#Community citations and resources

[curlicuecal]

playing science telephone

Hi folks. Let's play a fun game today called "unravelling bad science communication back to its source."

Journey with me.

Saw a comment going around on a tumblr thread that "sometimes the life expectancy of autism is cited in the 30s"

That number seemed..... strange. The commenter DID go on to say that that was "situational on people being awful and not… anything autism actually does", but you know what? Still a strange number. I feel compelled to fact check.

Quick Google "autism life expectancy" pulls up quite a few websites bandying around the number 39. Which is ~technically~ within the 30s, but already higher than the tumblr factoid would suggest. But, guess what. This number still sounds strange to me.

Most of the websites presenting this factoid present themselves as official autism resources and organizations (for parents, etc), and most of them vaguely wave towards "studies."

Ex: "Above And Beyond Therapy" has a whole article on "Does Autism Affect Life Expectancy" and states:

The link implies that it will take you to the "research studies" being referenced, but it in fact takes you to another random autism resource group called.... Songbird Care?

And on that website we find the factoid again:

Ooh, look. Now they've added the word "some". The average lifespan for SOME autistic people. Which the next group erased from the fact. The message shifts further.

And we have slightly more information about the study! (Which has also shifted from "studies" to a singular "study"). And we have another link!

Wonderfully, this link actually takes us to the actual peer-reviewed 2020 study being discussed. [x]

And here, just by reading the abstract, we find the most important information of all.

This study followed a cohort of adolescent and adult autistic people across a 20 year time period. Within that time period, 6.4% of the cohort died. Within that 6.4%, the average age of death was 39 years.

So this number is VERY MUCH not the average age of death for autistic people, or even the average age of death for the cohort of autistic people in that study. It is the average age of death IF you died young and within the 20 year period of the study (n=26), and also we don't even know the average starting age of participants without digging into earlier papers, except that it was 10 or older. (If you're curious, the researchers in the study suggested reduced self-sufficiency to be among the biggest risk factors for the early mortality group.)

But the number in the study has been removed from it's context, gradually modified and spread around the web, and modified some more, until it is pretty much a nonsense number that everyone is citing from everyone else.

There ARE two other numbers that pop up semi-frequently:

One cites the life expectancy at 58. I will leave finding the context for that number as an exercise for the audience, since none of the places I saw it gave a direct citation for where they were getting it.

And then, probably the best and most relevant number floating around out there (and the least frequently cited) draws from a 2023 study of over 17,000 UK people with an autism diagnosis, across 30 years. [x] This study estimated life expectancies between 70 and 77 years, varying with sex and presence/absence of a learning disability. (As compared to the UK 80-83 average for the population as a whole.)

This is a set of numbers that makes way more sense and is backed by way better data, but isn't quite as snappy a soundbite to pass around the internet. I'm gonna pass it around anyway, because I feel bad about how many scared internet people I stumbled across while doing this search.

People on quora like "I'm autistic, can I live past 38"-- honey, YES. omg.

---

tl;dr, when someone gives you a number out of context, consider that the context is probably important

also, make an amateur fact checker's life easier and CITE YOUR SOURCES

[anomalymon]

The Plural Community Needs to Write More Essays and Make More Resources

This has been a pretty big push in the alterhuman community, but hasn't quite reached the plural community yet. So

Systems: Write about your experiences! Post them!

It doesn't have to be good or coherent, but we want to see more experiences that aren't just bland, blanket positivity posts or term coining with zero substance. Some of our favorite writings we've read have had poor grammar and disjointed paragraphs!

Reasons to write about your experiences:

It can make people who have that experience both realize they're not alone and learn ways they can explore that experience

It can be education for people who don't experience that so they can learn what it's like

It gives more potential for citation for those who are making more comprehensive resources

They can be used several years down the line to track trends and events within the plural community

Also want to combat anti-endos? Write about your experiences. Humanize yourself (for lack of a better term). Create solidarity with others and encourage them to be out about themselves. Don't let psychiatric texts, syscourse rants, and simple definitions be the only information about your group!

We'll tack on what we're interested in seeing, but feel free to reblog and add anything too:

Guides! Guides on how your system does things, or guides that can help other systems

How plurality intersects with other disabilities or neurodivergence

Headspace tours, art about your headspace, collages

The effects drugs or medication has on your system

Non-traditional roles, or even how traditional roles do their day to day tasks

Different types of plurality intersecting (i.e. systems who fit more than one of DID, endogenic multiplicity, medianhood, soulbonding, etc)

Spirituality and religion intersecting with plurality

Seriously, whatever you want to talk about

[monsterqueers]

Yeah we are gonna second Wirsindkrieg here- it might have been INTENDED as an opt-in label, but its really not used that way at all in our experience.

Its used beyond its original intentions now and there is no getting around that.

Its colloquial use is by default inclusion. You cannot go five feet without someone saying alterhuman on a post/poll/etc and meaning 'all those with nonhuman or fictional related identities' and not JUST people who identify as Specifically alterhuman.

You either have to accept being called that or you are barred from huge amounts of the community.

It may have been intended as opt-in, but its USED as opt-out now, and unfortunately thats unlikely to change because we dont HAVE another easy way to refer to all those with nonhuman or fictional related identities, so its become the default.

The way its used now and the way it was intended to be used are just not the same anymore.

What we really need to be talking about is what to do now about that. Original intentions are all well and good, but the functional use is different, so the conversation should take that into account.

Masterpost about the meaning and origin of the word alterhuman

Folks have been getting confused about the meaning and purpose of the umbrella term and identity label "alterhuman." Often, people wrongly claim it doesn't include groups that it was originally created to let in. Another common wrong idea is that folks think they're personally being opted into it against their will (which is contrary to the word's design). I've even seen the word's coinage attributed to several surprised people who say they didn't invent it! This masterpost will stop this misinformation by linking to primary sources with dates and attribution. These links explain a lot about its meaning, so I recommend that you open and read each of them.

The word "alterhuman" was coined by Lio (it/its). At the time, it was writing under the name Malchior (username Phasmovore), which you'll still see on the original post. Lio is a member of the Crossroads System (XRDS or X-RDS). This is a link to the post where Lio originally coined the word on September 26, 2014, explaining about how the word does and doesn't relate to furries and plural systems. If you read no other link in this post, read that one!

Here are a couple more posts where the coiner of "alterhuman" explains the meaning of the word.

In this post from February 19, 2023, Lio explains about the intracommunity tensions that brought about the need to unite under this umbrella term.

In this post from May 27, 2023, Lio explains that the word does not equal nonhuman.

The group that popularized the word the most was Alt+H, an organization for alterhuman advocacy that was active from 2016 to 2023. Alt+H wrote this post on September 21, 2017, in which they explain about how "alterhuman" does not equal "nonhuman," and that it includes voluntary identities.

One of the former writers for Alt+H was Aster, the Flock of Changes. In this post from October 21, 2020, Aster explains that alterhuman is not simply another word for "otherkin," but instead is an umbrella term that includes many more sorts of identities and experiences than otherkin.

To make sure that we don't forget our history, so we quit getting confused about where the word came from, and so we have an occasion to celebrate being our authentic alterhuman selves in whatever creative ways we can, and solidarity with others who do too, I suggest that we start celebrating the date it was coined-- September 26, 2014-- as Alterhuman Day. This one coming up in 2023 will mark the ninth anniversary since Lio coined it. In 2024, the word will be a decade old!

- This masterpost is by Orion Scribner on September 3, 2023.

[s-soulwriter]

Research Tips for Writing Your Book

Are you diving into the exciting world of writing and researching for your book project? Here's what you need to know to make your research journey a success:

Define Your Purpose: Before diving into research, have a clear understanding of your book's purpose and goals. Know the themes you want to explore and the message you wish to convey. This will give your research a focused direction.

Create a Research Plan: Outline the specific areas you need to research, set milestones, and establish deadlines. A well-structured research plan keeps you on track and helps you manage your time efficiently.

Use Multiple Sources: Diversify your sources. Books, academic papers, interviews, and digital resources each offer unique perspectives and insights. This diversity enriches your understanding and adds depth to your writing.

Organize Your Notes: Keep your research notes well-organized. Consider using digital tools like note-taking apps or physical notebooks with labeled sections for different topics. Efficient organization will save you time and effort later.

Fact-Check: Ensure the accuracy of your research. Verify any details that are crucial to your story or argument. Misinformation can erode your credibility and disrupt the reader's immersion.

Cite Sources Properly: Keep meticulous records of your sources and be diligent about citations. Use a recognized citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) to give credit to the authors and avoid plagiarism.

Interview Experts: Reach out to experts or people with firsthand knowledge relevant to your topic. Interviews can provide you with valuable insights, real-life experiences, and unique anecdotes to enhance your book.

Visit Relevant Places: If your book is set in a particular location, consider visiting it if possible. Experiencing the environment firsthand can help you capture its atmosphere, culture, and nuances more authentically.

Take Breaks: Research can be mentally taxing. Don't forget to take breaks to recharge and maintain a fresh perspective. Stepping away from your work can also lead to new insights and ideas.

Stay Open-Minded: Be open to unexpected discoveries during your research. Sometimes, the most profound insights come from unrelated sources or tangential information that you stumble upon while researching.

Keep a Journal: Maintain a research journal where you can jot down notes, ideas, and thoughts as they occur. This journal can serve as a valuable resource when you're writing your book.

Join Writing Communities: Connect with other writers in person or online. They can offer guidance, share their experiences, and provide emotional support when you face challenges during the research and writing process.

Revise and Refine: Don't think of research as a one-time activity. Continuously revisit and refine your research as your book evolves. New ideas or directions may emerge, and you may need to adjust your research accordingly.

Respect Copyright Laws: Understand the copyright laws applicable to your research. Ensure you have the rights to use specific materials, especially if you plan to incorporate them into your book. Obtaining permissions or licensing may be necessary.

Balance Research and Writing: While research is crucial, there comes a point where you must transition from research to writing. Avoid getting stuck in a perpetual research phase. Once you have enough information to start, begin writing and integrate research as needed in your work.

Remember that your research phase is an integral part of the creative process. It's where the foundation of your book is built, and it can be a fascinating journey in itself.But keep in mind, as you're writing your first draft, you can never know everything, never research everything. A second opinion is always good, and for that, you can ask friends, family, or even me on this blog.

[lordzannis]

Here are 30 ways you can support Palestinians:

Educate yourself about the history and current situation in Palestine by reading books, articles, and reports from reputable sources.

Share accurate information about Palestine on social media to raise awareness.

Attend or organize local protests, rallies, and demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians.

Contact your elected representatives to advocate for Palestinian rights and an end to the occupation.

Donate to reputable humanitarian organizations providing aid to Palestinians, such as Medical Aid for Palestinians or UNRWA.

Support Palestinian businesses and artisans by purchasing their products.

Boycott companies that profit from or support the Israeli occupation.

Join or support local Palestine solidarity groups in your community.

Write letters to the editor or op-eds for local newspapers about Palestinian issues.

Host educational events or film screenings about Palestine in your community.

Volunteer with organizations that support Palestinian rights and humanitarian efforts.

Learn and teach others about the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Support Palestinian cultural events and art exhibitions in your area.

Engage in respectful dialogue with others to challenge misconceptions about Palestine.

Sign petitions supporting Palestinian rights and opposing Israeli policies.

Participate in letter-writing campaigns to political leaders and institutions.

Support legal efforts to hold Israel accountable for human rights violations.

Donate to organizations providing mental health support to Palestinians affected by trauma.

Amplify Palestinian voices by sharing their stories and perspectives.

Support Palestinian journalists and media outlets reporting on the ground.

Advocate for academic freedom and support Palestinian scholars and students.

Join delegations or fact-finding missions to Palestine to witness the situation firsthand.

Support organizations working to protect Palestinian children's rights.

Advocate for the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

Support efforts to document and preserve Palestinian heritage and culture.

Participate in interfaith initiatives promoting peace and justice in Palestine.

Support organizations providing legal aid to Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Advocate for an end to arms sales to Israel from your country.

Support organizations working to protect Palestinian farmers and their land.

Educate others about the environmental impact of the occupation on Palestinian communities.

Remember to always verify the credibility and effectiveness of organizations before supporting them, and ensure that your actions align with ethical and legal standards.

Citations: [1] https://www.pcrf.net/information-you-should-know/how-to-help-palestine.html [2] https://ca.cair.com/sfba/palestine-resource-guide/ [3] https://afsc.org/news/6-ways-you-can-support-palestinians-gaza [4] https://trippin.world/feature/how-to-support-palestine-information-on-marches-cultural-resources-and-more [5] https://www.reddit.com/r/EffectiveAltruism/comments/17nbhqf/what_can_realistically_be_done_from_abroad_to/ [6] https://afsc.org/programs/us-palestine-activism-program [7] https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/children-gaza-need-lifesaving-support [8] https://karmawallet.io/blog/2024/03/3-top-sustainable-shoe-brands/

Supporting Palestinian businesses and artisans by purchasing their products is an excellent way to directly contribute to the Palestinian economy and help preserve traditional crafts. Here are some ways you can do this:

Purchase Handmade Crafts

Many Palestinian artisans create beautiful handmade products that showcase traditional skills and cultural heritage:

Embroidered items like cushion covers, bags, and clothing

Olive wood carvings and decorative objects

Handmade ceramics and pottery

Traditional keffiyeh scarves

Jewelry featuring Palestinian designs

Purchasing these items helps support artisans and their families while preserving cultural traditions[1][3].

Buy Palestinian Food Products

Look for authentic Palestinian food products like:

Olive oil from Palestinian groves

Za'atar spice blends

Dates and other dried fruits

Traditional sweets and pastries

Many of these products are available through fair trade organizations or specialty stores[6].

Support Women's Cooperatives

Many Palestinian women's cooperatives produce handicrafts and other goods. Purchasing from these groups helps empower women economically:

Women in Hebron fair trade collective

Beit Doqo Development Society

Ma'an lil Hayyat in Bethlehem[3][4]

Shop from Online Marketplaces

Several online marketplaces specialize in Palestinian products:

Handmade Palestine

Sunbula

Shop Palestine

These sites connect artisans directly with international customers[2][6][7].

Purchase Art and Books

Support Palestinian culture by buying:

Art prints and original works by Palestinian artists

Books by Palestinian authors and about Palestinian history/culture

This helps preserve and promote Palestinian artistic and literary traditions[3].

By making conscious choices to purchase Palestinian products, you can directly support artisans, small businesses, and the broader Palestinian economy while acquiring unique, handcrafted items. This economic support helps Palestinians maintain their livelihoods and cultural heritage despite challenging circumstances[4].

Citations: [1] https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/help_us_keep_empowering_our_palestinian_partner_artisans [2] https://www.sunbula.org/en/category/51/Get-Involved [3] https://handmadepalestine.com/pages/meet-the-artisans [4] https://mondoweiss.net/2021/11/support-palestinian-artisans/ [5] https://www.lovewelcomes.org/blogs/news/handmade-in-palestine-shop-and-support-now [6] https://handmadepalestine.com [7] https://www.shoppalestine.org [8] https://trippin.world/feature/how-to-support-palestine-information-on-marches-cultural-resources-and-more

Yes, there are several online platforms specifically dedicated to selling Palestinian handmade goods and supporting Palestinian artisans:

Handmade Palestine: This marketplace works with over 30 women's cooperatives and artisans throughout Palestine, offering a wide range of products including jewelry, home decor, and textiles[1].

Shop Palestine: This store offers diverse products from food items to handicrafts, all made by Palestinian artisans. Proceeds support humanitarian efforts in the region[1].

Taita Leila: A social enterprise specializing in modern clothing inspired by traditional Palestinian embroidery (tatreez). Their products are handmade by women in the West Bank[2].

El Bustan: Headquartered in London, this platform works with artisans, women's co-operatives, and entrepreneurs in Palestine to bring their creations to an international audience[2].

Darzah: This fair trade-certified brand works with 26 female artisans in the West Bank, focusing on tatreez embroidery for products like shoes, bags, and home goods[2].

Hilweh Market: An artisanal boutique featuring items from Palestine and the Arab world, including purses, plates, bowls, and clothing[2].

Fyrouzi: Based in the UAE, this online store focuses on the centuries-old Palestinian ceramic industry, offering handmade pottery and ceramics[2].

These platforms not only provide a marketplace for Palestinian artisans to sell their goods internationally but also often support broader social and economic initiatives in Palestine. Many emphasize fair trade practices and the preservation of traditional Palestinian crafts and cultural heritage[1][2][3].

Citations: [1] https://www.pumpitupmagazine.com/discover-the-top-online-stores-for-authentic-palestinian-crafts/ [2] https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/2024/04/07/palestinian-brands-to-support-gaza/ [3] https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/help_us_keep_empowering_our_palestinian_partner_artisans [4] https://mondoweiss.net/2021/11/support-palestinian-artisans/ [5] https://sittisoap.com/blogs/news/10-palestinian-owned-brands-to-support-today-and-every-day [6] https://handmadepalestine.com/pages/meet-the-artisans [7] https://www.sunbula.org/en/category/51/Get-Involved [8] https://www.lovewelcomes.org/blogs/news/handmade-in-palestine-shop-and-support-now

Based on the search results, Hadeel supports community infrastructure in Palestine in several key ways:

Fair Trade Practices: Hadeel is a non-profit Fairtrade shop that provides a sustainable source of income for Palestinian craftspeople and artisans in various regions, including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Galilee, and Palestinian communities in Lebanon and Israel[1].

Supporting Grassroots Enterprises: Many of Hadeel's suppliers are grassroots social enterprises that help women bring their products to market[1].

Preserving Cultural Heritage: By selling traditional Palestinian crafts like olive wood carvings, embroidered textiles, and other handmade goods, Hadeel helps preserve Palestinian cultural heritage and traditional skills[1][2].

Economic Support: Purchasing from Hadeel aids in sustaining community infrastructures in Palestine by providing income to artisans and their families[2].

Promoting Palestinian Products: Hadeel carries a range of Palestinian products including olive oil, dates, condiments, and olive oil products like Nablus olive oil soap, helping to support Palestinian farmers and producers[1].

International Awareness: As a shop based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hadeel helps raise awareness about Palestinian crafts and culture internationally[1].

Sustainable Development: By supporting artisans and farmers, Hadeel contributes to sustainable economic development in Palestinian communities[2].

While not directly involved in building physical infrastructure, Hadeel's work supports the economic and cultural infrastructure of Palestinian communities by providing market access for artisans and preserving traditional crafts. This economic support can indirectly contribute to the overall development and sustainability of Palestinian communities.

Citations: [1] https://www.hadeel.org/our-story/ [2] https://www.pumpitupmagazine.com/discover-the-top-online-stores-for-authentic-palestinian-crafts/ [3] https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/help_us_keep_empowering_our_palestinian_partner_artisans [4] https://women2watch.net/hadeel-jaradat/ [5] https://palestine.unfpa.org/en/news/once-previously-rejected-her-community-hadeel-embraces-new-hadeel [6] https://www.globalwaters.org/HowWeWork/Activities/palestinian-community-infrastructure-development-program [7] https://www.pcrf.net/information-you-should-know/how-to-help-palestine.html [8] https://mondoweiss.net/2021/11/support-palestinian-artisans/

Clearview AI is a facial recognition company that has created a database of billions of facial images scraped from social media and other online sources. This technology has raised significant privacy and ethical concerns globally. The "Red Wolf" system you mentioned is reportedly being used by Israeli forces in the West Bank. According to human rights organizations, it's used for surveillance and movement control of Palestinians. The system allegedly: Uses facial recognition and other biometric data Tracks movements through checkpoints Is integrated with a broader network of cameras and databases Human rights groups like Amnesty International have criticized these practices as violations of privacy rights and freedom of movement. They argue the system enables discrimination and contributes to the further restriction of Palestinian rights. If you want to take action on this issue, consider: Educating others about the use of this technology Supporting organizations working on digital rights and Palestinian human rights Advocating for stricter regulations on biometric surveillance technologies Participating in legal forms of protest or activism

Here are some ways you can effectively spread awareness about Clearview AI and similar surveillance technologies:

Social Media Campaigns:

Create informative posts about the technology and its implications

Share articles from reputable sources

Use relevant hashtags to increase visibility

Host or Participate in Workshops:

Organize local events to discuss digital privacy and surveillance

Invite experts to speak on the topic

Write and Share:

Blog posts or articles explaining the technology in simple terms

Infographics summarizing key points for easy sharing

Collaborate with Advocacy Groups:

Partner with digital rights organizations to amplify your message

Participate in their campaigns and events

Create Educational Content:

Make videos explaining the technology and its impacts

Develop a podcast series discussing surveillance issues

Engage with Local Communities:

Present at community centers or libraries

Organize discussion groups to explore the topic

Use Academic Channels:

If you're a student, organize talks or seminars at your institution

Encourage research on the topic

Leverage Art and Media:

Create or support art projects that highlight surveillance issues

Engage with documentarians or journalists covering these topics

Participating in legal forms of protest or activism is an effective way to raise awareness and push for change. Here are some approaches you can consider:

Peaceful Demonstrations:

Organize or join rallies and marches

Ensure you have proper permits and follow local laws

Petitions:

Create or sign online petitions against the use of surveillance technology

Share these petitions widely on social media and within your community

Letter Writing Campaigns:

Write to local representatives, senators, and other government officials

Encourage others to do the same

Boycotts:

Support boycotts of companies that develop or use invasive surveillance technologies

Raise awareness about alternative products or services

Public Speaking:

Speak at town halls or community meetings about the issue

Participate in panel discussions or debates

Art Activism:

Create or support art installations that highlight surveillance issues

Organize exhibitions or performances that raise awareness

Digital Activism:

Participate in online campaigns and hashtag movements

Share information and resources on social media platforms

Teach-ins:

Organize educational events to inform people about surveillance technologies and their impacts

Lobbying:

Meet with local representatives to discuss your concerns

Attend city council meetings to voice your opinion

Fundraising:

Organize events to raise money for organizations working on digital rights and privacy issues

Citizen Journalism:

Document and report on local surveillance practices

Share your findings through blogs, podcasts, or local media

e effective ways to participate while staying within legal boundaries:

Peaceful Demonstrations:

Organize or join authorized rallies and marches

Make signs and banners to convey your message

Ensure you're aware of local laws regarding public gatherings

Digital Activism:

Use social media to spread awareness

Participate in online campaigns and hashtag movements

Create and share informative content about the issue

Letter Writing Campaigns:

Write to elected officials, expressing your concerns

Encourage others to do the same

Use templates but personalize your message

Petitions:

Start or sign online petitions against invasive surveillance

Share these widely within your networks

Educational Events:

Organize workshops or seminars about digital privacy

Invite experts to speak at community centers or libraries

Boycotts and Ethical Consumerism:

Support boycotts of companies using problematic technologies

Promote alternative products or services

Art and Cultural Activism:

Create or support art that highlights surveillance issues

Organize exhibitions or performances to raise awareness

Community Organizing:

Form or join local groups focused on digital rights

Collaborate with existing organizations working on these issues

[songoftrillium]

Meet The (Updated) Writing Team

Hello Kinfolks! These last two months have been quiet for y'all in terms of updates, but BUSY in terms of the work being done by the sept of contributors to this project!

At the start of October I put out the call for help, saying that this project cannot succeed without the help and support of the Werewolf fandom. I'm happy to report that you as a fandom have responded phenomenally, and production on this series is now underway! These last few months have been dedicated to recruiting team members, and researching our book framework. We've about filled in the main core of the team, and have already gotten started writing Book 1: Cliath!

October through November has been dedicated entirely to research, both putting together a collection of citations we'll be using in this first book, and passing out initial writing assignments. This list is sure to grow in time, but for now we have plenty of work to do!

With that all said, I'd like to introduce you to the team that are showcasing the Gaians.

Amy Waller (she/her)

Bluesky

Ms. Waller is a freelance writer and massage therapist based in not-quite Northern Virginia, and is a contributor to D.W.A.R.V.S. . Werewolf the Apocalypse was her first RPG, and she loves the themes of shapechanging as self-actualization and of trying to balance instinct and wisdom.

Amy has joined the team to depict the journals of Cryptobiologist Esme "Leaping Ghost".

Bek Andrew Evans (He/They)

Linktree

Mx. Evans is a freelance writer and illustrator from Jackson, Mississippi. He explores themes of mental illness, disability, abuse, poverty, queer themes and the intersection of these statuses. He uses body and psychological horror, meticulous attention to medical details, and deep character dives as some of his favorite methods to achieve those goals.

Bek has been indispensible in book research, and will be taking his experience with M20 Sorcerer and writing for the Hearthbound, and fictitious news article citations.

Evie Emerson Smith (She/It)

Tumblr

Evie is a programmer and designer of video games living with her pack in Pittsburgh, PA. She uses primarily anthropomorphic characters to tell stories about identity, queerness, and the power of community.

She has joined the team as a technical writer, and contributor to the opening comic: Cracking The Bone

Excelgarou (She/Her)

Carrd

She's been described as a Werewolf: The Apocalypse academic, and wears this title proudly. She labors at all hours on resources for Werewolf fans - particularly as regards aggregating otherwise obscure information - such as the Build-a-Veteran tool or (especially) the Werewolf Index Project.

Excelgarou is our lead researcher, ensuring our book citations and narrative voices remain consistent through all editions. She has also been conscripted to write the introductory passage on the World of Darkness, and to redraft the Children of Gaia.

James E. Deeley (He/Him)

Linktree

Jim has been playing, running, and writing for tabletop roleplaying games since he was first introduced to them over twenty years ago. Jim has presented on the subject of writing for games since 2010, and has been contracted to write mechanics and to do character design by the likes of High Level Games, Lostlorn Games, and Renegade Game Studios, but is equally skilled at writing lore and narrative, skills honed over two decades of running roleplaying games and medieval studies, lending a deep historical context to his writings.

Jim will write the Western Concordat, showcasing the Silver Fangs, Fianna, Get of Fenris, and Glass Walkers.

J.F. Sambrano (They/He)

Patreon

J. F. Sambrano is an author of horror and (urban/dark/depressing?) fantasy and an advocate for indigenous rights. He lives in Washington (the state) and is originally from Los Angeles (the city); the differences are staggering but the ocean and the I-5 are the same. He is Chiricahua Apache (Ndeh) and Cora Indian (Náayarite). He may or may not be a believer/practitioner of real world magic. If he were, he would not be interested in your hippy-dippy, crystal swinging, dream-catcher slinging garbage.But magic is real, let’s not fuck around.

Beloved Indigenous World of Darkness author J.F. Sambrano is joining our team to depict the Bastet in the Dawn Tribes! A friend and frequent topic of discussion on this blog, we are honored to have him on the team to bring the Werewolf: the Apocalypse he's long-felt the world deserves to life!

LeeKat (She/Her)

Linktree

Lee is a freelance artist, writer, and English teacher based in Brazil. The bulk of her content is furry, homoerotic, and TTRPG-centric works. Her writing focuses on exploring the depths of emotion with tales of self-discovery, queerness, and finding hope in a desolate world.

A huge lover of Werewolf, themes of generational trauma and rediscovering oneself in a world of turmoil resonated deeply, as well as themes of spirituality and ancestry. Writing for this project, she hopes to bring others the same catharsis she felt through exploring the books and their many themes.

Mórag (it/its)

Tumblr

Mòrag is a writer and botanist from Te Wai Pounamu. It writes both botanical articles and horror stories, the former to raise awareness of ecological issues and the latter to explore what it means to be human, represent trans and autistic experiences, and addiction. It's horror writing is best recognized for its use of visceral first-person perspectives, body horror, and the grotesque. It is influenced heavily by works such as the Hellraiser films and the philosophies of Georges Bataille.

It has joined our team to write the story portions of the Song of Trillium, showcasing the legend of Tawatuy.

[racefortheironthrone]

sorry to send an ask about such an old post (loved it by the way!!!), but do you have any citations for charles' education history? (tumblr dot com / racefortheironthrone / 650366189549338624)

its kind of become a running joke among charles obsessives (theres dozens of us! dozens!) that he's actually just adding degrees to a list whenever he needs to seem qualified 😭 bc he's always assigned this long list of degrees, but its so hard to find individual confirmations of them in the text! and even when you think you've found one, there's a detail that contradicts a different supposed confirmation. but he IS clearly, to reference your stellar phrasing, superfluously educated

thanks! + thank you for sharing a perspective on 616 charles that is interested in who he is as a person — we desperately need more of that 🥲

Hi, not a problem - always happy to chat about Xavier and X-stuff.

I got the info about his educational background from the Marvel wikia (which is a very handy resource for anyone who's into X-stuff, btw), so I would look to the footnotes there.

It's possible that Xavier's engaged in credential fraud; that happens quite a bit in elite higher education. As I said in the post, however, I think it's more likely that:

"Charles has difficulty with social interactions, because he didn’t have much in common with his chronological peer group and spent a lot of his life in a bubble of other academics."

As a coping mechanism for his social awkwardness, he became a perpetual student and then a perpetual academic, so that he could stay in his bubble and avoid having to grow as a person by interacting with people with different backgrounds and life experiences.

And this tendency is quite common in the Marvel Universe: T'challa has 5 PhDs, Hank McCoy has 6 PhDs, Reed Richards has 18!

Now from a Doylist perspective, this is just due to the fact that comic book writers don't understand or care about the economics of academia and are just looking for a simple way to communicate "this character is a genius."

But from a Watsonian perspective and an insider perspective, it suggests a lack of self-confidence and sense of direction, such that rather than going out on the job market, getting a job and having to show their intellectual community that they can drive a coherent research agenda, these people just want to stay in the psychological womb of studenthood where they can keep trying to "find themselves" with disconnected dissertations in different fields.

[drdemonprince]

hi! so a couple months ago, my workplace (a public library) had an outside organization come in to give staff a training on neurodiversity. at the end of the training, the presenter mentioned that her organization does ABA. looking into this place online, it seems like they have a lot of unhappy clients, including some who say their kids have been abused there. i want to make a stink about this, but i’m worried about being shot down or facing retaliation, especially because i’m fairly new to this job. do you have any advice on how to handle this conversation in a work environment? thank you!!

UGh that is so horrible, I'm sorry you had to deal with that anon. I think you can make a stink about it, but be clear first about what your ask even is. Do you want your department to send out information correcting the misinformation about ABA? Recommending an alternative resource for employees to opt into checking out? Do you want your organization to hire a completely new speaker to do damage control (email me if you want)? Do you just want them to know that this organization is bunk and get them put on some kind of list so that they will never be hired again?

Next, who else can you include in advocating for your desired outcome? Is there a neurodivergent employee group? A union? A general purpose company DEI group? Do you have neurodivergent coworkers or ones you know to have similar political alignments to yours? Talk with them and strategize and see if you can get more people on board and willing to sign a letter or attend a meeting about this.

The last bit of prep work you'll want to do is gather resources that explain why the Autistic community does not support ABA. ASAN is a good place to start, as is Stop the Shock, and you can also mine the citations in my book on the subject for a few sources to link to. You want to be able to present these to leadership while you make your requests, knowing they probably will not read it -- but if they see there's a large volume of information backing you up, and a whole social movement behind it, and multiple angry employees, they are more likely to do something.

Finally, watch your back and have a realistic gauge of the place where you work. Is dissent punished? Will you be mocked or treated like you're the problem for raising this? Do you have a fluffy feel good liberal org that could successfully be guilted into a symbolic gesture in the direction of the right thing? What is this worth to you, and what leverage do you have without having to worry about losing your job? Sometimes neurodivergent people do get fired for speaking up. Hell, sometimes they get fired despite being the heads of their company's diversity ERG. So please, please be careful. You cannot ever trust your boss to do the right thing or care about you, and you cant trust HR either. This is why having the support of multiple employees is crucial. If you work in a library I'd say the odds are better than usual of being heard out, and your resources actually being read by some employees...but tread carefully regardless!

[macroglossus]

turnitin is so funny like yeah man it was really fucked up of me to do those in-text citations and back up my claims :/ i forgot that matty from glendale community college already used up that resource when he wrote his paper in 2015 that's on me

[samueldays]

in the spirit of xkcd's "did you know you can just buy labcoats?" , did you know you can just buy newspapers? some days it feels like any old shitposter can get a journalism job and spew high-velocity misinformation, like Aziah Siid at the Seattle Medium.

You're the ones doing the starving here, fuckwits.

Thanks to food deserts — or as some folks call it, “food apartheid”

Thanks to bad reporting - or as some folks call it, "Nazi-style propaganda"

that's halfway through the first sentence and Siid has very effectively set the tone for an article of race-baiting, blame-shifting, inflammatory, connotation-smuggling, condescendingly ignorant, hyperbolic, partisan hackery.

there are cities across the United States where Black families have to drive several miles to access fresh food at a supermarket.

link does not support claim, link is just tangentially related article using the word "food desert". link says this:

This gives me the impression that someone yelled "CITE SOURCES" at the journalist until the journalist did the malicious minimum of work to give the superficial appearance of a citation. The source "more than a quarter of a mile" does not support the article "drive several miles", and other problems.

Journalism delenda est.

That isn't even the topic yet, just a shitty lead-in. The topic:

But the lack of resources that disproportionately impacts Black communities isn’t limited to food or health care. Access to literature is also often limited in Black neighborhoods.

Interest in literature is also often limited in black neighborhoods. They have less desire for and less interest in books relative to whites.

Nearly half of American children live in a book desert — places that American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten defines as “neighborhoods that lack public libraries and stores that sell books, or in homes where books are an unaffordable or unfamiliar luxury.”

The linked article is by Randi Weingarten, but does not define "book desert" that way, as it does not use the word "desert" anywhere at all. Superficial appearance of citation again, journalism delenda est.

I'd call for Aziah Siid to be "fired" but there is nothing to fire her from. You can just buy newspapers. You can just write shitposts and have them published with fancy headings.

So I'm left reiterating: journalists lie, journalists spread disinformation, newspapers are full of shit, the profession attracts liars and incentivizes lying partly because it's loudly claimed to be fact-checkers, journalists can get away with contradicting someone and calling it a "fact check". It happens up and down the scale across the industry, from relative rando Aziah Siid, to upscale Keith Olbermann who has multiple awards for excellent journalism and he won't stop lying after repeated corrections.

If students don’t have books at home or in their neighborhood, they rely on what’s available in schools — in the classroom and campus library. But good luck finding banned and challenged books like “The Gift of Ramadan” by Rabiah York Lumbard and Laura K. Horton and “Sulwe” by Lupita Nyong’o and Vashti Harrison if students live in a place impacted by censorship.

"impacted" is such a wonderful weasel word that encourages the reader to imagine something maximally inflammatory with minimal commitment on the part of the journalist. There is no rebuttal that can be made here without Siid dodging that that's not what she meant by "impacted" - so I retort instead that it's content-free incitement and demagoguery. Journalism delenda est.

Similarly with "banned and challenged", where all the weighty connotation is being carried by the "banned" part, but all the truth of the sentence resides in the "challenged" part. I tried to find the specifics of the matter and as best I can tell, in one of the three thousand counties in the United States, The Gift of Ramadan was challenged for school review by partisan hacks and then got stuck in bureaucratic limbo in a poorly designed review process to determine whether it should be in schools in that county. Somewhere has to be the most fuckup county of 3000, and Duval County was it that year.

From the viewpoint of people who thought their book should be read by every student as a default, this cherry-picked one-county school-holdup felt like a "ban" despite the fact that the book remained available in bookstores.

What extraordinary entitlement.

The epicenter of these efforts? Florida and the attempts led by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to eliminate the teaching of accurate U.S. history and kill off access to diverse books.

Stripped of the bombast: Florida rejected one specific Advanced Placement course on African American Studies. DeSantis claimed this was because the course was a bunch of thrown-together left-wing talking points including queer theory and climate action along with the black blackety blackness.

The College Board released an edited version of the course, and claimed this was nothing to do with Florida because they get feedback from lots of people.

That’s why as part of a larger effort to make books more accessible, and directly combat these anti-history book bans, the national nonprofit Little Free Library and creative marketing agency Venables Bell + Partners have teamed up on the Unbanned Book Club.

Again with the use of "ban" for not using government resources to promote. Journalism delenda est, wordcels delenda est. The books are not banned, as shown by the fact that this project is legal. The vast majority of books in the world are not in any school, let alone every school; curricula change regularly; to call it "banned" that a book was removed from a school is a sort of linguistic robbery that steals the substance of word and leaves us with a confusion of tongues as of Babel.

[emyn-arnens]

Hi i was just wondering if there are any resources you recommend for writing fics? For names, maps, info about characters and places, anything like that.

I love your blog by the way and your fics are awesome!

Thanks, anon!

I've put together a list of some of my favorite resources that cover the topics you're asking about, with a few extra favorites thrown in. I’ve included both resources that stick purely to canon and worldbuilding resources that expand on canon but are not strictly canon (these are marked with an asterisk). There’s some overlap between some of these resources, but I’ve often found that if I can’t find what I need from one website, another one probably has what I’m looking for.

I’ve broken the resources down into general resources, Silm resources, and LOTR resources for ease of reading. It's a lengthy list, so I've put it below a read more.

And of course, although all of these are good, canon-based resources, it’s always best to verify the information against the source text and double check quotes and citations.

GENERAL RESOURCES

Sources not specific to Silm or LOTR.

Arms and Armour of the Eldar: This webpage lists relevant quotes from Tolkien’s writing about the weapons and armor of the Elves. It predominantly focuses on the First Age but does go into the Third Age.

@askmiddlearth: This blog is a great general reference for all things Tolkien. Although no longer active, the blog has many great guides about the people groups and cultures of Middle-earth, as well as a slew of information accessible from the blog’s tag list about events and time periods, places, races/people/cultures, characters, languages, and objects. 

The Atlas of Middle-earth: The Atlas of Middle-earth contains maps of Arda during the First, Second, and Third Ages. There are also maps focusing on the events of The Hobbit and LOTR, as well as thematic maps illustrating the landforms, climate, vegetation and population, and languages of Middle-earth. I have the physical copy of this because I use it all the time and love looking through it just for the sake of looking through it. If you don’t have a copy of this, you can find a lot of Karen Wynn Fonstad’s maps online. @askmiddlearth has shared a number of them on their blog.

Do note, though, the inconsistencies and errors in some of the maps, identified and listed at the Tolkien Gateway link above.

The Dwarrow Scholar*: The Dwarrow Scholar has many resources about Khuzdul and neo-Khuzdul (a fan-created expansion of the language heavily inspired by Semitic languages). The site also has worldbuilding resources covering Dwarven holidays, feasts, seasons, folklore, traditions, marriage customs, succession customs, food, naming conventions, and much more. 

Encyclopedia of Arda: The Encyclopedia of Arda has thousands of articles covering topics from Tolkien’s world. It also has a searchable chronicle to discover what happened on a particular date, a calendar to translate dates and events, a glossary of archaic and unusual words in Tolkien’s works, a lexicon of names (mainly in the Elvish languages), and more. 

Flora of Middle-earth: I don’t yet own this book, so I can’t personally speak to its usefulness, but it covers all of the plants mentioned or described in Tolkien’s work. It addresses climate zones and plant communities, plant morphology, plant identification, the Two Trees, and the plants of Middle-earth.

Henneth-Annûn Research Center: Henneth-Annûn is a goldmine for quickly finding all of the information given in canon about a character, place, thing, etc. You can search for timeline events, character bios, places, and things, and the site will display all relevant passages from the book that address your search term. There is also an A-Z index of characters, places, things, and events. (There is a full-text Boolean search as well, but at the time of posting this, it doesn’t work.)

LOTR Project: LOTR Project has created timelines and interactive maps for the events of the Silm, The Hobbit, and LOTR. The site has also compiled statistics on the demographics of Arda’s various people groups.

Parf Edhellen*: Parf Edhellen is a dictionary of all of Tolkien’s invented languages, with an emphasis on Elvish languages. Parf Edhellen imports other trusted Tolkien sites’ dictionaries into its own, so it has a vast number of words listed. You can filter your searches by language and time period (when Tolkien created/reworked the language), parts of speech, and the website they were taken from. There are reconstructions (fan-created words formed using Tolkien’s language rules) in the dictionary, but they can be filtered out if you would prefer not to use them.

RealElvish.net*: RealElvish.net provides a slew of resources about Tolkien’s languages (and for more languages than just Sindarin and Quenya), including name lists, phrasebooks, pronunciation guides, and word lists. The site’s Trustworthy Websites page is also worth perusing for links to more sites focusing on Tolkien’s languages.

Tolkien Gateway: Tolkien Gateway is well-known in the fandom as a Tolkien wiki with articles on almost anything you can imagine, but I want to highlight its Silm timeline (covering the days before days, the Years of the Trees, the First Age, and the Second Age), Third Age timeline, and Fourth Age timeline. All of the years listed in the timelines can be clicked on to get a more detailed breakdown of the events that happened that year, which is especially helpful when writing about Third Age events. 

SILM RESOURCES

Sources specifically focusing on the First and Second Ages, including Tolkien’s writings beyond the Silm.

@melestasflight's food and cuisine worldbuilding posts*: Melesta’s posts cover both Valinor and Beleriand.

@outofangband's societal and environmental worldbuilding posts*: Outofangband’s societal posts cover people groups in general, fashion, food, education, architecture, festivals, traditions, and more. Their environmental worldbuilding posts cover Beleriand’s flora and fauna, rivers and streams, lakes and springs, forests, marshes, geography, and more.

Silmarillion Writers’ Guild's character biographies: The SWG has an index of character biographies covering many of the characters in the Silm and Tolkien’s other First and Second Age writings. Very useful for a quick refresh about a character or for learning about more obscure characters. (Alternate link to the old site, which lists the characters in alphabetical order.)

LOTR RESOURCES

Sources specifically focused on LOTR and the Third and Fourth Ages.

The Logistics of Minas Tirith*: This short essay by Anders Blixt addresses the logistics of food supply to and distribution within Minas Tirith and poses possible solutions.

Shire of the Hobbits: Shire of the Hobbits has many resources about the Shire, including hobbit customs, typical food and drink, hobbit history, hobbit names and meanings, and a list of hobbit sayings. The site also has information about hobbit calendars and chronology, the various writings produced in the Shire, and the Shire’s geography.

The Religious Rituals of the Dúnedain of Gondor*: This essay by Michael R. Hickman explores canon information about the Dúnedain’s religious customs and ceremonies and uses that information to expand on how those religious customs and ceremonies might look in Fourth Age Gondor under Aragorn’s rule. I haven’t yet read all of the way through the essay, but it is well-cited, using an array of Tolkien’s texts on the subject.

Travel Times in Middle-earth*: This site has generic info about how long it would take to travel in Middle-earth (focusing on major Third Age locations), based on the mode of travel. There is also a table that lists the time it would take to travel from one location to another. The table is incomplete but still very helpful.

[kimyoonmiauthor]

Useful free tools for writing.

More of the incidental tools that I find useful, regardless of how one usually writes that are often known in the writing community, but you might not know?

One Look dictionary

Reverse word look up. You know when you're getting stumped on a word you kinda know, but only can get the definition of, or you want to make sure your 3-word phrase can't be said more succinctly? Yeah, this resource should help. (The underline is a link)

Google Docs

I should note that after about 100K words, it starts to struggle. But it's good for editing, collab work, spreadsheets, and also keeping track of your previous drafts so if someone says, "But, but you plagiarized from me," you have a log saying you didn't, so you can say, "you likely took from me."

And so on.

Libre Office–because not everyone wants to deal with Google Docs or can afford Microsoft office. It also has a recovery function, so if it crashes, you can get your words back. (Microsoft Office often doesn't?)

Use it for formatting your manuscripts. For the editors out there, accept ODT format. This is absolutely free and sometimes it doesn't port well.

Rhyming dictionaries–yes, they exist. The slant rhyming is also useful. There are slant rhyming dictionaries too.

The almighty square bracket. []

To all of you discovery writers out there that can't afford Scrivener. This is the tool for you. You've written and dumped all this information into the text that shouldn't belong there, but you want to keep it. What do you do? You square bracket it.

If not that, there is also the curly bracket if you need a sub category. {

It's great for:

Editing notes.

Please expand this note to yourself.

Examine this phrase later because you moved on, but it doesn't sound right.

Cataloging important information you might need at a later date.

Info dumping that you want to break up.

Storing long descriptions you want to use elsewhere.

You're too lazy to catalog in your world building notes great information.

You have ADHD and some other idea has occurred to you, but it's totally off topic. Square bracket.

To avoid plagiarism 'cause you forgot you pulled a source.

If you're one of those super detailed people, you can also color code it. The reason is that both curly and square brackets almost never show up in manuscripts. <> sometimes does, but also often doesn't.

The best part is no matter your program, format, or keyboard, you have it.

Note that this doesn't work for Japanese as well, but Japanese also have access to {} which is why I noted it here.

Spreadsheets

You need to make a calendar for your planet and need the quick calculations.

You need to make a morpheme list for your mythical language.

You want to delineate gender quickly.

This usually comes with Google Spreadsheets, Microsoft Office and Libre Office. But writers often (me included) forget they exist.

But they are useful for more than number crunching. And some writers use them for plotting too.

For Fantasy/SF writers: Donjon:

The whole website, but particularly the Fantasy Calendar maker is useful.

Google Search: Quotes.

You want to fact check a quote. Or you got distracted and forgot to put in the citation information.

To be or not to be

is horrible search for. So what you do is this: "To be or not to be."

And you might get Will Shakespeare.

BTW, Goodreads is a horrible horrible source for finding out where quotes came from. Make sure you have the actual page number/place it was said with the surrounding quotes.

Equally, the -[item] is also often useful when you're searching.

You're looking up say... Kimchi, and you want search results that don't have napa in it You would type "kimchi -napa"

You are researching... I hope, I hope.

Public domain books: Project Gutenberg

You need a back issues of Gustav Freytag's Dies Techniks des dramas.

You need the quote from Anne of Green Gables.

You want to check if this Winnie the Pooh quote is in the earlier or later works because of public domain issues.

You need to read The Art of War for the tenth time.

You need to read Machiavelli's The Prince, because you are writing politics and war.

This is the place to find it. Sometimes, sometimes it is public domain, but it's not in there.

Library

Libby (app), for example. Sign up for it. Get a library card and you'll save yourself money. Some countries don't have one, but for the ones that do, you can read print books and consume audiobooks at home.

Often self-pubbed books are on there too. If you have an amazon account then you can use the kindle app with it.

Sometimes you can also go to university libraries and though you can't check anything out, you can use their catalogs to look up things. You sometimes have to be there, but often they give links to free resources in their catalogs and might be easier to use than JSTOR. You don't have to be a student. Just be respectful of the people there, and try to put the books back where you found them. (usual library stuff).

This will save you going to Hawaii for the University of Hawaii, for example, because you know they have some awesome East Asian resources.

[dreamsofanenbysapphic]

arospec

a poem(?), a collection of ideas, things i have been thinking about, about relationships and the platonic/romantic binary

some citations:

arospec wiki sources, amatonormativity, instructional manifesto for relationship anarchy, my favorite poem by alok vaid-menon, aromantic manifesto, amatopunk

full text below the cut:

screenshotted text from various sources over a galaxy background, spread across two images:

arospec, is an umbrella term

People on the aromantic spectrum may feel little to no romantic attraction, or feel romantic attraction differently, more rarely or

Loveless Aro describes someone who is some way disconnected from the concept of love, rejects the idea that they need to experience love

Quoiromantic (also called WTFromantic experiences may include:

Finding the concept of romance to be inaccessible, inapplicable, or nonsensical.

the questioning itself

becomes the identity

Disidentifying with the concept of romantic attraction - either as a social construct or as something potentially applicable to oneself.

a disidentification with the romantic/nonromantic binary,

They may consider themselves relationship anarchists.

Amatonormativity

to describe the widespread assumption that everyone is better off in an exclusive, romantic, long-term coupled relationship, and that everyone is seeking such a relationship.

[elizabeth brake]

Due to the ambiguous nature of romantic attraction, sometimes defined by the actions that one takes during a relationship, such as holding hands, kissing, or cuddling. However, none of these activities alone necessarily indicate romantic attraction.

The prefix nebula- comes from the Latin word nebulous, meaning "clouded" or "unclear".

Queerplatonic relationships (QPR) and queerplatonic partnerships (QPP) are committed intimate relationshisp which are not romantic

This way of thinking is also one that places certain relationships above others, such as Romantic relationships being viewed as 'above' or 'superior' to Platonic relationships. If two people are dating they are 'more than friends'. If they aren't dating then they're 'just friends'.

Amatonormativity prompts the sacrifice of other relationships to romantic love and marriage and relegates friendship and solitudinousness to cultural invisibility.

Amatopunk!

challenges amatonormativity, and how society views aspec people, polyamorous people, and others who do not fit into the "right" mold.

Relationship Anarchy (abbreviated RA) is the belief that relationships should not be bound by set rules, aside from the rules the individuals involved mutually agree upon.

sensualarians have relationships that are often "in between" typical relationships categories, whereas relationship anarchy completely breaks down all relationship categories

Relationship anarchy questions the idea that love is a limited resource

i want a world where friendship is appreciated as a form of romance. i want a world where when people ask if we are seeing anyone we can list the names of all of our best friends

[alok vaid-menon, friendship is romance]

queer liberation must abolish romance as its long term goal aromantics aspire to:

view queer intimacies as web-like counter-publics that reinforce rather than compete with and enervate each other.

transform queer intimacy into political solidarity and action.

[aromantic manifesto]

Relationship anarchy (sometimes abbreviated RA) is the application of anarchist principles to intimate relationships. Its values include autonomy, anti-hierarchical practices, anti-normativity, and community interdependence. RA is explicitly anti-amatonormative and anti-mononormative and is commonly, but not always, non-monogamous.

With one's relationships starting as a blank slate, the act of distributing physical intimacy, sexual intimacy, emotional intimacy, etc. is according to one's desires rather than preexisting "rules"

Queerness is a longing that propels us onward, beyond romances of the negative and toiling in the present. Queerness is that thing that lets us feel that this world is not enough, that indeed something is missing.

[josé estabon muñoz, cruising utopia]

[librarycards]

do you have any reading recs for the intersection and/or similarities between the disabled & trans experiences? the community of trans, disabled, and trans disabled people working together? tysm sarah

i have many, too many to list here! below are a few links and names to get you started, but trans disability studies is a rapidly-growing field really exploding with new scholarship right now. trans studies specifically is having something of a "crip turn," particularly since the publication of Hil Malatino's long essay, "Trans Care." I don't know what's going to happen going forward, but as it stands, there is active and growing interest in the nexus of trans and disabled subjectivity, especially w/r/t social conditions that design (for) us lives deemed unlivable.

i'm going to focus in this post on scholarship that explicitly engages both with trans and disability studies thought, rather than just work from one area that happens to bring in a topic from the other. Of course, it isn't possible to fully delineate these areas, nor should we try. but trans studies and disability studies are whole academic fields with distinct genealogies and theoretical orientations, and it sounds like you're looking for work that brings these sometimes-disparate orientations together very deliberately. Mad studies also has its own disparate genealogy that is sometimes at odds with disability studies, depending on who you're reading; on the other hand, neurodiversity studies tends to follow and cite DS a little more closely. i'm not going to get into the weeds here, but i did want to provide a disclaimer about how complicated this shit is before i give a LIMITED! INCOMPLETE! list of places to start reading.

my work in transMad studies (which I made up; Trans Disability Studies and Feminist Disability Studies, and intersections therein, predate me) draws explicitly on trans, disability, and Mad studies approaches, as well as/alongside the critical digital humanities, poetics, and science & technology studies. i've written about transMadness / trans disabled digital work / Mad gender noncompliance / trans autie-biography. I also co-authored the chapter on the trans/disabled intersection in Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, 2nd ed.

Some key authors in the area of trans disability studies // transMad studies include but are not limited to:

Eli Clare

M. Remi Yergeau

Nick Walker

Mel Chen

Jake Pyne

Jess Rauchberg

Lydia X. Z. Brown

J. Logan Smilges

Justine Egner

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna Samarasinha

Alexandre Baril

Hil Malatino

Merrick Pilling

Cameron Awkward-Rich

Sky Cubacub

I have included alongside each name a link to one piece of their work that I like. Again, MANY people write about trans / disability / Mad issues in concert, or who talk about certain issues through a t/d/M lens. I listed only a small number of people for the reasons I mention at the start of the post.

Also, much of this work I have selected deliberately to trouble preexisting assumptions about trans disabled solidarity/activism/scholarship – namely, that it starts and ends at the question of pathologization. When we limit the scope of trans disabled liberation work to the boundaries of the clinic (material, discursive, or otherwise) we do ourselves a grave disservice.

i'm going to leave it there as a starting point, but encourage you to check the citations of each of the linked pieces, as they're often treasure troves of further resources.

[novelistparty]

my brother is feeling hopeless about trump and the supreme court and everything today and asked me "why even? we're so fucked" Here's my response: If you can't handle the news and want a break then maybe try studying history instead. Learn about how and why we got here. Learn about the brave people that fought (and still fight) to make things better. "what should I study?" Well, what matters to you? Local things? Regional things? City things? National things? Global issues? - Talk to a librarian. It's their literal job to help you find books on a topic. They LOVE to help. (If talking with a librarian IRL is too much, you can email them) - Wikipedia. There's a lot of solid information there. And at the end of every article is a list of citations. - Email a local historical society for recommendations. - Community college professors love to respond to emails for book suggestions. - Go to a museum or historical society. They often have exhibits with a lot of information. The people that work or volunteer there are so eager to answer questions. - google for "<your city name> <cause you care about> group". There are dedicated people everywhere that are glad to share resources. There is a wealth of material out there about every social issue and every political struggle past or present. (if you don't enjoy reading books there are documentaries and oral histories too) What you learn will help you make a difference now. You'll be able to approach the news cycle without getting tossed around as much. You'll know real things about the world that can completely change other people's minds. You'll have a better idea about what you can do to fight the fascists. (yes even you, just one person) You'll also be able to see and cherish things that are a lot better today than in the past and feel gratitude for the people that fought for it. You are not alone in this fight. And one last thing: fascists hate it when people know the history. So study up

[seoexpertlatifur]

Why Local Businesses Need SEO Services

In today’s digital landscape, local businesses face unique challenges and opportunities. One of the most effective ways to ensure visibility and attract customers is through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In this post, we’ll explore what local businesses are, delve into local SEO, and discuss why investing in SEO services is crucial for success.

What is a Local Business?

A local business typically serves a specific geographic area and caters to the needs of local customers. This could include restaurants, retail stores, service providers like plumbers or electricians, and more. These businesses rely heavily on foot traffic and community engagement to thrive.

Local Business Examples

Restaurants and Cafés

Health and Wellness Services

Home Services: 

Retail Shops

Beauty Salons

Legal Services

What’s Local SEO?

Local SEO means when a customer searches for some keywords focuses on optimizing a website to be showing in local search results. When users search for products or services in their area, local SEO helps ensure that relevant businesses appear prominently in search engine results. This involves optimizing your Google My Business profile, building local citations, and gathering customer reviews, among other strategies.

What is Local SEO in Digital Marketing?

In the realm of digital marketing, local SEO is essential for connecting businesses with their local community. It involves strategies tailored to attract local customers and convert them into loyal patrons. This may include targeted content creation, optimizing for local keywords, and utilizing location-based marketing tactics.

Why Do You Need Local SEO Services?

Investing in local SEO services is vital for several reasons:

Develop Visibility: Local SEO helps your business appear in local search results, making it an easy way for organic customers to look at you.

Competitive Edge: Many local businesses are still catching up on digital marketing. By implementing local SEO strategies, you can outshine your competitors who may not be utilizing these tactics.

Targeted Traffic: Local SEO attracts customers who are already looking for the products or services you offer, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Mobile Optimization: With the rise of mobile searches, having a strong local SEO strategy ensures your business is easily discoverable by users on-the-go.

Why is Local SEO Important for Small Businesses?

For small businesses, local SEO is even more critical. Here’s why:

Limited Budgets: Small businesses often operate on tighter budgets. Local SEO provides a premium-attractive way to attract customers without the necessity for extensive promotion.

Community Focus: Small businesses typically serve a specific community. Local SEO allows them to target local customers, enhancing their connection to the community.

Greater ROI: By attracting local customers who are ready to buy, local SEO can lead to higher conversion rates and a better return on investment.

Building Relationships: Small businesses can benefit greatly from fostering relationships with local customers. Local SEO strategies, such as engaging with reviews and local events, can help strengthen these ties.

Conclusion

In conclusion, local businesses must recognize the importance of SEO services to succeed in today’s competitive landscape. By implementing effective local SEO strategies, businesses can increase visibility, attract targeted traffic, and foster community trust. For more information on how to optimize your local presence, consider consulting a professional in local SEO. To learn more about Local SEO, check out this expert resource.