#And understanding it as a medium that you have no cyclic but to create a Minecraft story

[leafatlaw]

see the craziest thing about how godawful the new Minecraft movie looks is that,, there’s already a plethora of good Minecraft media they could have pulled inspo from or just adapted. Like not even smp stuff just like the dozen of dozen of good Minecraft books/series. (Shoutout to the Elementia Chronicles and the Max Brook books). And then there’s Minecraft story mode which has no right to slap as much as it does and tells cohesive heart wrenching stories in an engaging fashion and style. And then there’s all the Minecraft creepypastas/args, smps, and all other creations that use Minecraft as a springboard to create wonderful machinima type movies (whitepine save me, whitepine). Theres so many stories out there and somehow the Minecraft movie seems to be missing something that all these other series have. (Love for the source material)

[nutrifloaustralia]

From Seedling to Harvest: Optimising Crop Rotation in Flood & Drain Hydroponics Systems

Imagine a world where every seedling you carefully nurture in your hydroponics system grows into a bountiful harvest. A world where your plants thrive, nutrients are optimally absorbed, and soil health is maintained at its peak.

That is the promise of optimising crop rotation in flood and drain hydroponics systems by buying equipment hydroponics equipment supplier Central Coast can help you. In this article, we will explore the fascinating realm of flood and drain hydroponics and delve into the importance of implementing effective crop rotation techniques.

Understanding Flood and Drain Hydroponics Systems

In the realm of hydroponics, one innovative system that has gained popularity is the flood and drain hydroponics system. This method involves periodically flooding plant roots with nutrient-rich water and then allowing it to drain away. It mimics the natural ebb and flow of water in soil, creating an environment that promotes optimal growth and nutrient absorption for plants.

The flood and drain hydroponics system from Central Coast hydroponics equipment supplier consists of a grow tray or container where plants are placed, a reservoir that holds the nutrient solution, a pump to facilitate flooding, and a drainage system to remove excess water. The process begins when the pump activates, filling the grow tray with the nutrient solution until it reaches a predetermined level. Once this level is reached, gravity takes over, allowing the excess water to drain back into the reservoir.

This cyclical flooding and draining action ensures that plant roots receive an adequate oxygen supply while also accessing essential nutrients from the solution. By alternating between wet and dry periods in controlled intervals, root health is improved as they are exposed to both moisture and air. This method also helps prevent stagnation or over-saturation of roots, reducing the risk of root rot or other diseases.

Importance of Crop Rotation in Hydroponics

Importance of Crop Rotation in Hydroponics: Crop rotation is a fundamental practice in hydroponic systems that cannot be underestimated. By regularly changing the types of plants grown in flood and drain hydroponics systems, numerous benefits can be reaped. Firstly, crop rotation helps prevent the build-up of pests and diseases that are specific to certain crops, as it disrupts their life cycles and reduces their chances of survival. This not only minimises the use of pesticides but also promotes healthier plant growth.

Benefits of Crop Rotation in Flood and Drain Hydroponics Systems:

In Flood and Drain Hydroponics Systems, implementing a crop rotation strategy brings numerous benefits that contribute to the overall success of the system. Firstly, crop rotation helps optimise nutrient uptake and ensures healthier plants.

By rotating crops, different plants with varying nutrient requirements are grown in succession, preventing the depletion of specific nutrients from the growing medium. This practice promotes balanced nutrient uptake and minimises the risk of deficiencies or toxicities.

Enhanced Nutrient Uptake and Soil Health

Another benefit of purchasing flood and drain hydroponics from hydroponics equipment supplier Central Coast, proper crop rotation plays a pivotal role in optimising nutrient uptake and maintaining soil health. By rotating crops, we can alleviate the risk of nutrient depletion in the growing medium. Different plant species have varying nutrient requirements, and rotating crops helps ensure that the soil remains balanced and rich in essential elements.

Additionally, crop rotation in flood and drain hydroponics allows for a reduction in pests and diseases. When the same crop is cultivated continuously, it creates an ideal environment for pests to breed and diseases to proliferate.

Conclusion

In the realm of hydroponics, the art of crop rotation holds immense potential in optimising the growth and yield of plants in flood and drain systems. It is truly fascinating to witness how strategic planning and a deep understanding of plant needs can transform a humble seedling into a bountiful harvest. By rotating crops intelligently, we not only promote nutrient uptake and soil health but also create an environment where each plant thrives harmoniously alongside its companions. The beauty lies in witnessing the delicate dance between nature's elements as they work in unison to bring forth abundance.

Source: https://nutrifloaustralia.blogspot.com/2023/07/from-seedling-to-harvest-optimising.html 

[bondsmagii]

Hey read (some of) this blog post (long as hell), tries to pick it up where your old scp cult post left off: lackoflepers medium com/scp-is-not-a-cult-196e87ce6b11

(link)

this is insane. I've never written anything that's ever received a full response before, so that's exciting. what's even more exciting is that this piece does raise some really interesting questions, and is very well-written and thoughtful.

the strange thing is, I think we're both in agreement -- but I'm calling it a cult, and the author of this piece is calling it a "fledgling religion". I agree with this outlook, if I'm honest -- but at the same time I can't help but think that this has filled a hole in my cult theory, rather than poked a hole in it.

when I wrote the original cult post, the one thing I couldn't quite equate was the religion aspect. there was a lot of things to consider from that aspect, in terms of cults requiring a certain doctrine, rituals, etc, and while I was able to draw comparisons to the site culture and these things, it didn't quite fit. this article explains and illustrates exactly what all of these things are, and the sheer amount of similarities between the SCP wiki culture and religious fundamentalists. it's absolutely incredible, how it all still adds up.

however, some things are way off. I understand the author has a history with site and with staff, and they obviously understand that there's a complicated relationship between the two. the piece certainly tackles the question from an educated site-critical standpoint, but I can't help but notice some glaring omissions and in some places, assumptions which I feel are quite simply incorrect. under the cut we go, because this is long.

the author seems to be very ignorant of the site's cyclical patterns. one of their main arguments for the wiki's not being a cult is how people like Dr Gears and thedeadlymoose don't have more power over the masses, being such important figures. the problem with the wiki is that it is very cyclical, and big names of one era do not translate over to new eras. big names replace old ones, and the old ones either become fond grandparent figures (like Gears, who had the sense to take a step back before the tides changed against him) or they become irrelevant or reviled (like thedeadlymoose, or pixelatedharmony (Roget).) this means that if the former appeals to the group, they will get essentially a pat on the head and a gentle dismissal, or if the latter speak out they will be silenced, harassed, banned, etc. this is very cultlike behaviour -- if somebody goes against the grain, they become an immediate enemy of the people. the only way to survive fame on the wiki is to retire quietly, at your peak, and keep yourself to yourself.

going on from this, there are also different levels to how a staff member is seen. there have been eras of the site where the site admin might not be as impressive as one of the prolific writers, for example. who these days knows about The Administrator? it's all Dr Gears to them. different authors have different levels of unofficial authority, and the author of the piece doesn't seem to realise that it's a cult of personality as much as anything else. there are constant divisions among staff, even if they present a united front; frequently those not toeing the party line have been ostracised or purged, and this filters down to the average user. just because a person is on staff does not mean they immediately skyrocket to godhood, if we're using the religious metaphor. this is why it seems as though "staff" as a whole isn't uniformly worshipped -- they're not. there are complex currents of power at work here, and it's frustrating because at first glance it seems to invalidate the very real fact that a few site members have all the authority. the staff worship extends to staff members. those in lower tiers will act similarly to those in higher tiers as a new member would act towards all staff.

the author draws attention to thedeadlymoose's impressive efforts to bring the site forward from its 4chan beginnings and make it more inclusive to LGBT members -- something that has undoubtedly had an effect. however, the author does not mention that to date, the site's only successful splinter site (as in, a site that lasted more than a few weeks) is RPC, and while this website came about for multiple reasons, it's undeniable that one of these reasons was because of the fact that the wiki was openly supportive of LGBT people during Pride Month. it's also interesting to note that the author is also a member of the RPC site, so it's odd that this piece of the site's origins is not mentioned.

the acceptance of these pro-LGBT policies also seems to be less wide-spread than the author believes -- most people don't care, there does exist users who are homophobic or transphobic, and -- something I'm surprised wasn't mentioned at all in the piece -- when LGBT members of the site spoke up and said the new logo made them feel pandered to, and the resulting blowout made them feel targeted and unsafe, they were mass banned from the subreddit by a rogue moderator who, incensed by the fact his authority was so challenged, then ragequit and abused people on the threads for several hours. this is a typical staff response to discontent in the masses. so yes, thedeadlymoose did have some significant sway in the attitude changing somewhat, but it was not as widespread (nor as cared about) as the article's author seems to think.

now, I shall move on to specific quotations.

Furthermore, as a gaggle of creators, SCP should never feature the mass conformity of thought that defines a cult; theirs is an ecosystem that predicates itself upon creation, and obsessively on the new and original — that is to say, the different (but tempered).

while the author does elaborate on this idea of creativity and conformity, this is just wrong. again, I blame the author's ignorance in regards to the cyclical nature of the site -- which isn't the fault of the author, in my opinion. such cycles are slow, measuring out in years rather than months, which is insanely long for an internet community. in order to notice them, you would have to have been observing for some time -- which I have been. since I have been observing the site (which has been since its very creation -- I was on the 4chan thread in 2007 when 173 was created and I have seen the wiki from its infancy on EditThis over to wikidot) I have seen this happen countless times. a type of writing, be it style or genre, takes off. it could be LOLFoundation, grimdark, whatever -- it takes off, it runs the site for a year or so, and then it crashes and burns. when it takes off, there are rules for writing it that must be obeyed lest you be downvoted to oblivion. as the attitude turns against it, those who still write it are vilified and ostracised, and the new one takes over. there have been mass purges in the past, and there has always been, since the wiki's inception, conformity of thought. one of my oldest complaints about the wiki is that, for a site full of writers, they have no imagination and absolutely no desire to step out of the approved style.

To put it very broadly, things get accustomed to the status quo in a highly regulated environment, and get better at simply remaining and surviving in that.

this could be a decent rebuff to my previous point, but the fact is that while the SCP wiki harbours cultish behaviour, a vast majority of the users are casual readers who maybe write one or two articles. the stagnation is, at least partially, because of the fact that most users sign up, read some articles, think "cool, I have an idea for one!", write it -- and have it emulate the articles they've read, thus sounding similar in tone and content to the rest of the recent articles -- get a semi-decent response if lucky, and then move on after a few months or years.

the people who power the wiki, however -- who are prolific, who churn out insane amount of articles -- are suffering from what I outlined in my above point. a small percentage of the wiki dictates the direction it goes. it has always been like this -- and people who go against the grain that staff have employed, be it old user or new, will pay for it. this payment is often in downvotes, but occasionally comes in harassment, bans, or deletions, too.

Lastly a cult is really the most extreme version of a religion, it is a religion on steroids.

this is straight-up incorrect. cults began as religions gone hayware, yes, but the idea of a cult as a Jonestown-style compound in the middle of nowhere is outdated. cults are the most extreme version of an ideology -- be it religious, political, or otherwise. they are ideologies on steroids. thanks to the internet, they also no longer have to be in real life spaces. you can be in a social cult on Twitter or on Discord; you can be in a cult of ideology on an incel forum or in a social circle of TERF blogs. all of these things are cults. they have cult-like behaviour and thinking.

this is where the author proves my point beyond all doubt. the author says the following about the wiki's increasingly left-wing inclusive policies:

What was intended to be an executive extension in peace has, due to the force required to counteract the sheer hostility and persecution once leveled at this group at its peak, instead overshot its mark and has become a brutal bureaucratic sanctioning of political identity. (I can hear someone saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.)

the biggest shift in this cult-think, for me, was observed when the shift towards Terminally Online Woke Left attitudes began to be increasingly observed. I'm not talking about getting people to tone down the homophobia and whatnot. I'm talking about this culture of purity and suffering that the author outlines very well in the article; if you have read the article, I needn't go over it again. the wiki now holds a monopoly on suffering using the same kind of Oppression Olympics as other spaces devoted to purity culture -- and purity culture is a cult. this is straight-up fact at this point. it is my belief that staff identified the power available to them in a) targeting people from oppressed and vulnerable groups and giving them a so-called safe space and b) using their various oppressions to their advantage.

something that is prolific in purity culture circles is that somebody who is oppressed in any way cannot be held to blame for their actions. they cannot be a bad person. this is ideological armour, and staff wields it. they also use purity culture and apparently progressive ideology to shut down anyone who dissents, and to smear their name and have then ostracised as an enemy. why do they do this? liking the power and fame of their position is a big part of it, as the author outlined, but something major is missing.

throughout the entire article, the author does not once mention the detailed and extensive history of staff sexually abusing minors on the site.

this is well-documented by this point. staff has seen many predators in its ranks, including one of the most prolific site members of all time -- AdminBright, or The Duckman. staff has known about these staff members and has covered it up over years. I myself have heard testimony from countless victims, but whenever we raise enough of a stink, a staff member does an "internal investigation" and nothing comes of it. the fact that the cult-like behaviour of this website can be discussed without one of the cornerstones of cult activity -- using its members for financial or sexual gain -- is astounding to me.

to go on from this, there is also no mention of the SCP lawyer fund, which raised over $30,000 and then faced staff actively resisting transparency as to the case and the funds. financial manipulation is another major example of cult behaviour.

without acknowledging these two things, I do not think that a full argument against the idea of the SCP wiki as a cult can be possible.

the author raises a good point that illustrates both why staff acts the way it does, and why the users are so eager to imitate:

The answer is something that can turn someone into their nemesis; something that would make someone sell their soul for 1000 upvotes; that tragic commonality that binds all individuals who feel the need to write; the need to be received, but more, to be loved for it.

this is a big reason why staff clings to its power, and why people sell out their creativity, and why people emulate this behaviour, and why prolific authors burn out so fast. however, running through all of this at its core -- through the need to be received and loved -- is the power that comes with it. this is all about power.

to mention the specific example of LordStonefish, and his reaction when he found out that his interviewer was enemy of the people pixelatedharmony, now of "burning out, ragequitting the site, and going to talk shit on KiwiFarms" infamy:

[...] it was as if LSF was speaking to a leper, and that the ongoing participation in the salvation of public approval (not to mention site participation as well) was directly dependent upon LSF’s rebuke of pH as a demon who is only worthy of a terrible fate and, as we see in the screencaps, even death.

leaving my personal opinions on Harmony out of this, going from a perfectly civil interview to finding out that the interviewer was an enemy and not only dumping all of his private information to offset doxing, but also going into detail about some highly personal stuff for shock value... I don't think Harmony quite required that treatment. the fact is that, as the quote outlines above, the only way to ensure that he wouldn't be completely ostracised for fraternising with the enemy (KiwiFarms -- of which Harmony is apparently the ambassador) was to behave like a man shunning a sinner. Harmony has sinned -- she rejected the status quo, she defied the group and its authority, and LordStonefish, in order to remain safe from being tarred with the same brush -- has to react with suitable horror to her presence.

it should be noted here that while KiwiFarms has a reputation for being a hive of scum and villainy, its main reputation regarding the SCP Wiki has been for being the one place where complaints against the site are openly discussed, often by defected staff members such as pixelatedharmony and Cyantreuse, and perhaps most telling of all -- the place where a lot of accounts of sexual harassment and abuse have been filed. staff rails against it on the grounds of it being filled with people who use slurs and have questionable ideological beginnings (ironic, coming from a website which began on 4chan) -- but as a leftist myself with extensive knowledge of the wiki, I can confirm that no criticisms I've seen on there have been unfair or inaccurate, and in fact a lot of the evidence and testimony posted there is damning. it would be fair to not wish to associate with the site because of its content in other places, or even its past reputation, but the fact staff rail against it so hard when it's currently one of the only places (and certainly the only public place) where their deeds are on display? it's interesting.

of LordStonefish's reaction, the author says:

This is the behavior of a deeply religious figure.

it is. this is the reaction of a Mormon meeting an old friend who has left the church. this is the reaction of a Jehovah's Witness crossing the street to avoid a shunned neighbour. it is the behaviour, you could say, of a cult member.

in the conclusion, the author states:

And if anyone is to shoulder blame for the creation of this pathology and its complex, it are those true bigots of history and today, who don’t have the spiritual maturity to understand that someone’s sexual preference or identity shouldn’t be enough to categorically separate them from a definition of humanity; to beat, maim, and wish death upon them.

perhaps this might have been true, perhaps this might have drawn a thoughtful and damning line under the whole affair, if not for the fact that this behaviour has been occurring since long before the internet became known for its progressive and now increasingly often, ridiculous takes on inclusion and sensitivity. this kind of cultish groupthink has been ongoing since the wiki's very first inception. the cyclical worship of a group of staff members and other prolific writers (though the group are often one and the same) and their chosen theme or genre has occurred like clockwork since the late 00s. it has occurred when the website was still entrenched in its 4chan days and saying slurs was barely blinked at. it was still there back when staff was predominantly (or at least presumably) cis, white, and male. it was there when being gay was the butt of a joke and being trans was all but unthought of. it has always been there, and while the latest progressive policies and attitudes have had an effect on how the power is wielded, it has not changed the power itself. if the tides ever turn on the Terminally Online Woke ideology, staff will change with it and adapt their policies and ideologies to keep their power.

if anyone is to shoulder the blame for the creation of this pathology, it is the elitist attitude that has allowed a select few to be worshipped unquestionably. it is the power-hungry individuals who seek out fame and respect on a writing website and then use this fame and respect to treat others badly and their fear of a fall from grace to shelter others treating people worse. it is on the shoulders of the staff members who use their position to groom and sexually assault minors. it is on the shoulders of the staff members who keep it silent. as the severity of staff's secrets has increased, so has their attempts to silence dissent and reform at all costs.

the author agrees that this kind of religious think might lead to a cult in the future. the author says the cult will be a cult of vulnerability, but I disagree. I believe the cult is already there, and it is -- and always has been -- a cult of power.

[dreamingoftinystars]

Hi! I want more people to see my thoughts on a book because I think it was a really good book idk but be aware my thoughts are very long

Book was Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke

The first thing I want to say is: wow do I recommend this book.

Quick little content warning for the book: there is a lot of discussion revolving around Harry Harlow’s psychological experiments on monkeys. There is a lot of cruelty and gruesome discussion in that- I will not be discussing that in the review but if my review makes you want to read it, please be aware of this fact.

First, I want to say that this is one of the most emotionally touching things I’ve read in a hot minute. So many quotes and elements of the book really impacted me. I think part of that is because loneliness is something that is so prevalent for every person- every single person has felt loneliness at least once in their life. It’s something that we can all understand, and I think that’s one of the must hard hitting pieces of this novel.

One other element of this novel that hits so incredibly wonderfully is how well Radtke combines personal narrative with nonfiction to create this warping and winding discussion of loneliness. Also the art style is absolutely stunning in my opinion- I think the utilization of mostly two tone pieces speaks really well to the concepts. It has a sense of fullness but it doesn’t have the warmth that full colored pieces have. I think it was a really smart design decision.

I think telling nonfiction in a graphic novel format is such an underutilized medium, so I really enjoyed that this book explored that further.

I think the best way for me to do the rest of my thoughts is to give you some key quotes for me and share my thoughts on them so that’ll be this!

1) “Perhaps now we can learn how flawed that kind of thinking is, because loneliness is one of the most universal things any one person can feel”

I touched on this with my opening piece but I think this quote wraps up my thoughts on this incredibly well and shows one of the ways that this novel can speak to every single person.

2) “When we crave closeness, I’m not sure if what we want is something we used to have or a hazy image of what we never will, and I don’t have an answer for what we do when we’ve lost the ability to do anything but tread water”

This quote is just so incredibly beautiful- like I have no words but I had to include it. That list line about treading water made me literally put down the book and think for a while.

3) “The weakness of an outsider is repulsive to someone desperate to stay inside”

This piece was on a section about how as people there is this tendency to attack or like exclude people that we deem as outsiders. While I don’t agree with that behavior, I think this quote really shows how in the end those actions still relate to the same feelings that the person who is alone is also feeling. It’s this really interesting way to write a comment on the cyclical nature of people. I don’t know it intrigued me greatly as a quote.

4) “The less one interacts with others. The more likely they are to build narratives around themselves that reinforce an impulse toward isolation”

I just thought this section was a really interesting dive into how people interact with others, especially once they’ve already gotten stuck in a position of loneliness. It becomes so overwhelming that it just becomes easier to be alone. And I think this is something that I’ve even seen in my own experiences so it was really neat to see that phenomenon discussed in the novel.

5/6) “If loneliness can cause us to lose sense of what is real, how do we function within a country that is constantly telling us what we trust and know cannot be trusted or known?”

“If trust is the basis for the bonds we form, then its eradication can almost certainly ensure our separation”

These two quotes kind of go hand in hand in my opinion. Both were a part of the more political discussion of the novel where it was implying certain concepts about the government and a tension that has been created through government and media that has limited the concept of trust of information. Especially considering the last couple years, these quotes were important to me.

7) “To arm ourselves is the most extreme form of separation I can imagine. To move through a life without weapons is another way to remain open to the world, and at its mercy”

This was a really interesting take on weapons and people having them for me. The way I read this general section was much more focused on a concept of anti-weapon/violence. But the last little piece made me definitely question if the author was speaking from a much more nuanced position. However I don’t think that being at the world’s mercy is necessarily a bad thing, especially when weapons and violence creates such a strong divide in each person. It was just a really well written section and is definitely thought provoking.

8) “When I scroll through friends’ or acquaintances’ feeds on social media, I often wonder how much of what they post is a representational extension of who they are. When I look through my own feed, I have the same question. What I mean is that I fear that through the act of posting about my life, I’m also fooling myself into believing it reflects what it’s like to live inside it- just as I’ve sometimes told the same story so many times that the telling overtakes my memory itself”

I think that there are arguments that social media both widens the loneliness each person has but can also lessen it depending on how that social media is used and also which type. This was definitely an interesting thought on it, however, as it’s specifically referencing perfecting a social media feed to try and make your life seem a certain way to observers. And I definitely think that’s a very real thing that happens and I just thought the way that the author wrote it was really eloquent and well put. As such, i feel like it deserved recognition.

9) “Romantic comedy logic provides love as an antidote for loneliness- or really, love as an antidote for everything. But we know that love is rarely unbounded or infallibly accessible. There’s no lever to pull when we want to draw it closer, and to rely on other people for a cure is to ignore the expanse between free will and obligation. No one person can create a drip-line of availability and understanding into another”

This set of lines really spoke to me because I feel like so much people put romantic love as the only way to be “saved” from loneliness, and I just don’t think that’s true. While I personally value romantic love, I don’t think it’s the only meaningful relationship that exists in one’s life. It can be, but I don’t think it’s the only one. There is so much in our lives that can be fulfilling and bring us away from loneliness and I think the author is really trying to emphasize that one person is not the only solution. And I think that’s a concept that isn’t discussed as much as it should be.

10) “Stories are how we draw ourselves closer to one another, and how we remember, and sometimes how we reshape”

I think this quote pretty much speaks for itself but is also a fairly good place to leave this review. I highly recommend the book and if you’ve read all of my thoughts I thank and appreciate you <3

[18mr]

Join us as we slow the fuck down with Angela Angel (and her plants!) in our 3rd interview in the “What Is Healing for Asian Americans?” series:

sumi: You are a gardener, artist, medium, and ceremonialist. As a young traditional healing practitioner, your work is a continuation of your indigenous lineage– the Bontoc and Ibaloi tribes (the Igorot) of the Philippines. What does living out your purpose and traditional healing practices look like in Oakland, CA (your current home)?

Angela: Aside from when I’m with students or clients, I spend most of my time interacting with the plants, the earth, and my ancestors. I’m really talking to them and returning back to my ancestors’ ways of animism.

I spend my time cultivating my relationship back to our earth, because we have broken lines. This isn’t this glamorous thing. I’m in a big process of decolonization and a big part of my spirituality is decolonization. What that looks like is diving deep into ancestral work. I spend a lot of time sitting at my altar and working there. Making medicine and being in the garden. This requires a lot of spaciousness – to slow down and connect with the earth.

Unfortunately, this process of rematriation sometimes feels like a privilege to me because most of my friends, family, and the public are very much in the grind. When I’m in my home and garden space, I feel like I’m just playing. Which is beautiful to me, but if you contrast it with most of the world, it feels like a privilege. But that’s the only way at this point.

sumi: What is a medium?

Angela: A translator of languages, frequencies, vibrations, colors. An empath, but in a way that we are able to control that sensitivity and use it to support clarity and healing for others. A deep connection with the earth and the elements. An avatar, being in tune so deeply and authentically that you’re able to work with the elements around you.

sumi: The dominant Western worldview does a tremendous job of separating us [humans] from nature. Similarly, trusting your psychic visions in a culture which doesn’t honor your feelings and sensations as real information, is no small thing. How did you learn to trust your visions and the land?

Angela: That’s pretty much what it means to be Indigenous– to have full trust and deep connection with the earth. It’s our way of life.

I feel hopeful because we are in a time of decolonization. Our dominant culture doesn’t allow for us to trust in the earth and in things that are unseen. Religion, colonialism, internalized colonialism, and capitalism have all violently impressed upon us not to trust in our Mother, Our Earth. When you’re severed from the earth, you completely forget her. We’ve been in that great forgetting for a while now.

For me, I feel blessed that I was raised that way. Next to the earth, my mama was my first teacher and I learned to take care of the land from her. Nature is what should feel natural because it’s our inheritance and it’s our inherent-ness. As human beings, we have a long way to go with rebuilding that trust.

sumi: For folks who didn’t grow up with someone who taught us this value of trusting earth, or seeing the earth as our mother – where’s a place to start?

Angela: I think it’s both subtle and also a product of assimilation that people didn’t grow up with that direct connection. For the most part, it’s always been there.

THE SUBTLETY COMES FROM ESTABLISHING A RELATIONSHIP TO NATURE, THE SAME WAY YOU WOULD ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WITH A NEW FRIEND.

You pay attention, you make acknowledgements, you give them a gift, you listen to them, you respect them, you establish consent, you make a meal for them, you tell them you love them.

All of that is the same when you are working with the plants: you observe, you become quiet, you become still, you pay attention to the way they grow, you offer them water, you ask permission to take from them, you also greet them, and tell them you love them. The same reverence we give to our human loved ones is the same reverence I carry with the earth.

sumi: Healing historical and ancestral trauma is central to your work as a practitioner. Why is this so important? And are ancestors more than just our blood family?

Angela: Yes. We are connected to so much rich history that is within our blood lineage, but if you go further back, we are connected to so much more. We’re connected to the animals, the plants, and to what is known as the unseen. There’s multiple worlds that we’re connected to that I would consider our ancestors.

We’ve been on this planet as a peoples and as our lineages for a very long time. When people describe themselves as an old soul, I sometimes laugh at that. At this point, everybody is an old soul! If you look at it generationally and spiritually, we have our grandmothers that are being reborn into this planet. We’re very, very old. We’ve accumulated thousands of years of trauma and repeating history in a cyclical, destructive way.

ONCE YOU’VE GOTTEN TO A CERTAIN LEVEL OF YOUR HEALING WORK, YOU’LL HIT A TENSION THAT EITHER YOU NEED TO CONFRONT, OR IT’S GONNA CONTINUE AS THIS PATTERN IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THAT IS ANCESTRAL WORK.

In order to change our world, we have to get into the deep inner work, coupled with all the other things which we may already be doing, like organizing and taking care of our daily needs. It’s vital to our systems, especially in our partnerships and families.

[Often] we get so enthusiastic and ready to change the world in this very external way. It’s what I would describe as hypermasculine. I definitely think this needs to continue happening and it has its role. But if we’re having all this turmoil in ourselves and families and we just keep running away from that – either because it’s too hard or we don’t wanna deal with it – that extends into the rest of our work. We can’t just change things from the outside in, we need to do it both ways.

sumi: What does ceremony mean to you?

Angela: I would describe my life as ceremony. That’s how our ancestors lived and continue to do so.

CEREMONY IS A LIFESTYLE. NOT LIKE, “I’M GONNA DO YOGA BECAUSE IT’S TRENDING,” BUT A LIFESTYLE WHERE YOU HAVE TO WALK IN SUCH A WAY WHERE YOU ARE REALLY IN TUNE AND PAYING ATTENTION TO THINGS.

It’s a mothering way of being. For me, ceremony could be as small as daily rituals like waking up in the morning and stretching, or it could be much more formal and intentional.

To talk about ceremony is to talk about why we even need it. It’s at a level where language feels very limiting. It’s a way of us mirroring the natural order of the universe. When we mirror that, we become in tune with the sacredness of all and the natural cycles of things.

Ritual is a way of continuously birthing yourself into existence. Specifically, rites of passage rituals are so important. We barely have that today, perhaps only in the form of weddings or giving birth.

In our ancestors’ time, people were initiated often. For example, when a child is stepping into a certain level of their maturity or when you’re becoming an elder. We honor different stages of life and death.

We used to have these rituals to understand our role as members of our community. What we’re seeing now is when we’re not formally initiated, we get initiated a different way. Either it becomes a disaster, we become ungrounded from it all, or we find our way. For example, when there’s a shocking death in the family. If people don’t honor it, if they don’t create a ceremony around it, the soul and the family becomes lost.

When we do ceremonies, we’re creating space for people to come into themselves and into the reality that their loved one has now graduated from life. We’ve lost a lot of that, or we have diluted versions of it which are based on pressures to look and be a certain way– like weddings.

sumi: What is the gift of an imperfect ancestor?

Angela: It means working with all the different lines within us. We have a history that is violent and full of terror and trauma and that exists within us.

WE HAVE ANCESTORS THAT ARE OUR COLONIZERS. BUT IT IS ALSO A GIFT BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT THAT TO CONTINUE.

By doing ancestral work we’re able to see our imperfect ancestors through compassion, through their original innocence.

sumi: What do plants want us to know?

Angela: To learn their song.

[queenofallwitches]

Why I hate people who spend their adult life arguing online;

1. Well it’s juvenile , I personally prefer to leave any and all pseudo intellectual social discourse in my 6th grade debating class...

2. You aren’t anyone important and not saying novel things, you are using people who have put information that is novel and trying to spin it into your own agenda.

3. Waste of time, fools will be foolish, and if you enjoy the discourse, toastmasters or academic debating would be more productive uses of time

4. You lack self insight

5. You are self aware and doing it due to your own egotistical, sadistic, cunning desires. (Trolls, deep fakes)

Why I never take anyone who loves to argue on menial topics seriously: (spiritually or mentally)

I am high iq and high eq. I am also “attractive by the conventional measures of society” I deal with the most pathetic and malicious idiots who cannot understand a woman who has aesthetic appeal, that can also hold a stimulating and intelligent conversation.

I don’t argue. I problem solve. Arguing online was faded out when I was 14 years old.

But people who are almost 40, ar still out there pretending that they are the most unique and authoritative source of blogging bullshit. When the world media and journalism is where we are today. The academic literature speaks a plethora more than an adult in the hamster wheel, unable to see they are playing checkers in a left vs right, design by social engineering and the think tanks of Tavistock, you play the part they put you to be.

A dialectic of irrational and repetitive arguments is never productive.

It lacks a solution or a higher order of resolution, why are you behaving to destroy when you are claiming to want to create a world better?

So unconscious and unexplained lack of self awareness in adults who are obviously insecure and ignorant becomes old quick.

I comprehend why it’s important but the level of the argument is basic, and been recycled 1000000 times.

Why am I writing this? Free speech is not free. If you can discourse over the same shit and never find a solution you are part of the same fucking problem.

How I know?

Life experience. Learning.

Love of learning and living and devouring the higher level of what if, how can we, let’s move into a better solution.

I have many years of experience that is beyond the understanding of most people and I have gone through things nobody understands.

One time I was a young teen, but was already too smart, too sassy, too aware and that left my life a wreck after I went too far.

I DID get expelled in the 11th grade. I’m no idiot, I am actually genius, by measures of conventional iq.

So I was academically talented without effort, not to boast, because I hated being smart.

But I did get the internet social discourse I needed to say; on things that we should be all knowing are social engineering in a designed dichotomy to divide and conquer.

I was in a program in high school called cum laude. I cannot recall the meaning. But we were advanced academics, not only skilled at learning but sports, extra curricular things like musicals, choir, crusade survivor camps (duke of Edinburgh), debating, tutoring/mentoring younger students & more. I won many awards without trying. Mostly for geography (social science), design tech, visual art & creative writing. I was learning university level things in year 8. And examining and analysis to debate in scholarly discourse about topics that were familiar when I was in 1-2 year of my bachelor degree. An example is philosophy, as this was mandated in the GT program. Smart is my sense of knowing how to balance the logical and the emotional. This is ONE percent of my life but one I did not follow through on and as a result I walk this path now, and I put up with the educated and intelligent “idiots” (like conformity, bullying, bitching kids in the same class) and refuse to stoop to low iq, low eq and low level idiots.

You waste time. I am not saying I am only exclusive to educated or academic professionals, that is not what this is about. This is about me being underestimated and undermined and never taken seriously because I get the most inhuman torment if I do start to speak my truth.

Lucky I found comfort in solitary rebellion. So. Let’s see what I am that is always going to be a work in progress but what my enemies forget all the time.

To remind you:

I am a born, intuitive empath, psychic and ancestral lineages of many esoteric paths play into my natural ability. I used to hate feeling, knowing and perceiving things that I could see happening, in my dreams, visions and “gnosis” before they happened. I felt powerless.

But now I know how to harness it, things change.

And yet still I have to sit back and observe, as I did for years in school, and then in the fucking shithole employment situation that was my consequence of 2 expulsions from schools. (They value conformity over fucking intelligence) I had a gang of kids in my last high school sign a petition to have me expelled and that is one example of how people in my life come to attack, hate, misunderstand and spit venom for no reason.

I never push that energy myself. But I call things as I see them. I am real , and my perception is primed to pierce the veil on those who lack authenticity, who are bullies, cunning, cruel, conformists, deep fakes, fraudulent, following orders for the sake of fear, or just narcissistic or psychopathic “organic portals” who carry out the agenda for the black lodge.

I have no issue if these people want to live a life away from me and what I protect. But when my sphere is crossed into on a repeated basis, I will study the situation in silence. I won’t speak of what I see, without objective and subjective factors weighed in a careful, cautious but not closed minded, way. See you and I are probably not the same because I’m the kind of human who always gives people the benefit of the doubt and believes that people are better, that is my detriment and my strength. I see the good and hope that others carry a genuine heart and soul. But my experience shows me that I am not wrong when I feel off, or intuitive feelings are ignored due to my “dismissal”.

When I find the truth, I always say, I knew I needed to listen to my heart and head.

That’s why I can never be broken, or betrayed, or backstabbed worse than before. It is always a learning lesson I am open to growing from.

I am always open to being wrong, or told how to be better, my flaws are on open display and I am not scared of that. I want to be more helpful to grow and nourish the people and places I interact with.

In my world, arguing online was a dying medium by my 18th birthday. For many reasons. But the enemy is a sucker for this divide and conquer, drama bred social and political bullshit that’s all just opinion and speculation. It creates a negative tone and teaches nothing of novelty or wisdom. It just shows how weak, insecure, paranoid, and self obsessed people who are too old for the high school bullshit, by miles, are. my enemies could even spit out the first longing to follow the death cult of the black lodge, I was already aware of what 95 % of you found out in 2020. I don’t mean to be pretentious or pompous, I’m not. I’m actually the most passionate, loving and open minded human I know. But the people who come into my spaces to play to prey. Imposters and the immoral, A siphoning sickness in a role to ruin, how could anyone do that but someone who is a soul-devoid parasite? That’s real fucking discourse. Let’s talk about morality, moral principles and how they are applied and actualised into the metacogition of your own microcosm.

Suggestions and solutions?

How about discourse on the metaphysics of mystic, magick, the mind and the method to mend the mundane world into a manifestation where a symbiotic system of mutually beneficial prosperity, peace, collaboration, creation & harmony can be lived on a daily basis?

How about solutions and sitting with your own shadow in the darkness to see your flaws.

how they only give me a free pass to watch the shit show. when push comes to shove and patterns that are seen in your behaviour, cyclically, are the key that unlocks the truth of anyone’s hidden motivation.

Why is deception and destruction never noted by the deceived, unless someone like me comes to break the wall of ignorance to say “hey this is the truth and it hurts and looks vile but fucking wake up”. No I don’t like the ripple impact this has but at the same time I am aw woman of strength. I will stand up for the real, authentic and genuine truth and speak my mind.

I don’t sugar coat this bullshit.

Nor will I indulge it.

Let alone be a person who lets it seep it’s tendrils into my life and what I love.

Not ever. Never.

As someone wise once said “despair ends, tactics begin”

You cannot claim any authentic path without putting your soul, blood and spirit to the test of facing your demons, slaying the darkness. I am not sure that comes with what I and others see these action and behaviour presenting to be.

I rarely write things like this, and only want to address this because i walk on a path of “rose and thorn”. My thorn will eventually slay whatever is a threat, a charlatan or a sheep in wolves clothing. By accident. Because what you are lacking is always looking to attack, I am always having to protect and defend my life from the evil.

I see you. I know the hidden hand x64. I am always open to forgiving people if they are sincere but will play reflection of the adverse if passive people are coming to what to me, is a beautiful and amazing thing, and to be acting as agents of sabotage? Shame on your lack of soul, and it’s lack of seeking to steal, stain and shit all over the things of substance, spirituality and sincerity will always be seen when I am the seer seeing the undertones.

So where is the moral compass?

Find yourself, and then you can find something real that is yours to be into and love. Maybe even this. But to fuck with what is real, while being fake, and following orders, is by far, fence sitting and fraudulent, insidious & infantile activity. Why not spend time looking inside to see why you are following this order from who for what? What is your genuine purpose? Soul mission? Higher self ? Or are you all still stuck in the love is the law is the law love under the will of the guy who wrote a book last century.

Fucking even Crowley lived his great work, and he has flaws and did things many would dispute to be “evil”. But he didn’t copy another clone from 100 years prior, following the mantra that someone else made up. That’s the stupid thing, the whole “do what thou wilt” was not do what you want but that is not a strong point for the sheep of the worst. I know as I see both sides, and as a child in the 90s I saw the dark, evil and insidious. To see that again, here, 3 decades later, playing coy but really carrying rancid intent.. is my call to commune what many will never see, because you all are complicit, and tell these fucking lies and divert productive progress by your stupid discourse. These people LOVE senseless debating. Semantics. Solutions, self awareness or seek a soul inside the empty cavern that the black lodge will set inside your sadistic serpentine, slimy soul.

[trishyeves]

Poorly Planned Halo Post

TO START WITH: SPOILERS FOR ALL OF YOUNG JUSTICE SEASON 3, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT. NOT PLANNING ON SPOILING THE WHOLE SEASON, BUT WHO KNOWS WHERE THIS WILL GO

So, because my brain is weirdly cyclical and I’ve randomly gotten back into Young Justice, I’ve been trolling through Tumblr regarding the show. In doing so, I’ve run into a lot of posts that deal with Halo, and they inspired me to write this poorly planned, probably a trainwreck post.

Before I say anything else, I feel like I should make something clear: people react to media really differently (obviously), especially if the material is personal to them in some way. For a lot of people what was done with Halo is season 3 of Young Justice isn’t just hard to watch, it was a travesty that completely ruined the show for them. That is totally fine. I would never pretend I have the authority to tell people if they should or shouldn’t be outraged by something, or mediate their reaction to a show. This is all just a splattering of my thoughts and feelings on this messy as hell lump of topics. If you read this and think my point of view is bullshit and hate what I have to say, I can totally understand why. This is just my two cents, as someone who is genderfluid/non-binary and queer. (Though I am not a person of color, I do not identify as a woman, and I have no connection to the Muslim faith.)

To start with the smaller issues: how Halo does at representing nonbinary people, women of color, Muslim people, and Bisexual/Pansexual/Queer people. I 100% agree that they could have done better in all of those departments, full-stop. In the scene establishing her as nonbinary, it would have been much better if they had established what pronouns she prefers (I’m using she/her throughout because that is what is used in the text and she/her nonbinary people are valid), how she wants to be seen, and it should have been brought up more often. The fact her only brush being interested in a girl/feminine person was a kiss that made her feel guilty for cheating on her boyfriend sucks, as it conflates her kissing Harper with shame. I don’t really feel qualified to wade into the area surrounding the portrayal of her wearing a hijab or the fact that she wasn’t really Muslim, Gabrielle was, but I have heard a lot of people’s thoughts on those topics, and I think they’re important to hear and consider.

On all of those points, I don’t think it’s possible to not consider them at least partial failures. That said, I do appreciate the attempt to give us this intersectional character who can be so many different pieces of representation at once while also being a lovable and well-developed character. I know for a lot of people the failings of her portrayal invalidate any good will their attempts at representation could have fostered, but that’s not how I feel about it.

Onto the big thing: Halo dying, graphically, a lot. It is, to say the very least, a bad look. A lot of people are upset about the fact that one of the handful of queer characters on the show, a woman of color, one who is associated with the Muslim faith, is shown being violently killed episode after episode. They have every right to be. I find it pretty abhorrent too.

It was a bad idea, a really bad idea. BUT I also don’t think it taints the entire show, and I don’t think it signifies that the people creating the show wanted to show women/queer people/poc dying graphically. That was the effect, but I highly doubt malice, sadism, or bigotry was the direct cause.

From here on out, I am talking based on my understanding of worldbuilding, character writing, television production, and what I know about the development of this show in particular. But I am not an insider with special knowledge of what went down behind the scenes, and I could be totally full of shit on a number of points.

First off, Halo is basically a completely original character. The Outsiders comic series had a Halo character who was also a gestalt entity created by a being related to the Source taking over a dead woman’s body, but from what I can tell on the whole they have little to do with her. They made the decision to change her host body’s nationality to Quaraci, probably for better representation, and changed the entity in her body into a Mother Box’s soul, which I am fairly sure was to tie her in better to the overall season’s New Gods focus, the same way they did with altering Cyborg’s origin story.

Second, they changed some of her powers, but one of the ones they kept was the idea of healing and being able to resurrect herself from death. Now, the only way to really make that work in a visual medium is for her to die sometimes, then resurrect. That does create a weird narrative element, since no other characters get badly injured/fatally wounded at the rate Halo does, but it’s a way to show her using her abilities. Of course, a lot of people have said, rightly, that there’s no need for those deaths to be so graphic. They could have been off-screen, or hinted at, or a number of other things. If the season was aired on Cartoon Network, as was originally planned, I am certain that’s what they would have done.

Thirdly, and this is the big one, I am fairly sure the decision to make her deaths as graphic as possible was tied in with it being aired on DC Universe. Sure, the platform means they could do it, but I also think it’s related to why they did it. It’s possible that Greg Weisman wanted to show off some gore thanks to the liberties granted him, but I think the more likely option is this was studio interference. They looked at the audience Young Justice had developed, one that tended heavily towards older teens and adults, and made it a condition for the show being brought back on the new streaming service that they needed to up the age rating of the show itself to match. Specifically, they probably requested more violence and for it to be more gratuitous where possible. After all, this is DC, and we all know how much they adore making things far more graphic and violent than they have any right to be, all for the sake of making their properties look more ‘grown up’.

Now, clearly some of that violence went to other characters. Victor Stone’s transformation into Cyborg is easily the most gruesome version of that story yet, and several characters throughout get pretty terrible deaths. (Baron Bedlam, for example.) But Halo got the brunt of them. After all, they needed to have more violence on the regular, but Greg Weisman hates killing characters, especially in this show. It’s a huge sandbox with as many DC characters from various eras as they can possibly fit inside it, so they don’t want heroes or villains dying when they don’t need to. But they do have this main character, one who can die again and again and again, and who can come back every time. So, Halo became a gore magnet.

I’d also wager that her being non-binary was a late addition to her character, something they only threw in as a scene once they realized that, as a living machine in a human corpse, there was no reason for her to have an attachment to any gender, and when they realized they could use that to bump up their LGBTQ+ representation, they did the scene.

None of this makes what they did good, or right, or acceptable. It still isn’t. I really, really wish it hadn’t been in the show, it turns my stomach. But at the same time, I don’t think they wrote that element for the season in an attempt to sadistically torture a marginalized character. They absolutely should have hired some sensitivity writers to look things over and catch these things, and I hope the controversy all this caused means they’ll be more careful in the future. But I am still happy they created Halo as they did and gave her to us as a fanbase, even with those disgusting death scenes. If Season 4 does actually happen, I think there is a chance they’ll have heard our voices and work to do better. This is a case where ignorance, rather than cruelty, was the cause, at least from what I can see. If you still hate that part of the show, or the show itself, I’m not expecting this to change your mind, and I don’t want it to. I just wanted to throw out my thoughts, before I collapse into sleep from a long shift at work.

[scifimagpie]

Marx’s Loophole

 So, I mentioned in a previous article that I've been agonizing over leftist infighting issues for - well - a few years now. Despite the sharp tone of my previous posts and some others, it should be noted that I don't hate modern communists - in fact, I generally agree with a lot of their aims (with the exception of the small number of dictator apologists). I am, however, significantly more comfortable around people who talk about democratic socialism and who generally aren't demanding a one-party state, because of my previously stated vehement opposition to totalitarianism. 

But today, I want to take a stab at a greatly revered dead old white male theorist's basic ideas. This is another article I've been considering for some time, but I'm going to endeavour to make it less lengthy and meandering than my last release. (Especially because I'm not entirely sure most of my readers are here for extended musings on political theory from an admitted non-expert.) 

In a nutshell, then, Marxism doesn't work and is incomplete, and we on the left need to stop making everything try to fit its exact circumscriptions. 

There are two relatively simple reasons why I would put this relatively obvious theory forward, and they both come down to the scientific fact that we are social animals. 

Money represents attention; both represent power

In other social species, such as chickens, chimpanzees, bonobos, or dolphins, hierarchies naturally develop. Before I learned about more of the basic concepts of anarchism, I thought it was devoted to resisting hierarchies under all circumstances, which struck me as innately ridiculous. How could one organize and get anything done without some kind of chain of command? Then I found out that the point was destroying unjust and entrenched hierarchies, which made more sense - but is still a tricky proposition.

The thing is, as anyone who's spent five minutes on the leftist internet will tell you, those hierarchies will recapitulate themselves, even without monetary incentives. Memes and art are shared freely, as is fanfiction, and that certainly supports the idea that resources are being artificially restricted from the public by the actions of the wealthy and their corporations - but the people who produce these things and the algorithms that promote and share them are not created equal. Unjust hierarchies are not only bone-deep, but are inevitably recycled, even when they're reversed. Attention is a form of currency and exchange because it represents power; money also represents power. But trying to remove power from human society and interactions is like trying to run a battery without electricity. 

The most we can do is try to redistribute power as equitably as possible, while working intentionally to compensate for historical and present-day injustices. I don't believe there will ever be an end point, because new injustices will happen as the world progresses - but trying to compensate for them brings improvements, and a better world. The alternative is to just try and embrace the inequality, which is pretty much the thesis of fascism - and if you haven't gotten the idea from my other articles, fascism is bad. Not only that, it's fundamentally unsustainable and precarious. Even if it didn't lead to suffering and injustice, it wouldn't work. But communism as depicted in Marx's writings doesn't exactly work either, because of this whole power and imbalance thing I keep talking about.

The fight for justice will never end

It is vitally important, even required, resist and break down unjust hierarchies, even the most entrenched. As stated previously, I don't support attempting this with violence, but resisting and protesting fascists is also a form of societal self-defense. Being present at white supremacist rallies discourages them, because fascism is fundamentally a belief requiring cowardice. 

Unfortunately, despite their many flaws, democracies are the best system we've come up with for self-determination thus far. It seems like fascism is, rather than a one-time event, cyclical. One thing that Star Wars (I know, shut up, hear me out) represents well is that democracies are always going to be susceptible to fascism and predatory conservatism. But the alternative is totalitarianism, and that, we must fight. As Benjamin Franklin put it, "A republic, gentlemen - if you can keep it."  There is no "one last person to take resources from and then we can yeet into the beautiful future" stage. There is no socialist paradise. It's like the stuff in the New Testament about building the Kingdom of God on earth, and which leftist christians understand as being "hey not being a dick is a continuous process." There will be no messianic Revolution where All the Bad People Die and the Rest of Us get to live in Egalitarian Heaven.  (I'm not Christian, but I do really like ex-Christian and leftist Christian media; it's been good for my spiritual health.) Can we have a beautiful future? I don't know, but we can certainly try to make now better. The healthier our democracies and systems become, the more resilient they'll be to the next wave of fascist or conservative backlashes. 

Humanity will never be able to stop trying to balance altruism and self-interest. Even if we damage the planet to the point that we struggle to inhabit it, I very much doubt that we'll actually go extinct. However, if we refuse the temptation to discard the tools at hand, and use our cracked, damaged systems to their fullest extent, we stand more than a snowball's chance in hell of conquering our worst instincts and remedying historical and present atrocities. 

Source.

And yes, I know she's called "Tank Girl," and that modern-day dictator apologists are known as "tankies," but the point still stands.

***

Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

Find her all over the internet: * OG Blog * Mailing list * Magpie Editing * Amazon * Medium * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Tumblr * Paypal.me * Ko-fi

[palegengarsiloved]

Buddhism, Existentialism, Dark Souls

Fromsoft's games revolve around a core idea, one that other Japanese auteurs like Hideo Kojima, Fumito Ueda, Yoko Taro also touch on: the cycle of life and death, the suffering inherent in that natural system, and the connections we can still form and the meaning we can still find within them. It's obviously rooted in Buddhist and Shintoist beliefs, as well as other East Asian philosophies that acknowledge the supremacy of nature (and natural processes), accept the impermanence and imperfection of the world, and yet (therefore?) also the beauty found therein. First, how do other forms of media try to communicate these ideas? In traditional East Asian visual arts, humans are oftentimes either ignored or viewed as very small, distant figures, entirely dwarfed by nature. Early Buddhist art avoided human depiction at all, using instead icons like wheels and lotuses/cherries to communicate ideas of the cyclic nature of the world and the impermanence of the moment (it's argued that human depictions of religious figures only came into prominence after the whole Greco-Bactrian thing where Greeks set up shop in what is now Afghanistan/Pakistan and started carving gods-as-people, and I mean, you gotta compete with that seductive reification of divinity). Shintoist poetry is brief, fragile, incomplete, often summoning a brief moment of nature ("this dewdrop world / is a dewdrop world / and yet, and yet--"). Kurosawa's deep love of rain and bamboo, Ozu's pillow shots of landscapes and rooms devoid of people. All of these use tools unique to their respective mediums to manifest a sensation or emotion into the audience: Ozu focusing on an empty street for 10+ seconds wouldn't be possible in painting or sculpture; architecture's capacity towards grandness and sense of proportion to a person inside it can't be communicated through photographs. Think about the tools unique to video games, now. Think of all the ways you interact with a game: user interface, input controls, gameplay loops, level design, etc, and how those connect to create a totality of experience. All of these drastically affect the interplay between audience and art; think of if a Jeff Koons balloon animal sculpture were installed in some small garage versus a giant New International-style skyscraper lobby. (Imagine if Dark Souls was presented as a visual novel or whatever genre Undertale is.) Now think about how Dark Souls approaches each of those tools. User interface and item management is one that is quite clever: you are given an item, and you have zero idea of what it is, so you find a brief safe moment and take a look at its item description. It's vague and honestly impenetrable, with a little bit of equally-impenetrable lore on it. You only have one so far, so you're afraid to use it, but you have the feeling that not only could it be useful, but perhaps even necessary for some encounter. You see that you can carry up to 99 (and store 600) of them, so maybe there'll be more later? You know that you've picked up stuff that you thought might be one-off and found more later, or a merchant who sells it. Fuck it, might as well try it out - after all, this user interface is almost begging you to think about the lore meanings, the possible item use, and exploring for more of them, or how/where you could best use it. It's designed so that you acknowledge the rarity of it, but also are assured to not to worry too much about it and just try it out for whatever benefit you can get in this dangerous world. What's the worst thing that happens - you die and waste it? You've lost thousands of souls (the precious in-game currency) before, what's one lightning paper or green blossom whatever? You know this game is famously difficult; "It's like Dark Souls" is industry shorthand for "It's a fucking hard game" at this point. Might as well try something new in this brief cycle you have before the next inevitable death. That leads me to the next tool: the corpse-running / death mechanic. You'll die a lot, sure, but then you'll learn more, have the opportunity to think about what you might be doing wrong or not seeing, maybe even find a shortcut or trick or use a different item this time to make it easier. It's another ostensible punishment that's actually an opportunity for you to get better at the game, and to think about maybe using that one item for a boost or trying out a different weapon, but also it starts teaching you something very important to the series plot and themes: it's okay to die - natural, even. A part of life. It's not a waste any more than anything else in life is a waste - the only waste is if you don't learn from it, appreciate it, bask in the purifying fire of failure to find yourself in something close to Zen gameflow. Even then, it's not the game disrespecting your time; I would say that it's the player disrespecting their own experiences, discarding any outcome other than an easy victory as a waste, as pointless, as if progress is the only marker of a life well lived. Resisting death, panicking, generally facing it in an undignified manner... all of these are counter-productive. To do so is to miss the philosophy of why there isn't an instant boss restart button! The brief little life as you scurry to your undistinguished death is, perhaps, the point. I mean this in a game sense, too. If you are deeply reluctant and fearful of death, you won't have as much success exploring dangerous and unfamiliar areas. Once you accept that you might lose some paltry number of souls in exchange for new items, new shortcuts, new areas... the game becomes less of a hostile slog and more of this world that you want to explore and understand. Yes, there'll be some suffering; that's to be expected. But there's still rewards you can find, NPCs you can ogle, vistas you can enjoy. Kind of a blunt metaphor, huh? That leads to the level design. By that I mean not only shortcuts and verticality/horizonality, which are ingenious from a design perspective, but in how the levels evoke two major things: one is the lived-in nature of the world; the other is how small you are in comparison to it. Cathedrals are prominently featured throughout the games. Historically they were specifically designed to make laypersons feel small in the presence of divinity, to make their eyes look upward, and to contemplate the sheer power (physical and social) necessary to create these things. Think of how small you are, then, that there are even greater powers in nature that can make these monuments to humanity fall. As for the lived-in aspect, think of how strange the items you find are, how fragmentary their lore, and yet how they start to fit together, even from their placement in the world. (Why is a Choir investigator-assassin hiding out in the School of Mensis? Why does he drop sedatives?) There's this giant world taking place around you and you're so unimportant that no one really bothers to tell you anything more than vague prophecies and allusions. Anyone who points you somewhere concrete sees you as the pawn you are; you're also literally smaller than many other NPCs (Non-Player Characters) to illustrate this point. The NPCs are yet another way that the game acutely communicates its existential ideas to you. Everyone in the Dark Souls world is cursed to not die, but rather turn Hollow – that is, to lose their minds in lieu of death. The only way to fight against this curse is to commit to a purpose and use that willpower to stave off insanity. This is strongly absurdist in nature, as a cursed undead either completes their goal and then, newly purposeless, goes insane, or the goal is unfulfillable, and the goal-seeker is doomed to an eternity of Sisyphean torment. Some NPCs appear broken under this will, crestfallen or twisted or gleeful upon recognizing the sheer injustice of their burden; some soldier bravely on; some offer unconditional kindness; some perform a mixture of all three. There are startlingly few characters in this game, each almost hidden by the landscapes, and each clearly dwarfed – both literally by the environments they are lost in, and by the staggering difficulty of the tasks they took up. It’s almost easy to attack all the NPCs you come across, as you’re conditioned to be fearful of any other entity you encounter; many players kill a certain peaceful demonic entity because they’ve slain so many similar-looking monsters defending her. It’s easy to miss these connections, and the game makes no effort to protect them. It’s the hedgehog’s dilemma: can you let down your guard towards someone who very well may hurt you, in a world that has done nothing but hurt you? Will others do the same? The multiplayer component of this game adds a corollary to this social experiment: there will, inevitably, be those who seek to invade and destroy you, those who will defend and avenge you, those who will help you, and those who will dabble in all three. You see every day in real life: the wounded lashing out in pain, the happy few just trying to help others along the way, the people who want to create some sense of justice in an indifferent universe. Oftentimes, one human will try out all three roles in their life. Why do we do this? Perhaps it’s how we work through the cosmic injustice of our existence, in a form of primitive dialogue that we need to act out. The human condition, after all, is reconciling oneself with the fact that we, and everyone we know, are fated to someday die. That's where the plot intersects with the gameplay and themes to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. The directive you’re given at the beginning of the game is to extend the Age of Fire, the era you are currently living in; you are told that this is because with Fire there’s light, and time, and the creative spark of divinity on high. However, it turns out that unnaturally prolonging the Age of Fire is actually pretty bad, and results in all sorts of upheaval and foul consequences (including, possibly, the undead curse itself, unless you believe a certain scholar in DS2…). We learn as we venture through this game and interface with its mechanics that death must be a part of life and dark must accompany light. We also know that something can arise out of nothing (as we know there was a “time” before the Age of Fire; think pre-Big Bang), so it turns out that even if you don’t extend the Age of Fire, the larger cycle of death and rebirth perhaps never ends. In any case: fighting against this inevitability, fighting against the possibility of pain and loss caused the Gwyn, the Lord of Fire and Light, to ultimately sacrifice and thus lose everything he defended in tragic irony; similarly, trying too hard to lean into the turn caused Oolacile/New Londo/Farron Keep to be lost in the Dark forever. By dying over and over in-game, by investigating the subtle hints of lore found in the items and the sparse dialogue, and by witnessing the sad existence of these once-great powers of Fire that have long-since shriveled up under the infinite and inescapable wheel of nature, you begin to internalize the themes these games try, through all the tools at their disposal, to make you feel. You can live, however briefly, and value it, but also learn to let it go. You can love nature and respect its impersonal processes, understand that ultimately it will reclaim us, and find some comfort that the end isn't necessarily the end. There will be suffering, but there will be moments of total (if brief) triumph. There will be moments of tenderness with NPCs that can only be generated by a video game world where life is immensely fragile and nothing but the curse of insanity permanent. Will you allow yourself to try and help them, knowing how difficult and obtuse it will be, and how little it might seem to matter? Will you extend the Age of Fire to uphold the lie, because this Age is the only thing you and the rest of the world has ever known? Will you be brave – or perhaps, human – enough to reach out to others in this brief moment before the end of the world, and when the time comes, to let the Age of Fire fade? Can you live, and perhaps just as importantly, die with dignity? The totality of the experience gets the player to directly feel these themes in a way that can't be done in other media. By showing - through the death mechanic, NPC quests that can permanently be failed or missed, unforgiving and vast levels with tons of secrets and shortcuts, obscure item descriptions and the resultant need for exploration and player-driven introspection and experimentation, and not by telling through cutscenes, everything works together to evoke a mood that the player directly feels like they're helping create. The sheer unity - the, ahem, ludonarrative assonance - of the design is beautiful to consider on an intellectual level but also satisfying on an interactive, practical level. You have fun not despite these things, any of which alone may be disheartening, but because together they're so thematically consistent. Taken by itself the corpse run mechanic might be considered unnecessary or anti-fun, but when placed among the larger picture it not only makes sense but makes the player consider that there might be something they're missing, that there may be more to explore elsewhere or some item that will help, because the game is so mysterious and rewards exploration and experimentation so much. This is in addition to how much it reinforces the themes of the game! I could expand on about how such well-executed unity of purpose and audience-medium interplay makes it high art, like, true fucking Michaelangelo's David type shit, but I don't want to get swept up in the hype, so I'll leave you with a classic Dark Souls quote: "therefore try tongue but hole"

[tomasorban]

Atma Bodha - Written by Shankaracharya

1. I am composing the ATMA-BODHA, this treatise of the Knowledge of the Atman (Self), for those who have purified themselves by austerities and are peaceful in heart and calm, who are free from cravings and are desirous of liberation.

2. Just as the fire is the direct cause for cooking, so Knowledge, and not any other form of discipline, is the direct cause of Liberation; for Liberation cannot be attained without Knowledge.

3. Action cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge destroys ignorance as light destroys deep darkness.

4. Atman [Self, Soul] appears to be finite because of ignorance. When ignorance is destroyed Atman [the Self] which does not admit of any multiplicity truly reveals itself by itself: like the Sun when the clouds pass away.

5. Through constant practice [of Meditation], knowledge purifies the Jivatman [embodied Consciousness] stained by ignorance, and then disappears itself – as the powder of the 'Kataka-nut' settles down after it has cleansed the muddy water.

6. Cyclic existence [samsara], which is full of attachments, aversions, etc., is like a dream. It appears to be real as long as one is ignorant, but becomes unreal when one is awake.

7. Manifested existence [jagat] appears to be real (Satyam) so long as Brahman, the substratum, the basis of all this creation, is not known [consciously]. It is like the illusion of silver in the mother-of pearl.

8. Like bubbles in the water, the worlds rise, exist and dissolve in the Supreme Self, which is the material cause and the prop of everything.

9. All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading Vishnu, whose nature is Existence-Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.

10. The All-pervading Akasa appears to be diverse on account of its association with various conditionings (Upadhis) which are different from each other. Space becomes one on the destruction of these limiting adjuncts: So also the Omnipresent Truth appears to be diverse on account of Its association with the various Upadhis and becomes one on the destruction of these Upadhis.

11. Because of Its association with different conditionings (Upadhis) such ideas as caste, colour and position are super-imposed upon the Atman, as flavour, colour, etc., are super-imposed on water.

12. Determined for each individual by his own past actions and made up of the five elements – that have gone through the process of "five-fold self-division and mutual combination" (Pancheekarana) – are born the physical body, the medium through which pleasure and pain are experienced, the tent-of-experiences.

13. The five Pranas, the ten organs and the Manas and the Buddhi, formed from the rudimentary elements (Tanmatras) before their "five-fold division and mutual combination with one another" (Pancheekarana) and this is the subtle body, the instruments-of-experience (of the individual).

The term "subtle body" encloses three bodies: the vital body ( Hebrew : Yesod), the Astral body ( Hebrew : Hod), and the Mental body ( Hebrew : Netzach).

Five pranas: prana is life force. Here the prana of the vital body is seen as having five aspects: (1) prana as breath, (2) apana, descending vital energy, which expels waste, (3) vyana, pervasive energy throughout the vital body, (4) udana, ascending vital energy, and (5) samana, the energy that transforms matter and makes it useful.

Ten organs: five senses of perception and five means of action (hands, feet, and the organs of speech, evacuation and procreation).

Manas: the Essence ( Hebrew : Tiphereth) flows through the subtle bodies and the brain.

Buddhi: the Divine Consciousness ( Hebrew : Geburah) also flows through the subtle bodies.

14. Avidya [ignorance], indescribable and beginningless, is the cause, which is an upadhi superimposed on Atman. Know for certain that the Atman is other than these three conditioning bodies (the upadhis or physical body, subtle body, Causal body).

15. In its identification with the five-sheaths the Immaculate Atman appears to have borrowed their qualities upon Itself; as in the case of a crystal which appears to gather unto itself colour of its vicinity (blue cloth, etc.,).

Five sheaths: Now the "three bodies" are referred to as "five": (1) annamaya, the physical body, (2) pranamaya ("life force"), the vital body, (3) manomaya ("discriminative power"), the Astral body, (4) vijnanamaya ("information"), the Mental body, and (5) anandamaya ("bliss"), the Causal body.

16. Through discriminative self-analysis and logical thinking one should separate the Pure self within from the sheaths as one separates the rice from the husk, bran, etc., that are covering it.

17. The Atman does not shine in everything although He is All-pervading. He is manifest only in the inner equipment, Buddhi (Geburah): just as the reflection in a clean mirror.

18. One should understand that the Atman is always like the King, distinct from the body, senses, mind and intellect, all of which constitute the matter (Prakriti); and is the witness of their functions.

19. The moon appears to be running when the clouds move in the sky. Likewise to the non-discriminating person the Atman appears to be active when It is observed through the functions of the sense-organs.

20. Depending upon the energy of vitality of Consciousness (Atma Chaitanya) the body, senses, mind and intellect engage themselves in their respective activities, just as men work depending upon the light of the Sun.

21. Fools, because they lack in their powers of discrimination superimpose on the Atman, the Absolute-Existence-Knowledge (Sat-Chit), all the varied functions of the body and the senses, just as they attribute blue colour and the like to the sky.

22. The tremblings that belong to the waters are attributed through ignorance to the reflected moon dancing on it: likewise agency of action, of enjoyment and of other limitations (which really belong to the mind) are delusively understood as the nature of the Self (Atman).

23. Attachment, desire, pleasure, pain, etc., are perceived to exist so long as Buddhi or mind functions. They are not perceived in deep sleep when the mind ceases to exist. Therefore they belong to the mind alone and not to the Atman.

24. Just as luminosity is the nature of the Sun, coolness of water and heat of fire, so too the nature of the Atman is Eternity, Purity, Reality, Consciousness and Bliss.

25. By the indiscriminate blending of the two – the Existence-Knowledge-aspect of the Self and the thought-wave of the intellect – there arises the notion of "I know".

26. Atman is never subject to change, and Buddhi on its own has no capacity to experience 'I know'. But the individuality in us delusorily thinks he is himself the seer and the knower.

27. Just as the person who regards a rope as a snake is overcome by fear, so also one considering oneself as the ego (Jiva) is overcome by fear. The ego-centric individuality in us regains fearlessness by realising that It is not a Jiva but is Itself the Supreme Soul.

28. Just as a lamp illumines a jar or a pot, so also the Atman illumines the mind and the sense organs, etc. These material-objects cannot illuminate their own Self.

29. A lighted-lamp does not need another lamp to illumine its light. So too, Atman which is Knowledge itself needs no other knowledge to know it.

30. By a process of negation of the conditionings (Upadhis) through the help of the scriptural statement 'It is not this, It is not this', the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, as indicated by the great Mahavakyas, has to be known.

31. The body and so on, created by avidya [ignorance] and having the nature of objects, are perishable like bubbles. Realize through discrimination that you are the stainless Brahman, ever completely separate from all these.

32. I am other than the body and so I am free from changes such as birth, wrinkling, senility, death, etc. I have nothing to do with the sense objects such as sound and taste, for I am without the sense-organs.

33. I am other than the mind and hence, I am free from sorrow, attachment, malice and fear, for "HE is without breath and without mind, Pure, etc.", is the Commandment of the great scripture, the Upanishads.

34. I am without attributes and actions; Eternal (Nitya) without any desire and thought (Nirvikalpa), without any dirt (Niranjana), without any change (Nirvikara), without form (Nirakara), ever-liberated (Nitya Mukta) ever-pure (Nirmala).

35. Like the space I fill all things within and without. Changeless and the same in all, at all times I am pure, unattached, stainless and motionless.

36. I am verily that Supreme Brahman alone which is Eternal, Pure and Free, One, indivisible and non-dual and of the nature of Changeless-Knowledge-Infinite.

37. The impression "I am Brahman" thus created by constant practice destroys ignorance and the agitation caused by it, just as medicine or Rasayana destroys disease.

38. Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires and controlling the senses, meditate with unswerving attention on the Atman which is One without-a-second.

39. The wise one should intelligently merge the entire world-of-objects in the Atman alone and constantly think of the Self ever as contaminated by anything as the sky.

40. He who has realised the Supreme, discards all his identification with the objects of names and forms. (Thereafter) he dwells as an embodiment of the Infinite Consciousness and Bliss. He becomes the Self.

41. There are no distinctions such as "Knower", the "Knowledge" and the "Object of Knowledge" in the Supreme Self. On account of Its being of the nature of endless Bliss, It does not admit of such distinctions within Itself. It alone shines by Itself.

42. When this the lower and the higher aspects of the Self are well churned together, the fire of knowledge is born from it, which in its mighty conflagration shall burn down all the fuel of ignorance in us.

43. The Lord of the early dawn (Aruna) himself has already looted away the thick darkness, when soon the sun rises. The Divine Consciousness of the Self rises when the right knowledge has already killed the darkness in the bosom.

44. Atman is an ever-present Reality. Yet, because of ignorance it is not realised. On the destruction of ignorance Atman is realised. It is like the missing ornament of one's neck.

45. Brahman appears to be a 'Jiva' because of ignorance, just as a post appears to be a ghost. The ego-centric-individuality is destroyed when the real nature of the 'Jiva' is realised as the Self.

46. The ignorance characterised by the notions 'I' and 'Mine' is destroyed by the knowledge produced by the realisation of the true nature of the Self, just as right information removes the wrong notion about the directions.

47. The Yogi of perfect realisation and enlightenment sees through his "eye of wisdom" (Gyana Chakshush) the entire universe in his own Self and regards everything else as his own Self and nothing else.

48. Nothing whatever exists other than the Atman: the tangible universe is verily Atman. As pots and jars are verily made of clay and cannot be said to be anything but clay, so too, to the enlightened soul and that is perceived is the Self.

49. A liberated one, endowed with Self-knowledge, gives up the traits of his previously explained equipments (Upadhis) and because of his nature of Sat-chit-ananda, he verily becomes Brahman like (the worm that grows to be) a wasp.

50. After crossing the ocean of delusion and killing the monsters of likes and dislikes, the Yogi who is united with peace dwells in the glory of his own realised Self – as an Atmaram.

51. The self-abiding Jivan Mukta, relinquishing all his attachments to the illusory external happiness and satisfied with the bliss derived from the Atman, shines inwardly like a lamp placed inside a jar.

52. Though he lives in the conditionings (Upadhis), he, the contemplative one, remains ever unconcerned with anything or he may move about like the wind, perfectly unattached.

53. On the destruction of the Upadhis, the contemplative one is totally absorbed in 'Vishnu', the All-pervading Spirit, like water into water, space into space and light into light.

54. Realise That to be Brahman, the attainment of which leaves nothing more to be attained, the blessedness of which leaves no other blessing to be desired and the knowledge of which leaves nothing more to be known.

55. Realise that to be Brahman which, when seen, leaves nothing more to be seen, which having become one is not born again in this world and which, when knowing leaves nothing else to be known.

56. Realise that to be Brahman which is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute, which is Non-dual, Infinite, Eternal and One and which fills all the quarters – above and below and all that exists between.

57. Realise that to be Brahman which is Non-dual, Indivisible, One and Blissful and which is indicated in Vedanta as the Immutable Substratum, realised after the negation of all tangible objects.

58. Deities like Brahma and others taste only a particle, of the unlimited Bliss of Brahman and enjoy in proportion their share of that particle.

59. All objects are pervaded by Brahman. All actions are possible because of Brahman: therefore Brahman permeates everything as butter permeates milk.

60. Realise that to be Brahman which is neither subtle nor gross: neither short nor long: without birth or change: without form, qualities, colour and name.

61. That by the light of which the luminous, orbs like the Sun and the Moon are illuminated, but which is not illumined by their light, realise that to be Brahman.

62. Pervading the entire universe outwardly and inwardly the Supreme Brahman shines of Itself like the fire that permeates a red-hot iron-ball and glows by itself.

63. Brahman is other than this, the universe. There exists nothing that is not Brahman. If any object other than Brahman appears to exist, it is unreal like the mirage.

64. All that is perceived, or heard, is Brahman and nothing else. Attaining the knowledge of the Reality, one sees the Universe as the non-dual Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-Absolute.

65. Though Atman is Pure Consciousness and ever present everywhere, yet It is perceived by the eye-of-wisdom alone: but one whose vision is obscured by ignorance he does not see It; as the blind do not see the resplendent Sun.

66. The 'Jiva' free from impurities, being heated in the fire of knowledge kindled by hearing and so on, shines of itself like gold.

67. The Atman, the Sun of Knowledge that rises in the sky of the heart, destroys the darkness of the ignorance, pervades and sustains all and shines and makes everything to shine.

68. He who renouncing all activities, who is free of all the limitations of time, space and direction, worships his own Atman which is present everywhere, which is the destroyer of heat and cold, which is Bliss-Eternal and stainless, becomes All-knowing and All-pervading and attains thereafter Immortality.

[beca-mitchell]

34 😁

34. Returned from the dead kiss 

why does tragedy exist? (because you are full of rage)

summary: how do you deal with death? well maybe, you don’t have to deal with it at all.

Inspiration from Pushing Daisies - loosely, so there’s definitely some canon divergence/AU. If you don’t know what concept I’m borrowing from Pushing Daisies, just google it quickly and read the first line of its description. 💕

Angst-o-meter: moderate/medium.

Word count: 1716

why does tragedy exist?because you are full of rage.why are you full of rage?because you are full of grief.

- Anne Carson

It’s their first kiss.

Chloe discovers this…supposed skill…completely by accident.

She wouldn’t really be able to tell you when it came about, but she suspends disbelief for the moment because, well, Beca is alive.

That in itself might not be so jarring, but the fact remains that just a mere twenty-four hours ago, Beca had been taken off life support and she was, for all intents and purposes, dead.

(What does it mean to be dead?

definition: dead in the way that makes Chloe’s entire body tremble with the force of her sobbing; dead in the way that makes Chloe collapse on the ground because she had been too late;

…Chloe has a shattered mirror in her bathroom as evidence of that particular fact - the fact that Beca is no longer alive)

This skill, if she were to describe it, is surreal and completely out of the scope of her understanding of human biology, physics, chemistry, philosophy - basically any form of rational thinking and any body of knowledge she can recall, ready-at-hand.

If she lets that all go, she’d tell the story of how she’s somehow standing in front of Beca Mitchell - who looks equally terrified - like this:

Chloe is in love with Beca.

(What is love? 

definition: Chloe is in love with Beca because she likes the way Beca’s eyes light - lit? - upon hearing a particularly catchy song. Chloe is in love with Beca because she likes the way Beca’s fingers and hands flex - flexed? - with the sheer desire to make music, like it was completely organic and reverberated through her very soul.

Chloe is in love with Beca because she simply is and that’s all she chooses to know.)

She has always, on some level, been in love with Beca. She has also always, on some level, ensured the secrecy of this love because the possibilities felt finite with every moment Beca spent with Jesse. She made rash, dumb decisions while they were at Barden, resulting in Beca possibly believing that Chloe had no interest whatsoever in her.

…which had been the furthest thing from the truth. 

The truth was, Chloe thought about Beca nearly every day, thinking about what it meant that her heart fluttered every time Beca even looked at her, or how she really wanted to hold Beca’s hand, but found herself frozen in fear because she couldn’t yet reconcile the strength of her feelings.

She’s never really told anybody about this quirk because she figured she wouldn’t be touching a lot of, well, dead things (at least, not without gloves).

That’s kind of a lie.

She has told one person.

(“I’m going to tell you something crazy,” Chloe mumbles to Beca while they sit on the roof of the Bella house, slightly intoxicated. “You can’t tell anybody.”

Beca turns to her, eyes wide, beer bottle hanging loosely between her fingers. “Shit, what is it?”

“I can…bring things back from the dead. From death,” she clarifies unnecessarily.

Beca’s silence is heavy and long.

“Bec?” Chloe asks, nervously. She tries not to turn to look at Beca apprehensively. “I’m not lying,” she says softly. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Beca sucks in a breath at that. “I know,” she responds. “And I won’t tell anybody. I’ll take it to the grave.”

Chloe smiles at that, not even thinking of how true that might be one day.)

When Chloe hears of Beca’s accident, she’s studying about research methodologies and taking preventative measures to prevent disease in animals. To prevent death, even, but only premature death. She doesn’t know how to reconcile the idea of halting death in its tracks when the time comes, but people have always found a way or at least they have created mythologies about such matters.

Despite it all, time prevails and Chloe doesn’t want to challenge that.

It’s a reality of life and the constant that plagues Chloe’s mind daily. Even before Beca’s accident, Chloe thought about how unfair it was that time and death moved so linearly even though growing up, they were taught about the cycle of life, as if there would be hope to be found in the cyclical nature of all things.

There is no cycle. No evenly drawn circle. Only lines and jagged edges - some shorter than others.

When she discovered what she could do, she had screamed in fear, causing the poor animal she had been gently moving aside to also react in shock and then fall back into death rather quickly because it had brushed against her hand again.

She was five years old at the time.

At twenty-five years old, she doesn’t think there’s anything different about the fear and shock that had rippled through her at the time. Twenty years apart, and all she feels is the way her chest so desperately wants to cave in.

Chloe had just spoken to Beca the night before. She had joked about maybe one day finally finding time to visit Beca in Los Angeles when school let up. It had been a year since she last saw Beca in person; since she last hugged Beca or even touched Beca.

Chloe isn’t sure how she makes it to the hospital. The trip there is a liminal space; a blur of pain. Her memories all fight to be at the forefront of her mind, warring for dominance. They all scream at her to remember Beca at her best, but all of Chloe’s memories of Beca are ones she wants to keep forever. That’s the problem.

Now, finally, she collapses in Aubrey’s arms when the surgeon offers condolences and other meaningless words.

“Chloe,” is all Aubrey says. “Oh, Chloe.”

Chloe wishes that the sympathy didn’t stand out to her so effortlessly.

She’s not really thinking when she does it. Love makes her hopeless and helpless, especially when she finds herself suddenly loveless.

She takes a chance, using the sleeve of her cardigan to brush an errant strand of hair from Beca’s face. She’s on life support, completely - one hundred percent life support.

The rhythmic rise and fall of Beca’s chest makes Chloe sick.

In fact, so sick that she has to leave the hospital completely, ignoring Aubrey and Amy’s cries for her to stop.

She exits into the bright sunlight, hands on her knees. Heaving a breath, she weighs her options.

She can’t imagine a life where she wouldn’t be able to touch Beca again, but a life without Beca at all, especially not when they’ve all just figured out what they want to do, just doesn’t seem like a life worth living to Chloe.

In the end, it’s not even a question. It’ll always be Beca. Beca deserves all the chances in the world.

The tightness in Chloe’s chest doesn’t quite leave her even as she makes her way slowly back to the room.

Her fingers curl in anticipation as her imagination bestows upon her the ways in which Beca could resent her.

It does feel inherently selfish because she’s acting in her own self-interest, undeniably.

“Aubrey,” she says quietly, upon seeing her best friend by Beca’s bedside.

“Where have you been?” Aubrey demands, standing up immediately.

Chloe fights the instinct to shush Aubrey lest she wakes Beca.

“Do you know how worried we were?” Aubrey continues. “You’ve been gone for hours.

“I have to do something,” Chloe says slowly. “And I think you’re going to think I’m crazy, I’m sure, since I don’t even know if it’ll work for sure.”

Aubrey’s expression morphs into one of concern. “Chloe, what’s going on?”

“Bree,” Chloe insists, using her go-to nickname to reassure Aubrey’s uncertainty. “I just need…a moment.”

Aubrey stands tentatively, but obliges. She watches Chloe carefully as she edges out of the room. 

When the door clicks shut, Chloe takes in the sight before her.

She didn’t have time to properly grieve Beca’s death and seeing it laid out so plainly in front of her is absolutely devastating.

She barely manages to collapse into the chair by Beca’s bedside before a sob wracks her body and she presses her forehead against the cool metal rail of the hospital bed.

In death, she supposes that people often think of all their regrets and pain, but that was probably just an explanation for all the people that are left behind as opposed to the ones who are dying. She wonders briefly if Beca had any peace.

Sitting up, she swipes hastily at her tears, looking upon Beca’s pale (paler than usual) complexion. The only reason she gets to see this facsimile of Beca - this copy of what Beca might have looked like alive - is because Beca’s parents have yet to make the trip to Los Angeles to sign off on taking her off life support.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe chokes, unable to stop the tears from spilling over again. “I love you so much and I just never told you.”

Reaching out a hand, she moves to brush Beca’s cheek, but pulls back, sucking in a breath.

“I’m sorry,” she repeats, changing course. She sits up and hovers over Beca’s face. “I can’t spend the rest of my life missing you, Beca Mitchell.”

She takes a breath before she leans in to press her lips against Beca’s slightly parted ones. She quickly brings her hand up to cup Beca’s cheek, gently deepening the kiss.

In death, Chloe thinks, there are so many moments that fight for dominance. In this particular reversal of death, the moments that fight for dominance are not memories, but rather dreams of what could have been.

So, she kisses Beca into consciousness, imagining that it’s a quiet morning in their apartment. She imagines that Beca smiles into the kiss; imagines that Beca is warm from sleep and gently parts her lips to welcome Chloe further into her embrace. 

She imagines all the sunshine and warmth that will have shone on them and all the memories they’ll have shared together.

In the background, she hears the heart rate monitor change its rhythm drastically.

Distantly as she pulls away, making sure to keep her skin from touching Beca’s, she hears the rush of doctors and nurses and the sound of Aubrey’s voice.

The only thing she can process at the moment is Beca’s eyes, finally wide open and shining with tears.

It’s their last kiss.

x

[k-frances]

Ironic, right? A tumblr post about not listening to tumblr posts. What I’m going to talk about might get a little touchy, but I feel like it’s my job on this blog to go where other people don’t because they’re overly worried they might offend someone. So disclaimer, if this offends you, I don’t care. That sounds harsh, but let me explain. I’m going to do everything in my power to express my views in a way that is non-offensive. If my views still offend someone, I did everything I could to not offend them and I can do no more, so for that reason I won’t feel guilty or bad because someone else doesn't like something. 

That’s lesson one. Tumblr has created a real environment of fear around offending people. Yes, it’s good to try your damnedest not to offend people, but guess what. It’s still going to happen. 

Advice on Writing Method

There are hundreds of posts talking about how the ‘rules of writing’ are not so much rules but guidelines, so I won’t go into incredible detail with it. I’ll simply leave it at; if someone’s writing method doesn't work for you, don’t do it. 

On the flip side, if someone says that, in their opinion, certain writing methods don’t work well for x,y,z reasons, don’t get offended. Just don’t. Don’t waist your energy on it. Either read what they have to say and consider, or don’t! If you know what you’re doing is working for you, then why would you need advice about it in the first place?

Advice on Things Not to Write About (because it will offend someone)

 Hi. I’m a doctoral student in a clinical psychology program. So as far as sensitivity training goes, I have more than you (almost definitely). I probably have more than 90% (made up statistic lol) of this website. Here is what is important to consider:

As a writer, we will always be touching on experiences that aren’t identically our own, because otherwise we would be writing biography. Sometimes we might go so far as to write about different races, religions, or traumatic experiences that we have never experienced. It’s important that we are very careful when writing about these topics. Remember, we are doing our best not to offend someone. That means doing the research, asking (politely) if you have a recourse to ask, and reading about what that minority group has said about representation. We should try our absolute best to include those voices in our consideration of the topics we’re covering. Not only will it make minority people feel better, it will also make your writing more authentic and palatable for everyone. 

However, you are likely to still offend someone. That’s right. You can do it all, and some people will be upset simply at the idea you, a Non-whatevergroup, is writing about them, and your writing doesn’t match up with ThEiR ExPeRiEnCe™. You could ask 100 people of a minority group, and 99 would love what you did and not find offence at all, and one of them would skin you alive with their words of pure outrage. And that one person would for sure have a tumblr account. 

[A small lesson about sample sizes. For the most accurate information about a demographic, you need a random sample. Tumblr is not a random sample. It houses the most offendable people on the planet, and you will likely find that people in your real life of the same exact demographics are somehow not nearly so.]

So if your main source of advice is from tumblr, let me give you a few guidelines for what advice not to take:

-advice which tells you to ‘never’ touch a topic at all, and gives absolutely no reason, caveats, or clarification. If someone isn’t willing to express their opinion beyond saying (my favorite) “If you’re going to write about X, just don’t.” (when X is a broad topic or theme, not a specific trope) then their opinion is either poorly formulated in their own head and based on automatic, emotional responses, or at the very least poorly expressed to a point where it isn’t helpful critique to use.

-Their reasoning is nothing beyond ‘I don’t like it’. Even if they use fancy language, just not liking something is not reason enough to ban it from all literature. If something is truly problematic, there’s going to be a clear and easy to convey reason. 

-If the person is an ass hole about it. That’s it. Simple. If someone is expecting you to listen to them and they’re spouting, you don’t have to listen to that. They’re expecting you to tread carefully around them while screaming at you.

And lastly, in the hopes of creating a better environment, here’s some advice when wanting to approach the type of ‘please don’t write about this’ post that will actually get people to take you seriously and listen:

-realize that you don’t know other peoples’ ‘groups’ on face value. Almost everyone is in a minority group. (Whaaaaa?!) Yes, its true. Even CIS White Men™ may have a learning disability or past trauma. The fact is, you don’t know. Don’t imply that no one knows what it’s like to be the sad man, when what you really mean is ‘my experience differs from yours because I am X, and here’s how’.  (No I’m not saying having trauma is the same as being Black or gay. I’m saying they’re different, but not better or worse, it’s not a competition and there’s no assigned value of struggle. They’re just complexly different.)

Aside: I am so sick of struggle dick measuring contests on this site! 

-Avoid ‘never’ statements unless it’s something very specific (ex: never refer to a Black character using term X). What I’m saying not to do is ‘never write about the struggles of a Jewish person if you’re not Jewish’.

-Give your reasoning! No, you don’t owe anyone an explanation for how you feel, but you are expecting people to listen to you and do as you say. They don’t even know you, so if you want to be taken seriously, just explain yourself a little. It will also help to clarify, stop unneeded arguments due to miscommunication, and help writers actually discern what it is that is offensive so they can apply that understanding to other scenarios that might also be offensive for the same reason.

-Realize that people are going to make mistakes and don’t skin them alive for it. 

-Also, please stop saying things like ‘if you can’t see why this is offensive then I can’t help you’. First of all, that’s inflammatory. No one needs your help. You’re trying to impart your opinions on someone else, it’s much easier for them to just ignore you, so stop acting like you get the final stamp of approval on their work and they need you. 

They don’t need you. We need each other. We need to communicate positively with each other if we’re going to make this medium a better, more inclusive environment. Lastly, you’re whole argument is that other people can’t understand minority experiences they’ve never lived, so why would you turn around in the second breath of your point and say ‘if you can’t understand, there’s no help for you’? That creates an environment that clearly says; if you aren't X, you don’t understand, if you don’t understand you are garbage.

That is some fucked ups cyclical shit right there.

[greenportfolioo]

What Are The Best Small Case Portfolios And Why You Should Choose To Invest In Them

What is the best small case portfolio?

Small Cases are modern investment products that help you create an affordable long-term diversified portfolio. Each Small case is a professionally managed portfolio or ETF that reflects a strategy, idea, or theme. You can log into your broker account and immediately start investing in the best small case stocks.

How do you invest in small cases?

To start investing in the best small case stocks, log into the website or mobile app with your broker ID and password, select Small cases, and get started. After selecting Small case, click the Invest Now button. Select a monthly or one-time SIP and confirm the amount. Click "Confirm Order" to complete the order.

How are small cash registers different from ordinary cash registers?

Small businesses are collections of stocks or ETFs that reflect a strategy, idea, or theme.

Investing in a basket of stocks provides differentiated returns that minimize the risks associated with stocks. Instead of picking stocks, invest in an idea you believe in or a professionally managed research portfolio.

Evaluation criteria are also very different

Every little thing has a simple principle or logic. This is the main reason why you should invest. Logic explains the concept of a small suitcase and the nature of a small suitcase business.

Understanding investment volatility is equally essential. With profitability analysis, you can decide according to your investment period and preferences. Select additional changes accordingly. Volatility tends to change quickly and unexpectedly.

Each small cell represents a variation. It then divides into one of three unstable groups- medium and low volatility.

How to compare income?

The stock market is growing and falling cyclically. It is therefore essential to consider economic periods and different periods.

Small businesses are founded at different times. Comparing the micro-packaging materials that came out five years ago with the micro-packaging materials recently is not an apple with an apple.

It is essential to track when your luggage was released and how many marketing cycles have passed.

Small complexes can be divided into 5 ranges: 1M / 6M / 1A / 3A / 5A.

Minor adjustments that have not been active for the selected period will not be included in the sort results.

What is the minimum investment for all small and medium-sized companies?

Each small fund has a weighing method defined by the small fund manufacturer.The minimum investment amount is the minimum amount you need to invest in a small business or best small case portfolio.Consider the current stock price / ETF, a particular small case.

The final verdict

Qualitative and quantitative considerations of small and medium-sized companies are critical when making investment decisions for the best small case portfolio. This will help you see a more complete and clear picture of the best small case stocks to purchase. However, in general, most investors in Small cases (both retailers and professionals) have at least 15-20 stocks in their portfolios. Small cases is a themed, concept, or strategy-based general portfolio/ETF.

[thebestbusinesspodcast]

How To Run A Business? Business Coach | Executive Coach

How To Run A Business? Business Coach | Executive Coach

See 1 of 100 New Videos on this topic & more.

In fact, our research specifically proves 8 Critical Success Factors for small & medium-sized businesses.

Visit www.BestBusinessCoach.ca for more info.

Or https://www.members.bestbusinesscoach.ca/success-research/ for more on the research behind it. 

Transcript:

Well, all a business is: A person/group of people solving a problem, experienced by another. Via a product/service. That's it.

It means: You have a group doing something, to solve a pain experienced by someone. And doing it at scale.

A great analogy I like to use is: I call a business a "Black Box". Let's say this is a dentist's office. On one side, people are crying & in pain. Put them into the black box, it will fix all their problems. [relating to their teeth.] On the other side of the box, they come out happy and satisfied.

This is what a business is. So, how do you run a business? To run a business, A) You need to have a problem to solve. B) Identify people having the problem. C) Solve the problem for them on win-win terms.

That's what it is. I've also heard a couple of rules of thumb. Like for a company, you need 3 key people.

1. Product Person. -A person involved with the product/service. -In charge of quality control.

2. Finance & Operations Person.

3. Marketing & Sales Person.

All 3 are different. That is one thing I've heard about how you run a business.   Last year, I hired 7 different research teams. To go through all the scientific literature availabl,e to find out: What are the Critical Success Factors for Small & Medium-Sized Businesses?

We found 8. 8 critical success factors.

1. Self-Efficacy. 2. Strategic Planning. 3. Market Intelligence. 4. Marketing Strategy. 5. Sales Skills & Strategy. 6. Money Management. 7. Business Operations. 8. Business Intelligence.

1. Self-Efficacy. When you wake up, do you plan your time well? Do you get things done on your to-do list? Are you effective at communicating your ideas? If you hired someone to perform a role, but they fail to do so. They are not effective in their responsibilities. Self-Efficacy is the ability to have: Energy, skills & capacity to get things done, To communicate effectively. To collaborate with others towards goals. This is the self-efficacy factor. It's leadership, team work, communication, time management, etc..

2. Strategic Planning. You might be the best swimmer. But if you jump in a pool with no water, you'll get hurt. You don't want to invest in something that is disappearing. Strategic planning makes you diligent. To understand the landscape. What are the other options out there for consumers? What are the problems consumers are having? Where are things in the industry going? Supply chain considerations. Labour market conditions. What is your strategic plan for bringing something bigger, faster, cheaper, newer to the market?

3. Market Intelligence. This is part of strategic planning but a little different. It's about knowing who the market is. What pain point are they experiencing? What's happening in the market? It's having a connection to the reality of their world. You don't want to use resources on making a product. Then realize your product is already obsolete. There are a lot of products launched & failed because they were too advance for society. It is not only about marketing. It's also understanding the situation of the industry.

4. Marketing Strategy. You need a way to communicate with people at scale. Identify interesting facts about what you do. Help educate people. Find ways to bring them into your world. So you can communicate & interact with them.

Marketing is about connecting at scale. Through mass emails, producing content, ads, etc. Then narrows down to where you have sales. This is where you'll have intimate talks. Speaking to them 1:1.

5. Sales Strategy & Skills. This can be different for different price points. Different products & services. Or different severity of pain requires different sales strategies. If you have the right strategy but the wrong salesperson, you won't get results. Or if you have a good sales person using the wrong strategy. It's not going to work. Sales Strategy & Skills go hand in hand.

6. Money Management. Money is to a business like gasoline is to a car. Money is not everything but it is an accelerator. To buy more resources or hire more staff. It's a way to measure how many people you've helped.

The concept is: Do something for society, with limited resources to create abundance. Making the most out of limited resources. That makes a business helpful to society. Because it creates MORE value. [Sum is greater than the individual parts] If you run out of money, your movements' limited. You can't invest. You can't market your product/service. You can't keep up. Money management is very important.

7. Business Operations. This involves things like: Meeting rhythms, hiring processes, training processes. All things holding your company together we consider business operations.

8. Business Intelligence. This is about the feedback loops. It's about knowing how you're performing. Knowing each angle of your business. Knowing if your customers get what they want. Knowing how efficient your process is. How's your marketing doing? It's the feedback loops to let you know how you're performing. There are leading & lagging indicators. Sales are a lagging indicator. Because it's based on the quality of your marketing, follow-up. The interaction with your sales rep & quality of your service. Plus you need satisfied customers to get repeat sales & referrals.

In the beginning, Find someone willing to pay to have a problem solved. Getting sales to prove people are willing to pay to have it done. Then build a sustainable means to continue it cyclically. Ideally for years, and for many many many more people.

That's how you run a business.

If you want more information on topics like this, Go to www.BestBusinessCoach.ca.

Check out this episode!

[forextraderpost]

Copper Trading: Copper Trading Tips and Strategies

Copper Trading: Copper Trading Tips and Strategies

Copper is a highly tradeable commodity.

Copper is priced in US Dollars; so the price of the dollar affects the price of copper.

Copper is gaining more traction as an investment option along with various other alternatives.

As looked at in our primer for copper, copper prices tend to do well when emerging markets are growing as demand derives from building and construction.

Trading strategies for copper can include both technical and fundamental analysis.

Copper is a global commodity that has several key uses throughout industry and is highly correlated to economic growth. Copper trading is often used by hedgers and speculators as protection or exploitation of future price movements. Both individuals and institutions are able to gain exposure to copper and copper trading, making this metal popular choice within the commodity trading spectrum.

Why Trade Copper and How Does Copper Trading Work?

One advantage of copper trading is accessibility. Copper is traded through a variety of avenues like futures, options, equities and CFDs. You can also gain exposure to copper via copper ETFs (exchange traded funds) like CPER (United States Copper Index Fund) or JJCB (iPath Series B Bloomberg Copper Subindex Total Return ETN).

Copper is a soft malleable metal with properties like gold and silver. It derives most of its demand from building construction, transportation equipment and electronic products. It is a strong conductor of electricity and heat, and therefore has a wide range of industrial uses which also leads it to trade in high volumes – a good thing for traders because it can lead to reduced spreads and potentially cleaner chart patterns.

Movements in the price of copper are heavily dependent on demand from emerging market economies like China and India. During times of economic growth, these nations demand large quantities of copper, the demand of which helps to increase the metal’s price. Alternatively, during economic downturns demand for copper drops, price tends to fall as well. Traders should be aware of this dynamic when trading copper.

Many copper traders use technical and/or fundamental analysis to inform their trading strategy which helps a trader forecast whether the price of copper will rise or fall. Once a trader is confident in their forecast, he/she can buy or sell copper in an attempt to profit from price movements. In this way, a trading strategy can also help a trader to manage their risk, identify buy and sell signals in the market and set reasonable take-profit and stop-loss levels with aim of positive risk to reward ratios.

View current price movements of copper using our chart

Copper Trading Hours

Copper trades on the CME Globex and CME ClearPort:

Sunday – Friday 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Chicago Time/CT) with a 60-minute break each day beginning at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. CT)

What Factors Affect the Price of Copper?

US Dollar

Like many other metals, copper is inversely correlated (see chart below) to the US Dollar which means that when the US Dollar depreciates, copper prices generally rise and vice versa. It is important to note that this relationship is not one-to-one (delta 1) but does carry a high degree of correlation.

The reason why the US Dollar is an influencing factor on copper is because copper is priced in USD. For example, when the Dollar falls, a buyer will have to pay fewer of his/her domestic currency to purchase a specified amount of copper. Therefore, the commodity (copper) becomes cheaper to buy. This tends to cause an increase in demand and ultimately a rise in the price of copper.

Copper and USD chart inverse correlation representation:

Chart prepared by Warren Venketas, TradingView

Oil

The refining of copper involves melting down the metal to remove impurities. This process is extremely energy exhaustive and accounts for a large portion of overall cost. Oil prices tend follow a similar trajectory to copper (see chart below). This being said, oil prices are affected by many of the same factors as copper which could support the traditional positive relationship. Regardless of specifics it is clearly noticeable that a relationship exists between both copper and oil, which could provide valuable insight into the copper market. Renewable energy sources are growing in popularity which could interrupt the historical price dynamic between copper and oil.

Chart prepared by Warren Venketas, TradingView

Copper as a Barometer for Global Growth

Copper is often linked to industrial growth and therefore overall economic growth. Infrastructure, manufacturing and construction now play a huge role in economic expansion which heavily relies on copper. Consumption (demand) for copper tends to reflect in the price of copper as an increase in demand is generally followed by an increase in copper price and vice versa. Copper is broadly regarding as the king amongst base metals as it is the most widely used metal in growing both emerging market and established economies.

The general economics of supply and demand are observed which can be used as a rule of thumb when trading copper:

Increase in supply

Lesser demand

Decrease in supply

Higher demand

A major influence on the demand/supply of copper comes via China. China is the single biggest buyer of copper in the world. Although China has mines of its own, Chinese demand requires additional supply which is sourced from other major copper producing countries. This is why the Chinese economy is such an important factor to consider when trading copper. If China continues on its growth trajectory, one can expect sustained demand for copper (see chart below). It is important to note that China is determined on being self-sufficient in the long-term which could disrupt future supply/demand dynamics.

Copper and FTSE China A50 chart positive correlation representation:

Chart prepared by Warren Venketas, TradingView

Copper supply and production costs

Copper mining is primarily focused within South America which can have a large bearing on the price of copper. Shortage of supply, quality of copper and the variations in production costs can all have resultant impacts on price. This leads on to country specific risk which can affect supply due to political instability or work related issues.

In mid 2018, Chilean (worlds largest copper producer) copper workers declared they would strike unless their increased wage demands were met. This significantly manipulated copper prices as the threat of a supply shortage may ensue, causing a surge to multi-year highs at the time (see chart below).

Copper price reaction to Chilean copper strike:

Chart prepared by Warren Venketas, TradingView

Copper as an Investment

Copper has historically been regarded as a commodity without many investment benefits. The majority of copper trading was executed as a hedge against future price fluctuations to lock in a specific price. This has changed over the past few decades as speculative traders have increased their impact on copper prices. Large institutions and hedge funds have increased their stake in copper as an investment which is highly correlated to economic growth. For example, a fund manager bullish on economic growth may also be bullish on copper. There may be some cyclicality to this, and could be a good diversification tool away from traditional alternatives.

Trading Copper: Strategies

Copper’s versatility and dependency on various fundamental factors create a diverse combination in terms of trading strategies. Trading strategies can be purely technical, fundamental or a combination of both. Understanding how the technical and fundamental components work both individually and in unison with one another can lead to a comprehensive copper trading strategy.

Technical Strategy example:

The example below incorporates several technical analysis techniques to derive a trading decision. It is important to note that this is only one of various approaches that can be implemented into a technical strategy.

To learn more on alternative technical trading strategies, visit our DailyFX education center!

Chart prepared by Warren Venketas, IG

The weekly copper chart above uses price action, support and resistance and a technical indicator to determine a possible setup in copper. The Fibonacci retracement drawing is taken from the January 2016 low to the June 2018 high. This drawing has resulted in several support and resistance zones. It is clear that several of these zones are areas of confluence to which price adheres/respects.

The $1.93 per pound low (black) was a significant level of support as price approached in March 2020. From a technical perspective, as price moved toward the 2016 low the inclination would be to buy if price did not break through the $1.93 support zone.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) supported this rationale with an oversold signal below the 30 level (blue). Combining these two simple techniques gave a stronger motivation for a long position. In this case, a long trade would have been successful as price reversed into the current medium-term upward trend.

Fundamental Strategy example:

Chart prepared by Warren Venketas, IG

Becoming familiar with the fundamental levers involved in copper trading will allow for appropriate trading strategies to follow. The daily chart above shows the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on copper.

Reverting back to the factors affecting copper, it is well-known that copper is highly correlated (positive) with economic growth. Therefore, a disruption in economic growth should in theory, disrupt supply and demand subtleties. With the global pandemic ensuing at the start of 2020, it is sensible to forecast a slump in economic growth as the virus spreads around the globe.

As expected, a decline in economic growth was realized with copper following suit. From January 2020 to mid March 2020, copper prices fell roughly 30% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is one such scenario whereby understanding the dynamics of fundamentals in copper trading can result in prudent decision-making.

Fundamental and Technical Strategy example:

Utilizing both fundamental and technical analysis in a trading strategy requires more time but this extra effort may produce a superior model as it will include more input data. At the beginning of 2019 copper prices were trading at a one and a half year low due to trade tensions between the US and China along with a decrease in import volume by the Chinese. However, as trade tensions fizzled out with support from a weaker US Dollar copper prices appreciated over the next few months.

Chart prepared by Warren Venketas, IG

Managing these complexities from a trading perspective may start with a basic technical set up beginning with a simple Fibonacci retracement. The Fibonacci drawing above was taken from the January 2016 low to the June 2018 high as used in the prior technical example. Using the Fibonacci alone reveals that the 50% $2.62 per pound zone is a key area of support at the start of January. At this point, there is no directional bias as fluctuates around this support zone.

This is where fundamental factors play an integral role in trading copper. Market participants who follow macroeconomic events such as the US-China trade talks would be aware of decreased volatility and intensity around the topic as it slowly dissolved. With this knowledge supplemented by a dwindling USD, the likelihood of copper prices rising in the near term would gain more traction. With prices respective of the 50% $2.62 per pound Fibonacci level, and the bullish macroeconomic environment, a copper trader may look to enter into a long position from this support zone in anticipation of an upward price move.

Stop losses could have been placed at the recent swing low around the $2.54 – $2.56 support zone (black) for more risk seeking traders or the 50% $2.62 level for more risk averse traders. Risk management is key to any strategy and should be practiced consistently and appropriately to ensure sensible trading.

The next level of resistance would have been the 38.2% $2.79 per pound Fibonacci level whereby traders may look to exit long positions and look for possible reversals or an extension of the already strong bullish move. In this case, the Moving Average (MA) indicator was useful as the 50-day MA (red) crossed above the 100-day MA (black) which is suggestive of a bullish price movement. This crossover appeared in mid January 2019 and with sustained supportive macroeconomic conditions, copper prices extended further. Additional data inputs such as the bullish MA crossover can give traders the information required to select a focused trade.

How to Trade Copper: Summary

Copper has progressed into a well diversified metal and can now been seen as an investment possibility. Perceptive interpretation of copper technicals and fundamentals can place market participants in favorable positions to exploit price movement. These wide ranging influences on copper can prove difficult to navigate through but greater exposure and awareness should allow for more clarity.

Looking to trade in a simulated environment to better learn strategies, tactics and approach? Click here to request a free demo with IG group.

Resources to Help you Trade Copper

Beginner and advanced traders alike can benefit from the many resources DailyFX provides to inform trading strategies and improve confidence when trading commodities, such as Copper:

Stay up to date with live Copper prices using our live chart and latest news.

Bookmark our Economic Calendar to stay informed of upcoming events which could influence Natural Gas prices.

Read our Traits of Successful Traders guide to find out why some traders are more successful than others.

Tune in to our Live Webinars for live access to our DailyFX experts discussing trading strategies, tips, news and forecasts.

Learn more about technical analysis with our 4 Effective Trading Indicators Every Trader Should Know.

DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.

The post Copper Trading: Copper Trading Tips and Strategies appeared first on Forex Trader Post.

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[ephillipsresearch]

Catherine Anyango Grunewald - Lecture Notes invisible story telling background working in graphic novels –heart of darkness-  on immigration and eugenics -An artist’s job is about organising information / translate info in more interesting way -Use visual language to communicate ideas – useful as an artist’s to understand how we react to visual stimuli – eg what is role of scale in visual story telling, what does a rough line say vs a smooth line/? heart of darkness- interesting in how one could disrupt the usual modes of graphic novel visual language to communicate the horrors of the story subliminally and conceptually to create sense of disorder or abjection, paying with scale, how page is divided, light and dark, using beauty with horror, merging portrait and landscape reframing histories history is written by the winners –illustrates power of authority of recorded media – resources have their own agenda- we remember the world through these stories, but not who is remembering them for us -important to challenge existing narratives to bring marginalised voices to the forefront eg- physically expanding amount of space given to certain characters depicting them differently to generic ethnographic or media driven stereotypes -tried to reformat images in the work to present characters in more sympathetic settings –size on page relates to value and importance -interest in depicting black bodies, working with images of violent death in public spaces- often a sense of gravitas accompany art about death – modern images of death have become more common and vernacular in informal spaces on social media etc – redraws these images to give them the respect and gravitas, given back dignity -responds to images of police killings in black people in America in tribute or homage, not just evidence layering of materials hopes to bring more value back into picture -drawing can be a tool to inspire empathy and tell historical stories whilst maintaining an emotional dimension to them , tells us more than the original image- 63,000 people fled st Petersburg and settles in Sweden – animation film telling story of a child left behind by the train- translated memories into animated segments Materials and tools -choices you make about materials can be useful for invisible storytelling – materials can communicates conceptual layers through the materials associations -tries to use pencil and paper in mysterious yet accessible ways -emotionally depicting trauma realistically – abstraction became way of depicting disorder -seeking refuge in order in manmade spaces, contained no traumatic meaning, just describing a space, abstracts these with scoring and distressing paper to communicate a new story -pencil and paper is both an art object and bureaucratic object ,its part of our lives at so many levels, as traumatic events are now, but it is also very strong , can hold a lot of weight, but can easily be crumple, is fragile as well. -works with soap – related to feminine and domestic- can also disintegrate – soap distorts on exposure to air using degradation of the material to mirror the conceptual meaning of the work -made similar tile paintings with household enamel paint, creates contrast between order and disorder, as the tiles were impossible to keep clean  -like real bathroom- drying times were also varied creating inconsistencies

Undoing vs doing -interested in disrupting conventions – expectations of material – drawing very small and then blowing up images -collaborating between analogue and digital mediums- film hysteria uses breakdown of pencil marks to explore how 2 worlds exist at the same time- real and material -drew frames extremely small, closer to the paper the grain takes over and the image becomes abstract, the idea of undoing or undrawing resonated with becoming uncomfortable, unfinishing goes against natural flow- something has also gone wrong in the world- film on woman dying in Aleppo, used eraser to destroy the landscape around her -sometimes drawings until paper completely disintegrates to mirror traumatic breakdown

REFLECTIONS

I love the way the landscape is almost used as a distraction in these works. Rather than centering the figures, they almost disappear into a beautiful void of grassland, or linger in the background of a mossy tree that takes center stage in the works. I wonder if this speaks of the way that state violence, particularly against black people goes unnoticed, or willfully ignored/ covered up by the state, who we can assume is the the original eye through which we view these images, as much of the artists source material is taken from surveillance footage or other depersonalized media. Her work is also a great example of how meaning is ascribed through material and process. Her drawing process is repetitive and laborious. in the constant laying of marks, the paper becomes distressed, torn, destroyed, It reminds me of the cyclical and unrelenting nature of state violence which meet no end or justice, or intervention. The marks also mimic the pattern of the low-res film on which these moments are caught and replayed, the trauma acting out again and again as these films are often made public. She strikes a great balance between darkness and beauty which is both moving and tragic, but extremely articulate is raising consciouness around these issues.