"Those first release photos show actor Finn Jones, the titular Iron Fist, to be using a shinai–the bamboo practice sword used for swinging and sparring, meant to represent a katana–which does not fit him. It is the size which would be handed to a ten-year-old child. Even though a practice sword is made of bamboo and leather it is held and swung like the real thing. There’s a dedicated 'cutting' edge. Jones is holding his child-sized shinai upside-down, with the edge pointed at his own face." Seriously, it's not that hard to do the work. As someone who has written a book involving Asian martial arts swordplay, it's really not that hard to do basic research. And with an actual budget, there are tons of experts available that could be on set, giving advice, training the actors, setting choreography, giving feedback. In the hands of the unskilled, a shinai is a dangerous thing. I'm surprised the insurance underwriters didn't insist on having onset experts. Also, for the record, yes I make it clear in my book that the "American" swordsmen are not close in skill to those from the old country. And the protagonist would have lost to an antagonist had he not "cheated." And that antagonist wasn't fully trained. There is nothing magical about the person, but there is a difference between cultures and training (and the dojo). Ask anyone who has met a master in any martial art. (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)
"Only about half of the medical findings reported in 199 English-language newspapers actually turn out to hold up when tested in further studies, the study found. And sorry, dear reader, you're not likely to hear about those refutations."
"'We are concerned that any poorly implemented or poorly timed change in the current funding structure in Medicaid could result in a reduction in access to life-saving health care services,' Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska wrote in a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell." (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
"Based on my conversations with multiple sources close to the effort, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had indicated to congressional staff that the prior House framework could see at least 10 million, and potentially up to 20 million, individuals losing employer-sponsored health insurance. Further, CBO stated that that House framework, even after including a refundable tax credit for health insurance, would not cover many more people than repealing Obamacare outright." Emphasis mine. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
"The Republican plan to reshape the Affordable Care Act — what they call 'repeal and replace' — kills the requirement that everyone buy health insurance by eliminating the tax penalty for those who don't have coverage. It also makes significant changes in the financial assistance people can receive to buy a health plan." We're all boned.
Hey, remember when the Tea Party thought that passing Obamacare in about 6 months was "too fast". Yeah, word is Republicans want to pass their repeal by Easter.
A new travel ban is rolled out. And it reads like a legal brief and makes the same case they tried with the prior one (even with the differences).
Tweet of my heart: @joshtpm Now it's a race to see if GOP can pass repeal law before people realize that everyone loses their coverage. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
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