Lazarinth

Lazarinth

Quit being a security officer, high school teacher and decent human being to become a journalist. Read more of my stuff at my blog: https://fantasyandanime.wordpress.com/

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Latest Articles

Latest Topics

3

The Convenience of Audiobooks

What qualities of audiobooks do you feel are inferior or superior to reading hard copies? Do you think being able to use your hands or exercising while listening to a book is useful, or do you prefer the feel of holding a physical copy and focusing your vision on the words rather than on your surroundings?

  • I think the medium is very important here. Though audiobooks force you to follow at their pace, the added benefit of voice-acting creates a new way to experience the story. Audiobooks can be enjoyed in groups, while books are a solo experience. It's all about preference, and how you choose to enjoy the novel. – joshuahall 9 years ago
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  • I think most people would prefer the actual hard copy of a book. Sometimes, however, this isn't a luxury. If I'm driving, for example, audiobooks are great. – Alexis 9 years ago
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  • I enjoy reading a book first and the, if I really enjoyed it, listening to the audio version to hear another person's interpretation. I agree with Alexis as well, when driving or in the gym, audiobooks are great! – Catherine Conte 9 years ago
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  • I think it is impossible to divorce this topic from those who have disabilities. – rhettrichx 9 years ago
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  • I tend to remain partial to the antiquated form of reading. But, this article could tip the scale for either of both camps. Audio books certainly offer physically active people the liberty to incorporate reading into their daily activity. However, paper books offer pictures that amplify the reading experience, probably in the same way that voice actors can. It will be interesting to see how this dual themed composition evolves. – L:Freire 6 years ago
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  • Listening to narrations can be extemely useful when you're otherwise busy, or it can supplement your own simultaneous reading. I found this to be true especially when reading longer texts (like Uncle Tom's Cabin), as the combined audio and visual elements seem to enhance memorization. – LaPlant0 6 years ago
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  • But this is all a matter of preference. What does it matter what I prefer or "think" is a better option for reading? – T. Palomino 2 years ago
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Different reasons for watching games instead of playing them.

How has the experience of watching video games changed over the past few years? Whether you enjoy watching live streams for the commentary or the competitions, or you prefer watching playthroughs for a handy walkthrough, exploring glitches or simply watching a good story, what would be your reasons to watch games rather than play them?

  • You should have gap between your question mark and 'Whether' and have d at the end of change to show past tense. – ChrisKeene 9 years ago
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  • It's quite interesting occupation! I think, it's also addicts but in the same time is more easy. – LauraJonson 9 years ago
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  • Neat topic! How about those "Let's Play"ers on Youtube that review all sorts of games. Many people I know watch them for the Youtuber himself, and not as much the game he's reviewing. – James Smith 9 years ago
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  • I wrote a piece for my column in the newspaper I work that argued "Let's Plays" could be this generation's form of arcade entertainment, a social gathering for all your nerdy friends who loved video games? What do you guys think? – CaptainSwift 9 years ago
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  • This definitely deserves some exploration! With the rise in streaming and the genre of the "let's play" videos, some in-depth writing on this could do a lot to help those who are unfamiliar with the phenomena to earn a greater understanding. – gabbyfarley15 9 years ago
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When do you write the most?

Different people prefer to write at different times of the day and night, and many believe that they write better or for longer during these hours. Explain if you think this belief is valid or not and if there is any particular part of the day you prefer to write in? Are you a early morning writer or do prefer to write in the afternoon? Are you an evening writer or do you write long into the night? What times do you write the most or the best? AM or PM, explain when and why you write the most then, and if you think writing at this time makes any difference.

  • I always find that I write best late at night. I don't know why, but come late afternoon/evening, I'm the most creatively inspired. I think some people just function differently and are stimulated in different ways, at different times. I think the author of this article might want to consider the psychological aspect of time/environment in creative inspiration, as that's probably the most fact-based perspective to take on this topic. – Christina 9 years ago
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  • You could also consider length of time in relation to time of day to see if there are any correlations - can you write for long sittings at night, but only short ones in the morning? – kathleensumpton 9 years ago
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  • I usually find myself writing better later at night. Consider exploring the relationship between the factors affecting creativity at different times of day. A factor that could affect one's creativity levels in the morning might be that in the morning they drink coffee, etc. – mfazeka 9 years ago
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  • Perhaps some statistics could be made with what people say from these notes. I often hear people write more/better at night, this may be linked to that period just before you fall asleep. You suddenly think of an amazing idea and you just have to make a note of it. This could be because that as you are preparing for sleep your brain becomes more relaxed and more creative ideas seem to flow better. Anyway, I always write between 12pm and 10pm. I don't like writing when I'm tired and I always have lunch/breakfast (depending on when I wake up...) before I start. – Jamie White 9 years ago
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  • This article sheds light on how fame or public recognition does not measure or define the quality of ones work or contribution to society. It’s a shame Gil Scott Heron was not more recognized for his work but your article and more articles of this nature will help his brilliance and talent live on. – arton30th 9 years ago
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  • I find that I write better at night, and that's just how I have always been. I've been an avid reader every since I was a child, and many times I spent the entire night reading under my covers. And I feel like because of this, it has caused me to like writing at night. That's just when I feel most creative because I think about a lot of things. I've always considered myself a night owl, so that makes a difference too. I definitely think that different people write at different times. Every person has to find creativity in their own way, and for some that means writing in the morning for others that means writing at night. – diehlsam 9 years ago
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Published

How much artistic license should a director take when adapting a novel into a film?

There are multiple different types of film adaptions of novels from faithful, to loosely based on, to only using the same title to draw in an audience. How accurate does the film need to be to the source text and how much artistic license should a director take for an adaption?

  • I think this would be a very interesting article to write as people are often very disappointed with films when they do not follow the plot of the novel and introduce new characters etc. Perhaps highlight the fine line between a director who is filming his own interpretation of a novel and one is using the skeleton story as the structure for their film, allowing them to include what audiences like (more action, more romance etc) – mpill13 9 years ago
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  • The author should also remember that being 100% accurate isn't always the best either. Changing mediums means drastic changes to content. Thats one of the many reasons the A:TLA movie was so awful, it tried to follow a season of the show in just over 2 hours of movie. – Cojo 9 years ago
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  • Derek Landy, author of Skulduggery Pleasant, once said that books don't make good films, films make good films. It's worth exploring that side of things as I do believe that he is quite right. Books and films, being two different forms of media, have different rules and expectations after all. – mattdoylemedia 9 years ago
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8

Hardest part of writing a novel; starting, continuing or ending?

What do you find more difficult about writing a novel? Getting started, continuing the novel or ending it? This will be different from one person to another such as having trouble beginning if you can't think of a good starting point, are a perfectionist or have too many ideas to choose from. You might have trouble continuing if you can't imagine what's going to happen next, get a brand new idea that you want to pursue or don't know how the characters will get from point A to point B. Finally, after you have grown to love the characters and the world, do you have trouble wrapping it up in a satisfying way or letting go of everything you have worked so hard on? Give a commentary on what part of writing a novel you find the most difficult.

  • I would advise getting commentary from different people. I personally find the beginning to be the most difficult. If I have time, I might take this up... – SpectreWriter 9 years ago
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  • The endings to most novels are the least effective and usually the most artificial. Nineteenth-century novels remain the best models that overcome this deficiency. – JeffinAurora 9 years ago
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  • I always find it difficult to end a novel because I like to leave a little to the readers' imaginations, but struggle with also giving them a satisfactory ending. – Catherine Conte 9 years ago
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  • I think it's definitely the beginning. Personally, my endings are the first things that come to me and then the story is modeled to achieve that ending. The start of the story is what draws readers in. The goal is to hook the reader so that they'll want to invest in the story on a whole. The beginning is your story's sales pitch and it makes or breaks your story's reader appeal. At the moment, I have three story ideas with well thought out endings and plot twists, but not one of them have a beginning. If a story doesn't have a good opening, I won't have the drive to read it, so I want to ensure that my stories will appeal to someone like myself. Worst of all, I'm one of those perfectionists with major anxiety issues who procrastinate alot and spend way too much time on the internet (lol, tumblr reference.) I want to have a good intro, but I won't be interested in continuing a story if I don't like how I started it. And even if I'm somewhat satisfied with it, that does not guarantee that the reader majority will feel the same. Honestly, I think it's the pressure to write a good opening that makes writing it so hard. Really, all we need to do is just WRITE and let the plot flow naturally, rather than worry about the audience. If only I could silence the critics in my head, then maybe I'd have started at least one of my stories by now. – RLynch 9 years ago
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  • In my experience, it has always been easier for me to formulate a story whenever I have the ending already plotted out. It's sort of like a treasure map; You know where it will end, but the fun is creating the journey to get to the satisfying ending – Ricardoandstuff 9 years ago
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  • DEFINITELY the ending. For me, deciding on a compelling conclusion (and title) is the most challenging. – Alexis 9 years ago
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  • For me personally, I would say continuing. I have tons of good ideas of topics, and although the first few paragraphs or pages can be a struggle sometimes, more often they write themselves. The ending is perhaps the most natural part of this, though deciding when to end it can be annoying sometimes because you just want to write more. It's the middle, what's plausible and how it fits into my idea, the daily plog, that gets me. – nsiegel 9 years ago
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4

Can Marvel Studios do no wrong?

Recently Marvel Studios hasn't made a bad film or television show. An average show, maybe, but nothing below 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. If a bad film of theirs were to come out, would it be acclaimed as one? Or do you think the fans would squint their eyes until we existed in a world where Marvel Studios could do no wrong?

  • Different people enjoy different aspects of films, and Marvel seems to know how to appeal to an unprecedented audience. Action, romance, humor, and fantasy blend throughout their movies in a way that even appeals to people who "hate action movies" . This diversity in their movies accompanied by the range of material they have to choose from means they have an excellent formula for success. But people are not as loyal as you suggest. Many people were dissatisfied by the Wolverine origins movie (watch the Honest Trailer on YouTube for a more detailed explanation), as many comic book readers have been with Marvel's depictions of certain comics. – cc327 9 years ago
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  • I kind of feel like Marvel is getting lazy lately. Ant Man and Fantastic Four were terrible, and yet they're still making a second Fantastic Four – SomeOtherAmazon 9 years ago
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Latest Tides

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Anime Review: Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is the fifth anime adaptation of the Fate series and third adaptation from the Fate Stay Night visual novel. It's the sequel to the Fate/Stay Night prequel Fate/Zero and, with Heaven's Feel in the wing, the second in a soon to be three-part Ufotable Fate Stay Night collection.

Its plot follows the Unlimited Blade Works story-line of the Fate Stay Night visual novel, branching off halfway through the story of Emiya Shirou's Holy Grail war (a battle royal between ancient magical heroes) to focus more on the heroine Rin Tosaka and her Servant, Archer. Archer has ulterior motives for participating in the Holy Grail war that involves Shirou in more ways than one. Together with his Servant Saber, Shirou and Rin must find a way of stopping not only the other masters and servants, but stopping the complete destruction of their home city.

So far this anime possesses not just the highest quality of animation and best sound track for a Fate series but it also contain's much more character development, better pacing and a twist that completely changes the way you will look at the series. A must watch for any fans of Fate, my only caveat is that you watch Fate/Zero before it as its context bring into perspective the cause of the main characters' deep seeded ideologies.

Rating: 8.5/10

  • Unlimited Blade Works is the first show from the Fate series I was able to follow and enjoy. I tried to watch Fate/Stay Night when it came out in 2005 and there were many parts of it I thought were awful, mostly just the execution. There was too much information dumping. Trying to watch Fate Zero also made it difficult to figure out who the characters were and follow the story. – Jordan 9 years ago
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  • Great review, always thought that UBW deserved a little more love than it was given. – CheesyJ 9 years ago
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Tidereview

Anime Review: Parasyte - The Maxim

With the English dub of Parasyte -The Maxim about to be aired on the Adult Swim block of Toonami on the 3rd of October, I thought a spoiler free review would be in order for those of you curious enough to want to know what you're going to be in for.

Does Parasyte -The Maxim have aspects of horror and gore? Yes, but even if you don't find that appealing it shouldn't put you off because alongside the horror elements comes one of most thrilling atmospheres in an anime since Death Note. With subtle drama, great action scenes and character development that actually makes sense in the context of the story, Parasyte -The Maxim is the best adult action anime I have watched since Attack on Titan.

Parasyte -The Maxim shares many similar traits in common with the classic Spiderman origins story. Geek gains powers, loses loved ones and his character changes until he's a badass fighting other badasses. However, what this anime does is give us a deeper look into the inner-conflict that this change creates between the main character and the ones he cares for.

We are also given view into the alien minds of the Parasites, their goals and how, through their relationships with humans, they come to understand them and our world.

Rating: 8.5/10

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    Tidelist

    The Problem with Sword Art Online

    After discussing Sword Art Online with many other fans and anime bloggers, here is a list of the many issues with the anime.

    These include, but are not limited to:

    -The pervasive fan service used throughout the series.
    -Character's willpower overcoming the video game mechanics.
    -Every girl being in love with the main character for no reason.
    -Turning the heroine into a damsel in distress.
    -Multiple rapey-scenes including one with tentacles.
    -A bad guy that puts his research lab in a place which the goal of the game was to access.
    -The main character does not put his foot down and tell other women he’s already taken.
    -Headset that can fry a human brain made it through the hazard and safety line in a -production company.
    -The lack of realistic overweight gamer or even parents in the series.
    -Randomly generated avatars used as an excuse to make the main character look like a girl.
    -Overly long exposition dumps in cafe’s and restaurants.
    -Not explaining things like why the main character’s illusions are solid.
    -How he can used duel wielding ability without abilities.
    -Why the bad guy isn’t afraid to be found out and why they run when in a hurry at times that they could fly.
    -The forgotten and over convoluted schemes of the villains.

    • This is quite interesting as SAO seems to have been quite polarizing for people. Certainly those I know either loved it or didn't particularly care. Personally, I thought it looked like a dot Hack knockoff and so have avoided it (I love dot Hack as a franchise). Good piece. – mattdoylemedia 9 years ago
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    • It might be best to pick 1 or 2 specific problems and focus on those, rather than listing every problem you have with the anime. Especially since some, like the lack of stereotypical gamers, or Kurito's appearance, matter a lot less than the series' treatment of women. Just talking about the misogyny, the rapey scenes, the lack of agency that Asuna has, etc, should be enough for a good article. – Winter 9 years ago
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    Latest Comments

    Lazarinth

    But the word “malevolent” is also only used in the Epicurus’s Paradox quote in this article also, so yeah, no my words.

    Neon Genesis Evangelion: Science vs God
    Lazarinth

    Some parts of it are, I agree.

    Neon Genesis Evangelion: Science vs God
    Neon Genesis Evangelion: Science vs God
    Lazarinth

    Hah! I get it, mothers! Good one.

    Neon Genesis Evangelion: Science vs God
    Lazarinth

    I was also really exciting, too much!

    Neon Genesis Evangelion: Science vs God
    Lazarinth

    Well, I’m glad the post lived up to the title.

    Neon Genesis Evangelion: Science vs God
    Lazarinth

    I don’t I ever used the word evil. It might have been in the Epicurus’s Paradox but, as shown in the references, those are not my words. I also clearly stated that this belief, if you have it, shouldn’t be something to stop someone from believing god, so what you saying is not really a disagreement with this article.

    Neon Genesis Evangelion: Science vs God
    Lazarinth

    Haha, it really depends on what subdemographic of Christians, there are quite a few of them and their views on things like this are quite different.

    Neon Genesis Evangelion: Science vs God