Apure State
Colombia Border
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on How to Tackle Climate Change: "We Must Go from Capitalism to Socialism"
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spared no criticism of the climate conference in Copenhagen. Well, shortly after the news conference, I caught up with President Chavez for a few minutes.
By Amy Goodman - Democracy Now!
Dec 23rd 2009 at 12.19pm
Barack ObamaParticipatory DemocracyColombia-Venezuela RelationsEnvironmentClimate Change
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spared no criticism of the climate conference in Copenhagen. At a joint news conference he held with the Bolivian president Evo Morales on Friday afternoon—this was before President Obama announced the accord—Chavez called the proceedings undemocratic and accused world leaders of only seeking a face-saving agreement. He described President Obama as having won the "Nobel war prize" and said the world still smelled of sulfur, referring to his comments about President Bush at the United Nations last year. Well, shortly after the news conference, I caught up with President Chavez for a few minutes.
Amy Goodman: You sell more oil to the United States than any country but Canada. Your economy depends on oil, yet you are here at a climate change summit. What's your proposal?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] The problem is not the oil, but what they do with the oil. The United States is the biggest spender of oil and of all the planet resources. Oil is a very valuable resource for life—electric heaters. We must transition ourselves to a post-oil era. And that's what we must discuss, searching and developing new sources of energy. And that requires scientific research. That requires investment. And the developed countries must be the ones to assume this responsibility first.
Amy Goodman: What level of emissions are you willing to support reductions of emissions?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] One hundred percent. One hundred percent. We must reduce the emissions 100 percent. In Venezuela, the emissions are currently insignificant compared to the emissions of the developed countries. We are in agreement. We must reduce all the emissions that are destroying the planet. However, that requires a change in lifestyle, a change in the economic model: we must go from capitalism to socialism. That's the real solution.
Amy Goodman: How do you throw away capitalism?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] The way they did it in Cuba. That's the way. The same way we are doing in Venezuela: giving the power to the people and taking it away from the economic elites. You can only do that through a revolution.
Amy Goodman: President Obama—what is your reaction to his speech today?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] Obama is a big frustration. In my opinion, Obama can become one of the biggest frustrations in the history for many people, not for me, but the people of the United States that voted for him and saw him as a symbol of hope for change. But he has given continually to the most aggressive Bush policies, the imperialist policies.
Amy Goodman: What example of that?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] The war. I told Obama, when he took the initiative to come visit us in the Summit of the Americas—we talked for a few minutes. I told him, "Obama, let's work for peace in Colombia. That's what I am proposing. Let's get a team together to analyze the problem." But absolutely nothing. He is now installing seven military bases in Colombia. That's just one example.
And in Iraq and Afghanistan, policies of war. Guantanamo, it is a great frustration. And I feel sorry, not for me. You are from the United States. I feel sorry for you, because you deserve a government that takes care of the problems of the people of the United States and stops thinking about dominating the rest of the world and just governs over the United States, eradicates the problems of the United States, the poverty, the inequality, which gets bigger every day, the unemployment, families on the street, homeless, without Social Security, diseases. I wish for you to get a government that truly takes care of you first and then works towards peace for the rest of the world.
Amy Goodman: The US government calls you a dictator. What is your response?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] I laugh. I laugh. It is the empire calling me a dictator. I'm happy. And I remember Don Quixote, Quixote who was with Sancho, you know, and the dogs start to bark, and Sancho says, "They are going to bite us." And Quixote wisely answers, "Take it easy, Sancho, because if the dogs are barking, it is because we are galloping." I will be very sad and worried if the imperialist government was calling me a great democratic man. No, it is them, the empire, who attack those who are truly contributing to the real democracy.
Amy Goodman: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaking to us in Copenhagen on Friday.
Source: Democracy Now!
Venezuela & Colombia Deploy Troops to Border Region amid Renewed Tensions, Reported Incursions
Hugo Chávez Writes on "The Battle of Copenhagen"
The 15th Conference of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark was only the beginning of a decisive battle for the...
Copenhagen Summit: Undemocratic and Exclusive Says Venezuela
Venezuelan representatives denounced that the Copenhagen Climate Summit was undemocratic, that its final document was made behind closed doors, and that...
Venezuelan President's Speech on Climate Change in Copenhagen
A translation of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's speech on December 16, 2009 at the XV International Conference of the United Nations Organization on...
Popular organizations denounced the "invasion" of 50 ELN members in Apure state on Friday.


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I have arrived at the conclusion that as humans become ever more globally 'connected' in the digitally networked world, they are becoming alarmingly 'disconnected' and isolated on a personal level. While access to data has never been so immediately accessible, the quality of our conversations, the incisiveness of our problem solving, and our collective ability to focus on what really matters, and reach universal agreements on what actually needs to be done, are all in sharp decline.
Six years have passed since I wrote this piece. It was brought back to my attention this week by someone, and I decided I didn't need to update a single word.
Are we failing our children by what is taught at school? How much has the basic curriculum changed in the last 30 years? Are our children still having to endure an education program designed for the 20th Century? I believe so.
There is little evidence that governments around the world have really got to grips with what is happening right underneath their noses. It is perhaps little wonder, as the politicians and leaders of our states, institutions and corporations are, almost exclusively, products of the 20th Century.
A recent discussion with a client about a business problem they were facing prompted me to dig out this blog post that I wrote back in 2012. It would appear that the problems organisations face as a result of people 'avoiding' difficult conversations is as rife as ever. I should not be surprised. People do not like giving or hearing difficult messages, and even those who know that to be true, often lack the skills required to overcome their natural instinct to 'avoid', 'deflect', 'normalise' and 'tolerate' the unacceptable. More work is needed in this vital area to raise capability.
Nancy Kline in her superb book Time to Think describes a conversation with a senior civil servant whose department was going through wave after wave of changes to the way work was done and how things were structured. When asked how his managers were coping with all of this, he responded, 'I have no idea. I don't ask them.' When asked 'Why?', he said, 'They might tell me. We couldn't have that.' As Nancy goes on to explain, what he was really saying was that "he couldn't handle that".
How can Choice be bad for us? This surely goes against everything that we in the western world have taken for granted for decades, indeed hundreds of years. Choice is fundamental to freedom, and, for people who have no freedom, it makes total sense that increasing personal choice, will provide at least an illusion of freedom, and in turn enhance their welfare, satisfaction and happiness.


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Home Species Bettongs
Bettongs
(Genus: Bettongia)
Bettongs are also known as rat kangaroos – they move about with low, springy hops. These small marsupials are endemic to Australia and were once widespread throughout the country. They're in the same family as potoroos and the now extinct Desert Rat-kangaroo.
Burrowing Bettong. Photo Kate Taylor.
There are five bettong species in Australia:
Eastern (or Tasmanian) Bettong (Bettongia gaimardi)
Burrowing Bettong (or Boodie) (B. lesueur)
Brush-tailed Bettong (or Woylie) (B. penicillata)
Northern Bettong (B. tropica), and
Rufous Bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens).
A bettong is about the size of a rabbit, with body length ranging from 30cm to 38cm among species. All bettongs have long tails, roughly equal to body length.
Body weight ranges from 1.2 kg in the smallest species (Northern Bettong) to 2.8kg in the Rufous Bettong, the largest of the group. Males tend to be slightly larger than females. Bettongs have furry coats, ranging in colour from grey to ginger and brown.
Where do bettongs live?
All bettongs have suffered significant declines in their natural distribution following the expansion of agriculture and the introduction of feral predators such as cats and foxes.
Eastern Bettong, Tasmania.
Photo: by 'Pursuedbybear', https://flic.kr/p/zo8YW1
In the 1920s, following the introduction of the Red Fox, the mainland population of the Eastern Bettong became extinct; the species is now restricted to Tasmanian, where its population has recently declined alarmingly, and a reintroduced population (inside a predator-proof fence) in the Australian Capital Territory.
The Burrowing Bettong, once found across much of the central, southern and south-western Australia, is now extinct on the mainland (outside of several re-introduced populations within predator-proof fences). It lives naturally on three islands off Western Australia, and has been introduced to three more West Australian off-shore islands.
Similarly, the once-widespread Woylie is now extinct over much of its former range, persisting only in a handful of intensively-baited remnant woodlands in south-west WA, and in predator-proof fences and a few offshore islands.
The Northern Bettong is endemic to north-eastern Queensland, and is now known from only a small number of locations (critically, there are no captive or fenced populations of the Northern Bettong).
Two bettongs caught on a camera trap refusing to go into the proper trap! Photo by Kirstin Proft (a PhD candidate at UTAS, studying the genetics of Bettongs in the Midlands).
The most common bettong is the Rufous Bettong, which is found along the eastern coast of Australia, and remains particularly abundant in Queensland.
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Woylie is Critically Endangered; the Northern Bettong is Endangered; the Tasmanian population of the Eastern Bettong and the Burrowing Bettong are Near Threatened; and the Rufous Bettong is of Least Concern.
Under Australia's EPBC Act, the Woylie and Northern Bettong are listed as Endangered, the Burrowing Bettong is Vulnerable, the mainland subspecies of the Eastern Bettong is Extinct, and Eastern Bettong (Tasmanian) and Rufous Bettong are not listed.
Depending on the species, bettongs can inhabit arid and semi-arid shrublands, spinifex grasslands, mallee shrublands, temperate woodlands and tall open forests with grassy understories.
Bettong behaviour
A Bettong is released by Kirstin Proft (a PhD candidate at UTAS). Photo Riana Gardiner.
All bettongs are nocturnal. During the day many species sleep in well-camouflaged nests – depressions in the ground lined with leaf litter. They carry nesting material with their curved, prehensile (grasping) tails!
Burrowing Bettongs have complex warrens of underground borrows to escape the searing heat of the arid environments in which they live.
At night bettongs emerge to feed. Several species selectively feed on truffles – the underground fruiting bodies of mushrooms – but most also eat a wide range of foods: roots, tubers, leaves, invertebrates, grubs, fruits and seeds.
Bettongs, like bandicoots, are important ecological engineers. Their digging plays an important role in decomposition of leaf litter (thereby reducing fuel loads and fire risk in dry grassy forests and woodlands) and in dispersing fungal spores and plant seeds.
A Burrowing Bettong. Photo Kate Taylor.
Rufous Bettongs, for example, can travel 1.5km from their nest to feed – a large distance for a small mammal – spreading spores and seeds via their scats, snouts and paws as they move about the landscape.
Bettongs are able to reproduce at any time of the year. The Eastern Bettong's gestation period is only three weeks long, and while it has only one young per litter, it can produce three young per year in favourable conditions. This relatively high rate of reproduction can lead to 'extreme fluctuations' in population growth rates depending on rainfall and drought.
Threats to bettongs
Bettongs have faced and continue to face many threats. They have suffered from extensive loss of habitat due to land clearing for agriculture and development, and ongoing competition for food from stock and feral herbivores, including feral pigs, goats and rabbits.
Rufous Bettong at Mareeba Tropical Savanna and Wetland Reserve, Queensland. Photo Bernard Dupont.*
The introduction of feral predators has been devastating for bettongs, which are particularly susceptible to foxes. Some species also face threats from changed fire regimes, affecting suitable habitat and food availability (e.g. truffles or particular grass species), which may be driven (in part) by the loss of bettongs (and other ground-foraging native species) from the ecosystem.
The small size of many remnant populations is now a threat in itself, with those small populations at risk of extinction from episodic or chance events such as wildfires or floods.
What's Bush Heritage doing?
The Rufous Bettong is found on Carnarvon, Goonderoo and Yourka reserves in Queensland. The Eastern Bettong is found on several properties involved in our Tasmanian Midlandscapes partnership with the Tasmanian Land Conservancy, Greening Australia and the University of Tasmania.
Bush Heritage is protecting the habitat of these bettongs by removing or managing stock and feral herbivores, conserving native vegetation, managing fire and controlling feral predators.
Donate today to help us continue this and other vital conservation work. Most of our operating costs are funded by generous individuals. Donations over $2 are tax-deductible and we can't thank you enough for your support.
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Rufous Bettong at Mareeba Tropical Savanna and Wetland Reserve, Queensland. Photo by Bernard Dupont used under Creative Commons license.
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Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7 p.m. Mostly clear, with a low around 66. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 10%.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. South southwest wind 3 to 5 mph.
Friday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming north northeast 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
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Discount on Renault cars in India: Up to Rs 94,000 discount on Triber, Kwid, and Kiger in July
Discounts will be available throughout the month of July.
Utkarsh Joshi
French automaker Renault has announced massive monthly discounts of up to Rs 94,000 on three of its offerings – Renault Triber, Renault Kwid, and Renault Kiger. The discounts can be availed in the form of cash discounts, loyalty benefits, exchange bonuses, and as a part of the scrappage policy.
Read Also: NISSAN OPENS BOOKINGS FOR NISSAN MAGNITE RED EDITION, LAUNCH ON JULY 18
Renault Triber: Price Starts at Rs 5.91 lakh
Renault Kwid: Price starts at Rs 4.64 lakh
Renault Kiger: Price starts at Rs 5.99 lakh
Avail discounts up to Rs 94,000
Renault's entry into the Multi-Purpose Vehicle segment, the Renault Triber is powered by a 1.0 litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that can generate a maximum power of 72hp and a maximum torque of 96Nm. It is currently offered in a 5-speed manual and AMT transmission.
With Renault Triber you can avail:
Benefits of up to Rs 40,000.
Special loyalty benefits of up to Rs 44,000.
Exchange benefit under scrappage program of up to Rs 10,000.
The Renault Kwid is currently available in two petrol options – 1.0-litre and 0.8-litre petrol engines. The 1.0-litre petrol unit generates a maximum power of 68hp with a torque of 91Nm, while the 0.8-litre petrol engine generates 53hp maximum power with a torque of 72Nm.
Discounts available for 2021 Renault Kwid:
Special loyalty bonuses of up to Rs 37,000.
Renault's compact SUV, Kiger comes in two options – a 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine that can generate a maximum power of 100hp with 160Nm torque, and a 1.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine generating maximum power of 71hp and 96Nm torque.
Discounts available for Renault Kiger:
Special loyalty benefit of up to Rs 55,000.
Corporate discount of up to Rs 10,000, or special offer for rural customers.
Read Also: TATA MOTORS TO INCREASE PRICES OF ITS PASSENGER VEHICLES FROM TODAY
These discounts will be available throughout the month of July. The benefits may vary across cities and showrooms. The corporate discount is available for Renault's approved list of corporates and public sector undertakings. The rural offer of Rs 5,000 is available for farmers, sarpanch and gram panchayat members only.
Earlier this month, Renault had announced 50,000 unit production milestone in India.
renault discount
Utkarsh Joshihttps://www.motorbridge.com/
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» How may I become eligible to apply for an investor's visa?
How may I become eligible to apply for an investor's visa?
On Behalf of Reina & Associates | Mar 15, 2022 | Immigration |
Foreign citizens may become eligible for a United States visa by applying through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. You could qualify by investing at least $1.8 million in a new commercial enterprise. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, your investment may include capital and equipment.
To fund a U.S. startup company, you could contribute assets such as cash or cash equivalents. Assets may include equipment, inventory or personal properties. If the combined value is at least $1.8 million, you may become eligible for an EB-5 visa through an investment in a qualified business enterprise.
Investment capital may include promissory notes
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program also allows you to contribute capital through promissory notes. You could use your own assets as collateral. If you have the ability to secure promissory notes with a current worth of $1.8 million, you may use them for your U.S. enterprise.
According to USCIS.gov, if you alone have personal liability for repaying a note, a promise to pay may serve as proof of your investment into a new U.S. business. A promissory note's fair market value must reflect its current present value. Notes must also have a repayment date of no later than two years.
Investors must meet job-creation requirements
In addition to providing capital, eligibility for an EB-5 visa requires that your new enterprise create at least 10 full-time jobs. Each employee hired must show proof of U.S. citizenship or legal authorization to work and live in the U.S.
By meeting the capital investment and job-creation requirements, investors may apply for an EB-5 visa. The investment into a new American business could serve as a pathway to U.S. citizenship.