Does animation do a better job of sharing emotions than live-action media?
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Over the past few weeks, I have been visiting some old friends in the form of TV characters. I decided to re-watch Anne with an E and When Calls the Heart. These shows are both wildly different and surprisingly the same. Canada is the backdrop of these adventurous worlds. Anne finds herself on Prince Edward Island, surrounded by flowing green hills that cease just before the rough cliffs of the shoreline. Before Anne arrived, it would seem that the small area of Avonlea was pretty quiet (literally) and generally very conservative. It was an area of farmers and tradesmen. Large…
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I went on a short adventure today. After a month of not leaving the confines of my apartment complex, I hit the road to visit a local state park. The low humidity keeps me grounded in the fact that I am in my new state of Illinois. I start off easy with a couple different trails to get my bearings. It’s been months since I went on a proper hike. The trees are covered with leaves and create a sunshade overhead. The birds were singing about their summer plans and baby insects buzzed around my ankles. I am wearing my…
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When the idea of working from home was mentioned as an option several weeks back, I treated it with a strange type of distain. I had always kept the different parts of my life very separate. My friends from different parts of my life did not meet until my Eagle Scout ceremony. As I have become older in years, I have slowly moved closer and closer to my work location. I wanted to be connected with the local community. That was the idea, anyway. My most recent move has brought me to within one mile from my workplace. The official…
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This week began with a surprise as we started the season early with an even four inches of snowfall covering the ground. I can’t explain why I was surprised, but I was excited, all the same. The end of the year is less than three weeks away and I have been making some changes in my life. My theory is that an early start will keep the momentum going as we enter the new year. The next few months here will be trying for most. We are quickly approaching less than 9 hours of daylight and gray skies for a week…
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The virtualization of my world began in an unlikely place: summer camp. I had just graduated high school and I was ready to make a positive impact on the campers. During our limited down-time as counselors, we would retreat to a lounge, to talk away from the campers. We loved the kids, but sometimes you want to speak with an adult. I find this amusing now as a new 30-year-old man. Comparatively, we knew nothing of adult life. I found a free moment to create a Facebook account and started adding friends. I began slowly. A few people that I liked from high school and…