armchair-factotum - Tumblr blog

[armchair-factotum]

I used to do cross country in high school, and there was this guy on the team that was wonderful. Great guy. But his advice to everyone that asked how to get good was to run 20k a day.

If you don't run, I'll just tell you, most people's bodies cannot take that kind of abuse. No matter how much you train, you will not be able to run 20k a day. It's like how you can't train to make your cuts heal faster. You recover as fast as you recover. So while a big part of what made this guy so succesful was the dedication and mental toughness needed to actually run 20k a day, an equally big part was that he healed like fucking Wolverine. And that's fine, but it would've been nice if he knew that and stopped telling new guys to commit suicide by jogging.

Different guy on the team ran like, 5-6k a day, which actually isn't all that much. His problem when he gave advice was that he didn't really get that 5-6k a day doesn't generally produce elite results for most people. He was lucky in the sense that he didn't have to work all that hard to get great results, and unlucky in the sense that if he pushed himself much further than that, he fell apart.

I think about those two whenever I get advice from succesful people. The very things that make them outliers also make their advice useless to most people. Worse, they're often outliers on totally separate ends of the same spectrum, so their advice will be contradictory.

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And after a while you just stop. You stop watering your plants. You stop watching netflix. You stop reading. You stop replying to your friends as fast as you used to. You stop buying yourself nice things. You stop putting an effort into how you look. You stop taking care of yourself like you used to. You stop sleeping. You stop eating healthy foods. You stop petting your dog. You stop socializing.

You stop with everything. You find yourself sitting in your room for hours on end, without doing a single thing. Days feel like years. And you think you can’t do it for much longer.

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the friar from much ado about nothing after his faking a death scheme actually works: wow, I can't wait to tell my friend in verona about this one weird trick!

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HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION to answer even if you're not a virgin: somehow, you become pregnant as a virgin. you don't know anything about the origin and nature of the pregnancy beyond this. that is to say you have no way of actually knowing if this is a son of god situation.

[armchair-factotum]

“We are being led to our slaughter. This has been theorized in a thousand ways, described in environmental, social, and political terms, it has been prophesied, abstracted, and narrated in real time, and still we are unsure of what to do with it. The underlying point is that the progress of society has nothing to offer us and everything to take away. Often it feels like we are giving it away without a fight: when we sell our time for money, allow our passions to be commodified, invest ourselves in the betterment of society, or sustain ourselves on the spoils of ecological destruction, we openly (though not consensually) participate in our own destruction.

The question hangs in an ethereal and ghastly voice: Why do you let yourselves be led to the slaughter like sheep? As Hermann Langbein addresses in Against All Hope: Resistance in the Nazi Concentration Camps, the survivors of those most explicit of human slaughter houses have been plagued by that question for decades, to which some have simply replied: we didn’t.

[..] A different approach: We have already been led to our slaughter — it is all around us. The world in which we exist is a protracted death, a sort of economically-sustained limbo in which hearts are permitted to beat only to the extent that they can facilitate the upward stream of capital. The plague of domestication has reached into every wild space, and the lines of colonization have crossed us more times than we can count.

[..] Then perhaps a better question might be: Why are we continuously being led to our slaughter like sheep?, to which many of us simply reply: We aren’t.

[..] While much could be said on specific definitions of resistance, in the realm of concentration camps, I tend to agree with the broadest definitions offered: ‘Everything could be treated as resistance because everything was prohibited. Any activity which created the impression that the prisoner had retained some of his former personality and individuality was an act of resistance.’ Activities such as mutual aid, individual escape, charity, friendship, medical aid, cultural contributions (religious gatherings, education, sports, music, etc.), refusal of work, saving lives, and communication with the outside world all represent invaluable acts of resistance in a situation that fostered selfishness and subjugation.” –Serafinski, “Blessed is the Flame” (2016)

—

“Prison is not a discrete place; its force and logic are distributed across the metropolis. Put another way, there is a place that is prison, and then there is a tendency, a way of managing life, that is prison. The place and the tendency are not two, but one. Macrocosm, microcosm. To speak of prisons as if they were separate from the rest of society is to equivocate. What we call prisons are a node in the prison-metropolis that are indicative of how the metropolis functions as a whole, and without which the rest could not function. Prison is a totality – something that one cannot escape from, but only shift positions within.

One’s position in society corresponds to vastly different degrees of freedom. There is the difference between being in prison or being free. Differences in probation and parole status, differences in citizenship and documentation, social class, gender, race. Meanwhile inside the prison there are power relationships between inmates, guards and other authorities, there are hierarchies of every sort, and there is the ‘prison within the prison’ – solitary confinement, the hole.

No matter where one is located in free society, with some rare exceptions made for the powerful, one exists under the threat of prison. Prison is a Judgment Day which, like the trumpet of the archangel, could be sounded at any time, but feels nearest during acts of sin. We are controlled through the existence of prisons because we are not in them. With the threat of incarceration comes a sense of the precarity of one’s freedom, which can invoke the desire to carpe diem. And so the escaped convict lives wildly in freedom while her risk of imprisonment is highest; and so the prisoner with a life sentence feels he has nothing left to lose. But the majority occupy a space that is neither the heaven of being on the lam nor the hell of being condemned, but a pale grey limbo in which the desire for somebody to do something is constantly felt and constantly deferred. This is the total incarceration of the population.

The mechanisms of prison creep across the metropolis. Through architecture, psychology, and technological force, prison has perfected the control of movement, the management of time, the neutralization of threats, the universalization of surveillance, the separation of public and private space, the breaking up of life into a series of functions deemed essential – sleep, consumption of food, physical exercise, work, religious practice. These have become familiar to ‘free’ individuals. We do not need to rely on experts and research, for we know prison all too well.

After a recent prison riot, the experts published a study declaring the prison food was the cause. We know that it is not food, but hunger that causes prison riots.

There are other names for the pervasive condition of incarceration. Capitalism: a system of social relationships through which life is reproduced into deadness, or non-life. On the physical level it produces commodities from living beings and the earth; temporally, it turns life into labor (‘Capital is dead labor’ — Karl Marx); on the level of relationship it creates the spectacle from the ‘unity-of-life’ (‘The spectacle in its generality is a concrete inversion of life; and, as such, the autonomous movement of non-life.’ — Guy Debord). Politics: the discourse of power that makes us less than human. Politics, prison, and capital: agents in the production of deadness.” –August O'Clairre, “3 Positions Against Prisons”

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🚨 dangerous 🚨

Hello everyone, I think there is a new danger coming to us with the beginning of winter. In the beginning, the weather started with light breezes that made the curtains fly, and sometimes the wind exposed us and we caught colds. On Sunday, the first rains of autumn began, and I think we began a journey of intense fear because some of the displaced persons’ tents sank due to the rain and the sea, and because we are... close to the sea, we all suffered that night.

Now we need curtains to cover the tent and protect ourselves and our children from the cold. Mira, Ahmed, and Mayar have weak immunity, and we do not have the money to buy curtains because their price has increased 5 times. We also need supplies to place the curtains. I ask you to donate to protect ourselves from the cold and drowning in rainwater.💔

Note:

Vetted by:

Vetted by @gazavetters , my number verified on the list is ( #49 )

Dear Palestine supporter...

I saw that you took an interest in many Palestinian campaigns in Gaza. I ask you to help me. I really need help to protect my family and children. Your donation does so much. Don't underestimate what you give.❤️🙏🏻

@appsa @sar-soor @sayruq @stuckinapril @heritageposts @neptunerings @feluka @malcriada @queerstudiesnatural @rizzyluke @determinate-negation

@najahmeq

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I'm seeing so many palestinian fundraisers that are getting completely abandoned by people the moment they meet a short term goal or a goal they need to extend, if not a bit before. This can't keep happening, especially when one of the reason they need to extend their goal is because fundraising is taking so much time and the prices in Gaza are only going up. Making them wait even more will only exacerbate the problem.

These last few weeks, the complacency towards campaigns has been getting worse and worse and I don't know why. I hope everyone reading this realise palestinians have been constantly victims of bombings, shootings, malnutrition and diseases for close to A YEAR now. This should not ellicit apathy at the amount of suffering we're seeing from them everyday but the opposite! We should keep helping even more!

When the US and other western countries are more willing to give weapons to Israel than we are to donate $5 to a palestinian family, what does it say about us?

In any case, if you still care about helping people going through a genocide please consider donating to my friend Mahmoud @mahmoudjumaa1238 . He had to extend his goal to 20k because of the increasingly high living expenses in Gaza and need to get to 15k by the end of September. Since reaching 10k he has been receiving very few donations.

DONATE HERE

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"these palestinian gfms are scamming you!!" you donate to AO3

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when im talking abt actual gay ppl or gay media n ppl r like omg just like this kpop idol/mcu movie/queerbait like no girl im talking abt actual gays or actual gay art made by and for gay ppl

[armchair-factotum]

you know, it makes sense to talk about when older queer people living as themselves inspires younger queers to do the same, but i don't think we talk enough about how the bravery of young queers can inspire and help older queers, too. like, actually seeing younger trans men who don't bind and wear dresses makeup and keep their hair long has inspired me to feel more comfortable being a feminine trans man.

actually, seeing young queers who use neopronouns helped me feel more comfortable in using pronouns i genuinely like as opposed to pronouns i feel obligated to use for everyone else's comfort. actually, seeing young queers who identify as things like gaybians, fagdykes, lesboys, girlfags, and other "contradictory" labels made me feel more confident in being those things, too. there is something to be said about the bravery of people who are just learning how to express themselves fully.

i think we can all take pages from each others' books. we all have something to learn from and teach each other. of course older queers being there for the younger generations is important, but older queers have a lot to learn from younger generations, too.

[armchair-factotum]

to all trans women, transfems, non binary people, intersex people, genderqueer people and so on who are seeking estrogen HRT, please check out Transfeminine Science

this is an absolutely amazing resource for anyone seeking estrogen HRT for any reason. this website is absolutely chock full of empirical scientific data to help you learn more about how the hormones will affect your body, what dosages and formulations of estrogens can produce what results, anti-androgen medications, demasculinziation processes, and so much more. it comes straight from the source, so there is no awkward speculation: this is for the transfeminine community, by the transfeminine community:

this is so much more accurate than any guide i could ever hope to create for folks, so please feel free to read the numerous articles the site has to offer, this is a very informative collection of articles and resources that you do not have to go combing through google for.

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To all my fellow feminine and GNC trans men and transmascs, I love you!!! I'm glad you're living your life!!! I hope you wear something so cool today and that you wear whatever you have with pride and joy, and you will absolutely look badass while doing it!!!

I love you!!!

[armchair-factotum]

learning that people want you in their lives is a skill you can develop if it does not come naturally

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hi! i would like to highlight this fundraiser. i hope everyone who comes across this would help @mohammed-atallah (Muhammad Atallah and his family) in any way they can. scan the qr code (i got it from haruka aoki's pub materials) and donate.

Further details from Ahmed Alostaz, Muhammad's brother-in-law "My wife's brother, Muhammad, was going to bring aid from the Nabulsi roundabout. He was shot in his left hand by an explosive bullet, which led to nerve loss and bone fragmentation. He needs a bone graft outside Gaza, but the situation is difficult for them. Their house was completely destroyed, and Muhammad's father is also unwell and needs constant medical care. The family is focusing their efforts on caring for Muhammad, as he will need many operations to restore his hand to what it was, and also on rebuilding their destroyed home."

as of writing this post, this campaign is only around 16% completed. and their family is very grateful for it. here is an [Aug 21, 2024] update taken straight from their gfm:

[...] I am Iman, the eldest sister of Muhammad. There are no words to express how grateful my family and I are to all of you. We are a family of 13, including my young children Malak and Amir, Retaj, Rahaf, Saja, Alaa, Amani, Iman, Sobhi, Alaa, and Ahmed, my husband, and my brother Muhammad, who is injured. When we launched this fundraising campaign, I never imagined that it would receive so much love, generosity and compassion. I was honestly starting to lose hope and wondered if our innocent children would ever find safety again; I was preparing for the worst. Your unwavering support made me and my family feel hopeful again. [...] Please continue to support us and share our story so that our children and grandchildren can survive this brutal and relentless slaughter of our people and not just become numbers on your phone screens. I know that donations are not easy in these times, but I believe that every contribution has the power to change someone's life. That is why I am participating in this campaign with all my faith, not only to save them, but also to protect their dreams and help them get out of Gaza. [...] We will never forget how you stood by us during the darkest times of our lives. Thanks to each and every one of you, safety is no longer a distant dream. Things will never be the same again, but knowing that there are brave souls out there who will always stand by us is what keeps us from completely giving in to despair. With your help and generous donations, we can leave Gaza and build a new life and rise from the rubble. [...]

tag list under the cut for wider reach. i hope it's okay. dm me to be included/excluded. tysm. 🇵🇸 from the river to the sea, palestine will be free within our lifetime.

@aerequets

@anneemay

@appsa

@axlotlforgot

@brutaliakhoa

@cinemasystem

@clintbeefwoods

@commissions4aid-international

@communistluanneplatter

@comrademango

@cryptotheism

@c-u-c-koo-4-40k

@decolonize-solidarity

@determinate-negation

@dlxxv-vetted-donations

@doumekiss

@dykesbat

@edwordsmyth

@feluka

@fleshdyk3

@gael-garcia

@gaza-evacuation-funds

@ghelgheli

@greatwyrmgold

@heritageposts

@hussyknee

@ichicm

@intersectionalpraxis

@irhabiya

@just-browsing1222

@komsomolka

@kyra45

@lychee02

@magicmooshka

@magnus-rhymes-with-swagness

@mangocheesecakes

@neptunerings

@nonbienerfeeder

@northgazaupdates2

@opencommunion

@our-queer-experience

@pannaginip

@retvolution

@riding-with-the-wild-hunt

@sawasawako

@sayruq

@schoolhater

@sissa-arrows

@sivavakkiyar

@sliceofdyke

@socalgal

@soon-palestine

@stuckinapril

@tamamita

@timetravellingkitty

@trans-girl-nausicaa

@transingthebourgeoisie

@transjjester

@transmutationisms

@txttletale

@ubernegro

@vague-humanoid

@vakarians-babe

@victoriawhimsey

@womenintheirwebs

[the man-holding-a-palestine-flag element is from the free stock pictures of canva. lmk if i am violating any sensibilities here i might consider removing it.]

[armchair-factotum]

Saying “the McDonalds flag at Guantanamo Bay is flown at half mast in order to honor the anniversary of 9/11” out loud and then immediately dying of a stroke

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got a major pest problem this year actually