#/learning about some different orgs to donate to regardless

[aces-and-angels]

park & davis charity commissions for palestine, sudan, congo

cannot thank the wonderful and talented @mojo-chojo enough for this stunning artwork 🖤

(sketches below the cut)

[imagine-organization-xiii]

Org XIII -Dealing with a Pregnant S/O

Suggested by: Anon. Excluding ROxas and Xion because they are small babies themselves.

Xemnas

His immediate thought is that he wants you to get rid of it. He doesn’t want to be a parent and never did and never will, so he’ll give you the money to quietly get it taken care of. It’s a fluke and nothing more.

But you’re like???? No, I want this, I’ll raise this kid with or without you, so you can make your choice. He can be either all in with you on this or he has no say in what you do at all and he loses you in the process.

But he’s still like, protective of you during the pregnancy even though he says he doesn’t want anything to do with the baby?  You’re definitely seeing a lighter workload and less dangerous missions, but you don’t say anything because you don’t think he even realizes that he’s going easy on you with this stuff.

Comes to term with it eventually and helps you raise the kid as his own, but you know he’s never fully happy with your decision to keep the baby.

Xigbar

Also did not want kids. Wore condoms and you were on birth control so it’s a god damn miracle that you were able to conceive in the first place, so he isn’t quite sure what to think. One morbid part of him has a fleeting thought that you may have tampered with the conforms or something, but you would have never done that to him. If this is happening, it really is something on par with a complete and utter miracle - and not necessarily the good kind.

Sits down and has a serious chat with you. You’ve honestly never seen him so serious in your life. “You need to figure out what you want to do and I’ll support you regardless, but I want you to know where I stand in that I seriously don’t want a kid.” “And you’re like “okay, I understand.”

And you make your decision to keep the baby and he’s reluctant but bracing himself for fatherhood even though he never really wanted to be a father.  But when the baby is born??? He immediately falls in love.

Get ready for the most protective dad you’ve ever seen in your life.

Xaldin

So nervous!!!! He’s such a big guy and a baby is so teeny tiny!!!  He tells you all about his worries about being a dad and you have to completely reassure him that he’ll be a good dad.

Doesn’t care what the gender would be as long as the baby is healthy.  Secretly hopes for twins but he knows how rare that is so he won’t get his hopes up.

Very protective and always looking out for you while you’re pregnant, more so than usual.  All things considered, Xaldin is pretty noble, so he’ll make sure to be even more than a stand-up guy when he’s looking out for you.  When the baby turns out to be a girl, he turns out to be the best prince charming in the world and makes sure that she gets everything she needs.

Vexen

Has read any parenting books he can get his hands on, even though you explain constantly to him that being a good parent isn’t something you can learn from a book.  He likes to be prepared, though, and they have some good tips that he never knew about before, so he doesn’t think that reading the books is time wasted.

Never really thought about being a dad, but he ain’t mad about it.  Kind of excited, but also kind of nervous?

Gently rubs his hands over your growing stomach when he’s stressed or trying to sleep.  For some reason, it helps him concentrate.

Lexaeus

You’re actively trying to conceive with him. He’s already so much like a dad that having a biological kid won’t change much. It takes a lot of trying, but eventually you’re pregnant and he’s completely thrilled. Like so absolutely excited, you can’t even believe it.

Every time he goes out of the castle to do something, he comes back with a toy or a blanket or a piece of clothing for the baby.  Your baby is going to be the most spoiled kid around and he or she isn’t even here yet!  He hopes that the baby is a girl, but he usually gets gender neutral stuff, anyway

Makes sure that Zexion knows he is the baby’s uncle.  Zexion rolls his eyes but is secretly flattered.  One day this little onesie shows up in your room and you know it’s from him even if he denies it.

Zexion

Has stolen all parenting books from Vexen and has read through them at least twice. Panics more and more as the due date approaches.

Would literally not understand your mood swings and cravings.  You’ve suddenly burst into tears because the kitchen doesn’t have chocolate covered pickles?? The fuck????? Firstly, that’s disgusting and cannot be good for you, secondly, it’s 2 AM????  But he goes and gets you whatever you want anyway because he loves you and wants you to feel content and not stressed.

Saix

Somehow, he knew you were pregnant before you did.  You supposed that he saw the signs in your changing body and attitude and figured out what had happened.  He’s already super prepared for it because, of course, he’s prepared for every scenario.

Automatically knows what to do about insomnia, swollen feet, headaches, morning sickness, etc.  You gently nudge him in the middle of the night because you don’t feel well and he knows what you need without saying a word.

Thought he could look at this whole situation from a clinical, slightly distant perspective, but realized that it’s much more different when it’s his own child.

Axel

Absolutely thrilled when he finds out you’re pregnant.  Also cries a little but you promised not to tell anyone about that.

Talks to your stomach at night, especially when you can’t sleep because the baby is kicking too much.  His voice sometimes calms the baby down so you can both get some shuteye.

Wants to tell literally everyone you meet.  At the market, around the castle, on the street, to the enemies he happens to be fighting.  He can never keep his mouth shut.

Demyx

Didn’t intend for this to happen but he’s so excited?  You can’t really understand what he’s saying after you tell him because he’s jumping all over the place and talking so fast in his excitement.  You’ve never seen him beam so large before and it’s adorable.

His energy is exhausting you and it doesn’t help since pregnancy already makes you more tired than normal.  He tries to help in any way he can but gets in the way more often than not.  You appreciate it because it’s kind of cute but everyone is like “jesus christ Demyx, chill the fuck out,” but he was already at a ten and now he’s at a twenty so there’s no calming him down at all.

Luxord

The protective instincts kick in full force, but he doesn’t really know how to act because he never thought he’d be a dad.  These are totally new feelings for him.  He knows you can protect yourself but the feelings of protectiveness that flow over him are strange and overwhelming.

More subtle in his feelings because he doesn’t want to overwhelm you or anything.  He’ll talk about it with you when the two of you are going to sleep at night, saying that he’s happy that you get to share this together.

Wants to turn back time to the moment when he realized you were pregnant because it was such a wonderful feeling.

Marluxia

Very calm but screaming on the inside.  Literally losing his mind.

Marluxia is a very calm and patient guy, so he waits without saying anything as you explain that you’re pregnant, how long you’ve known, and about how long you have left.  When your conversation is finished, he silently walks away, goes to scream into a pillow for a while because he literally doesn’t know what to do, then comes back calm and collected.

Knows what the deal is with a baby because he remembers when his baby sister was born, so he’s more prepared than he thinks.

Leaves a different bouquet of flowers next to your bedside every morning when he finds out.

Fixes different types of herbal teas to help you with your morning sickness.

Larxene

You guys had a long discussion about whether or not you wanted to have a baby, then a long discussion about who you would choose to donate and be a surrogate dad.  Larxene wanted Marluxia because the two of them are close and she was sure that he’d say yes, but you suggested Lexaeus because you felt that he would be the most sympathetic to your situation.  In the end you compromised with Xaldin, who, after a lot of convincing, agreed.

You didn’t need to discuss who would carry because you both automatically expected it to be you.

Larxene is super nervous but also excited?  This is a new experience for her but she’s always up for a new challenge.

[theboywhocriedbooks]

The 2019 Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices: My Time in Queer Literary Heaven!

A month ago I went to a week-long queer writers retreat and here I will detail my experience! You can learn more about the retreat itself here, but if you want to read my semi-long account of it then keep going!

I recently made a post about this because I was raising money to cover the trip! The gist of it is that I work for Lambda Literary, one of the leading queer literary orgs in the nation, and so I quickly became familiar with the Lambda Retreat. I thought I perfectly fit the requirements, I’m queer, I’m a writer, I’m emerging. etc. I wanted to wait ‘til I saw who was teaching the workshops before deciding to apply. When that info was released, it turned out to be an author (Benjamin Alire Saenz) whose book (Ari and Dante) I really loved and related to! I knew I had to apply. 

The application process wasn’t too wild. Had to answer a few short answer questions, put some info, and submit a writing sample. I luckily was taking a creative writing class at that time and a piece I just workshopped was perfect for this application, mostly because I felt strongly about it and it was very “me” etc. My professor at the time, who loved the piece, had actually been a student AND teacher at the Lambda Retreat and I knew three other people who had attended it because of my job. I had also heard of some awesome people who had taught at it previously, like Malinda Lo, Alex Sanchez, Michael Nava, and more! Receiving that acceptance was one of the more validating!

I had prepared, that week before the retreat, a 10 page piece to workshop there! It was so nerve wracking because I didn’t have any sort of idea what I wanted to write about but I actually needed something to apply to a different writing opportunity with and so this all worked out in terms of timing as well. This idea, that feels almost like my first real novel idea, is now something very important to me.

The retreat took place in LA, which is where I’m from and live so that was easy. So many of my friends had to fly from all over, one even from across the pond. My dorm was cute and interestingly structured. Here’s a picture of my bed, with my Scooby Doo plush and Buffy blanket, comfort items. This suite was two rooms, and my roommates were AMAZING. I love them so much, I hope we can all reunite sometime soon! One, Jaz, lives in LA too so that’s lovely. Here’s a picture of these angels.

Jamiece, Sabrina, Joseph, and Jaz. Queer babies. We shared lots of vulnerable moments and soooo much laugher. Jamiece is so cute and soft, Sabrina is so cute and bright, and Jaz is so cute and powerful.

Made lots of friends. I love them. Shoutout to my other angels Khaliah, Tahirah, and my goddess Jennifer! 

We were being taught by some amazing writers of color, most of who I was in love with. We got to hear them speak and read their work, it was amazing. Alire read from Ari and Dante part 2, so that was exciting. Part of the deal with the retreat was that all of the students, 60 of us, were to give a reading during that week. That was so scary! At least it was scary in terms of my own reading but hearing all the other queer writer’s/my peers’s work? That was pretty much life changing. I cried, laughed, said “oooo” and “mmm!” so much. I screamed for them and I was just so struck with the magic of it all. Especially the magic that is the queer writers of color, my personal haven. I’ll like the videos of them here when they come out.

Workshop! It was an honor to be in the YA Fiction workshop, especially with Ben! He was total gay latino writer grandpa vibes. His writing is beautiful and he often times went on random tangents that were appreciated regardless. There, were, however, some iffy things he mentioned or did that I wasn’t a big fan of that. He also, unfortunately, detailed a family emergency to us midweek and had to leave for the duration of the retreat. I don’t want to focus on the negative too much but I also don’t want to sugar coat anything because that is not my way. In regards to him as an instructor, I was a bit disappointed despite him being super lovely and funny. In a way, him leaving felt like it was meant to be because of what happened after. 

After Ben left, William Johnson, Lambda’s Deputy Director, stepped in to facilitate our last few meetings. William in general was amazing, everyone at the retreat was in love with him and I personally knew he was great because I worked with him here and there through Lambda previously. He’s beautiful, sweet, has some great dance moves, and a big heart. My workshop day was one of the days he was our facilitator and I honestly think it was meant to happen this way because of how he responded to my piece. He really loved it, said he felt it on a personal level and just some other general words that really hit me. Even his face when he was sharing his thoughts on my piece, it showed everything that I was shooting for when I wrote the piece. There was connection and recognition there that was so priceless to me. Everyone else’s words were helpful and I took notes, but his response hit me in the heart. Such a small moment but so good.

My reading was that same day and everyone cheered me on, and I feel good about it in retrospect. Lots of people said lovely things, but again, one of the most notable responses was William. He gasped during it at one point and he said it was because he went to a club I was referencing in my piece and that it meant a lot to him. He also said “I didn’t get the chance to meet your boyfriend but he was so cute. Y’all are beautiful, it filled my heart to see beautiful queer brown love.” and that he loved me. Total queer elder vibes in the best and most necessary way. Felt so seen. Almost cried multiple times about it.

Our cohort in general was such a lovely, VALID, time. Again, because I can’t not be upfront, there were some rocky points. Most notably, there was stress and rockiness because a white writer was writing a story that was heavily involved with another culture and it felt disrespectful. That was a hard day, even just emotionally, for me and some of my PoC peers. It was a learning experience! I don’t think it was at all malicious but it definitely needed to be critiqued and it was! So, hopefully growth and change happened! 

Most everything else, unrelated to our instructor debacle, was beautiful and queer. I was in love! You can see me hugging my girl Jenny in the photo above, and you can just see the beautiful queer babies. So excited to see all of these people’s works and where they go, especially Charlie Miller and Khaliah Reed! So excited about all the rec’s and tips I got from them! I’m so thankful for all these humans, and all the humans from the other cohorts that I befriended as well! All my love to them.

There were so many amazing moments! Beach trip! Gay bar with karaoke, that bar which actually randomly played the As Told By Ginger theme song at one point! Ralph trips, mall trip, food trips! Laughter late at night, struggling over writing together! A lil bit of shit talking! A lot of love! Selfies! The interesting food we we served and people being shook at my cucumber intake. Hugs! The looks everyone turned! ‘Housekeeping!’ The early mornings! The day my boyfriend visited and we all went to get tacos! The goodbyes! All of it was just so much lol And I’m really grateful for the experience and to those who donated and helped me get there. I wanted to write this to share it all and also so I can remember it all. I miss my friends!!!!! 

So yeah. Such a valid time. One of the best weeks of my life.

[purplesurveys]

613

*Let this serve as a little disclaimer that I’m drunk as fuck taking this so if some of the answers seem off, at least you’d know why lol* If you had to teach a class, what would you teach? Some history course, probably. Philippine social history was a blast to learn so I’d probably have just as much fun teaching it :) Do you ever get room service when staying in hotels? Yeah, I loooooove room service. My dad lets us get whatever we want, so we always get amazing food haha. My absolute favorite dish has been nasi goreng with satay that I ordered from our hotel in Bohol when we visited around two years ago.

Who knows you better than anyone else? Gabie, most likely. Angela also knows me an awful lot but Gab can practically predict what I’m going to say or do whenever I’m faced with a certain situation. Would you ever want to go to Brazil? I’d want to go anywhere new, regardless if it’s dangerous or not, so yes Brazil would be lovely. When did you last get into an argument? I only ever pick a fight with Gab and it’s been a while since we’ve caught ourselves with an argument. It would probably be at most a couple of weeks ago.

How did your parents meet each other? Makati Shangri-La had just opened in 1993 – the year they graduated – so they were the first batch of employees who got accepted into the hotel. My dad was a chef and my mom a waitress in the same bar, and that’s how they met.  What profession do you think is the most under-appreciated? Teaching. Are there any medical conditions that run in your family? None that I know of, honestly. My mom’s side is quite healthy, save for one of my grand-aunts who died from cancer; and the same goes with my dad, save for my grandpa who once had a stroke. Everyone is doing well in terms of their health, thankfully. Have you ever drawn on someone while they were sleeping? No, I don’t do stuff I’d never want done to me, and that’s one of them. What was going on in your life two months ago? Academic life was still pretty chill back then so I think I had just been cruising through the sem. Otherwise, I spent most of October missing and mourning Nacho. Would you ever want to live a nomadic lifestyle? No thanks. Does time really heal all wounds? Or is that just a trivial saying? It’s pretty trivial for me, but I wouldn’t invalidate it for someone who takes the motto seriously. At the end of the day, it’s still different for everybody; I for one wouldn’t forgive or forget something just because it happened x years ago. In your opinion, what is the most toxic personality trait? Gaslighting. What band has the best guitar solos? I dunno about bands that have guitar solos in general, but Lita Ford from The Runaways had an AWESOME solo in their song Johnny Guitar. I’ve never forgotten that piece since I first heard it a whole decade ago. Where is your favorite place to take a nap? The living room couch is super comfy to me. Would you rather lose all your old memories, or never be able to make new ones? This is an awful question. But I would (painfully) pick forgetting all my old memories because 1) the first half of my life was mostly awful anyway, and 2) I have a whoooooole lot of years left in the tank so it’d be nice to have more memories than keeping the ones I’ve made for just 21 years. Who is the biggest jerk you've ever met? One of my online friends that I had a meetup with before so I can lend him a copy of a book I owned that he really wanted to read. He just struck me as arrogant and rubbed me off the wrong way from there. I almost let him simply own my book just because I never wanted to meet with him anymore to get it back, but eventually I realized I did want it back so I told him to just drop it off at the guard house at my village’s main entrance lmao. Have you ever swerved off the road to avoid hitting an animal? Yes, I had to do this in Tagaytay on the way to Nasugbu cos there was a bit of a crazed dog running in the middle of the road. It ended up running into my car, but it wasn’t run over or anything thankfully. What's a charity you would never donate to? Susan G. Komen because I’ve heard many things about it never actually contributing to breast cancer research. When did you last check your car's oil level? My dad last did it a few months ago when he was still on vacation in the country. What's a tradition you hope never dies out? Fireworks at New Year’s. It’ll always make me feel like a kid again, and that’s always a good feeling to have. Have you ever grown your own herbs? Nope, I haven’t. Do you have any exes you'd consider dating again? No but this is what I felt at one point which is why I dated my past-ex-now-girlfriend again hahaha. What sort of things/tasks do you do on a weekly basis? Feedinging and play with my dog, gassing up my car, dropping by at my org’s hangout area, and seeing Gabie would be a few things. Do you read the nutrition labels on the packaged food you buy? Almost never. What were some of your favorite classes you took in high school? Philippine history, Asian history, world history, and biology.

[skqq-net]

Reflecting on 2019: The Year in Review

However one other 300 and sixty 5 days is inside the uncover. With a mission as massive and far-reaching as wordpress, there grew to become as soon as no scarcity of knowledge and controversy. We lined considerably a pair of tales in 2019 and are gearing up for one different spirited 300 and sixty 5 days.

I at all times seize to build up a second on the dwell of the 300 and sixty 5 days to plug looking out over all of the items that happened. Regardless of how properly an online primarily based lisp materials or mission performs, it’s good to build up inventory of each success. It is a time of reflection. Even in dangerous years, you needs in order to look out super issues to guard in ideas. This helps form the way you respect your web pages, duties, and even existence. Ending the 300 and sixty 5 days remembering these super issues can assist propel you into the bizarre 300 and sixty 5 days.

It is equally essential to look out areas for enchancment. On the other hand, you could maybe effectively maybe now not understand what the next steps are until you are going to bear obtained taken a glimpse at the place you are going to bear obtained been.

With that in ideas, let’s have a second to copy on the earlier 300 and sixty 5 days’s recede for WP Tavern and wordpress.

WP Tavern Stats

In 2019, WP Tavern revealed 382 posts. That’s an AMPlify of 52 posts over 2018.

Widespread phrases per put up are top-of-the-line in WP Tavern’s historic earlier, coming in at 587 phrases. I am specific my long-windedness achieved a restricted function in that. We moreover had fewer speedily posts on the full. That will probably be a format we must experiment with extra.

Whole and sensible feedback are down. Admittedly, we bear been a microscopic heavy-handed with deleting feedback that atomize our remark safety this 300 and sixty 5 days. Widespread Jetpack-powered “likes” per put up are at an all-time excessive (6.9 likes per put up). Whole likes are the second-perfect for a 300 and sixty 5 days (2,614 likes). We’re moreover seeing considerably a pair of engagement on Twitter. This may occasionally maybe maybe even be fascinating to plug looking out how this performs out in 2020 with social media having this type of stronghold on how folks have interaction with each different on-line.

Now we should proceed bettering each the frequency and the great of feedback.

The Yr in wordpress

wordpress grew to range into 16 years outmoded this 300 and sixty 5 days. It’s outmoded satisfactory to drive now.

The neighborhood loved three most primary updates all 300 and sixty 5 days lengthy:

Mannequin 5.1 “Betty” improved editor effectivity and impressed customers to replace PHP.

Mannequin 5.2 “Jaco” built-in PHP deadly error safety and a restoration mode.

Mannequin 5.3 “Kirk” introduced the Twenty Twenty theme and made primary UI tweaks.

A great deal of the 300 and sixty 5 days grew to become as soon as centered on the Gutenberg plugin and porting its substances and enhancements into wordpress. WP Tavern lined as regards to all of the items you ever desired to learn about Gutenberg.

Matt Mullenweg’s 2019 Instruct of the Observe primarily centered on the work that went into the block editor inside the earlier 12 months. He moreover outlined the next phases of the mission, which include paunchy-living customization, collaboration between put up authors, and multilingual web pages.

Alex Mills (Viper007Bond) Handed Away

In February, the wordpress neighborhood misplaced one among its ideally useful contributors, Alex Mills, as his struggle with leukemia ended. Alex grew to become as soon as a mentor and hero to many people. As a developer, I noticed extra from his work than I might maybe maybe effectively sincere ever achieve a technique to pay ahead. We little question now not met specifically individual, however he grew to become as soon as one among my early lecturers by merely primary the best way by which for folk fancy me.

His Regenerate Thumbnails plugin moreover saved me limitless hours through the years. I’ll now not think about establishing or finding out wordpress themes with out it. Automattic adopted the plugins Alex constructed at some degree of his wordpress recede.

Alex, thanks for all of the items you contributed to the wordpress neighborhood.

Favorites From 2019

The following are fairly a little bit of wordpress and Tavern-related issues that I found most fascinating proper by 2019.

Posts From Tavern Writers

Now we bear had considerably a pair of nicely-written tales from everybody who has contributed in 2019. The following are personal favorites from contributors as a change of myself that I desired to highlight earlier than we shut the 300 and sixty 5 days out.

These are my favorites for fairly a little bit of causes and introduced in no order uncover. Each so sometimes, I liked the lisp materials of the article. At different occasions, I most popular them for the best way by which nicely-written they had been. Whereas you occur to ignored them, now’s an true time to hop discount and look at out some tales our crew has written this 300 and sixty 5 days.

wordpress Governance Enterprise Flagged as Unsanctioned, First Assembly Pickle for January 15

GPL Writer Richard Stallman Resigns from Free Instrument Basis

Matt Mullenweg and David Heinemeier Hansson Discuss wordpress Market Part, Monopolies, and Power in Launch Present Communities

Proposal to Auto-Replace Feeble Variations of wordpress to 4.7 Sparks Heated Debate

Automattic Acquires Tumblr, Plans to Rebuild the Backend Powered by wordpress

Gutenberg: One Yr Later

Prospects of a CMS inside the Spatial Computing Future

My Articles

I am closing in on 70 posts since altering staunch right into a fulltime contributor to WP Tavern. This job has allowed me to detect a variety of themes in a pair of months, and I no longer sleep for persevering with this into 2020. I loved writing many tales, however there have been two that I grew to become as soon as specifically elated to bear the alternative to quilt.

The precept grew to become as soon as my safety of the U.S. Supreme Courtroom’s denial of Domino’s enchantment to look out out whether or not or now not its on-line web page materials needs to be accessible to all of its prospects. This fable helped me soar far originate air my consolation zone of strictly writing about wordpress and vogue themes. It grew to become as soon as moreover a stark reminder that we, as a neighborhood, should turn into bigger at making the on-line accessible for all folks.

The put up I loved engaged on essentially the most grew to become as soon as El Soberano’s supply on Newspack. The fascinating ingredient about overlaying this fable grew to become as soon as now not the proper re-delivery of the e-newsletter. It grew to become as soon as getting to speak with different journalists, specifically those who had been down inside the trenches and combating for justice. It jogged my memory that, on the dwell of the day, journalism is steadily about folks.

Widespread Theme

This grew to become as soon as a straightforward decide. Twenty Twenty takes the give up dwelling on my itemizing. There have been themes launched this 300 and sixty 5 days with designs larger-helpful to my tastes. There have been little question different themes pushing extra limits in phrases of performance.

What I fancy most about Twenty Twenty is that it seems to be like unafraid to be plucky. It showcases how a theme can bear persona whereas being designed around the block editor. I am now not certain if I would ever put it to use for my web pages merely attributable to it’s now not my most popular type. On the other hand, I fancy its creative benefit.

Widespread Plugin

Whereas it grew to become as soon as now not launched in 2019, GiveWP is essentially the most fascinating plugin I even bear stale this 300 and sixty 5 days. It is a fundraising plugin that allows wordpress customers to carry collectively donations instantly from their on-line web page materials.

I labored with the plugin in two capacities this 300 and sixty 5 days. The precept grew to become as soon as as a plugin developer who grew to become as soon as establishing an integration between it and one different plugin. As a developer, I most popular how nicely-written and nicely-documented the code grew to become as soon as. The crew on the assist of the plugin includes worthwhile programmers.

I moreover helped push a pair of friends to dwelling it up for his or her duties. Each had been contented with their experiences.

Prime 10 Posts From 2019

The following posts are the most-commented posts of the 300 and sixty 5 days. deal of feedback usually suggest controversy spherical right here, so this itemizing might maybe maybe effectively sincere include, roughly, essentially the most controversial themes of the 300 and sixty 5 days. Each means, there are some massive discussions in one of the vital remark threads.

WP Tavern’s Contemporary Assemble: No Additional Wooden-Grain (91 feedback, 32 likes)

Jetpack 7.1 Offers Function Recommendations to Plugin Search Outcomes (76 feedback, eight likes)

Gutenberg: One Yr Later (75 feedback, 29 likes)

PluginVulnerabilities.com is Protesting wordpress.org Fortify Dialogue board Moderators by Publishing Zero-Day Vulnerabilities (64 feedback, 10 likes)

Murky Friday Banner Lengthy gone Atrocious: Selling in Free Plugins (59 feedback, 20 likes)

Justin Tadlock Joins WP Tavern (52 feedback, 45 likes)

YoastCon Overshadowed by Twitter Storm: Joost de Valk, Web pages positioning Substitute Leaders Often known as Out for Objectifying Women (37 feedback, 5 likes)

wordpress Poised to Begin up Imposing Proposal to Auto-Replace Older Web websites to 4.7 (36 feedback, Four likes)

Rebirth of Creativity: Gutenberg and the Machine ahead for wordpress Themes (33 feedback, 41 likes)

wordpress 5.3 “Kirk” Launched, Brings Contemporary Default Theme, Editor Enhancements, and UI Tweaks (32 feedback, 24 likes)

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2SE8vE1 via IFTTT

[newyorkgalblog-blog]

The Top Feminist Groups in NYC You Should Be Getting in With

New York, or any city for that matter, can feel isolating at times. The vast amount of people living there allows residents to be just another passer-by and carry a blanket of anonymity around with them. This is one of the many reasons New Yorkers adore the city: You can be anyone.

Unlike small towns, walking down the street doesn’t require a head nod or a “good morning!” every time someone shares the pavement with you.

And, thank God for that, because not only would that be exhausting in the city, it isn’t part of New Yorkers natures to be unnecessarily friendly. Avoid eye contact and keep your head down, that’s the Golden Rule.

Although, there are times when everyone craves a familiarity from home or other interests that they wish to share their enthusiasm with like-minded people. Along with a few other reasons, it’s probably why places like Chinatown, Koreatown and Little Italy nestled into neighbourhoods. Sometimes, you want to feel understood and be around similar thinking people.

Language, food, ideas and politics can affect how we interact. There have even been studies on how people’s personality changes when they speak a different language.

Right now, it’s hard to communicate with anyone from “the other side” of politics without an argument starting. Which is awful. We should be able to have discussions without wanting to punch someone- but that’s what Brexit and Trump have done.

Living in NYC may seem like a liberal oasis, yet, there are many (millennials) that agree with Trump’s and other republican’s ideas. Or, they’re just men that think “feminism shouldn’t be a thing”. You can hear it on the street. You can hear it at the office; In bars and elsewhere.

Last year was a great year for women. Many of those in the recent midterm elections felt outraged at the election so they ran, and won. However, women are still not getting paid enough. Trans women are at high risk of being beaten, raped and murdered. There are still miles to go.

And, as Gloria Steinem showed throughout the 70 and 80s and now, organizing, talking and fundraising for women’s groups is one of the best ways, besides voting, to making change happen. Not to mention that being around progressive and successful women is amazing. So here are some groups that you can join in the city: for fun, for networking, for a chat, for pushing women’s equality forward and, in some, for an all women’s space to relax and have some rosé.

New York Women’s Agenda

Image Source: New York Women’s Agenda ORG

NYWA was founded by author and philanthropist, Elinor Guggenheimer over 20 years ago. Their website describes the organizations goals as, “advances the interests of women and families through educational programs, advocacy, networking, and excercising the collective power of diverse women’s organizations and professional women in New York City.”

Like NYC, the group is equally diverse in membership. Amongst their list of beliefs, their largest devotion is to the pay gap, domestic abuse and relationship with the government. One of the committees, NYWA’s Government Affairs Committee, the Equal Pay Coalition NYC (EPCNYC), works with over 40 other organizations to close the pay gap and discrimination against women, women of color and low-income families.

Becoming a member is $65 ($25 for students) and allows you to be a part of the NYWA discussion and movement.

W.O.K.E (Women of Kolour Empowered) NYC

Image Source: Fancy La Femme

This group, made on the website Meet Up, currently consists of 772 listed members. It is specifically for black women, formed to discuss issues relating to them and their experiences today. The organizer recalls her mothers and “‘Aunts’ (I put this in quotes because they are not blood related) will gather around the living room and just chat about their kids, church, work, men, and so on. As a kid, I just looked at it as my mom and her friends were just hanging out and just talking. Ask I grow into my own person as a woman, a black woman; I realize that these talks they had were so crucial to their overall being.”

The aim is to openly, and safely, talk about “relationships, racism, sexism, work-related stress, sexuality, intersectionality, career, mental health, network, current events, pop culture, strengthening current relationships, and forming new ones.” Each meeting involves a pre-set topic. Past ones have included closing prisons and women of color in the #MeToo movement.

Their next meeting is scheduled Sunday, 27th of January at The Harlem Coffee Co. The topic: Unpacking Surviving R. Kelly Docuseries.

NGO Committee On The Status Of Women, NY

Image Source: Twitter

The NGO CSW of New York actively follows the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and UN Women. The group supports the work that all of those organizations do, by holding up to 400 events to educate the public, regardless of gender, about the importance of empowering women worldwide. They also fundraise, hold monthly meetings with guest speakers and give awards to “Women of Distinction” every year.

Their main event, however, is a “consultation day” in NYC that comes before the UN Commission on the Status of Women event. “Activists gather from around the world to discuss issues pertaining to women and girls, to network, share strategies/best practices and to lobby governments to implement resolutions and treaties that they have signed. NGO Representative are brought together to caucus, issue joint statements and provide wording for the Agreed Conclusions of the annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.”

Volunteer, intern, donate or become a member for just $25 (ages 25-35).

The Wing

Image Source: CNBC

Isn’t it pretty? It’s more than just an Instagrammable place, though. Their aim, “is the professional, civic, social, and economic advancement of women through community. We believe that the act of coming together in furtherance of The Wing’s mission creates new opportunities, ideas and conversations that will lead to greater mobility and prosperity for womankind.”

In other words, it’s a (gorgeous) professional and social club for working women. It’s a place to network, work out of the office, in a safe, feminist space. As well as having a podcast and magazine, The Wing also have a scholarship and “encourage members to take part in direct action on social issues important to our community.”

If it all sounds too good and pink to be true, that’s because it’s quite pricey. The Wing doesn’t allow food to be brought in, as they have a café. Which makes sense. But, members have to pay around $180 per month- and that’s if they get accepted.

National Organization for Women- NYC

Image Source: Lori Burch for Congress

The NOW “aim to defend reproductive rights, create economic equality, promote women’s political representation, and end discrimination and violence against women.” Their focus issues range from reproductive rights to economic equality to violence against women.

Since founded in 1966, NOW have been heavily pro-active in mentoring and encouraging women to run for positions of power; thus, protecting women’s rights and leading way for new fair laws and legislation. There are events held to network, further your career, learn about current discrimination and lead marches and protests in the city. They’ve launched Take Rape Seriously NOW and have a charity to help support survivors of sexual abuse/assault.

Membership is $20-125 and involves workshops, events, e-newsletters, voting guides and more.

OKREAL

Image Source: okreal

The writer, artist, and new mum wanted to open a spaceonline, and IRL, for young women that, “provide[d] a resource for a modern community of women who are striving to create their own path, and want authentic advice to help them do so.”

The events, held in varying locations, are somewhat mentor sessions for attendees. And, shaped around self-fulfilment. Successful figures, such as Tavi Gevinson or Iskra Lawerence, come to talk and answer questions in a way to give advice and inspire. Yoga, Trust Yourself Sessions, and bra fittings have been all part of the mornings before.

Some of their interviews are online with pictures that make you jealous of not being there. They always have snacks. PLUS, events are free!

  Original source: https://nygal.com/the-top-feminist-groups-in-nyc-you-should-be-getting-in-with/

[nomorekyriarchy]

Sometimes direct action is reporting racist profiles on social networking sites. Sometimes direct action is liking the comments of people advocating for justice and reporting the people fighting against it. Sometimes direct action is messaging vulnerable friends to check in on them and see if they need a friend. Or if they need help with anything you can do, like grabbing them food or groceries, helping take care of their pets, making them cocoa, letting them borrow your Netflix account, etc. Sometimes direct action is planting fruits and vegetables and herbs in public spaces and checking on them often and telling homeless people and beggars and others in financial strain when they're good for picking. Sometimes direct action is offering the right people emotional support. This includes when they are struggling with anything, whether or not it is related to activism. Protecting people means protecting them as people, not just as activists. Sometimes direct action is asking around about therapists, doctors, etc that are trans friendly or fat friendly or BIPOC friendly, so you have recommendations on hand to forward. Sometimes direct action is sharing skills and literature you got from resources others cannot access. (Websites with paywalls, school, paid skillbuilding workshops, therapy workbook pages, etc.) (Note: don't exploit the labour of marginalized people who make workshops about being an ally to them. It is hard enough to get by doing these things without losing jobs and having others play telephone with the things you've tried to teach.) Sometimes direct action is just plain volunteering. Doing busywork, like baking for community members, (offer to cater for groups like BLM, etc), or postering, or writing grant applications. Sometimes direct action is asking groups you are a part of why there is no representation of some specific marginalized group. Are you doing volunteer work surrounding chronic illness for example? What kind of illnesses are or are not represented in your volunteer team? Why do you think this is? Can you do anything to make your group more welcoming and inviting to people from unrepresented groups? Are there other groups or centres you can contact to see if they know anybody who is interested in helping? Would it be possible to offer any compensation to someone who is going out of their way to help you make your org better and more intersectional? Sometimes direct action means proving to marginalized people that you value their existence. If you really do believe this, you won't just give them lip service. Many LGBT+ orgs have taken to saying they recognize that much of our community progress was spearheaded by black trans women street activists. But who is stating this? Are they doing it because it's a disclaimer, or are they doing it because it helps to centre our efforts and focus these folks in our contemporary inclusion efforts? Sometimes direct action is questioning it when white people in activist spaces use the term "unsafe" to describe the way they feel when black (and other racialized folks) call them out on something. Sometimes direct action is learning how to apologize. Sometimes direct action is going beyond apologies to actually make amends, and do everything you can to make right what you have done wrong. And acknowledging you are never owed forgiveness. Sometimes direct action is voting for marginalized peoples in student elections and regular elections. Sometimes direct action is seeking out journalists of marginalized identities to read the work from and share on social media. Sometimes direct action is reblogging donation request posts. Sometimes direct action is sending people messages to let them know that you are grateful for everything they have taught you and that it has made a difference in the way you think about the world and your own actions. For a better world. Sometimes direct action is sneaking short notes into political library books with quotes, FAQs, dismantled arguments, etc so that when someone opens to that page they know it doesn't happen in a vacuum. Sometimes direct action is shovelling snow for disabled folks (when there's snow ofc). Sometimes direct action is giving your cool looking sunglasses to light-sensitive blind folks. Sometimes direct action is abled people giving up their convenient seats regardless of how visibly disabled someone might look. Sometimes direct action is offering pen and paper when you see a Deaf person and a service worker struggling to communicate. Sometimes direct action is telling sexist customers to respectfully back off when harassing women employees because they might not be in a position to ask to be left alone. Sometimes direct action is offering to go shopping with or walking with people who might be more likely to be charged with vagrancy or accused of shoplifting regardless of guilt. Sometimes direct action is sending digital book download codes to folks on bedrest in hospitals.

[aspenrosearts]

Kathleen Smith E: 155 S: 4

Butterflies of Wisdom is a podcast where we want to share your story. We want to share your wisdom if you have a small business, if you are an author or a Doctor, or whatever you are. With a disability or not, we want to share your story to inspire others. To learn more about Butterflies of Wisdom visit http://butterfliesofwisdom.weebly.com/ Be sure to FOLLOW this programhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wins-women-of-wisdom/id1060801905. To learn more about Challenge Aspen go to https://challengeaspen.org. To learn how Win walk and about Ekso go tohttp://www.bridgingbionics.org/, or email Amanda Boxtel at amanda@bridgingbionics.org.

  On Butterflies of Wisdom today, Best-Selling Author, Win C welcomes Kathleen Smith. Kathleen  was an Asst. Prosecutor in Hudson County for many years, stopped to raise he three children and was never able to return. Kathleen had a very difficult time trying to figure out her next step, and rather than reinvent the wheel- Kathleen decided to document women's stories and to connect them with those in similar situations. Kathleen began with a website-http://morphmom.com- where she have over 800 video interviews from around the country. Kathleen host cocktail parties around the country to connect women as well. Kathleen is a contributing editor for the Huffington Post -http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/kathleensmith-and just recently started varying levels of classes for women at different stages of their careers. Kathleen have started a new venture "morphmom goes to" where Kathleen bring her army of morphmoms to support other causes - the first of which was Maria Shriver's Move for Minds. OnJune 26th, Kathleen is hosting an inaugural “ Hear Her” (non-conference- conference) with a variety of speakers. Unlike a typical conference- we will have 2 simultaneous speakers throughout the day- discussing topics that will appeal to all women- from menopause to financial issues to authors to Shark Tank winners- (just to name a few)- with the object of making all women feel welcome and a part of this community - regardless of where they are in life. And with the intention of sharing stories from women who have accomplished what they set out to do and connecting them with women in a similar situation. Kathleen also have a weekly radio show (http://www.cityworldradio.com/morphmom-moments/) that aires live at 7PM onThursday nights, which is in turn a podcast on ITunes as well. (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/morphmom-moments-pickals-for/id1084718855?mt=2) It is so much fun and Kathleen meet the most amazing women! Here is a short sample of some morphmoms from both the website and the radio show:

  Arianna Huffington

  Kara Ross

  Kelly Corrigan

  Chrishaunda Lee Perez (Oprah's niece)

  Dorinda Medley (Real Housewife of New York)

  Nancy Armstrong (MAKERS- producer)

  Lucy Danziger

  Joan Barnes

  Chassie Post

  Ann Shoket

  Dee dee DeBartlo

  Gloria Steinem (interviewed for my Huffington Post column)

  Francine LeFrak

  Although there have been many celebrity names, the majority of Kathleen's interviews cover everyday women doing extraordinary things.( From Holocaust survivors to roller derby queens to drummers- just to name of a few of over 800 interviews from around the country.) To learn more about Kathleen visit http://www.morphmom.com/. To learn more about Win Kelly Charles visithttps://wincharles.wix.com/win-charles. To follow Win on Twitter go to @winkellycharles. To follow Win on Instagram go to winkcharles. To follow Win on Snapchat go to Wcharles422. To see Win's art go to https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/2-win-charles.html. "Books for Books," you buy Win's books so she can purchase books for school. "Getting through school is a 'win' for her fans and a 'win' for her."Please send feedback to Win by email her at winwwow@gmail.com, or go to http://survey.libsyn.com/winwisdom and http://survey.libsyn.com/thebutterfly. To be on the show please fill out the intake at http://bit.ly/bow2017. Butterflies of Wisdom sponsored by Kittr a new social media tool that is bringing about new ways of posting on Twitter. It's fun, full of free content you can use, helps you schedule at the best times, is easy to use, and it will help you get more followers. Visit Kittr at gokittr.com. This is a 20% off code for www.gracedbygrit.com. The code will be XOBUTTERFLIES. If you would like to support Butterflies of Wisdom go tohttps://www.patreon.com/wcharles. If you want to check out what Win’s friend, Dannidoll, is doing (a.k.a. Dannielle) go to https://www.facebook.com/dannidolltheragdollclown/?notif_t=page_invite_accepted&notif_id=1492366163404241. To learn more about Danielle visithttp://www.dancanshred.com. To learn about the magic of Siri go tohttps://www.udemy.com/writing-a-book-using-siri/?utm_campaign=email&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email. If you want to donate Butterflies of Wisdom, please send a PayPal donation to aspenrosearts@gmail.com or aspenwin@gmail.com. Please donate to Challenge Aspen or the Bridging Bionics Foundation. Please send a check in the mail so 100% goes to Bridging Bionics Foundation. 

  In the Memo section have people write: In honor of Win Charles. Please donate to the charity of your choice thank you in advance, Win.

  Send to:

  Challenge Aspen

PO Box 6639

Snowmass Village, CO 81615

Or donate online at https://challengeaspen.org.

  Bridging Bionics Foundation 

PO Box 3767

Basalt, CO 81621

  Check out this episode! life of win