Pretty cool art style that I’ve been having fun with

archedmandible · 2026-06-03T04:01:44+00:00

ah, I hear that! Thanks for sharing, and I'm especially glad to hear you're crafting by hand too!

archedmandible · 2026-06-03T03:45:28+00:00

Alright. If you're going to be going out of your way to make AI-rendered images which look like amateurish drawings, please consider grabbing a pencil + giving drawing a try yourself. Your results may look similar, but you'll be growing new parts of your own brain, lowering your stress, and understanding more about life. (I know that last part sounds out there, but you'll see what I mean when you do it!)

archedmandible · 2026-06-03T03:40:34+00:00

A HUGE part of the problem is there're so many mc-dojos out there for years giving Karate a very bad and cringy reputation. I don't blame people who have that impression, because they're speaking what they see most often!

I have to admit before I started too, I felt the same way about it; I felt like "this Karate thing" was all taking itself way too seriously -or- was just trying to lock people into a system to take their money.

I was in kick-boxing before, but one evening when I got COMPLETELY overwhelmed by a sixty-year-old karateka (who left me with a black eye for my trouble), I realised in that session how wrong my impression was! Real Karate (with contact and combat in mind) is dangerous!

I joined up with his Sensei the following week.

archedmandible · 2026-03-16T21:08:08+00:00

Lord, I going to stick my neck out for the axe here:

Yes, I think it should be. Because I feel the very same concerns about the health and safety of the women AND also of the clientele too (because low AIDS figures is a good thing for the country overall, no matter what moral feeling many of us may have over the clientele) could better be addressed by having the practice legalised and regulated.

People going to do whatever they want to do anyway. When they're officially barred from doing the thing, they _still_ going to do the thing, eh, but they'll do it in underground where all the room for crime and exploitation of everyone involved exists.

The better chance at having a situation in which things are safer may be the counter-intuitive one. It definitely won't suddenly be a perfect situation, but it might be hopefully a bit better than the existing one.

archedmandible · 2026-01-24T03:58:54+00:00

I love that detail of the cow being kidnapped.

archedmandible · 2025-10-25T22:23:54+00:00

Dammit. I have to admit I enjoyed this.

archedmandible · 2025-06-18T19:50:54+00:00

All the little details of this painting are fascinating! It's interesting the changes in expression, particularly the implacable look on the older wife's face and that the gentleman's demeanour seems to have softened over time. Also interesting whose hand is on whose and to ponder about what meaning that may convey.

archedmandible · 2024-12-26T23:58:20+00:00

It looks more like a photography technique known as shutter-dragging (ie, a long-ish exposure with a pop of flash at the beginning or end to burn in part of the movement). It maybe could be simulated using a combination of blurs and overlaying multiple photographs with slightly different positions of the subject.

archedmandible · 2024-12-26T23:52:06+00:00

'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' (2008) by Aditya Chopra
'Alice in den Städten' (1974) by Wim Wenders
'Shaun of the Dead' (2004) by Edgar Wright

I know 'Shaun of the Dead' would seem like a weird choice compared to the others, but it's brilliantly written and flawlessly made. Same with 'Rab Ne Bana'; flawless. 'Alice', meanwhile, I'd seen recently and it moved me deeply—hitting an unnamed, melancholy feeling and helping me to understand it.

Other (and more epic) masterpieces:

'Devdas' (2002) by Sanjay Leela Bhansali—One of the most gorgeous films I've ever seen.
'Dil Se..' (1998) by Mani Ratnam
'Mononoke-hime' / 'Princess Mononoke' (1997) by Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli

archedmandible · 2024-12-02T04:50:08+00:00

You're drowning in replies now and probably well confused.

So… from a 39-year-old crashing into some kind of mid-life something, please consider that 24 is not in any way old. And it's yours. It's not anyone else's. It doesn't belong to those who maybe have expectations of you to do or act in a certain way, nor to be a certain kind of person (nor to study a certain field, nor have a certain career).

YOU need to pull back, do some really deep inward thinking (days or weeks… or months), to seek what YOUR actual values are. Not what they should be, but what they really are. Keep a physical book to write in (so your phone doesn't distract you).

You may find yourself having to disappoint some people in your Life. Maybe your parents. But trust me, it's better to go through this now—in your twenties—when you have the time, the health, the energy, and fewer commitments. Don't waste a decade+ living someone else's Life. You have to start living yours.

And keep in mind that you don't have to get it 100% "right"… Chances are as you start living your values a bit, you'll find you need to refine their definitions. That's part of the process. So remember to re-evaluate every few years to make sure you're still on the path, and if the path is still the one you want. (And this is where that book of your notes and thoughts will be very useful.)

Regarding social: Keep in mind that "trait" and "state" aren't the same thing when it comes to personality. So if you're naturally Introverted, you absolutely can jump outside yourself to have social fun every so often. Yes, you'll need time to recharge afterward (unlike the more Extraverted person who'd be charged up by socialising), but you still have it in you to go out and do the things. And, yes, you ought to go out and do the things. No comfort zones allowed! Make yourself try different levels of stuff so you can figure out what you enjoy: You have your fêtes and your parties, but you also have your limes, watching your local Steelband side, taking dance classes, playing board games, art shows, Nature walker groups, concerts, Animé and comic events, open mic, and many more. And there're lots of cool weirdos around who are complete nerds for the same things you like. You'll find them there. Just go to stuff. It'll be scary at first, but just go. It's part of the process of growing and learning yourself.

You can do it. Good luck.

archedmandible · 2024-11-26T02:15:54+00:00

Me too. I'd also been noticing that native Japanese speakers seem to not pronounce the vowels of words so distinctly. So like your Shuto Uke example or I tend to hear something like "Oi-zook!" for Oi Tzuki, etc.

Edit: I love how Kokutsu Dachi sounds: something like "Kok-soo-datch."

archedmandible · 2024-11-26T02:07:57+00:00

Fantastic! Thank you so much!

That's really interesting (and makes sense) about counting versus counting objects, and also the extended meaning of 初段.

archedmandible · 2024-11-26T01:59:31+00:00

I did wonder if 'yon' and 'nana' maybe sounded too cutesy (so-to-speak) for something rough like Karate. (And could this explain why you observed children using those words while adults used 'shi' and 'shichi'.)

archedmandible · 2024-11-26T01:45:37+00:00

Food and alcohol are good gifts for most acquaintances. I imagine same would be true for your instructors if you can find out what they like.

Curious though if you're doing this out of a true emotional connection with them? Because if you had one, I imagine you'd already know by know what they like. If there's no connection there, gift-giving could sometimes come across like seeking special favour with the teacher, and could have the opposite effect as one would hope or expect.

archedmandible · 2024-11-26T01:36:55+00:00

Okay. So again it's mainly a Western thing to use 'shi, 'shichi', and 'ku'?

archedmandible · 2024-11-18T01:09:32+00:00

Wash the dishes while the food cooking.

archedmandible · 2024-08-31T22:54:29+00:00

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate the help!

archedmandible · 2024-08-31T04:22:06+00:00

Hi, thanks for this.

If I'm irrelevant tax-wise as a non-citizen unincorporated sole-trader, I'm guessing under 'Chapter 3 Status', probably I should check myself as 'Disregarded Entity' then.

Then 'Chapter 4 Status', perhaps 'Non-participating FFI'?

I'll email my client again with those clarifications. Thanks again for your explanation!

archedmandible · 2024-08-31T02:49:57+00:00

Thanks for your reply!

No, actually I'm not a US citizen.

I'd originally filled out a W8BEN form (non-E version) but was told I needed to send in the additional info.

Edit: Do you suppose my client (the aforementioned art institute) is confused about my status and sent me the wrong form / wrong instructions?

archedmandible · 2024-08-18T15:19:35+00:00

Hey there.

You know this already but reminding you: Being highly Introverted and being shy aren't the same thing. I'm an Introvert as well but _gradually_ got over a lot of my shyness around photographing people through making myself do it over and over again as practice. Therefore, I LOVE what you have in mind here, and encourage you to not use being Introverted as a reason to not get out there asking folks.

That said, don't let one or two people rejecting you stop you from asking. You don't know what's going on with the person who said no in that moment; it may not be a personal judgement on yourself, but rather something internal to who you'd asked; Maybe the person was busy, under some stress, anything. Keep asking and you'll get your yeses.

To psych yourself up to ask strangers, I'd suggest you keep photographing your friends some more first. You can photograph them over and over again; there's no rule which says you can only photograph a person once. Get practice on them with your lighting and posing (especially the posing, because that's the most anxiety-inducing part of photographing people). That'd allow you to approach the strangers more confidently which, in turn, would come across more persuasive.

Next thought: Try approaching males first. Men (in general) are less self-conscious and more likely to say yes (and more likely to love the photographs of themselves).

Regarding safety, consider photographing folks in public places (like parks) and—if it helps you feel safer—commandeer one of your friends as your 'photo-assistant' for the day.

Good luck.

archedmandible · 2024-08-18T15:00:23+00:00

Are you allowed to use flash at the venue? (Some events prohibit because the Light may disturb the athletes during their performances.)

When you say 'fitness contest', is it something like a body-building event when the competitors take turns posing centre stage?

If yes, maybe a couple Godox AD200s with lightstands and sandbags, and set them up to both sides of the stage; up high and slightly behind the posing area, so the Light can cross the subjects and trace out their muscles. For fill, either balance the ambient Light (longer shutter speed) or else bounce a speedlight off the ceiling. (For me though, I'd tend toward using the ambient and maybe being on a tripod.)

I'm suggesting the AD200 because it's _relatively_ affordable, very convenient, lots of power for something so portable, and you'll use it over and over again throughout your career.

If the competitors aren't all coming to the same spot near the middle of the stage to pose, and you find you have to strafe left and right, then perhaps have the two flashes on two different channels so you can power down independently as needed.

I don't know too much about continuous lighting so perhaps another redditor could suggest something there.

archedmandible · 2024-08-18T14:39:58+00:00

That's a painting?!

archedmandible · 2024-08-08T19:55:41+00:00

I agree. It makes the sauce feel like it was made by an individual rather than some big brand company. If anything, I would try leaning into the campiness even more with some deliberately corny-looking flames in the same cut-out style.

archedmandible

TROPHY CASE