justwhatialwayswanted

[justwhatialwayswanted]

The Nazis feared journalist Carl von Ossietzky so much that they sent him to a concentration camp. Could winning the Nobel Peace Prize save his life?

Issue no. 158, “The Good Traitor,” is now live:

Ossietzky’s health had worsened. Karl Wloch, a journalist for the communist newspaper Die Rote Fahne who was interned at Esterwegen in 1936, was “shocked to his core” the first time he met Ossietzky. “What I saw living on that sack of hay were just his eyes; he hardly moved his mouth when he asked me short questions,” Wloch later said. “I had to listen carefully in order to understand him.” Ossietzky asked for the latest news from Berlin and listened closely as Wloch reported what he knew. “He wasn’t at all world-weary,” Wloch recalled, “although he knew how difficult it would be to come out of the grasp of the SS executioners alive.”

Their conversation turned to cases of suicide in the camps. “Whether we survive is neither certain nor the main point,” Ossietzky insisted. “But how people think about us later is as important as that they think about us. In that, our future lies. Thus, we have to keep living here as long as we breathe. A Germany that thinks of us will be a better Germany.”

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I remember watching Dre perform in his black jumpsuit. He wore a tag near his waist that had a red background with $$$ on one side and “SOLD” on the other. I remember watching Kanye perform on TV and his background said “NOT FOR SALE”. I remember Kendrick rapping about the industry enticing him with riches in exchange for what he was supposed to show the black and brown children.

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After 11 years, my follow up will be published later this month

Im debating Yeezus vs. Magna Carta:

If it’s true that Yeezus was one of those works where one asks “what happens to the author if he begins to internalize that what he wants his words to mean no longer matters?” Then I definitely got that message when listening to the album. There is no lyrical…

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The Pharcyde

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Kendrick Lamar holding back the tears as he tried performing “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.” They told me he rarely performs this song live, and now I know why. Staples Center. 10/28/13.

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ZOOM!

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A solution to going outside without leaving the coziness of your blanket! You just need a wagon and a really good friend.

Chibird store | Positive pin club | Instagram

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[justwhatialwayswanted]

it’s interesting learning which homophobic ideas are confusing and unfamiliar to the next generation. for example, every once in a while i’ll see a post going around expressing tittering surprise at someone’s claim that gay men have hundreds of sexual partners in their lifetimes. while these posts often have a snappy comeback attached, they send a shiver down my spine because i remember when those claims were common, when you’d see them on the news or read them in your study bible. and they were deployed with a specific purpose — to convince you not just that gay men were disgusting and pathological, but that they deserved to die from AIDS. i saw another post laughing at the outlandish idea that gay men eroticize and worship death, but that too was a standard line, part and parcel of this propaganda with the goal of dehumanizing gay men as they died by the thousands with little intervention from mainstream society.

which is not to say that not knowing this is your fault, or that i don’t understand. i’ll never forget sitting in a classroom with my high school gsa, all five of us, watching a documentary on depictions of gay and bi people in media (off the straight and narrow [pdf transcript] — a worthwhile watch if your school library has it) when the narrator mentioned “the stereotype of the gay psycho killer.” we burst into giggles — how ridiculous! — then turned to our gay faculty advisors and saw their pale, pained faces as they told us “no, really. that was real” and we realized that what we’d been laughing at was the stuff of their lives.

it’s moving and inspiring to see a new generation of kids growing up without encountering these ideas. it’s a good thing. but at the same time, we have to pass on the knowledge of this pain, so we’re not caught unawares when those who hate us come back with the oldest tricks in the book.

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Paulina Bryan’s vision for the Live Lawyer App @livelawyerapp stemmed from her son’s frequent police stops after buying a new car. He would call her, anxious and unsure how to handle the situation, sparking her idea to create an app that connects users with lawyers via video chat during police encounters. Paulina, in a moment of frustration and creativity, mused that it would be ideal if one could Skype a lawyer in such situations. This idea sparked the beginning of a journey that would take several years and immense dedication. In 2014, Paulina began the patent process for the Live Lawyer App. However, the path was not easy. Tragically, in 2016, her son was murdered, a devastating loss that strengthened her resolve to bring her vision to life. Paulina channels her grief and determination into developing an app that aims to provide immediate legal representation for individuals stopped by the police. The Live Lawyer App operates on a simple yet powerful principle: if stopped by the police, users can activate the app to connect with a lawyer via a FaceTime-like feature. This immediate legal support can help navigate the complexities and anxieties of police encounters, ensuring that users’ rights are protected. The app also alerts pre-selected contacts of the user’s location, adding an extra layer of safety.

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Happiness is… Receiving that Holiday Love Letter with Cheer, c. 1970s. Charles M. Schulz. Ink with black wash on heavy card stock.