#IT WAS REALLY OBVIOUSLY SUPPOSED TO BE COVERAGE

[sgiandubh]

Chocolate Sunday, too

Despite rabid - eh, not really - speculation about some top secret getaway à deux on the Isle of Mull, habemus a GLA backyard latergram, gangsta thirst trap style, rings on top:

And consistent online activity during at least those last 3 to 4 hours, which would mean it started this Sunday around 1 to 2 pm, local time.

So long for the Isle of Mull cheap fanfic. Place is notorious for difficult mobile phone access:

(this page does not deal in sources for people who never traveled outside of the US, but in confirmed data: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Mull)

Also, his last Instagram follow is, this time, particularly pertinent and from today:

Dubbed as a 'compact community cocktail bar', on Victoria Road, in GLA and actively organizing week-end events, such as this recent one:

I am also insistently told (thank you, you both know who you are 😘) Scottish Xena unfollowed her rather inconveniently insistent Bavarian paramour (or whatever the Lederhosen he is, really) this week-end, too. You know, from Mull's waterfront, with no mobile phone coverage either:

Yet, to keep the innuendo alive, she's just back with a story and a no strings attached offer to join her virtual fitness hole in the wall. Of course. Looking more orange than ever and nowhere remotely close to S.

Show must go on, I suppose. To a selected, more and more rarefied audience, though.

PS: Gangsta neck chain and Gypsy patriarch (slainte, @bat-cat-reader!) rings, but still vanilla AF and a good man (She said so). Go figure 🤷‍♀️🤣

[Later edit:] Herr Lederhosen obviously did not get the memo:

[spiders-hth-is-an-outlier]

So many people have spoken so cromulently about the brouhaha in Olympics women's boxing, and I share the frustration and anger over the shit way Imane Kelif is being treated for the crime of being an insufficiently feminine woman. I can't add any more to that.

But I haven't seen anyone talking much about the other fighter in the match, and -- look, I don't want to drag her, because I have never lost at the Olympics, and I've never been punched in the face, so who knows how I'd react to either. But there's something so repellent and gross to me about the prurient way media coverage has dwelled on Angela Carini's *weeping* and how she said it *hurt so much* and now she's so *unhappy* because her *dreams are dead.*

Like -- this woman is supposed to be an elite, world-class boxer! The pity and protectiveness we're being pressed to feel for her because she got in the ring and got hit real hard is just like -- what is happening here? They hit as hard as they can at the Olympics, that's like, the whole thing! Idk how weight classes work in women's boxing, maybe there should be more finely tuned categories, if it's so shocking to see a bigger person punch a smaller one, but this is like, *fucking boxing,* a sport where traditionally there was a non-zero risk of getting hit so hard you *died.*

It's just really off-putting to me to see all these self-proclaimed champions of female athletes talking about Carini using exclusively the language appropriate to domestic violence victims, rather than giving her any sort of dignity as a competitor.

Again, I'm trying really hard not to hang anything on Carini herself, because I get that "there's no crying in baseball!!!" is supposed to be the Incorrect Take and there's nothing inherently wrong with crying from pain or disappointment, but like. It's so gross and weird, and it's so not how any reporting would treat a man who lost a match. It's so obviously a matter of immediately divorcing her from her context as *an Olympic athlete* and *a boxer* in order to recast her as *a sad injured lady.* Really drives home the point about how weakness and vulnerability are load-bearing components of how these "radical feminists" perceive the nature of womanhood.

[tanadrin]

Was there anything actually juicy in Clinton's emails? The media behavior reads like half an attempt to appear more principled b/c of the criticism they got in 2016, and half an attempt to swing the election for Trump because he's better for their business.

not super juicy. i do think there's a differential in how the media covers trump vs other candidates (even other republicans) bc he's so bizarre and they don't know how to handle them, but i don't think it's as calculated as "he's better for their business"

you have to remember that conservatives have spend decades screaming about how the media is unfair to them and biased in favor of liberals and bc media figures want to be the important biased neutral arbiters of democracy (bc that is how they perceive themseves) and they want to try to preserve access to political figures, they have spent a lot of time and effort trying to perform neutrality. this doesn't work of course--there's a reason why the right eventually spawned its own media ecosystem; no amount of bending over backwards to both-sides issues like global warming will appease basically dishonest actors--but it has produced this weird asymmetry where they report on trump like he's a much more normal candidate than he is, reported on his administration like it was a much more coherent realization of policy goals than it was, and sane wash a lot of statements that are either simply incoherent or are menacing and deranged. and they reassure themselves that he can't possibly mean the menacing and deranged things, or that if he does he won't be able to realize them, and after all wasn't the first trump term pretty OK after all?

obviously, i think this is a mistake--the first time around trump was impeded by his own incompetence and that of the people under him, and the fact that, not really knowing what to expect, some actually sane people ended up attached to his administration. i don't think that's likely to be quite the same in a second go-round. but normalcy bias is powerful. it affects a lot of people who aren't journalists, too. and even if you think he isn't likely to succeed, i think the responsible way to report on someone declaring that they are going to attempt to deport millions and seize direct control of major cities and shut down media outlets that offend them is to report that they intend to sdeport millions and seize direct control of major cities and shut down media outlets that offend them, not to try to interpret their pronouncements through the lens of anodyne "economic policy" or w/e. if the flagship outlets of media were really making a rational risk-benefit calculation on whether a second trump term would be good for them, they would be much more strenuously opposing him, because he has promised a scorched-earth campaign of revenge against them, you know?

but actually a lot of the dysfunction of american political coverage is the result of a social incentive structure that's been slowly emerging for more than forty years, driven in part by the incestuousness of the beltway media-political environment and the self-conception and ego of media figures. honestly i think it started as the conspiratorial right moved into mainstream conservative and republican politics in the last three decades of the 20th century. in order for that conspiratorial attitude to really take hold, you had to creative a social structure that isolated people from the broader political consensus, to get them to stop trusting shared sources of authority and information, and that resulted in sustained attacks against the supposed flagrant bias of american news media as a whole, and this process accelerated as distinct right-wing outlets like fox were established. but it was a frog-in-the-pot situation, and many republican politicians were willing to take on this new style of rhetoric that seemed to win votes (and no doubt many believed it to some extent, since it flattered their preconceptions).

but eventually the break became too great--birtherism, the tea party, qanon. mainstream republican politicians realized they'd called up something they couldn't put down; but it was too late to right the ship. trump is the avatar of all that conspiracism and rage, and he took over the republican party. but the tectonic social forces that produced him have been slow and kind of indirect, and a lot of people are still coasting on attitudes and approaches to politics that are ten, twenty, thirty years out of date.

[raininyourblackeyes]

And here is THE program I want to rant about:

Hana's Shakuhachi is absolutely my favourite program in this disciplinne this season.

In terms of her technical elements she has good technique, lots of speed into and out of her jumps. I love her landings especially, great flow, smooth running edges. Commentators keep mentioning those and for a good reason, it's a guaranteed GOE bullet point hit for her with how amazing they are. She is quite quick, with solid ankle action allowing for flow and glide. Now switching onto what makes this THE program for me:

All program components are connected obviously, but to me composition is supposed to give an entire picture of a program really. It is the ice coverage, the way elements are woven into choreography and music, what the skater is trying to convene in those few minutes. Shakuhachi is more convenient than her SP, it follows a mostly standard music arrangement with the final spin being the peak, but what sets it apart to me is that the sense stays constant throughout. I feel like she is one singular lonely crane from the first moment to the end, but also, especially during the StSq and to the end I also feel like I'm watching a flock in flight and trying to single out one bird? But it is still somehow a graceful solitary flight. If that makes sense? This program's quniqueness in composition comes from choreography I think. Just take a look at the opening! So serene when majority of skaters open their programs with a bang. I just love it when programs build in intensity. The concept is what makes it stand out and it's beautiful!

Her ice coverage is just huge. She takes up the entire ice as if a bird could take up entire sky.

Her presentation is just stellar. Every movement connects to the theme of the program, she is always conscious of her hands - so so important as her entire body represents a crane. The red glove doesn't stand out of the costume because you can exactly point out the exact movement of the bird she embodies. Her endless, long running edges, and ability to control body movement smoothly and effortlessly serve purpose in painting a crane. It's so important to note how she utilizes spins in her expression. The movements are so precise, so bird-like!

My favourite part of the program has to be the StSq. This entire program has so much class and elegance. It doesn't feel like a 1st senior season program to me at all. Hana is simply stunning.

[ratatatastic]

"Local kid makes good. Matthew Tkachuk, Stanley Cup Champion. So how does that sound? Stanley Cup Champion?" "I think it sounds better and better each time I'm hearin' it. It's been—I think—almost 2 months, I don't even know? Time has been flyin' but it just—each day is more and more incredible thinkin' about it." "So you're here to throw out the first pitch with Jayson Tatum, you're both Chaminade proud, like, you knew each other back then, you were friends in high school, and you're still friends—tell me about that relationship." "Yeah, it's been really incredible watching him—I think we both started out in the league very similar years. I might've been a year before when he was at College but it's been absolutely incredible to follow along his journey, and his career. I still keep in touch every now and then. I know we've played Boston the last few playoffs and he's been to a few of the playoff games for me. I went to one of his playoff games last year when we were in Boston. So really, really cool just to watch him, it was really cool to see him play in person. I'm excited to see him, and throw out that pitch with him today."

los angeles dodgers @ st louis cardinals pregame | 8.18.24 (x)

"When you guys were younger—both obviously stand-out athletes—did you ever imagine you would be a Stanley Cup Champion one day? And he would win a NBA Championship with the Celtics? Did that ever cross your minds?" "No, I mean, he was way better at his sport than I was at my sport when we were that young... I think I had a pretty good idea that he was gonna be a star basketball player. I guess you don't really think about Championships at that time of your life. You always dream about it but do you really think its gonna happen? And for us to do it, you know, within a week or however long apart from each other, it just—what a great time for all of our friends and family, and people that are just supporting us in St. Louis. I feel like St. Louis with not having teams to—you know, in their city to root for, I feel like they really kind-of hopped on and rooted for us and the Celtics. That made us, especially being from here, made us feel really special." "City was behind ya, one hundred percent! Let's talk about the final. You guys were up three-zip, it goes to a Game 7. What's that like?" "It's not supposed to be easy! I feel like it wouldn't have made sense or worked if it, you know—wasn't that scenario. It was always gonna be a long series. For us to win the first 3 and then lose the next 3—I mean, that wasn't ideal but at the end of the day we were comin' back to our incredible fans in Florida for a Game 7 Stanley Cup Final. What an incredible environment! That is a dream game! You always talk about the Game 7s when you're younger, and those are the moments you dream of, and I got to live out a dream this year." "What was it like sharing it with your pop? You know in the postgame coverage, I see your dad all over the place, your brother, your sister, your mom—what was it like sharing it with them?" "It was amazin'! Just handin' the Cup to my dad on the ice afterwards was super special there—the moment where he was actually in the locker room after the game when, you know, friends and family were startin' to come down, and I got to hand it to him, we got to beer-shower him, he got to lift it up in front of all my teammates, they were all goin' nuts for him too! Because they know that he played such a long time, and unfortunately wasn't able to win one in his playing career but I think he would've, you know, traded that all and done it exactly the way it happened for one of his boys to win it. It was such a family—It was such an incredible time for our whole family and I'm so lucky to have such great support from them." "Fun to watch too! Last thing before we let you go. You look good in the Cardinals red, Cardinals cap—there was a time where your dad, Big Walt, liked the Red Sox... please tell me you're a Cardinal fan..." "I am a Cardinal fan! Yeah, that time is—I was a big David Ortiz fan so when he was on the team like he was...him and Albert [Pujols] were my two favourites so it's actually pretty cool I got to hang out with Albert over summer in a golf tournament—the ACC tournament out in Lake Tahoe. He was one of my sports heroes! Yeah, I've been a Cardinals fan ever since I can remember with Albert." "Congratulations on getting the Cup, thanks for the chat!" "Yep, thank you!"

[transmutationisms]

along w ur plato post uve also mentioned disliking marxist syllabi that make you go chronologically just to understand one author (ie greek philo - hegel - marx)

i was planning to go down this route this yr to combine both my long overdue dive into theory and philosophy, and i actually found this to be less overwhelming than immediately diving into say, continental philosophy or critical theory. i wonder then what other route you'd suggest for philosophy? (since for marxist theory youve pretty much alr answered it in a past ask)

are greek philosophers still "useful" to read for beginners or is it much better off to start with contemporaries? is this a case of "we've actually been doing the math curriculum wrong this entire time" or is it just personal preference. help

depends what you're trying to accomplish, but if someone's in my inbox asking how to get started reading theory or philosophy then i think it's a) unhelpful, and b) needlessly deferent to received ideas of 'canonicity', to perpetuate the notion that there's a single correct order in which to read, and it begins with the same 20 ancient greeks writing about geometrical forms and elemental tetravalence. like, it's worth remembering what's missing from a typical global north university's philosophy syllabus: perhaps most obviously, reams of islamicate scholarship and centuries of dialogue between 'western' and 'eastern' writers often suppressed in favour of a 'dark ages' narrative that just sort of jumps up to the 'renaissance'... and there are so many other, egregious, historically unjustifiable lacunae like this.

it's noble enough to want to know where an idea comes from or what its genealogical lineage is, but to try to discover this by reading through a list drawn up by classicists or philosophy departments is dangerously optimistic about the politicking that shapes and perpetuates such lists. even just reading the works that an author is openly citing or arguing with is lacking: what about, say, hegel, whose idea of freedom and enslavement developed partially in response to reading newspaper coverage of the haitian revolution? he didn't exactly announce that in the text! to read the phenomenology of spirit as merely the next intellectual step after kant is deeply distorted; for that matter, kant's own intellectual influences came not only from a supposed philosophical canon but also from the scientific and anthropological discourses underpinning his biological theory of race and defence of racism.

my issue with the "read chronologically" approach isn't that it's bad to follow a topic over a process of historical change. it's that these received lists of 'canonical' thinkers are artefacts of their own social and historical contexts, and are both produced to certain ideological ends, & then appealed to later in order to enforce and even naturalise those ideologies. if what we want is the context to understand what hegel or marx or adorno were really talking about, we need to engage with the texts as historical documents and with the histories as products of imperfect, biased, and ideologically laden human labour.

i'm not here to tell you not to read whatever you were planning to read. for one thing, sometimes the intellectual influence named in the syllabus is a useful one (there are certain questions about marx and marxian ideas that are easier to understand and answer if you have read at least a little bit of hegel). but, in the context of the overwhelming gatekeeping of knowledge, and the hegemonic use of ideas about canonicity and the 'right' way to read 'classics', if someone asks what they need to do in order to read xyz, i'm pretty much never going to default to "start by reading plato". read things that are interesting to you, however old they are; read about their authors; make liberal use of online resources like the SEP if you need a crash-course on certain concepts or jargon. you certainly don't need to be afraid of reading one text to better understand another. i just don't think you need to be beholden to that mode of reading, either, especially not in a context where the common wisdom on whose work belongs in such a genealogy is predicated on centuries of colonial and imperial scholarship and disseminated by institutions structurally positioned to defend the idea of an enlightened and ennobling western intellectual tradition.

in a certain twisted way, these 'standard' (to whom?) or 'traditional' (since when?) reading lists are often presented as the shortcut to the 'correct' understanding of landmark texts or authors—only, this is a 'shortcut' that considers ideas as disembodied from their real contexts, relating only to one another in an intellectual realm and developing in more or less linear fashion often to some teleological end; and, by dint of the sheer amount of material involved, it's also a 'shortcut' that many people will never actually traverse. i don't have an inherent problem with reading chronologically. i just don't automatically defer to these kinds of syllabi, and i think dethroning them could do us all a lot of good.

[hyprfxatn]

My bestie proposed a question to me last night and now I must pose it to you.

'Philosophical question of the day: Brinic Summer Olympics AU, what sport does each do? It has to be a different sport for each and you can list other characters but we mainly talking your boys'

While this was supposed to be about Fast and Furious it quickly shifted to the DC universe. So here we have it (going off vibes, some canon points, and the fact I cannot use an event more than once):

Bruce - Triathlon, he's an over achiever and no other reasons past that

Alfred - shooting, honestly would do handgun and rifle but mainly rifle

Dick - Gymnastics, all of them, no elaboration needed

Jason - Hockey, full contact sport, requires an insane amount of endurance and balance, and you can't tell me Jason doesn't give off Hockey vibes

Tim - Skateboarding, it's something he is actively good at

Damien - Fencing, not only is it a style of swordwork, but it also feels like a sport he would actually appreciate

Stephanie - tennis, she would absolutely wreck a tennis court

Cass - all martial arts, judo, taekwondo, karate the whole 9 yards

Duke - Lacrosse, I just feel like he'd do really well in Lacrosse

Roy Harper - Archery, obviously

Ivy - Equestrian, show jumping specifically

Selena - Also Equestrian but she does Dressage, it's expensive, high profile, and very well dressed

Harley - Pole Vaulting, there was discussion with this but I think Harley would do well in Vaulting

Clark - Table Tennis, he's the right level of nerd for it and I feel like he wouldn't do a strength thing

Kon - Shot Put, he's a show off and we love him

Jon - High Dive, closest to flying that's not high jump or gymnastics

Bart - Relay, he could do singles but Bart cheering with a team after winning first is my whole heart, he'd be the one to cross the finish line

Garfield - soccer, he could also breakdance, but that won't be added until 2028

Vincent - Weightlifting, this is Cyborg we're talking about

Artemis - my only double, Archery

Bane - Hammer Throw

In the crowd:

Babs, Raven, Bernard

Lois is doing coverage because those are her boys

Joker is a streaker lmfao

Feel free to add more! We had so much fun with this 🤣

Also please take this wonderful concept art of Joker Streaking through the field while Harley does her vaulting routine

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 12/08/2024

I Gotta Feeling, Sung by EVERYONE!

Season 6 Featured on: Transmission Archive ~ The SiIvaGunner All-Star Nuclear Winter Festival Collection

Ripped by Vincent Mashups, Jp, Grambam36

Requested by Corb, uwustepanne and an anonymous reader! (Request Form)

I worry sometimes that I talk up the atmosphere and feeling of Season 6 a bit too much on here. To me it is still undoubtedly SiIvaGunner's most underrated Season, a period of the channel where even I was beginning to tune it out yet was left enamored once I realized what it was doing - its meaning being something I've covered endlessly in posts like Totally Shaaking Out Right Now, Bramble Blast Collab, The End of HHGregg, and far too many more. The overall picture I've painted is that of a Season with a sort of dour moodiness to it the whole way through, an aura of something that's all about to change, a slow trickle towards the end - yet, like with any SiIvaGunner Season, it's never possible to make such a cut-and-dry assessment of things. That's part of why following the channel is so much fun: There can be a broad idea for what the channel is currently doing, yet so many rippers can put their own spin and interpretations on said idea as to morph it into something far more layered. Because while on the whole Season 6 represents the ideas of letting go of the past and moving on through a sorrowful lens, I Gotta Feeling, Sung by EVERYONE! spins that mood into something worth celebrating - a last hurrah, a final festival, and one big show to send us all off into the apocalypse.

With that context in mind, it really shouldn't have been surprising to me that multiple people wound up requesting this rip for coverage. Indeed, it's also one that I've had sitting in the back of my head for a very long time, as a faint memory of what it was like to follow the channel back toward the final months of Season 6. That feeling of things coming to a close was gradually creeping up on us - or at least, it had begun feeling that way to me - yet for the longest time we didn't quite get WHAT was happening, what terrible fate that we were supposed to be dreading. The Christmas Comeback Crisis? The King for a Day Tournament series? Wood Man? The SiIva AI? The SiIvaGunner channel ITSELF? There was a lot of uncertainty swirling around, yet it was a ride that we couldn't really do much about other than just go along - a feeling that was only emphasized more and more with the start of the Nuclear Winter Festival, or DoomFes.

As the festival went on, we got to see Wood Man and friends meet and pass all sorts of people in the nuclear wasteland, like a slow gathering of stars on the verge of fading - it was becoming more and more clear that the event wasn't just some inconsequential one-off like Season 5's WesternFes, but would be having...SOME sort of impact, a trip down memory lane but with a looming abyss at the road's end. And in the midst of all of those feelings, underneath the atmospheric artwork and writing being done throughout the entire event - I Gotta Feeling, Sung by EVERYONE! drops. A spark of such joy, nine days before Christmas Day, in the middle of the apocalypse. Where did this all come from?

Well, obviously, it came from the brilliant minds of rippers Vincent Mashups, Jp, Grambam36 - all three of which I've covered on the blog before with some of the channel's greatest rips, such as Gate Happy, Bowser is Coming. and SUNGORE. But more to the tune of the channel's lore and the narrative of Doomfes, the retro-YouTube aesthetic and seemingly boundless energy of childlike whimsy and joy always stems from one more of SiIvaGunner's many stars met along the way - Unregistered Hypercam 2 of the King for a Day Tournament fame. And while it's certainly an assumption to say that I Gotta Feeling, Sung by EVERYONE! was specifically made to be a tribute to Hypercam, I could personally think of no better way to represent him for this event, as the glowing spark of internet joy that helps keep the SiIvaGunner channel afloat.

And it's that spark of joy that the rippers captured so excellently within the rip in particular - I Gotta Feeling isn't quite on the level of old-internet anthem as songs like Never Gonna Give You Up or Dreamscape of How 2 Do Anything fame are, yet its still a song I vividly remember hearing tons of back in 2009-2011ish YouTube, a theme bumping with optimism and happiness for the days ahead. It might seem a bit odd to be using it for the context of a Nuclear Apocalypse event at first brush, yet nostalgia is hardly ever a purely joyous thing - for as much joy as I Gotta Feeling brings me, it is at once also a bittersweet joy, with an understated sadness over the fact that things have changed so much since those days 15-plus years ago. It's that bittersweetness, I feel, that I Gotta Feeling, Sung by EVERYONE! runs with.

The rip is built on having the song be performed by voice clips and sentence-mixings of a vast pool of online memes - yet unlike what you may initially expect, it's not kept isolated to just nostalgic early-internet memes. The song title isn't being facetious: Everything from Zelda CDi Ganon, to Gangnam Style, to Friday Night Funkin', to Smosh, to Crash Bandicoot Woah, to even a sprinkle of classic SiIvaGunner memes like We Are Number One. The rip is distinctly different from rips like Corridors of Vine or even most other Hypercam rips, which focus on nostalgia for one specific era of online culture - instead, I Gotta Feeling, Sung by EVERYONE! reaches across the entire internet for one collective, massive embrace, a hug the size of 20-something years worth of online jokes. It's a bit silly to get sentimental over, maybe - but that goes for the entire channel, doesn't it?

It's of course all helped greatly by the rip itself being executed perfectly from that concept. The sources are more than just a greatest-hits of old memes, as they all fit their chosen lines near perfectly, all pitch shifted and sentence-mixed just enough to fit the lyrics yet never to the degree of making them unidentifiable. They're all here in full force, all introduced by the video opening with the most Unregistered of Unregistered Hypercam 2 YouTube editing. It sets the stage for something oh so easy to love, yet to me I Gotta Feeling, Sung by EVERYONE! inspires a feeling so much more complex than love. It was a moment that brought us all together, not crying because it's over, but smiling because it happened.

[helpbutton95]

It has to be said that the feeling of choking on burning hot coffee was not something Nia recommended. In fact, she would recommend the opposite on any day of the week. But coughing and spluttering over the sight before her was the only reaction she could have. Afterall, what other reaction would one have to a pixelated image that showed That.

"Is that Lena Luthor?" A voice from her shoulder asked and Nia is scrambling. She hits four or five keys, at least one zoomed in by accident.

Another voice and she hit more keys, "And Supergirl?"

Shit, shit, shit shit.

The screen went blank and she's almost sure her keyboard is more mashed than Kara's when William Day peers into her office.  

Nia spun to find at least three of her peers staring confused over her shoulder. "Nothing to see here," She all but shouted across Catco bullpen.

"Was that what I think it was?" William's voice crows through the shuffling crowd that she's desperately trying to usher away from her screen.

"Nope, no, absolutely not," Nia reacted. He responds with that quirked brow and disappointing smile and his hands on hips. Nia hates how uncomfortably attractive he his, reporters weren't supposed to be attractive like him. A thought sprung into her mind like a lightbulb. "Unless, well, it depends what you thought it was?"

Nia could be coy right? She 100% could.

"I mean that looked like the next Pulitzer prize winning article if you report on it right," William said. "Imagine the coverage you could get, Lena Luthor and Supergirl in love. Or a Luthor and a Super. Or Luthor turned good for love. Or the Luthor that really controls the Super"

Nia felt her stomach curl. He had seen it. Had seen exactly what Nia had saw.

"I mean, can we really say for sure? It could have been photoshopped," Nia desperately tried to backtrack.

"No ones that good at photoshop," William scoffed as he settled in the chair beside her.

God, she had to text Kara. Kara who was obviously busy keeping secrets from Nia because what the hell Kara?  Lena? Lena was enemy no1 not five minutes ago!

"So, who's the source?" William asked expectantly, puling Nia from her thoughts.

"Oh, probably just some kid with a phone, you know how it is," Nia dismissed. She knew exactly who it was. It was her good well trusted source for all things going on in the alien realms of National City.

"Well we should look into it, make sure it's reliable source so we can run the story," William nodded, more to himself than Nia, because Nia's jaw was still on the floor while he stood, patted her on the back and told her good job.

Nia was going to kill Kara and Lena if she had half a mind. She just had to call Kara, Kara who's voicemail greeted her immediately.

Hey, it's Kara, you know what to do!

"Answer you're phone Kara, we have a situation!" Nia hissed down the phone as she pinched her nose. She would have to call Brainy, he could hack into her computer and delete all traces or it. She could get Jon to mind wipe William and the others. Yes, that was an excellent plan. But first she had to check on Kara. What if Lena had managed to mind control Kara? Alex, Alex would know exactly what to do in that situation.

Grabbing her bag and a quick call to Alex, she sped across town to Kara's apartment, with three firm knocks on the door she waited, or rather paced. Alex strolled in rather nonchalance which didn't help. How were they going to over power Kara?

"Where's the back up?" Nia asked immediately.

"Nia, we don't even know if Kara is in trouble yet, when we know she's in trouble then we'll panic," Alex shrugged before knocking repeatedly.

"Just a sec," Kara's voice called from inside and Alex raised an eyebrow in a 'I told you so' look. Nia hated that look.

The door opened to Kara, in sweat pants, a hoodie, no glasses and her hair dishevelled like she'd been asleep.

"Oh thank god," Nia breathed.

"What're you guys doing here?" Kara asked, her brow tight as she pulled the door over.

"Nia thought you were in trouble," Alex responded with a shrug. Kara's blue eyes swept over Nia and suddenly doubt cast into her mind. Maybe it was a photoshop and Kara was going to get even more upset when she told her?

"I got a tip about you-"

"Kara, I have the cash for the pizza here."

Nia froze at the sound of that voice and Kara's eyes squeezing shut confirmed her suspicions. Nia knew that Irish lilt from anywhere.

"Is that?" Alex began, her hand on her holster.

"I knew it wasn't a fake," Nia breathed, god she had hoped it was a fake.

"Just don't freak," Kara hissed, more to Alex than Nia. Kara dropped the door to show Lena. Lena who was wrapped in Kara's cape, her hair just as dishevelled as Kara's and now turning scarlet. "I can explain."

Nia felt speechless and from her glance at Alex, Alex looked murderous.

"I don't think you need to explain anything," Alex huffed, with a shake of her head. "I'll talk to you later, just- yeah, I'll talk to you later."  

With a quick squeeze of her sisters arm, Alex disappeared round the corned, leaving Nia's jaw working.

"I-" Kara's brow raised at her failure to form a sentence. "Brainy owes me fifty bucks," Nia huffed. "There's a situation at Catco, a picture to be specific. Of Lena Luthor and Supergirl.

Kara's scarlet blush paled.

[faithinlouisfuture]

things we learnt today;

- louis knows how to do a twirl (hehe) and he didn’t want to “sound like a fucking Scrooge” so he did one for one of the interviewers on the red carpet to show off his slutty outfit

- he’s got “no fucking idea” where his jacket is from

- he thinks the little tiny microphone used by the interviewer from officialcharts looks like a vape 😭

- he’s had a whirlwind of a year and he’s very happy about it

- this is Louis’ last official event of the year, he plans to get some well deserved rest and spend time with his family for the holidays after this

- he had plans of having a great time at the event and after the event to celebrate the amazing year he’s had

- when (annoyingly) asked about his former bandmates; he said he hasn’t seen the bald one (for about 7 years now mind you) and couldn’t tell the real him from an AI version of him if his life depended on it, and apparently isn’t in touch with the Irish one because he had no idea he was also nominated today and whether or not he was supposed to be in attendance

- he was the most nervous he’s ever been in his solo career before his O2 performance, but felt like the experience was extremely fulfilling especially because of the fact that all of the people were there just for him 🥹 playing the sold out O2 show gave him even more confidence than before (and I think that’s a beautiful thing to witness 🥲)

- he doesn’t remember that the away from home festival is now in its fourth year (said third instead😭 obviously by mistake) and says that plans for AFHF24 are underway

- he didn’t know that Girls Aloud are back together again (tbf neither did I) but did a really great job of pretending that he did, and when asked which one of their songs was his favorite he said he liked the one that the Arctic Monkeys covered - Love Machine it was (personal side note; points for the loulex agenda woot woot)

- he’s written about 4/5 tracks for lt3 but he intends to take his time with the record and will not be rushing anything

- he’s trying to put a show together with the DMAs (as per my understanding, correct me if I’m wrong)

- he’s open to collabs with other artists as long as it feels like the right thing for the new record, but it’s not something that he’s seeking out

- he’s very proud of the year he’s had, and as always didn’t fail to credit his fans for it 🥹

- he performed OOMS live, and smashed that shit despite the tiny stage

- Louis didn’t win the award that he was nominated for, yet the marketing and social media coverage of the entire event could easily have been titled The Louis Tomlinson Show - main character energy

- some tabloid article written by a bird man called him one of the best dressed celebrities at the event! iktr

- Louis Tomlinson will always be that bitch

[httpskarmaco-writes]

Pretty Boy

Summary: Oowada helps Ishimaru realize he’s more than his scars.

Pairing: Oowada Mondo/Ishimaru Kiyotaka (Ishimondo/Pompadorks)

Type: Semi-heavy Angst - Hurt/Comfort 

Warning(s): Self-harm topic/scars, description of slight nudity (SFW/No genitalia mentioned/Taking a bath together), Transgender (FtM) Oowada headcanon (Transitioned) and Transgender (MtF) Lundenberg Celestia headcanon (Transitioned)

Word count: 977

Ishimaru felt weird. He felt too exposed. He didn’t like that.

Him and Oowada were taking a bath together, a bubble bath that Oowada insisted on. Thinking of it, it was probably to give Oowada more privacy seeing how he wasn’t biologically a male which made things a bit uncomfortable on his end. Though that never bothered Ishimaru, he loved Oowada the way he is, no matter how poorly Oowada may view himself. Ishimaru struggles with that too so he can’t blame Oowada for feeling the way he does, especially in something Ishimaru has little knowledge in besides his twin sister Celestia. But right now he wasn’t focused on that, seeing how Oowada looked calm. Though that would quickly change.

Ishimaru felt exposed without his usual coverage for his scars on his wrists and lower stomach. As well as his waist. They were self-inflicted, unfortunately. Ishimaru went through a dark time in middle school, bad enough to where he wishes to not speak about it ever. Not even his family knows the full extent of it. He just sat there, tense, wanting to leave though he didn’t want to leave Oowada. He felt conflicted so he just stayed but kept away from Oowada.

Soon enough Ishimaru just curled into a ball, holding his knees to his bare chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. He didn’t have a good grip on his legs since they were wet from the bath, he tried the best he could. He felt awkward and Oowada picked up on that. “Doll, youse okay? Ya’ look uncomfortable.” Oowada spook up, causing Ishimaru to snap out of his thoughts and look at Oowada, his eyes obviously watery. He felt bad for ruining what was supposed to be a romantic and intimate time between the new couple. “Oh! I-I’m fine. Just..cold?” Obvious lie, Ishimaru loved the cold, just go to his room. “Doll..you like the cold.” Oowada pointed out. Ishimaru just let out an ‘Ah’ before looking down at the water. “...Ishimaru what's wrong?” Ishimaru just shook his head. “Ishi…a-am I making you uncomfortable? I know it’s weird..” Oowada was interrupted. “No no..n-not at all. It’s just..” Ishimaru raised his hands a bit, just enough to make the scars on his wrists visible. Oowada stayed quiet before letting out an ‘Oh!’, probably just understanding why Ishimaru is so tense. He’s never shown Oowada his scars before, though he’s talked about it. Ishimaru just nodded in response before lowering his hands into the water again. Oowada is conflicted now too; he doesn’t know how to comfort people well. He gets nervous and whenever he gets nervous, he yells and that’s not something Oowada wants to do with the state Ishimaru is in currently. He takes a minute to think, staring at Ishimaru before speaking up again. “Y-you know…I don’t find you disgusting because of those scars right?..” Ishimaru perked up a little, those words catching his attention. “Even with those scars, you’re still my pretty boy…you’ll always be attractive to me, with or without those scars, Doll.” It didn’t take long till Oowda heard sniffles from the raven hair boy, followed by a soft ‘really?’ Oowada did dislike how poorly Ishimaru viewed himself, there would be times that Ishimaru would allow Oowada to do things that made him obviously uncomfortable just because Ishimaru didn’t want to make him upset by saying no. It pissed off Oowada but of course he didn’t yell at Ishimaru; he knew Ishimaru always seeked approval from others and hated people being mad at him, he had to deal with people hating him his whole life, only getting praise from selected teachers and family. He was deprived of basic human affection for his last name. So he and Ishimaru established boundaries and reassured that this would make him happier and not mad at him.

Oowada happily nodded, “Yes Doll, I love you no matter what.” and Ishimaru just started bawling his eyes out. Oowada sighed before moving over to the boy and cuddling him which resulted in Ishimaru clinging to Oowada. Oowada smiled and swayed side to side as the boy calmed down slowly. After a while, Ishimaru was completely relaxed against Oowada, almost asleep from what Oowada could see. He didn’t mind if Ishimaru fell asleep on him but probably not in the bath. “Come on Doll..lets get out and we’ll cuddle together.” Ishimaru nodded and they both slowly made their way out of the tub, wrapping towels around their waists.

After a while, they had both found their way into bed. Oowada was just in his tiger striped boxers while Ishimaru was in black shorts and a white tank top. Owada was lying on top of Ishimaru as usual; it helped Ishimaru sleep better and keep him from falling off the bed. 

Oowada was enjoying hearing Ishimaru’s heartbeat, it always calmed him hearing the other boy relaxed in his presence. Though Oowada soon got an idea. He propped himself up before kissing the Ishimaur’s neck. This caused Ishimaru to squeal a bit which made Oowada chuckle. After a bit, Oowada pulled Ishimaru’s shirt up after asking and kissed the boy's chest, slowly trailing down to his lower stomach. He felt Ishimaru tense up as he got lower but that soon faded as Oowada started kissing Ishimaru’s scars. He heard those familiar sniffles and rubbed soothing circles on his waist, whispering sweet things to Ishimaru between kisses. Ultimately this didn’t stop the boy from bawling again but it helped him feel better about himself which was Oowada’s goal. Oowada made his way back up to Ishimaru’s face and kissed away his tears. They stayed here until Ishimaru fell asleep. Oowada smiled and laid back on top of Ishimaru. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Ishimaru.

“Goodnight, Doll.” And with that Oowada fell asleep.

[front-facing-pokemon]

Yes, Honedge!

Something i'd like to point out about its face:

It doesn't have a goofy face, the holes in the scabbard just make it look that way. In reality, it just has a single eye.

With that in mind, could you please do a version without the scabbard?

iiii figured this was common knowledge enough to not warrant an additional form, but alright:

some of the guard disappeared but it's okay. i never even saw that part of the scabbard as a face—the blue eye is very obviously an eye. i don't know if anyone actually thought that was its face. however, i do find it interesting that even after removing the scabbard textures, it still has textures for that "face" remaining:

which implies it's a face more than anything i've seen of the matter before this point

anyway there's so many asks in the box right now so let's just go through all of them:

in order from oldest to newest, here we go:

this is true. most of the models are shiny, unless they have a "colladamax" variant

ahh it's fine. i considered it might have been a request but i also doubted it considering pangoro was literally next so i assumed you were just excited. me complaining about requests was unrelated—another ask i got around the same time

well then maybe it's not a bad thing. you certainly phrased it like one, it seems, but that might just be unfortunate connotations with the way you said it? glad we could clear up the confusion i guess

we do need more snakes, but i also like the bipedal pokémon, as a furry. back when everyone was begging sprigatito not to stand up, i saw through their thinly-veiled furry hate and was begging sprigatito to go against the grain and stand up anyway. and then they did and now meowscarada is one of my favorite pokémon. get fucked, normies (i am sorry for saying this)

↑ i didn't know this until i looked it up! this is interesting. stuff like the male version learning misty terrain but the female version learning more type coverage. this is very strange but i like it. only girls can use magical leaf and charge beam sorry boys

thank you! i can explain it. it is because pokémon are getting very close and staring at you as for the inspiration for this blog, it was mostly snivy. i remember one day thinking that snivy's big nose would make it look very silly from the front, and being like "damn. someone should compile a list of what every pokémon looks like from the front. damn. that would make a good tumblr blog bc some of those would be really funny. damn. i should do that" and then i did. but that was back in 2020—pretty soon after i ended up starting college which didn't allot me a lot of time for updating this blog, and although i kept swearing i'd go back, somewhat soon after that i went through a breakup and just wanted to take a while for myself. a bit after that, tumblr user sewatari reblogged one of the posts on this blog again (the weedle post, i believe?) and singlehandedly revived this blog by reminding me that they still cared about it. and that's fucking awesome?? tbh?? so thank them for this blog's continued existence. if you scroll waaaayyyy back far enough in the archive, you'll probably see that miniature saga. the images back from the first gen and onwards were a little bit icky as i got grips on how to actually go about this blog and manipulate the models in the right way to get them to work, which is why i can never really recommend folks scroll all the way back in the blog, but it's a look back into my own personal history, i suppose

apologies for breaking the magic, although i don't think anyone keeps up with the "i am a pokémon taking real live pictures of other pokémon with the camera right in their face" lore because no one pays attention to the backgrounds of the images (which used to change much more than they do now, but that's just because no one ever noticed or pointed them out. the background is not the focus of the image—it's the pokémon itself; thus, why look at the background? staging the pokémon in a setting used to be important to me, but now i don't worry about it and cycle between the same few backgrounds) or the asks, really. it's the commentary in the tags everyone comes here for, of course

she's a fully-grown woman with a house

then you'll love the top of this post

they probably wouldn't think it looks like anything because they aren't familiar with what honedge looks like so they would just picture nothing in their head. or they would just make up what they Think honedge might look like based on its name, or something, and then imagine that front-facing

i don't know which one of these is the real one. but we have some discrepancy here. also apparently this is a wider-spread belief than i thought

OKAY. i think that's all of them. if you read all the way here to the end, that's. powerful. for those of you who stuck around this long, i'm live right now with a test stream having some breakfast and playing pokémon. come join in, if you're bored this morning!

edit: it's over but i'll probably do it again some time, more likely at a more reasonable hour next time. considering the idea of doing a fully voiced pmd series—perhaps that'll be the next stream. or i'll leave another test one for it. who knows!

[ducktracy]

I'm really curious on what a layout artist is. Do you know?

layout’s a finicky thing to describe because it’s so all encompassing, and there are so many interpretations of it, especially nowadays in the current animation landscape where the definition seems to vary by production. i myself am even not 100% confident in my answer!

but, essentially, it’s a visual guide of a scene for the animators. this can be many things: clarifying how a pose is supposed to look, with the animator following/mimicking the art style of the layout artist to give the scene a coherent, consistent look (putting it “on model”, in layman’s terms. the layout artist’s drawing would be considered the model). that would be character layout. a layout artist can also establish the way the scene is supposed to be structured—how characters interact with the background environments, how the background environments frame the characters, what the background is even supposed to look like. that’s background layout. likewise, a layout artist also registers the camera field—indicating where the camera is supposed to be positioned and how much of the character(s) fits in the frame.

in-house layout departments are scarce in a lot of modern productions nowadays, and many productions will try to have their own version of a layout team lumped under the term “character design”. you’re not actually designing characters, but refining the poses drawn in the storyboards to bring it even further to the model of the show, so that the animators have a visual guide to follow. sometimes, a board artist will draw a particular drawing that the “character designer” needs to clarify so the animators know how to put it on model. these are usually called “special poses” which, again, is basically slang for layout. this is how we operate on SpongeBob now. it seems LTC did as well.

it’s a bit different in a golden age context though. the general point is still the same in that the layout artist will collaborate with the director and often dictate the general art style of the short. hell, sometimes the directors WERE their own layout artists. Chuck Jones and Bob McKimson were both their own character layout artists in the ‘50s—this is why it’s practically impossible for someone like me to be able to discern who the hell is animating what in a ‘50s Chuck Jones cartoon because they adhere SO STRICTLY to his style

whereas Bob McKimson—i’ve mentioned this before, but i just brought it up yesterday and it’s on my mind. here’s a character layout he did for Fool Coverage (which you should watch very good cartoon), and here’s Rod Scribner’s interpretation of it below…

obviously not very loyal. but Scribner’s interpretation is much FUNNIER and works way better in animation than McKimson’s; McKimson’s drawing is still a GREAT drawing and super solid on its on, but definitely a much more conservative approach. you can also see, though, how much of his personal style leeches into his own shorts as well

or this here: John Carey was Bob Clampett’s layout artists for a good portion of his time in the “Katz unit” (aka black and white cartoons), and also animated this very scene he laid out. the two drawings are practically indistinguishable, but there are definitely minor differences. he dictates how the scene is to look

i’ve mainly been talking about character layout, but here are some background layouts indicating where the characters are to fit in the shot as well. this is more all encompassing.

the credits on LT shorts are such a continuous melting pot of nonsense for many reasons, and one of it is because it took until… 1945? 1946? i think ‘45, for them to credit the layout artists… and background artists (who rendered and painted the BG layouts)... and Mel Blanc. and so this is sort of where my knowledge flounders a bit. we know that Maurice Noble was Chuck Jones’ BG layout guy in the ‘50s, and we know Chuck did all his own character layouts. that’s fine enough. but i have no idea, if, say, was John Carey doing background layouts as well in Clampett’s cartoons? was it his background painter, Dick Thomas? Clampett himself mentioned doing the layouts on A Tale of Two Kitties, and the staging of the short in that one definitely has some very warped and drastic angles not usually found elsewhere, so it’s safe to assume he was working on BG layouts in that. but where is the line drawn?? who is responsible for what?

thanks to Warner’s bunk credit system it’s been difficult to piece together. a lot of very talented artists that worked on these shorts never got their credits or dues. everyone knows “oh yeah, Chuck Jones’ shorts in the ‘40s are really stylized and flat.” but do they know the name John McGrew? Bernyce Polifka? Eugene Fleury? all of whom were a part of establishing this style, but also maintain independent subtleties to their own cartoons they worked on? how do Fleury’s paintings based off of McGrew’s layouts in The Case of the Missing Hare or The Aristo-Cat differ from Polifka’s paintings based off of McGrew’s layouts in Wackiki Wabbit and Tom Turk and Daffy?

i’m going off on a tangent, but my point stands in that it’s a very complicated, multifaceted aspect of the animation process that doesn’t have one meaning. it impacts so many different aspects and even how it impacts or WHAT it impacts differs. basically, it just sets the stage for how the scene looks in the final animation, whether it be where the characters and camera are positioned, how the characters look or how the backgrounds look. think of it as the cartoon’s blueprint.

[yesterdayiwrote]

I know a lot of my followers won't be interested in royal stuff, but my genuine takeaway from this entire 'Kategate' is that this is the media flexing their muscles to try and goad Kensington Palace into revealing Kate's medical situation...

The media has had undue influence over the UK Royal Family for years, and their relationship and positive coverage has always originated from a give and take kind of arrangement. The press influence public mood (not the other way around as they would have you believe) and so the monarchy has always played ball in order to be seen favourably and ultimately keep any rise in republican sentiment at bay.

For whatever reason, KP obviously want to keep Kate's illness private and so have been unusually guarded in details. The statement was always that she'd make a return after Easter, and we're not there yet. The press are impatient though and they are the ones who've driven the "Where is she?" Narrative. They sense there's a story and for once in their lives they're not getting it.

They can't get the story they want, so they're creating a story of their own to fill the column inches. The photoshop story seems bizarre on first glance, it makes the Palace look unreliable and untrustworthy, until the stories emerge that other much older photos have also had editing done on them. It's supposed to sew the seed that they've always been untrustworthy, but the bigger question is why did outlets issue kill notices for this picture but not the older ones? Is it perhaps that it didn't suit their interests to do it before?

Then there's the affair rumours. They're being allowed to swirl again, but it's interesting that no UK publication is willing to outright say what they're hinting at. They may be a superinjunction in place, but then again even overseas publications who can say more aren't really saying anything convincing? Do they have a story that they're threatening to print? Or are they firing warning shots to try and force KP to fall in line and give them the Kate story?

And it might sound insane, that the press is essentially holding the royal family to ransom, but they've done it before, countless times, where they've barraged the royals with negative press in order to force their hand into doing something. Look what they did to Diana, and what they did in the week after Diana died, even how they've gone easy on Andrew because his side of the family is clearly giving them stories to placate them.

Yeah, it's weird. Yeah, she's probably been more ill than they're letting on, but I'm not sure that KP are fumbling so much as trying to give concessions to try and keep both sides happy, but it's too late because the press are out for blood... and they're not going to stop until they get the story.

[mzminola]

I don't know if I'll ever actually go through and pull panels to illustrate this, but art design and framing has a huge impact on how sexist a comic feels, and that will impact whether I bother reading it, regardless of the writing.

Costume design is part of it. Does this fit the character's personality and history, and is it practical for what they do? Original Dick Grayson Robin fighting without any leg coverage is not practical, but it fits with his backstory. Helena Bertinelli Huntress, who is also a normal human fighting the mafia but with a very different backstory, fighting with no leg coverage and often compromised torso coverage is neither practical nor in character. So I'm more likely to read Huntress comics from eras where her costume does fully cover her than when it doesn't.

Within costuming, we also have "Does real clothing work this way, or did they just color over the body sketch?" For most superhero costumes that's fine because everyone is drawn that way (boob socks aside), but if it's supposed to be civilian clothes? I'm sorry, t-shirts don't work like that, and very few people tolerate their jeans giving them constant wedgies.

Beyond that though, there's framing. What is the focal point of the page? In what way does the layout lead your eye? Does the focal point flow serve the story, general comic book spectacle (check out this roundhouse kick! look at that robot's cool design! isn't this monster weird!), or is it blatantly a pin-up?

How is the character posed, and why?

Sometimes the camera angle and character pose giving us a butt or boob shot actually does make sense. Generally you can tell by asking "If this was a guy character, and we assume the artist is not attracted to guys, would this be drawn the same way?"

Unfortunately, in a lot of older comics (but not, I'm pretty sure, the earliest ones?) it's really blatantly obviously just for wank fodder. Not as a flow of action, not to set a scene's mood, it's just to titillate.

Titillation can be fun and has its place in entertainment...but so does hard science fiction, and I'm not coming to superhero comics for that, you know? Incidentally getting some cool science facts is different from the story bending itself into a pretzel to justify why this character operates under Real World Physics while this other character is basically a Looney Tune.

From what I've seen, superhero comics are getting a lot better about this! But it can still be a problem, and for fans getting into older works, it can be a genuine hurdle.

And with a backlog of thousands of stories? I'm not gonna spend time on the ones where the art skeeves me out, not matter how good I'm told the writing is.

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 64 – Poverty, by America by Mathew Desmond

I read Desmond’s Evicted a while back and found it a really excellent bit of sociology/journalism about the specifics and mechanisms of housing inequality and how modern slumlords exploit the poor. So this has been vaguely on my list for a decent while. Sadly, I found it a bit of a disappointment – more listing of facts and statistics that I already basically knew to support a manifesto than anything new or enlightening to me. Not that it’s bad, but if it was 20 pages instead of 200 I’m not sure much of value would really have been lost. Many such cases, I suppose.

The book is about exactly what it says is, a polemic decrying and investigation into why the United State’s poverty rates, and why extremes of material want are so much more common there than in comparable (poorer, even) western democracies. Refreshingly, Desmond has a clear thesis he doesn’t beat around the bush before saying – self-interest, essentially. The affluent benefit from having an underclass to extract resources from, and from excluding its members from the amenities they share, so they do. The book spends most of its wordcount enumerating and describing what Desmond considers the main problems: direct exploitation (underpayment, predatory financiers, slums, etc), an underresourced and misdirected wellfare state (compare the cost of middle/upper-class targeted programs like the mortgage interest deduction or tax-exempt savings accounts to the cost of adequately ending hunger or providing healthcare) and segregation (both spatial/residential and in terms of access to public or semi-public services).

It’s pretty traditional for a book like this to spend 90% of its wordcount diagnosing problems and then end with some publisher-mandated optimism and a chapter of solutions with a fraction of the care put into them as in the diagnosis. Desmond, to his credit, avoids this – each chapter includes both the problems and he considers the most feasible solutions to them to be. He actually makes a point of it, arguing that having practical, winnable goals that will actually improve things when achieved (and then celebrating them when they are) is a key part of any political organizing with a chance of actually working. Now, what I think of those solutions varies quite wildly, but they’re there and exactly what you’d expect for his politics – and speaking as someone whose been renting my entire life I wholly endorse fucking all the tax benefits you get essentially for having the cash on hand to make a down payment. (Relatedly, the book has a great deal of scorn for comfortable, affluent people whose progressive politics amount to lots of critiquing and zero actual positive action.)

Desmond is clearly writing this from the point of view of a(n inspirational) public intellectual; that is, by writing this he’s trying to call an audience and movement based around it into being. He likes the label Poverty Abolitionist and the central project of the book is basically trying to make it happen as an umbrella term people identify with – especially the affluent well-heeled people who read books like this, and might be persuaded to start boycotting companies for underpaying their employees or union-busting, or campaigning against government subsidies that benefit them instead of the poor. I did appreciate the relative hopeful tone, given the usual coverage of American politics – or, well, is ‘Washington was at least this fucked when it passed the Civil Rights Act or the New Deal” optimistic? Whatever the right word is.

Now, I’m summarized all this in ~500 words, obviously actually making the argument needs more space than that. But it really did not need to be as long as it was – a huge fraction of the wordcount is spent either restating arguments or just throwing around numbers and statistics without really contextualization (anyone who spends so much time comparing expenses and budgets across the decade should be legally required to adjust for inflation imo). There’s a good, well-cited (excessively cited, if anything. The footnotoes are like a fifth of the book) persuasive essay in here, but there is so much fat to cut around it.

Anyway yes, disappointing reading experience, given I was hoping for more sociology and less polemic. But as far as American political polemic goes, it’s pretty decent.