Spring Clean

I decided Twitch schedules do not count as content, so I've deleted them.

I will be working on a new kind of 'schedule' soon, so don't worry too much about that.

I'll be posting some stuff on here soon, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, there some updates over at The Underhive Hero so go check that out!

Tentatively back

Hi folks.

I should be making 'new age media' comeback sooner rather than later.

Looking into getting back to blogging, Twitch and maybe even YouTube, just with a different method of 'attack' shall we say.

101. So what happened?

I think I've been putting off this update for a very long time, as it's a bit of a personal one, and quite hard to quantify while I was going through the worst of it.

I fell off the wagon a bit.

Without sounding like some hipster, new age stereotype, it's taken a lot of soul searching, self reflection and critical analysis (because it wouldn't be me otherwise, right?) to fully comprehend what the fuck happened to my state of being.

I think I've been forced to admit that, fundamentally, there is something more, something deeper going on in my life other than surface tensions, events and set backs.

I've known for a long time I'm a hyper critical, over analytical, over thinking, self deprecating individual.
I usually shrug this off as me being 'realistic' and 'aware,' but I think I have to acknowledge that it's something more.
I'm no Doctor, so I'm not going to self diagnose (at least, not with any conviction or certainty), but it's safe to say my mental health hasn't been the best, and maybe it never really has.

That's where the past...past comes in to play.

Being made redundant from my job in September/ October, gaining weight, drifting of social groups, lack of romantic attention, having friends manipulate me or others perceptions of me...
Everything on it's own is probably a problem I can deal with, but combined, they've just eaten away at my mental fortitude because of that hyper critical, self deprecating attitude I carry around with me.

Fast forward to the last 2 months.
I finally got a job. I thought I was moving forward.
But all that happened was I've taken a massive step backwards.
This new job exhausted me; physically and mentally.
Long hours, long monotonous drives, lack of mental engagement for the most part and then sudden, intense and highly stressful at others (pro tip, avoid driving in London).
Within the 6 weeks of doing this job I'd had all of the mental seals that hold my temper in check broken, I'd put on considerable weight (for me at any rate) and I was permanently exhausted and frustrated.
It got to the point that, whilst driving to London, I fell asleep at the wheel on the motorway.
This in itself is bad enough, but the very same thing happened the next day.

When this happened I knew my position was untenable: the effects it was having on my mental and physical state were too taxing for me, and totally not worth risking my life for.
I am aware that others do jobs like this all that time, and that's fair enough, but it just isn't something I can do.
More to the point, it wasn't something I was willing to put myself through just for the sake of money.

So I quit.
And with it I quit, well, everything.

You'll have noticed I stopped updating this blog, I stopped updating my hobby blog and I've taken two weeks off streaming.

I've needed it.
To rebuild my state of mind.
To clear my head.
To control my anger and frustration.

And I've started to feel the benefit of that.

I need to keep pushing forward and keep working on it.
The next step is to make progress on my physical shape, and probably to see a Doctor.

This all sounds like a success story; a tale of mental fortitude, but it isn't.
It's a tale of how fragile life can be, and how inconsequential things, if left alone, will fucking eat you alive if you don't deal with them.

Despite all the progress I've made in the last two weeks I'm still anxious, I'm still over thinking things I have literally no control over and I'm still a self deprecating, over critical mess.
I couldn't sleep last night because every time I did I was greeted by sleep paralysis style night terrors.

A lot of people I know are having problems right now, and this is my advice to you and them;
Don't suffer in silence, and don't suffer alone.
Build a support network of family and friends.
Speak to a Doctor and if necessary get therapy, medication...

Realise that the most important part of your life is yourself.
Sometimes you just have to focus on you; what you want, what will make you happy and ultimately, what you need.


That's all I got.
I'll try to get back to doing more interesting stuff again, but with the above in mind I'm making no promises.

-DH-

100. Breaking Up The Monotony.

I know all I've posted is my Twitch Show Guides recently.

I have been active online, just not here.

If you want to check out what I've been doing hobby wise, there is a good chunk of content on my Hobby Blog: The Underhive Hero.

I've been heavily invested in my Twitch Channel (as the WKS attest to).
I've upgraded each and every stream to have their own personal open/end slates, sourced fitting music for each show and spent some time developing my Discord server to help better 'my' community.
I guess it's starting to pay off. I average a follower a week.
I'd be very happy if I can get 100 followers in my first year.

With this commitment to streaming has come additional content for my YouTube.
Pokémon Uranium is progressing well, and while growth is slow here, I am still occasionally gaining followers.
I'm trying to figure out how to/ what to do for YouTube exclusive content.
I have a few ideas, so we'll have to see how it goes.


I'm genuinely sorry that I've not felt the urge to write anything here.
It's not that there isn't stuff to write about either...

The world is fucking falling apart.

Brexit. Theresa May. Trump

The western world is burning itself to the ground; Nationalism is the cry, but Fascism is the result.

The world and it's populace have exceed my capacity for stupid.
I'm burned out explaining, debating and arguing with people who just yell 'that's your opinion' or 'fake news.'

I need time to recharge, but unemployment isn't exactly a fitting environment for that.

It'll all come together in time.
I know it.

But right now, I feel like I'm in a rut and there isn't a way out.
Every aspect of my life has major problems and I have no solutions, other than to watching on while everything crumbles around me.

My creativity levels and suffering levels rise in tandem.
What's getting me down, is that I'm sure people should know this...
But while I get folk congratulate me on my hobby/ art/ whatever else, no one even asks the question...

Anyway, ramble ramble ramble.

I'll leave you with something that sums up my whole existence for the past few years, and probably the next few.

Passing Through A Screen Door - The Wonder Years.



Cigarette smoke dances back in the window,
And I can see the haze on the dome light
I'm conjuring ghosts on a forty hour ride home,
And they keep asking me what I'm doing with my life.

While my cousins go to bed with their wives.
I'm feeling like I've fallen behind.

Well, the highway won
I'm listening to traffic reports one on one
Coming quietly undone.
I was born to run
Away from anything good.
An escape artist's son
Sun-drenched pavement in my blood

The first thing that I do when I walk in is find a way out for when shit gets bad and...

I've been looking for
Tears in the screen door (tears in the screen door).
I've been waiting for
Another disaster (another disaster).

Well I'm still afraid
Like a kid in the sixties
Staring at the sky
Waiting for the bomb to fall.
And it's all a lie
What they say about stability.
It scares me sometimes
The emptiness I see in my eyes.

And all the kids names I've ever liked recited tragedy.
Well, I don't want my children growing up to be anything like me.

I've been looking for
Tears in the screen door (tears in the screen door).
I've been waiting for
Another disaster (another disaster).

But I was kinda hoping you'd say.
I was kinda hoping you'd stay.

I keep a flashlight
And a small knife
In the corner of my bed stand.
I keep a flashlight
And the train times
But you wouldn't understand.
How could you understand?

Jesus Christ. I'm 26.
All the people I graduated with,
All have kids,
All have wives,
All have people who care if they come home at night.

Well, Jesus Christ, did I fuck up?

I've been looking for
Tears in the screen door (tears in the screen door).
I've been waiting for
Another disaster (another disaster).

But I was kinda hoping you'd stay.
I was kinda hoping you'd stay.
I was kinda hoping you'd stay.


Peace.

-DH-

99. Dungeons and Dragons custom dice.

Not quite the blog post I was planning to be first this year, however, it will suffice.

First of all;
I am sorry.

I have not kept up posting as I had wanted to do.
I have let myself down, and anyone who actually reads this.

Though at least I held true to the concept of not posting unless I have something to talk about.
(excluding my recent Twitch scheduling updates).

Second;

A lot of shit has happened over the last few months, and I guess I will come to them in due course, or not.
Processing this information is difficult, bewildering and sometimes rage inducing.
Brexit
Trump
Where do I even begin...

The world has gone to shit, but again, that is a topic for another post.

And finally;

Yes.
I am back.
I'm settled into a Twitch routine and a YouTube editing routine, so it is high time I set myself back on course with everything else.
Blogging and hobby blogging are two of the things I'd like to correct.

So, on that note, check out my most recent post on The Underhive Hero.
The Sisters of Battle are back!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Anyway, back on topic.

I've been back to playing Dungeons and Dragons recently.
(there are a lot of stories here too, but again, another time...)

I bought one of my friends a set of Green Black forest dice from Q workshop for Christmas.
(They play a Gnome Ranger in one of the campaigns we play in).

The dice are quite nice.



The only problem being that, in low light conditions, these numbers actually become quite hard to make out.
Especially on the D20.

So I offered to customise them a little, to
A ) Function better
and
B ) Suit her character a bit more (She is a rock gnome obsessed with gems and valuable metals).

So, here's what they look like with gold on them!



They are not 100% finished in this picture, but they are IRL.
All I used was 2/3 thin coats of Retributior Armour (a water based acrylic paint by Citadel).
Followed by a coat of spray satin varnish to seal them from wear and tear.

Done.

That's all for this post.
I'll endevour to do better blogging tin the future, so stay tuned.
You can check out my regular Twitch shows if you really want to see what I'm up to.

Until next time folks!

-DH-

98. Two way.

Diary-esq post.
INB4 cba to read that.

Some people purport to 'good friends' and indeed, some of their actions in some of the harder times match this.
Yet, it's their everyday actions that make me question their level of attachment.
Makes me think sometimes, that I'm just being humoured.

Conversations are two way processes.
They are not one person talking at another...
Nor are they waiting for each other to stop talking, just so you can 'take your turn.'

They involve reciprocation, and listening... actually listening.

When someone asks 'how your day is going,' you reciprocate by replying and asking the same.
And when you never do, what does that mean?
Or
When someone says they're listening, but when you ask, 'what did I just say,' and they can't answer, you're not listening.

Recently some folk don't do one or both of those.
Maybe they've got a lot on their mind, maybe they're tired...

Or maybe they're just humouring me.
Maybe I'm just another face in the crowd, or just another problem they have to deal with...

Either way, it feels more like I'm not worth the effort of conversation, or worth listening to.
That I don't matter.


I'm having a rough second half of 2016.

97. Twitch.Tv Guide concept

 So this is a concept I came up with (I doubt I'm the first too obviously, but I digress..).
Would it be a valuable idea to post the intended content of a stream well ahead of time, like a TV guide?

Now, I don't mean a schedule (i already have one of those).
A schedule is like the name of the show; 
Family Guy.

The intended content would be like; in this episode of family guy X does Y.


So in context it would be like this:

Schedule;
Shows are at 8pm UK.
Tuesday - #TechnicalTuesday:  An arts and crafts show, both digital and traditional.

Wednesday - #WifiWednesday: A show dedicated to games with online/ l.a.n multiplayer.

Thursday - #FreeForAllThursday: The time of the week where we get to play anything! This is where the vast majority of my full game play through's come from

Weekly Stream guide;
19/12/16 Stream Guide.

Tuesday - #TechnicalTuesday: We're continuing the Warhammer 40K Ork Warboss digital drawing from last weeks stream (check the VOD if you missed it!)

Wednesday - #WifiWednesday: One of my followers suggested we play 'Fist Full of Frags,' a small free to play source game on Steam (if you wanna join in, hit me up on discord)

Thursday - #FreeForAllThursday: We've had a couple of weeks off, so we're returning to our play through of Pokémon Uranium! Time to get revenge on the Hokagae!
It more informative, and the Twitch channel comments section is perfect for it.

It also is more helpful for folks who stumble upon your stream when you're offline; they know what you intend to stream, what kind of things are shown on this channel, and if it is worth their time popping back when you are online.
I imagine a lot of folks just look at channels they stumble on and glide right past.

The above could lead to more concurrent viewers on stream; people coming back for more because they know they'll be interested in it.. which fuels audience engagement, especially when playing games with your community.

I think it's a neat idea.

What do you think?
Do you think this idea is good or bad?
Do you think it's applicable to more than one platform (YouTube?)
Would a Weekly Show guide make you more likely to come and watch a stream?

If you have any thoughts or feedback let me know!

Until next time
-DH-

96. Upload slowed...

I posted this on my Twitch announcement page...but I thought I'd put it here... kinda just to spam it as many places as possible.

'It has been brought to my attention that we have some stuttering issues (thanks Lekiriku =])

One of the issues may have been the bitrate.

I have changed this for the next stream to see if it helps

After looking into it a little more however, I think it has something to do with my ISP.

The gist of my Twitter exchange with VirginMedia today:

@Virginmedia DL speed has improved thanks. Figured out 1 my problems though. Upload limit is terrible on all tariffs. Not good for #Twitch

@virginmedia 1 hr reduction after 1000MB is 1024Kbps (-50%), then 768Kbps (-63%) after the next 1000MB. 2 hour #twitch stream is 3gb

@virginmedia Only on VIVID is 2 hours doable, but Any more than that and you'll run into problems. And it's over double the cost #Twitch

@virginmedia And between the hours of 4pm - 11pm. Peak #twitch streaming time.

@virginmedia I get upload limits are there to discourage piracy, but it punishes #Twitch and #YouTube content creators


So there you go.
I doubt this issue will improve drastically anytime soon...
Though if we stick to the lower bitrate, and a 2hour stream time, we should be okay going forward.
But any plans for longer streams will have to be put on hold for a while.'

Yup.
-DH-

95. Speedpaint. EpicErid

If you're subscribed to me on YouTube you may have seen my latest video (If not, you should totally click here and do that now!)


In this video I drew an avatar for a good friend of mine we've mentioned here before; EpicErid!

The video is the product of 2 separate streams on my Twitch channel (which you can follow by clicking here!).

It took about 6 hours to draw and paint, but I've condensed it down to about 20 mins by upping the speed by 800 times!


Anyway, you should go check it out, and subscribe for more if you enjoy it!


Thanks!

-DH-

94. Inktober 2016 complete!

So recently I took part in, and completed Inktober 2016, which I posted regularly on my Instagram!
I thought I'd post them here too, just in case you missed them, and to talk a bit more in depth about my experience.

If you haven't heard of Inktober, you can just check out their website.

In short; 'Every October, artists all over the world take on the InkTober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month. I created InkTober in 2009 as a challenge to improve my inking skills and develop positive drawing habits.'

#1 - Fast


This was the first one of the challenge.
It's Sonic, the very real hedgehog.
As you'll come to see (especially if you check out the full album) the effort lefvels and ambition were quite high to start with.

#4 - Hungry



I'm a big fan of the following things; Pokémon Fusions, Kirby/ Smash Bros and D.Va/ Overwatch.
I think Gremlin D.Va is one of the est thing to have happened to the internet, so decided to fuse her with Kirbz.

#7 - Lost



So, I've put this as Rock/ Lost for a few reasons.
When I first sketched the picture for lost, I didn't have the confidence to ink it.
So I posted this picture I did on the same day of Terlard instead.
Now, when I did the actual Rock at a later date I accidentally ruined the 'Lost' picture which infuriated me, especially since I massively rushed the rock picture, and I'm really not proud of it.
So, Terlard will kinda do (especially because I really like it).
I saved the 'lost' picture at a later date, so all was not lost.

#24 - One Dozen


So I really enjoy Pokémon!
I like this as it was my first attempt of applying a whole lot of layers of Pro Markers (Terlard only has a couple)

#30 - Wreck

So this was the original picture for lost, the one I ruined (before I ruined it)



I was quite proud of it.
It is one of the most detailed and accurate drawings of an actual picture I'd done in a while.
Hence my lack of confidence to ink it.
But once I'd ruined it, well, the fear had gone.



So this is what it became after inking... which, given the state it was in, I was fairly chipper with.



And that's it!
I learned a lot doing this challenge.
Drawing a picture every day is quite difficult.
Staying motivated, interested and inspired is a lot harder than it sounds.
I've spent years investing my time in other endevours, and it has sapped my creativity and originality.

After completing this challenge I felt great; while some of the drawing were rushed, and done just because, I really feel like my drawing has improved, especially digitally.
Not only that, but my desire to draw has returned... not at the pace of Inktober, but on a semi-regular basis.
I find myself inspired more often, and some of my ability has returned.

I recommend this challenge to anyone, at anytime.

Anyway. if you want to check out all of the pictures you can see them on this Flickr album - Inktober 2016
Alternatively, follow my Instagram; All the posts are on there, and it is where I generally post my art - Instagram
If you enjoy it, I highly recommend you join my on the 'TechnicalTuesday' show on my Twitch, where I usually do some digital artwork! - Twitch

That's it. Thanks for reading!

Until next time

-DH-

93. Schedule change!

This post is a bit of a media update.

I have an Inktober post coming in a few days. 
Inktober is a ink based drawing challenge in October, where you do a picture every day.
I posted them all on Instagram while I was doing them, and I'll be posting all the pictures I drew throughout Inktober on here so you can view them at your leisure.
I'm happy to say that I managed to 'technically' not miss a day.

The main point of this post is about my YouTube.
Up until now my weekly 'Free For All Thursday' Twitch stream videos have been uploaded twice a week (Monday & Friday).
I felt that this is a bit of a slow pace of uploads, especially when we're recording 4 to 5 a week while I stream.
So from now on I'll be uploading 3 of these videos a week.
The new release schedule for these videos will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Hopefully reducing the gap between videos will help folks who want to watch them feel less distanced from each episode.
I'm also hoping it will allow me some freedom to make different videos, and some YouTube exclusive content too.

Anyway, if you haven't checked out the Pokémon Uranium episodes yet head over to my channel, or just check out the Pokémon Uranium playlist.
If you catch up, them join me live of Twitch!

That's it for now.
Peace!

-DH-

92. A belated birthday present for EpicErid

It was my good friend EpicErid's birthday the other day (if you don't know who this is, go to this blog post).
I ordered her a present, but shipping is terrible, so it has now arrived, but not in time for her birthday.

I decided to draw her a thing, and then paint it.... but I didn't think that was quite far enough.
So, I upgraded it a little.



If you remember a while back I posted about making Skyrim coasters using a tutorial on Dodger's YouTube channel.
I used the same method here, except I used my own hand drawn and painted picture.

The picture was drawn in in Derwent pencils, lined with Faber Castell fine liners and painted with Winsor and Newton Watercolour paints and Citidel Acrylic paints.
It was sealed with a Satin varnish and attached to a Slate flooring/ wall tile with ModgePodge Matt finish.
Finally some self adhesive cork was attached to the underside

What do you guys think?
Would you be interested in your own?

Hit me up with comments, criticism and any other feedback!

Peace

-DH-

91. Multimedia

As the title suggests, this post is all about Multimedia stuff.

Let's start with Twitch

I've been putting a lot more effort in to my Twitch channel lately;

A decent mic (Blue Yeti),
A decent Camera (Logitech HP 1080p),
More Ram (Now 16gb),
Better presentation (in Stream),
And better audience interaction (Discord, Steam, Revlo rewards and so on),
And the hardest part, being consistent with my schedule.

On the last part I have edited my schedule.
I will still stream 3 times a week.

Tuesday = Technical Tuesday.
Where I do more technical things.
Usually digital art, painting but sometimes Starter games and mods.

Wednesday = The Old School Video Game Show.
This is a show I usually co-host with my friend MyWallet.
We play things like Super Smash bros Melee (and mods) and a host of other old school games.

Thursday = Free For All Thursday.
A stream where I get to play anything I feel like/ sometimes the chat/ Revlo participants suggestions.

Not only have the details of my streams changed, but also the times.
I will now be starting at 8pm UK time, for a few hours each time.
This should hopefully allow more folk to join us ^_^

If you can't join me live, never fear, my VOD's are free to watch, but sometimes muted (especially the art streams due to copyrighted music).

With that in mind let's move on to...

YouTube

Now, I've been working on my Twitch consistently for a while; slowly improving as I go.
The downside is I've neglected my YouTube channel.
Well that's going to change.

I've set an upload schedule.
To start with I'll upload 3 times a week.

Monday and Friday will be when I upload video's taken from my 'Free For All Thursday' Twitch Stream.
Wednesday will be when I upload Super Smash Brothers WiiU Replays and other Smash Brothers related content.

In addition, once per month I will post a Speedpaint video taken from my 'Technical Tuesday' Twitch Stream.
This will be uploaded on a Sunday.


This schedule is in place as of now.
In fact, check out the first video in my play through of Pokémon Uranium bellow!



This is a starting point.
I intend to up the pace once I'm comfortable, with plans to create YouTube exclusive content in time.

That's about it for now.
Please check everything out.
Follow me on my Twitch
Subscribe to me on YouTube.

Watch a few videos, click a few adds and support small time Streamers and YouTubers!

Peace!

-DH-

90. Inktober 2016

Hey there!

S'been a little longer than I'd have liked in between posts and stuff (just over a week).
But I've finally been made redundant and that kinda was a bit of a speed bump...
A subject I'll come back to at another date as it deserves its own post to be honest.

Onward to the subject of today's update: Inktober.

I am taking part in Inktober this year.
If y'all are unfamiliar with the event go check out the website - Inktober

If TL:DR I'll give you the gist here;

'Every October, artists all over the world take on the InkTober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month.

Inktober rules:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it online

3) Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2016

4) Repeat

Note: you can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. What ever you decide, just be consistent with it. INKtober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better.'

That's pretty much it.

If you want to take part just follow the above instructions and prompts on the picture.
I'll be posting my drawings exclusively on my Instagram so be sure to check that out (and follow me while you're there!)

I have a few more things I want to talk about, so expect updates ot happen soon.
Until then

Peace!

-DH-

89. Guest Stream w/ EpicErid on YouTube!

So, I've been doing Art Streams on Twitch, and a while ago I did a stream on my Twitch with my friend EpicErid as a guest artist.

We drew some Pokémon fusion pieces....
If you'd like to check it out, it is now on my YouTube



I hope you enjoy!

Go follow me on youTube, Twitch and also, go check out EpicEird.

@Intsagram
@Twitch
@Twitter

Until next time

-DH-

88. Twitch update.

So, I've updated my Twitch recently.
I've been trying to stream 3 times a week, and thought it was time I got my shit together.

So you can check my channel out at twitch.tv/darkhazzl3

My schedule has been updated and can be found on this very blog under the Twitch Schedule tab.

Streams will usually be Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursday's at 10/11 pm GMT.
Time may vary.

Tuesday:
Technical Tuesday; If I'm doing an art stream, this will probably be the day! May play games to test out mods and glitches too!

Wednesday:
The Old School Nintendo show w/ MyWallet; Melee mods and more, usually terrible, old Nintendo games.

Thursday:
Free for all Thursday: I'll play whatever/ what the stream votes for!

Any other streams will be announced via Twitter, so keep you eyes peeled!

Select Vods will be uploaded to my YouTube.
I really want to start creating a community around my Twitch and YouTube channels.

I've set up a Discord channel for 'The Bross,' and a lot of the community will be there, or The Bross stream group.

In addition to this I've decided to set up a Revlo.
Revlo allows streams to reward folks who consistently watch their stream, and follow them on various social media/ other online outlets,

You can check out the rewards and such over on https://www.revlo.co/darkhazzl3.

That's it for now, So go check that shit out yeah?

Peace!

-DH-

87. Speedpaint: Dex the Tiefling Sorcerer.

If you're subscribed to me on YouTube you may have seen my latest video (If not, you should totally clink here now!)

In this video I drew one of my friend's (and potential future member of The Bross) Dungeons and Dragons characters; Dex the Tiefling Sorcerer as an Avatar.
The video is the product of 2 separate streams on my Twitch channel (which you can follow by clicking here!).
It took about 7 hours to draw and paint (with a few hiccups along the way!), but I've condensed it down to about 20 mins by upping the speed by 2500 times!

Anyway, you should go check it out.



Thanks for reading and watching!
Comments and constructive criticism always welcome, either here, on the video itself or on the completed pieces Instagram post

If you'd like to know what I'm doing follow me on YouTube, Twitch and all the socials @DarKHaZZl3.
Also, I've updated The Underhive Hero with some more hobby project goodness, so go check that out too.

Peace!

-DH-

86. Dear Diary...

This is one of those more self reflecting blog posts, more like a diary entry...


My head has been all over the place recently.
A lot of bad things seem to have decided to happen all at once, and fate has decided it's going to do its very best at blocking all attempts at recovery.

Obviously Brexit annoyed the ever loving fuck out of me.
That's a given.

But since then it just seems like everything has hit a downward spiral.

I smashed the front wheel of my car into a curb, wrecking two tires in the process, which was fantastic.

Then I got made redundant.
The job I've spent 3 to 4 years trying to get back in to.
They're closing the store I work at, and opening a single staffed store at another location.

So, yeah... that's been pretty shit.
Having to job hunt is soul destroying.
Doing it with an unemployment deadline hanging over your head is far to much pressure.


To top it all off, my social life just keeps taking a beating.
I feel like I did years ago... during and after University.
That crushing sense of loneliness that goes hand in hand with everyone you ever feel anything for either being a total dickbag to you, or just generally disregarding you for reasons.


All of this has just lead to this bad mood I just can't seem to shift.
Today I feel totally defeated and down, and the only thing I have to console me is myself and the void that is the internet.

I just don't get it.
When others in my life are down I do my damnedest to be there for them... to help them and to occasionally surprise them with things to keep their mood up.
But no one seems to think to do those things for me anymore.
They just get mad at me for being annoyed when they trample all over me.

And then I have to go to a job I don't have anymore, and pretend to be as happy as fuck when people ask about the store moving.

It is draining my will to keep this up, and there is no sight of someone who will help me through it, because taking these hits alone is soul destroying.

85. because you need education. Political essay 5. The law of peoples.

I talk about Rawls' 'Veil of Ignorance' often when speaking about human rights and norms, and how we as a society are pretty shit at equality.

So I thought I'd speak a bit about Rawls here, and crucially, some of the flaws in his concept of 'The Law of Peoples.'

Unlike the 'Veil of Ignorance,' 'The Law of Peoples' actually sets out to talk about how enforcing rights in the world should work.
It's a big question, so I'm going to skip over indulging in that right now and save it for the essay bellow.
But what I will say is this;
A decent standard of universal rights is of paramount importance.
Couple this an emphasis of inclusivity and you have a good, basic standard of equality.

If you'd like to read more on my view of equality, then I suggest reading Rawls 'A Theory of Justice.'
I'll use Wikipedia to sum it up here for those who don't want to;

The "veil of ignorance", along with the original position, is a method of determining the morality of a certain issue (e.g., slavery) based upon the following thought experiment: parties to the original position know nothing about the particular abilities, tastes, and positions individuals will have within a social order. When such parties are selecting the principles for distribution of rights, positions, and resources in the society in which they will live, the veil of ignorance prevents them from knowing who will receive a given distribution of rights, positions, and resources in that society. For example, for a proposed society in which 50% of the population is kept in slavery, it follows that on entering the new society there is a 50% likelihood that the participant would be a slave. The idea is that parties subject to the veil of ignorance will make choices based upon moral considerations, since they will not be able to make choices based on self- or class-interest.
As John Rawls put it, "no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status; nor does he know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence and strength, and the like."^[1] The idea of the thought experiment is to render obsolete those personal considerations that are morally irrelevant to the justice or injustice of principles meant to allocate the benefits of social cooperation. The veil of ignorance is part of a long tradition of thinking in terms of a social contract. The writings of Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Jefferson offer examples of this tradition.

So why is this relevant now?
Well, put simply, if one were to make decisions, with concepts of Freedom (positive and negative), Equality and Rights in mind, from behind this veil, then intolerance and racial hatred should not exist.

Decent morality is not compatible with prejudice.
Equality is not compatible with prejudice.
Freedom is no compatible with prejudice.
Rights are not compatible with prejudice.
Decent morality is not compatible with wilful ignorance.
Equality is not compatible with
wilful ignorance.Freedom is no compatible with wilful ignorance.
Rights are not compatible with wilful ignorance.


As we have concluded thus far, the Leave camp and UKIP mimic extreme right wing movements, and show Fascist tendencies.
This intolerant behavior is not compatible with Freedom and Equality.
If one were to approach the subject of impartially that the Veil of Ignorance grants, then it simply would not be acceptable.

The problem we face is that currently people don't behave/ think/ vote this way.
It's high time they did.

To what extent does Rawls’ proposal for a ‘Law of Peoples’ amount to a defence of basic human rights?

   In The Law of Peoples' John Rawls approaches the problematic issues of liberty and justice on a larger scale. Building on concepts formulated in previous works, Rawls attempts to establish a realistic conceptual standpoint in which Liberal democratic societies should approach various 'other' societies within the international community. The Law of peoples is inevitably a multifaceted and complex conceptual entity, and in following with his previous work, concerns itself somewhat with the issue of human rights. Indeed, it is this aspect of the 'law of peoples' that has caused conflict. Whilst in previous works Rawls has argued in favour for extensive protection of rights for liberal people, it is not the same case in 'The Law of Peoples.' Rawls puts forward a substantially weaker set of 'urgent' human rights, which he conceives as not only fundamental and necessary, but also; and somewhat importantly, reasonably acceptable to all societies, liberal or not.
   Rawls suggests that the 'Law of peoples' is an adequate concept for dealing with peoples, and indeed some suggest that in this regard the 'law of peoples' can seen as a concept that defends basic, or rather, urgent, human rights. However, there have been numerous criticisms of the law of peoples. Some argue that these 'urgent' rights are simply not demanding enough, as they are in fact less demanding than the already widely accepted universal declaration of human rights. Other go further in their criticisms, not just focusing on the lack of general rights, but also the lack of commitment to specific aspects of rights, such as the distinction between subsistence and adequacy.

   Rawls specifies these urgent rights when setting down his two criteria for decent hierarchical societies; "The first part is that a decent hierarchical people's system of law, in accordance with its common good idea of justice....secures for all members of the people what have come to be called human rights....Among these human rights are the right to life (to the means of subsistence and security); to liberty (freedom from slavery, serfdom, and forced occupation, and to a sufficient measure of liberty of conscience to ensure freedom of religion and thought); to property (personal property); and to formal equality as expressed by the rules of natural justice (that is, that similar cases be treated similarly). Human rights, as such understood, cannot be rejected as peculiarly liberal or special to the western tradition. They are not politically parochial." (Rawls 1999; 6).
  Indeed, it would outwardly appear that Rawls "doctrine of human rights in [Law of Peoples] offers hope for more effective protection of human rights in all parts of the world, on the one hand by diminishing the right of states to violate human rights with impunity within their own boarders, and on the other by giving other states the right to intervene in their internal affairs if such violations continue to occur" (Macleod 2006; 138).
   Many of the critics of the law of peoples support the ground on which Rawls makes his arguments and assumptions; supporting the proposition of the original position/veil of ignorance theory (Tasioulas 2005). It is with this minimal conception of 'urgent' human right where differences seem to occur.
 Indeed, on this point, Buchanan offers a scathing critique of Rawls underlying assumptions and arguments for this minimalist list of rights, arguing that it can result in;
  "a society in which there is a permanent racial, ethnic, religious, or gender underclass, hovering just above subsistence, systematically excluded from the more desirable economic positions, having grossly inferior property rights, lacking access to education and health services available to the dominant classes, unable to afford legal counsel and bereft of sophisticated due process protections available to others, would not be a society in which thus disadvantaged could comp[lain that their human rights were violated." (Buchanan 2006; 151).
    John Tasioulas' critique also looks into this problem of narrowness within the law of peoples. This is especially evident in Rawls' take on the 'right to life.' Tasioulas notes that Rawls' conception follows on from that of Shue's earlier work in what exactly 'subsistence' consists of. Shue argues that  this right secures access to "unpolluted air and water, adequate food, clothing and shelter, and a basic minimum of health care - thus enabling its holders to have what is needed for "a decent chance at a reasonably healthy and active life of more or less normal length, barring tragic intervention" (Tasioulas 2005, 16; Shue 1996, 23). Rawls' conception of what construes as the 'right to life' falls short of the pre-existing conception of what the 'right to life' is in international law; Tasioulas points out that "International lawyers standardly construe this as an entitlement to more than the means of subsistence." (Tasioulas 2005; 16). It is this commitment to a minimal conception of human rights that he argues shows the "inadequacy of a decent society on the score of welfare rights" he goes on to point out that "nothing in this definition prevents a decent society making lavish provision for the welfare of its members. But the concept of 'decency' is compatible with other, less attractive possibilities" (2005; 17). Indeed, this lack of fuller rights is again pointed out in regards to his definition of the 'freedom of conscience.' Tasioulas again argues that this conception is not sufficient; "A decent hierarchical society, on Rawls's account, must protect its members from religious persecution, but it need not grant them 'equal' freedom of religion. In particular, it is not prevented from establishing a state religion or excluding peoples from certain occupations on the ground of religious creed. Thus, the situation...sketched out would severely impair the ability of members of the minority to achieve an adequate living standards without unambiguously violating anything that Rawls would recognise as their human rights." (2005; 17).
   Indeed Tasioulas is not the only one to note that the law of peoples does not set a particularly high standard of human rights for a society of peoples to be branded 'decent.' M. Victoria Costa also argues that Rawls minimal conception of human rights is simply not enough.
   In a similar vein of argument as Tasioulas, Costa points out that Rawls 'urgent' human rights are considerably less demanding than the Universal declaration of Human rights (Costa 2006; 58). Costa acknowledges that Rawls purposely limits the scope of his conception of urgent human rights to achieve a decent level of legitimacy and tolerance of diverse cultures in an international community of peoples, however Costa argues that due to the fact that the rights represented within the universal declaration of human rights are "internationally acknowledged today, they are clearly candidates in the list of basic human rights, provided adequate political justification can be given for them" (2006; 58). In this regard, Costa see's little need for the narrow conception of rights in which Rawls commits to in the Law of peoples; "The universal declaration of human rights and the two subsequent covenants, both of which were the result of processes of international dialogue and both of which were endorsed by most countries of the world, testify to the wide acceptability of the idea of human rights. So too does the development of the current range of cooperative organizations designed to protect human rights all over the globe" (2006: 58-59).  Rawls often notes that this restricted list of rights in an effort to maintain tolerance and thus legitimacy in an international community, and Costa is not the only one who sees this as fundamentally flawed. Buchanan also argues similar point, from the basis that "there is nothing parochial about grounding human rights in basic human interests if, as seems clear enough, such interests exist" (Buchanan 2006; 159), he goes on to argue that;
   "if the goal is to be tolerant, there are many ways in which this can be achieved in the process of attempting to promulgate and institutionalize a theory of human rights that is grounded in assumptions about basic human interests or capabilities, without abandoning the whole enterprise. Tolerance can be given its due in many aspects of the institutionalized process of formulating human rights conventions and devising procedures to monitor compliance with their norms. For example, provision can be made, as it is in the current institutionalization of human rights, for ensuring that the various adjudication and compliance monitoring processes through which the content of human rights norms is specified and critically revised over time include inputs from a variety of cultural perspectives, under conditions of accurate information about what sorts of institutional arrangements are need to protect human beings basic interests" (2006; 159-160).   
  Thus it would appear that there is general consensus in the critique of Rawls's law of peoples. Firstly that there are underlying flaws and unanswered complexities that, once logically thought through, appear contradictory. These result in a minimalist, and generally pragmatic list of basic human rights (Macleod 2006). However, these flaws, once played out, reveal that it is entirely justifiable to enlarge this list of rights, and it is equally legitimate to enforce them. This is grounded upon the already, pre-existing 'consensus within the international community on human rights, embodied within already existing institutions such as the universal declaration of human rights. This is then should be the standard for which liberal peoples judge 'decent' peoples, and as such, inform their policy towards them.
   The manner in which these arguments are put forward is convincing in itself, not least because the need for pressing the issue of human rights is important. However, all these arguments are somewhat flawed in a similar, and somewhat obvious fashion. The work of David Reidy is useful in emphasising these issues. Indeed Reidy notes that "with respect to the content, nature and function, and justification of human rights, then, Rawls's position appears to be heterodox to some significant degree" (Reidy 2006;170), however, he argues that upon closer inspection. Rawls puts forward a far more robust defence of human rights that he is often given credit for. This argument is essentially broken down into two parts; misinterpreting, misreading or misunderstanding the language Rawls uses, and the current state of international law.
   To being with, that Rawls states that "Human rights set a necessary, though not sufficient, standard of decency of domestic and social intuitions" (Rawls 1999; 80). Reidy points out that it is in the section on human rights that Rawls "affairs as human rights, in the full and most fundamental sense of the term, the rights specified on articles 3-18 of the [universal declaration of human rights]. These include the central elements of due process and the rule of law.., the right to seek asylum..., the right to national identity..., and the right to freedom of movement" (Reidy 2006; 170). Indeed, Rawls's list of human rights is "rather more robust than many readers have been willing to acknowledge" (2006; 171).
   Despite this the law of peoples is certainly minimalist when compared to the universal declaration of human rights, as many liberal democratic rights are explicitly excluded. It is here where the role of pre-existing human rights entities comes into play. The most important observation that Reidy makes in this sense is that "strictly speaking, the [universal declaration of human rights] is not a legally binding document and all the parties signatory knew that when they signed." (2006; 172). This important distinction is one which Rawls makes, and which the critics have somehow failed to acknowledge. The Law of peoples on the other hand is significantly different to these pre-existing, non-binding and thus, apparitional standards. Rawls concern is with "those human rights binding on states regardless of and prior to any consent they may or may not give, human rights that must be secured for there to be anything like a morally acceptable international politics of human rights" (2006; 173).
   These points offer a convincing rebuttal to the critics of the Law of peoples in regards to the minimal list of human rights, and the legitimacy of intervention and enforcement. However there still exists the question of why liberal democracies states would not impose liberal democratic standards on 'decent non-liberal' peoples; indeed in building a universal set of human rights what would stop liberal peoples agreeing on "some general right to democratic political process, or to universal suffrage, or to non-discrimination in employment or eligibility to run for office?" (2006; 179). Again Reidy attempts to answer these criticisms. He points out that such standards, set a century ago, would exclude nations such as England and the U.S.A from a decent society of peoples, and thus loose the right of self determination and freedom from intervention (2006; 179 -180). Reidy argues that "given their own self-understanding, and with it the historical bases of their own amour proper, it would be unreasonable of liberal democratic peoples to authorize principles of international morality that permit the use of international force solely to secure the liberalization and democratization of such an apparently otherwise decent body politic" (2006; 180). In this light, the rights that would secure a state from intervention, and thus allow for self determination, are far more akin to those rights that Rawls sets out in a more 'charitable' reading of the Law of peoples.
   It would appear the that while the Law of peoples does not explicitly set out to defend human rights, the creation of a community of decent, well ordered peoples should, in theory, lead to an international community in which the most fundamental human rights are not only respected, but built upon. While there have been valuable critical accounts of the law of peoples; the arguments made, the clarity and the minimalist list of rights, it is clear that these have been rather misleading in their interpretations. It is certainly true that the law of peoples could function with a broader list of human rights, and still function in a similar way as the universal declaration of human rights, however that is not the principle aim of the law of peoples. Simply put then, the law of peoples aims to establish an international order, in which exists a list of basic human rights that "bind all states regardless of their consent" (2006; 185). In this regard then Rawls law of peoples, while not explicitly defending human rights, offers are more convincing and enforceable system to do so than the current system. Indeed, in his conclusion Reidy even goes as far as to state that  "if we conjoin Rawls's doctrine of basic human rights with the foregoing account of the politics of human rights, we see that Rawls has set out a powerful vision of how free peoples, following their own historical path and faithful to the limits of liberal conception of international right, might arrive at a world within which (at least generically) liberal democratic rights are universally recognised and enforced as human (though not basic human) rights" (2006; 186).
Bibliography

• Buchanan, Allen (2006). 'Taking the Human out of Human Rights', In Rex Martin and David A. Reidy (Ed's), Rawls's Law of Peoples: A Realistic Utopia? , Blackwell: Oxford.
  
• Costa, M. Victoria (2005). 'Human Rights and the Global Original Position Argument in The Law of Peoples', Journal of social philosophy, 36: 1,  p. 46-6.
  
• Macleod, Alistair M. (2006). 'Rawls's Narrow Doctrine of Human Rights, In Rex Martin and David A. Reidy (Ed's), Rawls's Law of Peoples: A Realistic Utopia? , Blackwell: Oxford.
  
• Rawls, John (1986). A Theory of Justice, Oxford University Press: Oxford.
  
• Rawls, John (1999). The Law of Peoples with 'The Idea of Public Reason Revisited,' Harvard University Press: Massachusetts.
  
• Reidy, David A. (2006). 'Political Authority and Human Rights', In Rex Martin and David A. Reidy (Ed's), Rawls's Law of Peoples: A Realistic Utopia? , Blackwell: Oxford.Tasioulas,
•  John (2005). 'Global Justice Without End?', Metaphilosophy, 35:1/2.