#Open Access Week 2021

[jewish-sideblog]

Clearly, y'all don't care about Jews, and the fact that Hamas is violently antisemitic doesn't seem matter to any of you. So let me go with a new approach, of equal truth and value. Hamas is violently anti-Palestinian.

This past week, Hamas attacked evacuation routes and prevented Gazan citizens from fleeing an active warzone. [1]

They did that because they routinely use Gazan civilians as human shields. Hamas intentionally builds military targets close to schools, hospitals, and mosques, putting soft targets in the way of both incoming and outgoing fire. Hamas encourages Gazan civilians and children to stand on the roofs of buildings they know the IDF is targeting. [2]

Hamas has refused to allow elections in Gaza since 2006. Not just Palestinian National Authority elections, mind you. No open elections for any office have been held in seventeen years. Palestinian rights to free elections and self-determination have been denied by Hamas. [3] (And good luck to anyone who tries to blame that on Israel, because elections were held by the PNA in the West Bank in 2012, 2017, 2021 and 2022. It's Hamas's intention alone to purge democracy.)

Hamas's track record on human rights is appalling. Palestinian prisoners in Gaza face unfair trials and death sentences after being tortured by police. Palestinian women are prevented from accessing the legal systems to escape domestic abuse situations. Political dissidents in Hamas, even ones who merely support the other half of the Palestinian government, have been summarily executed. [4] [5]

Peaceful organizers in Palestine protested Hamas's massive tax hikes in 2019. Hamas security forces responded by assaulting demonstrators, tracking them down, raiding their homes, and detaining them. And, as previously mentioned, prisoners in Gaza are not treated well by Hamas. [6]

Edit Nov.5, 10:30 PM: I forgot to add arguably the most important thing-- Hamas manipulates the humanitarian aid they receive away from helping Gazans and toward killing Jews. 5% of Hamas's budget actually gets used for humanitarian aid, while 55% goes to military use. Construction equipment intended to rebuild Gaza's crumbling infrastructure is used to build a complex series of underground tunnels. Those tunnels in turn are used to smuggle Iranian military equipment into the country. They were also used for human trafficking in the October 7th attacks. [7]

If you actually want Palestinians to be free, you can't just replace Israel with Hamas. But it's not like they're the only option for supporting Palestinian liberation. While Fatah doesn't have an immaculate historical track record, it now operates as a leftist, democratic socialist, secular Palestinian government that fights for a two-state solution. Similarly, Arab-Israeli political parties like the Hadash-Ta'al coalition support leftist, anti-Zionist, and two-state solutions from within the Israeli parliament.

You can and should support Palestinian liberation movements that abuse neither Jewish nor Arab human rights and dignities. Plenty of them exist out there. But if y'all continue to throw your weight behind an antisemitic and anti-democratic terrorist regime, Palestinians and Jews will both take note of exactly where you stand.

[spoonfulofmilo]

Could you do fic for Toto Wolff with wife reader? He opted to hold her hand during the celebration of the Merc's double podium because there were too many people. "Move through the crowd while holding hands so as to not lose one another – and not letting go afterwards". Just something fluff and comfort. Add something if it's not right. Tag me later!! Thanks :)))

sorry it's so short! but I loved writing this fluff, and honestly churned it out in like 1 hour.

also if you have older requests i am working on them, I am just also working on school work.

luckily, all my assessments are nearly done, and holidays are next week so yay! more updates :)

my masterlist can be accessed here

Please keep requesting - y'all have awesome ideas we agree on a lot of stuff :) - my guidelines are here, and if you want some prompts, they are here.

also feel free to come in and start chatting to me in my asks, would love to get to know y'all better

and if you want to be added to my taglist lmk :)

toto wolff x wife!reader

“AND THAT IS A MERCEDES 1-2 TO THROW THIS CHAMPIONSHIP WIDE OPEN AT THE SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX AND 3 YEARS AFTER WINNING HIS LAST GRAND PRIX HERE, LEWIS HAMILTON HAS WON HIS 104TH CAREER VICTORY AND WHAT A WAY TO DO IT IN HIS LAST SEASON WITH MERCEDES.”

The rest of Crofty’s speech was drowned out by the cheers of the garage around Y/N as the team who had gone so long without winning, especially Lewis’ side of the garage cheered and yelled and as the pit mechanics came back from where they’d been on the fence yelling and contributed to more noise.

Y/N felt a little overwhelmed. She hadn’t really been in the garage since 2021, due to her husband’s tensions during the year and her wish to continue to just focus on her own career. She tried to insist she was the team’s bad luck charm after Abu Dhabi, until people had pointed out that she’d also been there during the dominant 2020 season. And as she had spent 2022 and 2023, which also were not great years for Mercedes, she’d agreed to do a lot more of her work remotely and come to the grand prixs. She insisted that she was bad luck at the first grand prix, and Toto had basically dragged her along to Saudi.

Maybe she was their good luck charm, she thought, as the garage exploded when Max and Sergio had crashed into each other, making both the red bulls retire. The Ferrari’s had been having problems all weekend but no one truly hoped even when they were sitting in a 1-2.

At least until they’d crossed the line. And then they’d had hope. And then the celebrations had begun. Someone had already found champagne and begun spraying it around, no one thinking about the podium, until all of a sudden everyone was and they were all rushing around and Y/N was all caught up in the rush and being pushed around by everyone, trying to find Toto until she felt a hand slip into hers.

She jumped back, not wanting some strange man holding her hand until she looked up and realised that it was in fact her husband who was trying to hold her hand.

“Sorry…didn’t realise it was you.”

“That’s okay Liebe. I’ve got you. Now lets go watch Lewis on the podium, okay?”

The second she nodded in agreement, Toto slipped his hand back into Y/N’s as he tried to push through the crowd again. Being tall and the team principal helped, and as they weren't coming for the pre podium celebrations, which is where everyone else was rushing towards. As the drivers were hugged and yelled at again by the mechanics (honestly how were they going to have voices tomorrow, and how were the red bull mechanics’ voices not very raspy after doing this practically every week for the past few years). Y/N thought she was going to have to cancel her meetings for the next few weeks as she would just be unable to talk.

Toto pushed through the throng of mechanics, pushing through the Mercedes and Williams colours everywhere, trying to get a good position at the front, and then the announcers began, and Toto and Y/N were wedged against the barrier and they decided to stop and watch the podium.

Y/N watched as Albon mounted the podium, grinning to the feral screams of the Williams mechanics to her left. She’d ended up wedged between James and Toto, smiling at James’ excitement on Alex being on the podium. She smiled at him as the noise from the Williams side of the podium celebration. He smiled back, almost bouncing up and down by the excitement of what Williams was achieving. And as Lewis, George and Bono bounded onto the podium, bringing up a round of screaming and even Y/N raised her hands. And as she raised her right hand, she could feel Toto’s hand, still intertwined with hers. She smiled, locking eyes with Toto.

His eyes twinkled as he smiled down, before his attention was brought back to the podium and yelling at the drivers.

The German and British anthems blared out, and while Y/N knew most of the words of the British anthem (it was mostly just the same words on repeat ‘god save our king’). And while Toto was able to sing the German anthem while Y/N butchered it here and there. She loved listening to her husband singing or talking in his natural language. It was very hot, if Y/N had to admit it.

As they left the podium to go back to the garage, Toto had still not let go of her hand as they continued winding between what felt like millions of people crowding the pit lane.

When they finally returned to the Mercedes garage, and walked up to Toto’s office, Toto finally let go of Y/N’s hand and started to gather up his work and laptop to get ready to return to the hotel.

“Hey, toto?”

“Yes liebe?”

“Why were you holding my hand?”

“Well, I didn’t want to get lost, and I didn’t want you to get lost, liebe.”

“Yeah, but why didn’t you let go of my hand when we got to the podium”

“Do I need an excuse to hold your hand, darling?”

“No but…”

“Then I kept holding your hand because I wanted to keep holding your hand. Is that a good enough excuse?”

“Okay Liebe.”

Toto put all his files and laptop in his left hand after shrugging on his overcoat, and then offered his right hand to Y/N.

“Can I keep holding your hand liebe?”

“Of course you can darling.”

---

taglist: @leosxrealm, @pear-1206, @tallrock35, @wolf-knights, @janeholt3

[ectoberhaunt]

Ectoberhaunt 2023: Science VS Magic

Dear Phandom new and old, sorry for the delay but this here is our 2023 theme and prompt list! Once again we've changed it up a little to make it a little easier on all of us, and to invite fun and mayhem Phandom wide! Prompts are once again Monday-Friday, with Friday being singular prompts, and weekends being (mostly) free as catch up days. The only real change is our new 'isekai weekend' on the 21st and 22nd, with two different sub prompts for the days. Isekai is a subgenre of anime in which a character ends up in a different place or world all together. It literally translates to 'otherworld'! The two prompts for this weekend are 'past prompt', where we want to see the Phandom use a prompt from either of our previous calendars. The other is 'portal shenanigans'. We highly encourage you to create crossover content and AUs you've wanted to play with. As always, our last prompt day is October 24th to make way for the Ectober Week event. This means our free days are the 1st, 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th, with the 25th-31st being @ectoberweekofficial's time to shine. Please tag all prompt fills as "Ectoberhaunt23", and follow the additional posting guidelines below!

Posting for this event begins October 2nd!

Down below are our written out calendar prompts (for accessibility) AND our posting guidelines. Check 'em out!

The Prompts

Below are the listed prompts in date order, if it's blank it's a catch up day. First prompt is Science, second is Magic!

-

Tecnomancy vs Botonamancy

Black Cat vs White Crow

Aliens vs Zombies

Hunt vs Haunt

Tabletop

-

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Robots vs Dragons

Pseudoscience vs Occultism

Dread vs Calm

Obsession vs Repression

Horror Flick

-

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Revenant vs Death Echo

Blood vs Flesh

Unravel vs Intertwine

Claws vs Horns

Danse Macabre

Isekai: Past Prompts (2021 | 2022)

Isekai: Portal Shenanigans

Technus vs Magic

Science vs Dora Ectober Week!

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

coming soon

Post Guidelines

The following are the posting guidelines. Please follow them so we can reblog and share your posts without issue. We will also have this as a post available on our blog separately.

Tag all posts with “Ectoberhaunt23” so we can find it. If you do not use this tag, we may not find you.

Tag which calendar you're pulling from (“EH Science” or “EH Magic”), which day the prompt is for ("Day X"), and which prompt(s) you completed ("Eyes" "Teeth"). Example: #ectoberhaunt23 #EH science #day 5 #hunt Single day prompts, such as the ones on Friday, do not need a tag for which calendar it's for.

Put your fics under a readmore. Add a summary before the cut with a short preview, content warnings, and which prompts were used. Then, add a readmore no more than 150 words or 10 lines/groups of text under your summary. If you're using mobile, type :readmore: and hit enter to make a readmore. If you do not do this, we will NOT reblog your post.

Make sure to tag all common content warnings (blood, gore, death, drugs, body horror, existentialism, & vermin)

We will try to reblog every prompt we can. Feel free to @ us in the post too or send us a DM with the post!!

Feel free to shoot us an ask about rules/clarifications and any queries on prompts. Our discord is open as are our messages.

Here is a spreadsheet you can use to track your progress made by the talented @ajitated

Title graphic by @kawaiijohn | Calendar graphics by @ajitated

[gatheredfates]

Hi everyone! It's been a hot minute since I did a Compendium update, but I promise I'm not dead. For those who don't know, I got a new job! That meant pretty much the entirety of October was spent wrapping up my old job, going to my new site and trying to learn the new one. I'm on break in approximately two weeks, yay! ☃️

These updates will take on a wintery/Starlight theme to celebrate the season, much like All Saints. I hope you enjoy.

Additionally, myself and the lovely folks at SEAFLOOR are having a Catch up (for) Starlight Challenge! You should join us if you're interested. ❄️

However, without further the following communities have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives.

LARGE SCALE

The Help Lines—We are a community-based discord to be used to play the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. We host almost all content including DRS and BA, Raiding, Deep Dungeons, Blue Mage and more. Our mission is to create a welcoming space for any individual in need of assistance to reach out and accomplish their FFXIV goals in a toxicity-free environment.

The Aether Entertainer—Founded in 2021 on Aether, The Aether Entertainer is player-made virtual magazine covering music, theatre, art, current events, and Eorzean popular culture.

LORE

Final Flowery XIV—Compiled by ann0yance(bsky)/@sa8oteur, this guide explores the various flowers in XIV, comparing them to their real-world equivalents and meanings.

On Elementals, Accountability and Criticism—An essay written by @morgana96 that explores the lore of elementals and their place in Gridania (and beyond)!

MISC

Vanilla Gpose Tips by Winterdeepelegy—A how-to guide on effectively utilising the vanilla gpose tools to create visually stunning screenshots, written by @winterdeepelegy.

WoL Reference Sheet—Created by @coldshrugs, a handy WoL reference sheet you can build in Canva!

NA GPOSE Studio/Themed Housing Directory—A player-made repository of North American Gpose studios and themed houses!

CHANGELOG

The Scholar's of Nym—The link has been modified at the request of the owner.

Skystone Co.—Has been removed at the request of its owner.

UI Macro Menus—The link has been modified to accurately reflect the bookmark.

Have you thought about joining our Tumblr Community? You can find it here!

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here or send me an ask with the relevant information!

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. This is all publicly available on the document. 🦌

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads. (Though these get posted to the SEAFLOOR Tumblr Community when I find them!)

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include IC tabloid blogs or other ventures used to generate roleplay.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

I want to put my community on the Compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my Community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community/resource on the Compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it. The same goes for resources; if it's relevant to the game, it'll be useful to someone.

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, contact me asap!

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

[kathlare]

sunkissed entanglement

Lando Norris x Amelie Dayman

Summary: In the aftermath of a disappointing race for Lando, Amelie steps in to comfort him, navigating the fragile space between them.

Wordcount: 1.4 k

Warnings: none

full masterlist // request over here!

August 1st, 2021 - Mogyoród, Hungary

liked by lanelieshippers, f1gossipgirl, and others

amelieupdates: Spotted: Amelie looking as stunning as ever at the paddock today in Hungary! Always a vibe when she’s around. 🌟

View all 1,382 comments

f1tea: Does this mean we’re about to get some Amelie & Lando content? 👀 → speedyboi44: @f1tea We can only dream! Hope they’re hanging out together this weekend... I miss the old vibes 💔 → f1tea: @speedyboi44 Same!! Honestly, they need to stop teasing us. If they’re gonna flirt, just let us see it lol

landoandamelie4ever: Amelie at the paddock?? Does this mean we’ll finally get to see some cute moments with Lando? 💕 → racequeen101: @landoandamelie4ever If they’re gonna act like friends, then can they at least be flirty friends? They have that chemistry 😭

gpaddict28: People still hate on Amelie when she’s literally just vibing with her friends?? Get a life! → checoperezfan: @gpaddict28 Tell me about it. She’s here supporting her fam and friends, and people still can’t let go of the past. 🤦‍♀️

racefan123: Amelie really knows how to bring the energy to the paddock! Always adds something to the atmosphere.

lndolover99: Amelie + Lando = best combo! They might be keeping it low-key, but we all know what’s up. 🔥 → f1fan_321: @lndolover99 Exactly, they’ve always had that “will they, won’t they” vibe. It’s honestly cute to watch.

-------------

The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend had been a disaster for Lando, and Amelie knew that. She had heard the whispers from the pit lane, seen the disappointment in Lando's eyes when he walked out of the garage after the race. A DNF in Hungary was not the result anyone had hoped for, especially not for him. But she didn’t care about the race outcome—she cared about him.

Amelie hadn’t planned on seeing him after the chaos of the race, but as soon as she walked out of the Red Bull garage, there was only one thing on her mind: finding Lando.

She quickened her pace, weaving through the crowds of mechanics, drivers, and staff. She had one goal—get to Lando, check on him, and hopefully get him to talk.

With determination, she reached her destination—the McLaren motorhome. The pass Lando had given her months ago to gain access was still on her, and she flashed it at the guard at the door. He nodded without question.

Once inside, the atmosphere was almost surreal—quiet compared to the buzz outside. She walked through the corridors quickly, her boots clicking on the floor, until she reached the driver’s room. The door was slightly ajar, and she pushed it open without hesitation.

The sound of running water greeted her—Lando was in the shower. Amelie sighed, leaning back against the doorframe as she pulled out her phone. Scrolling mindlessly through messages, she felt her thoughts wander. It had been a weird couple of weeks. Nothing had been straightforward between them since the breakup. The way they pretended not to be something they clearly were. They couldn’t seem to stay away from each other, but neither of them had the courage to talk about what it all meant.

Amelie absentmindedly tapped her phone, her thoughts drifting to how complicated things had gotten between them. The casual arrangement they’d slipped back into after the breakup in May was barely enough to keep the tension from strangling them both. They didn’t talk about it. They didn’t have to. But the constant game of pretending to be “just friends” was wearing thin on her.

She could hear the water cut off, and instinctively, her heart picked up speed. It was absurd. They’d been here before, in the same tangled mess, pretending they didn’t want more than what they were offering.

The door creaked open, and Lando stepped out, towel wrapped around his waist, droplets of water still clinging to his skin. His hair was damp and messy, a contrast to the usually perfect, clean-cut image he liked to maintain. But today, everything about him seemed off. His eyes, tired and frustrated, locked onto her for a moment, and then his expression shifted into one of annoyance.

—What are you doing here?— he snapped, pulling the towel tighter around his waist as he walked toward the small dresser.

Amelie raised an eyebrow, unfazed by his abruptness. —Nice to see you too, Lando.—

—Not in the mood for this right now, Amelie.—

She crossed her arms, watching him as he rummaged through his bag. The tension in the air thickened, the same old pattern starting to emerge. He had this horrible attitude whenever things didn’t go his way, and she knew it. But what else was new?

—Lando, come on— she stepped closer, keeping her voice calm. —You’re not fooling anyone with that act. I’m not here to cause a scene. I just want to check on you. You’re clearly pissed off about the race—

—It’s not just about the race.— His voice dropped a little, still edged with frustration. He spun around to face her, his hands finding the edge of the dresser. —It’s everything. This whole fucking thing.—

Amelie watched him closely, her expression softening. She’d seen him like this before—lost in his own head, frustrated with the world around him, trying to hold everything together when he couldn’t. She’d learned how to handle him when he was like this.

—Hey, it’s just a race. It happens.— She moved forward, not giving him any chance to pull away. She reached up, gently cupping his face with her hand. —You’ll get them next time. But right now, I’m here, alright? Just... let me in. Let me help you calm down for a second.—

Lando’s eyes softened, just a fraction, but enough for Amelie to see the vulnerability hidden beneath the layers of frustration and anger. He exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his wet hair, clearly torn.

—I don’t need anyone right now, Amelie— he muttered, though the heat in his voice was fading.

She didn’t back away, not this time. Instead, she took another step closer, closing the gap between them. Her hand trailed down his chest, and she watched the way his muscles tensed at her touch. She knew what he needed. She knew how to ease him.

Without a word, Amelie lifted her face to his, her lips brushing against his softly at first, testing, until he gave in and kissed her back. His hand slid to the back of her neck, pulling her in deeper, as his kiss grew hungry and desperate. The frustration, the disappointment—everything melted away between them, replaced by the intensity of what they shared.

She pulled away just slightly, her lips brushing his neck as she murmured, —You’re not alone, Lando. Never are, okay?—

Lando’s hands gripped her waist, and before she could respond, he was lifting her, spinning her around until she was sitting on the armrest of the small sofa in the room. His body followed hers, positioning her in his lap as he sat down, his hands firmly around her, keeping her close.

The tension between them wasn’t just physical. It was everything they had been skirting around for the past few months. But Amelie wasn’t about to make this more complicated than it already was. They weren’t talking about their feelings, not yet. Not when it still felt like there was too much unsaid between them.

Lando’s lips found hers again, harder this time, as if he couldn’t get enough. His hands roamed, pulling her in closer, as she melted into him, letting the world outside fade into nothing.

Just as things started to escalate, there was a knock at the door.

—Lando?— a voice came through the wood. —Interviews, man. You’re up next. You need to go.

Lando groaned, breaking the kiss reluctantly. —Fucking hell.— He looked over at Amelie, his expression filled with a mix of frustration and desire.

Amelie couldn't help but laugh, the sound escaping her before she could stop it. She leaned back slightly, raising an eyebrow. —Guess you’ve got to work, huh?—

—Yeah, yeah, I know— Lando muttered, running a hand through his damp hair in exasperation. He shot Amelie one last look, and she could see the mix of reluctance and amusement in his eyes.

She straightened up, smoothing out the wrinkles in her top and fixing her hair. —Better go, then, superstar. Can’t keep the media waiting. You know how it is. All those fans waiting for their Lando Norris fix.—

Lando rolled his eyes but reached out, grabbing her arm before she could fully turn away. —Amelie— he said quietly, his voice softer now, though still a bit hoarse from their earlier kiss. —Can I see you tonight?—

Her heart skipped a beat, and for a second, she hesitated. This was nothing new between them. They were in this weird, complicated space where nothing was defined, and yet, everything felt... undeniable. But there was a shift in his tone that made her second guess her usual carefree response.

She met his eyes, a slight smile tugging at her lips as she replied, —You know where to find me.—

Lando's grip tightened for just a moment, and he leaned in to kiss her again, a quick, lingering touch that made her pulse race. He then let her go, watching her leave with that familiar intensity in his eyes.

Amelie walked out of the driver’s room and back down the hallway, making her way toward the exit. Her thoughts were swirling. It had been a while since things had felt so intense between them. But she was determined not to let her mind go there, not yet.

As she stepped outside, the noise of the paddock hit her again, but it seemed muffled, distant. She had to focus—focus on getting back to the Red Bull garage, and not thinking too much about what had just happened with Lando. He was her friend, after all, even if everything else between them was far from simple.

But she couldn't help but feel a little something—a little flicker of excitement—that maybe, just maybe, they were inching closer to something neither of them could ignore anymore.

[umlewis]

Hamilton Says Ralf Schumacher's Coming-Out Sends "Positive Message"

Lewis Hamilton says Ralf Schumacher's revelation that he is in a same-sex relationship is a "positive message" for Formula 1, but feels more has to be done to promote inclusivity. Six-time F1 race winner Schumacher made the announcement on social media this week, posting an image of himself and his business manager, Étienne, with the words: "The most beautiful thing in life is when you have the right partner by your side with whom you can share everything." Schumacher posted another photo of himself with his partner a day later, saying: "Many thanks for the many congratulations and comments. We are very happy and thank you all." The younger brother of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is the fourth driver to come out in F1's history, and the first to do so having competed in the 21st Century. It follows Mike Beuttler, who drove privately-entered Marches in F1 between 1971 and 1973; Lella Lombardi, the first female driver to score a point, in 1975; and Mario de Araujo Cabral, who came out almost fifty years after the last of his five F1 race starts in 1964.

F1 drivers were asked in Hungary for their thoughts on Schumacher's decision and were full of support for the ex-Jordan, Williams, and Toyota driver, who made 180 starts between 1997 and 2007. Hamilton, who has championed LGBTQ+ rights and raced with the six-colored pride flag painted on his helmet in races staged in nations where homosexuality is illegal, said: "I think within sports it still has a long way to go. It's one thing saying that it's accepted, but it's another thing to make sure that people feel comfortable in the environment. This is a male-dominated space and, as far as I know, he is one of the first to publicly be open. I think we are very inclusive within our team, but I think the sport does need to continue to do more to help people feel more comfortable; to help women more welcomed in this space. I know there is a lot more to do." When pressed whether Schumacher's decision showed a change in attitude, Hamilton pointed to his and Sebastian Vettel's decision to support the LGBTQ+ community at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, against a backdrop where the nation's government was looking to pass laws banning the teachings of LGBTQ+ issues to under-18s.

The Mercedes driver added: "I don't know if he felt he wasn't able to say it in the past, but I think it just shows that we are at a time when finally we can take that step and don't have to fear. So far it's got positive feedback from people, but it's a different time and it's changed who we are, and it's all started from Seb and I standing on the grid here, fighting against all the governments that are here, and in Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. And if Ralf felt that he was going to be able to do those things perhaps today, it may have shifted his mind, and even him taking that step sent such a positive message. And race drivers have got to do the same, and we need more of these people to be able to do that." When asked what more F1 could do, Hamilton added: "It's a good question. I don't know if I can come up with a solution off the top of my head, but I do know, more often than not, it's about conversation, it's about dialogue with key stakeholders. It's about how we're analysing how the accessibility is. It's getting information from people who do or don't feel included. It's engaging the community. It's easy to do. You could do a questionnaire for every single person that's here, and just have a few questions and just ask them honestly how they feel and what they feel could be done. There's a lot that you could do. But it's firstly speaking about it, rather than ignoring that it's an issue, and having a lot more of the priorities to bring it up and actually set some people a task and going about how can we make people feel."

[fyeahghosttrick]

Ghost Swap announcements! imaaayhavewrittenthedatewrong + how to post + retroactive fills

Almost there, almost there! June 12th, our posting day, is almost upon us. Which brings me to my first point... out of all the possible growing pains of Gswap's new format, this one I was not expecting... the thing is... the anniversary... the anniversary for Ghost Trick, the date chosen especially to release Ghost Trick, Ghost Trick's anniversary. That anniversary? Is on the 19th. So that was a super fun typo to go unnoticed for two months! I am not going to change dates two days out, especially with no means to contact all participants, which means:

A FULL WEEK OF PARTYING.

Nothing like it, as someone would have it! The event will still open on the 12th, but all Ghost Swap works posted throughout the week, until June 19th, will be fully part of the initiative and will be included in the final masterlist. This might even come in handy for last-minute finishing touches, as well as for posting more than three things (as Tumblr tends to show three posts per person per day in a tag).

Now onto regular modly business:

HOW TO POST.

We're opening the floodgates on June 12th and, as always, the official ruling on what constitutes "June 12th" is as lax as can be. Follow the time zone of your heart. Whenever it’s June 12th somewhere in the world.

Here’s the deal:

   Post your  work (or works, if you made extra treats!) AT ANY POINT OF THE WEEK THAT GOES FROM JUNE 12TH TO JUNE 19TH, any time zone.

   You are free to crosspost  your work anywhere or even post somewhere else (for example, fic on  AO3, fanart on deviantArt) and have your Tumblr post be a link to it. All I need is the  existence of a post on Tumblr and no additional logins required in order  to access the work (for example, no links to friend-locked dreamwidth posts, no archive-locked AO3 fics)

   Tag the prompter if the prompt you picked was signed, #ghost trick and #ghost swap in addition to whatever else you tag your stuff with (this is the important one so people can find your work)

   @ your prompter if applicable and maybe acknowledge the exchange in the work’s  description. Anything conveying the general sentiment of “made for  @prompter for @fyeahghosttrick‘s Ghost Swap exchange” would be nice. If you want to copypaste or summarize the prompt, that’s cool too.

   FOR THE PROLIFIC TREATERS: please don’t let Tumblr eat your work. Any tag only shows 3 of your posts per day; when you post another one, the oldest one won’t be featured anymore. If you plan to post more than 3 works, I recommend to spread out your posts throughout the week. If you don’t want to do that, give me a shout so I’ll know to look through your blog for FYGT’s closing ceremonies

It  should go without saying, but please show appreciation for your gift -  and for any other work that catches your eye! Likes, reblogs, comments,  if you like a work make yourself be heard!

And a final surprise:

THE RETROACTIVE FILLS LIST.

Scrolling our wonderful prompts, did you perchance see something so up your alley that you already drew it in 2013? The same exact idea that ate up your groupchat in early 2021? Odds are that the person who requested that doesn't know that in some odd recesses of the internet there's already a fanwork that gives life to their idea. And I think that they might want to know! So come self-rec! Reply to this post with the prompt you're referring to and a link to your work, and on June 19th I'll post all replies in a Retroactive Fills List to give them visibility!

[ukrfeminism]

A UK academic who has completed a project creating a Wikipedia page for a woman in every country in the world is calling for more women to contribute to the world’s largest encyclopedia.

Lucy Moore, an archaeologist and curator who also works as an unpaid carer, began the mammoth project in 2021 from her sofa in Leeds, completing it last week – “unsurprisingly, perhaps, I got really stuck on Vatican City”.

She has now written biographies of 532 women since 2019, when she first became a Wikipedia editor, including scientists, monarchs, activists, writers and women whose faces are well known but their stories are not, such as Sharbat Gula, the refugee with striking green eyes pictured in the famous Afghan Girl portrait from 1984.

Less than 20% of the biographies on English language Wikipedia are about women, although this is an improvement on 16% in 2014, when “a range of different editors started to get together and say, ‘Actually, we really need to change this’,” said Moore.

She began by making a table of UN member states and partially recognised UN states, such as Kosovo and Taiwan, and worked through the list based on who caught her eye.

She has now also written dozens of entries for women in autonomous regions such as Hong Kong, Zanzibar and Tibet, and those in overseas territories.

There were many women she had expected to find already had pages, such as Julia Chinn, an enslaved woman who was the common-law wife of the ninth vice-president of the United States, Richard Mentor Johnson.

“She’s really interesting and I was really surprised no one had written about her before,” she said.

She tended to focus on women who share her interests, she said, such as poets, activists and coin specialists, known as numismatists, which is her own field.

“I find it really calming,” she said. “I can go and bury myself in something that is totally, totally different from my day to day.”

But it has not been easy. She said one of the issues was that Wikipedia required three reliable sources for each biography and, while there may have been a lot written on social media about some of the women, they may not have appeared in newspapers, especially in countries where women’s achievements are not taken seriously.

The reaction to her project has been positive, she said. “No one’s said anything nasty on Twitter, though I expect that will come.”

Moore points to the work of her fellow editor Jess Wade, who wrote a number of Wikipedia pages about female scientists, “and then another editor came along and nominated them all for deletion. It was really nasty.”

For more Guardian journalism follow this channel

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She said there was some general criticism on social media that Wikipedia editors were “making (the gender balance) more of an issue than it actually is”.

“And I find that attitude really annoying, to be honest, because it’s men who say that primarily.”

She pointed to research from 2022 that found there were more Wikipedia entries about football and footballers than there were about women.

However, Moore added: “Some of the most prolific people who work to redress the gender balance on Wikipedia are men and I’m not sure they would all describe it as being a feminist, but that’s what they’re doing.”

Run as a non-profit, open-source encyclopedia that is free to use, Wikipedia can be edited by anyone but only a fifth of its 124,000 regularly active editors are women.

“We do need to get more women to edit, but it’s not just as simple as saying, ‘Hey, women, come and edit’, because we have so much more pressure on our time. There’s all these different studies that show that women have less time to devote to things of interest. And that’s before you even get on to being able to access sources, being able to access particular academic journal articles, which are paywalled.”

Class was also a factor in who contributes and appears on Wikipedia, as was access to education, especially in countries where women are not routinely educated.

“It just gets more and more systemic, the more you look at it,” she said.

Some of the women recognised by Moore

Julia Chinn (c. 1790 – July 1833) was an American plantation manager and enslaved woman of mixed race, who was the common-law wife of the ninth vice-president of the United States, Richard Mentor Johnson. She had two children with the plantation owner and congressman Johnson, who inherited her when his father died, though she would fulfil what at the time was considered the role of the wife of a politician. She was never freed.

Sharbat Gula (born c. 1972) is an Afghan woman who became internationally recognised as the 12-year-old subject in Afghan Girl, a 1984 portrait taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry that was later published on the cover of National Geographic. The portrait was shot at Nasir Bagh, Pakistan, where Gula was living as a refugee after fleeing the Soviet–Afghan war. Having raised a family in Pakistan for 35 years, Gula was deported to Afghanistan in 2017, later being granted asylum in Italy.

Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima (born 12 July 1963, in Bujumbura) is a human rights activist from Burundi. She is the chair and founder of the National Association for Support for HIV-Positive People with Aids (ANSS) and was the first person from the country to publicly admit they had HIV. Gapiya-Niyonzima won the World Food Program prize in 2003, in 2011 addressed the United Nations committee for HIV/Aids in New York and was selected as the Burundian Woman of Courage of the Year in 2012.

Ólafía Einarsdóttir (28 July 1924 – 19 December 2017) was an Icelandic archaeologist and historian, becoming the first Icelander to complete a degree in archaeology. She taught at the University of Copenhagen and published many works about Icelandic sagas and Viking history. Ólafía was awarded an honorary doctorate by the faculty of history and philosophy at the University of Iceland in 2009. The journal Ólafía, published by the Icelandic Association of Archaeologists since 2013, is named after her.

[reincrimination]

did i make you blush?

9-1-1 | eddie diaz x evan buckley

content warning: minor injury

collection: buddie week 2021 (reposting sept. '24)

read on archive of our own

When Buck looks up at Eddie with a playful gleam in his eyes, he's not expecting to see a redness that isn't just a reflection of the siren lights. Eddie pours hydrogen peroxide over Buck's gash just as the latter says, "Ooh, Diaz, did I make you blush?" "For that, you're getting stitches." "Hey, hey- no- what about butterfly bandages, yeah? Please?"

The fog is hanging heavy in the air by the time the 118 roll up onto the overpass. The moon does her best to cut through the layer of haze and give them some light to work with, but her attempts are futile. The strobing red and blue of the first responders' lights do nothing to increase visibility, instead painting long streaks of color through the fog as they reflect and bounce off of droplets of moisture.

The bumper-to-bumper traffic creates a cacophony of horns and rumbling engines that is all-too-familiar to Buck. The hiss of the fire engine's brakes means go time, and Buck is up and putting boots to pavement before the truck even stills.

He stands at a vantage point between two police cars to access the scene. Beside him, he clocks a familiar silhouette come to do to the same.

"What do we got?" Bobbie yells over the noise of traffic, both below and beside them.

From here, Buck can see over the edge of the overpass, and notices an aura of red and blue rising up from below, as well. A chunk of the barrier is missing, and what is left is blackened with rubber and metal. He shares a glance with Eddie.

"Two cars went over! One is still hanging on! We secured the vehicle to our rig, and the driver is conscious and needs an extraction."

Buck and Eddie are moving before Bobby says anything. With practiced ease, they click open the lockers on the side of the truck and dig out the rappelling gear.

"You going down?" Eddie asks, already looping the rope through the belaying device attached to his own harness.

"Only if you're topside," Buck quips, stepping into his harness and pulling it tight. He ignores the fond, exasperated shake of the head Eddie gives in return.

Buck fastens all the buckles he can reach, and then turns so Eddie can finish them for him. He feels the click of the final buckles more than he hears them, and then comes the sensation of Eddie running his hands underneath the straps to check them. His whole upper body jostles as Eddie yanks a few of them as tight as they go, and then gives Buck a final, teasing tug before clapping his hands on his shoulders; his way of saying, Good to go.

Buck's back is still radiating with warmth when he turns to double-check Eddie's ropes. He gives the knot by the belay a cursory tightening, forearms straining against the material of his undershirt, and then they're off, jogging to the cliff of the overpass.

Hen has just finished setting up the attachments for the ropes, and goes to hook Eddie in while Buck snags the loose end and fastens it into his own harness. With practiced ease he winds, clips, and tightens before waiting for Eddie's tug on his end. He gets it, and gives one tug back before looking over his shoulder and backing up towards the ledge.

The rope goes taut and he strains against it, leaning back more than he's upright as he plants his feet against the crumbling cement. The car is nearly hanging loose, one crooked wheel all that's snagged on the rebar from the overpass. Through the tinted windows, reflecting red and blue, he can see a lock of blonde hair.

"Be smart," comes Eddie's voice in his headset, but he's too focused on inching down towards the car to give a reply.

He kicks off the edge of the overpass and Eddie lets him down just far enough to be eye-level with the backseat. Through the blur of cracked glass and what he hopes isn't blood, he's able to confirm there isn't anyone in the backseat.

He yanks the rope once, and Eddie lowers him farther. When Buck is in a good spot to assess the driver, he tugs twice sharply, but Eddie's already stopped lowering him by that point. He always knows just how far Buck will want to go.

The window is rolled up, so Buck takes the glass breaker from his pocket and smashes in the window. He reaches a gloved hand in and smacks away the shards, checking to make sure they haven't hurt the driver, but she's still unconscious and leaning away from the window.

He fumbles with the lock and then the handle, and the door to the car creaks open. He stops it before it can shift the weight of the car too dramatically, and radios up: "Opening the door!"

"Copy," Hen says, and he lets the door swing open.

The car rocks and creaks ominously, and there's a bit of shouting from above Buck. He waits for someone to say something through the headset, but nothing comes, and so he braces himself in the doorway and leans in to check the driver.

Her pulse is strong, but her breathing is labored and she's still unconscious. Her collarbones are already blue from where the airbag had crushed her, and Buck suspects a broken rib at least- hopefully not a punctured lung.

She's starting to gain consciousness as Buck reaches around to secure a harness in case the whole thing goes south- literally.

"Whe- what the fuck-?" she screams, startling, and the entire car moves about two feet father down. "Fuck!"

"Hey, hey," Buck says, quickly doing the buckles on the harness and then reaching behind him for the backboard he knows should be dangling nearby. "I'm a firefighter, we're gonna get you out, but you've gotta be still."

"Buck?" Eddie asks, "How we doing?"

"She's conscious, assessing for spinal injury then extracting," he radios back, before turning to the girl. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"My chest," she wheezes. "Can't breathe."

"Crush injury," Buck spouts off to his team topside, then, "Can you feel your legs?"

"Yeah," she breathes, and then a gust of wind buffets the car like its a kite. "Jesus Christ!"

"Get her out of there, Buck!" Bobby yells, "We're losing the car, it's going to be hanging from the rig any minute."

"Grab onto me," he instructs, slicing her seatbelt off with his knife and clipping her harness to him. "Hang onto my neck, I've got you."

"Now, Buck!" Eddie yells, his voice crackling over the radio- and there's an edge to it that Buck isn't sure has always been there, but maybe that's just because the-.

The car is falling.

It's slipping, then there's an echoing snap, and it's falling. Buck's rope is pulled upward just in time, and he's able to pull the woman out of the way of the car enough that only her shins knock against the frame as it whizzes past. The door catches Buck in the temple, and he feels the hot sting of blood as it rolls down the planes of his face.

There's a sickening crunch below them, and a plume of smoke rises. Then, a tinny, broken car alarm sounds, just in case no one had noticed there was a bit of trouble.

"Buckley, report."

"Made it out just in time," he radios back to Bobby, a little breathless. "Thanks, Diaz."

"Dumbass," Eddie shoots off, and then he's being pulled upwards.

A few short moments later he's handing the girl off to Hen, and then he's breathing a sigh of relief as his feet hit solid ground. Well, as solid as any ground can be when it's really chunks of cement suspended fifty feet above the earth.

"Didn't have time to get her on the backboard," Buck pants as Bobby strides over to him. He's digging his fingers underneath the now impossibly-tight harness, trying to undo the knots.

Bobby claps him on the shoulder, "I know. Good work. Get that head checked out, okay?"

"What head?" Eddie's asking, standing at Buck's other side as if he'd just materialized. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Buck defends, giving up on getting the knot undone with his gloved fingers. "Someone pulled me up right into the corner of a door."

"Would you prefer he'd have let you get taken down with the car?" Eddie mutters, before stepping close and deftly undoing the first of the knots on Buck's harness.

With the straps loosened enough to be comfortable, Eddie guides Buck to the bumper of an ambulance and shoves him into a sitting position. Nearby, the girl is laying on a stretcher, conscious and conversing with police while Hen tends to her.

The sting of gauze being pressed to his head jerks Buck's attention back, and he winces before he can think about it.

"Sorry," Eddie murmurs, looking underneath the gauze to assess the amount of blood. "I'll be quick."

"Hey, are you alright?" the girl yells, looking over her shoulder at Buck.

"Me?" he puts a hand on his chest, looks behind him-, "Uh, yeah. Are- are you?"

Eddie huffs a laugh as he trades the gauze pad for a clean one, wiping the edge of the wound as his blood begins to clot- a minor miracle, when Buck is concerned.

"You know," the girl shrugs, which earns her a grimace as her broken collarbone jostles in the sling Hen had fit it with. "Been better. Hey, you're pretty good at that rope shit."

"Can't do it without this guy," he tilts his head to Eddie, who smacks him on the shoulder (gently) in retaliation. "It's all him."

"Well, you did smack my legs into the ca- ow-," she cuts off as Hen begins loading the stretcher into the ambulance. "Just kidding. Thank you both!"

When Buck looks up at Eddie with a playful gleam in his eyes, he's not expecting to see a redness that isn't just a reflection of the siren lights. Eddie pours hydrogen peroxide over Buck's gash just as the latter says, "Ooh, Diaz, did I make you blush?"

"For that, you're getting stitches."

"Hey, hey- no- what about butterfly bandages, yeah? Please?"

[bromcommie]

Well alright. I log out of Tumblr mobile for a grand total of 24 hours. I come back. The app won’t let me in. I fight for my life across the desolate plains of Reddit threads and try to access Tumblr staff’s official Twitter (which I still do not have) account in order to figure out if the website is actually down or if it’s just me or oh, shit, has it happened yet, is it all over? Are all six remaining staff dead?

There are no answers. The void rings empty. The Staff account was last updated in 2021. Tumbleweeds roll on in the only relevant Reddit threads. isitdownrightnow.com mocks me with its green checkmark. I’m alone in these trenches. At this point I’m realizing I actually don’t really care for being on Tumblr right now. There’s grass to touch. Beautiful scenery to be viewed out of this disgustingly greasy bus window. But I’m in too deep. Some primal urge in me insists I have to win out and live longer than the thing hunting me (poor internet connection). I consider rethinking my life choices or possibly talking to my therapist about social media addiction in my next session, and decide against it. I have another coffee. I have a snack. I get back to work. I see some friends. An entire week passes in about six hours. At some point I remember my futile fight against the machines at all cost moment, and try to log in again. This time with a different email, like I’m Rumpelstiltskin himself trying to cheat death. I still very much do not want to go on Tumblr, but it’s my right to be able to open the goddamn fridge even if I don’t remember deciding to do it and I’m definitely not hungry.

Miracle of miracles, it works. I don’t have enough time to cherish my “hacker from a ‘90s movie saying, ‘I’m in!’” moment because suddenly I’m in that one meme from Community.

Chaos. Flames all around. Earthquakes, car alarms, cats yowling, people screaming, “Help! Help! Somebody, anybody, oh God, can anyone hear us?” et cetera. And there, the culprit: Sebastian Stan said something thoughtful and emotional and vaguely spiritual that might sound really pretentious coming from anyone any less unexpectedly and intensely earnest again.

He is also wearing a cowboy hat. It is, to be fair, a very devastating hat. There are seventy thousand pictures of it in a row. 4 million dead 7 bajillion injured with projections rising every minute. I meticulously like all of them, because fair fucking enough.

Oh also JD Vance killed the Pope. Naturally, this is secondary to the hat and muscle car and boots and dubious relationship with both the Orthodox Church and your father situation.

I log off again and have a frankly wonderful rest to my day.

[lawyerbelal]

Hello, thank you for taking the time to visit my GoFundMe campaign. My name is Belal, I am a 29-year-oldhuman rights lawyer from the northern area of Gaza. I lived a happy and meaningful life with my wife and my family until everything changed onOctober 7.

This is our story:

My life was just getting started. I graduated law school in 2021 and got married to my beautiful wife in 2022. I’d been working on building my house since 2019, and finally I finished it onNovember 24, 2022. Just before the beginning of this terrible war, onSeptember 1, 2023, I finally achieved my lifelong dream of starting my own law firm. It’s very difficult to open a law office here in Gaza, so there are very few other people who have been able to achieve this at my age. Opening my law firm was one of the proudest moments of my life. I worked extremely hard for everything I had. Although I knew that the odds of achieving my dreams were slim, I never let this stop me. In the moments where I wanted to give up, I drew strength from God and from my love for my community, my love for Gaza.

My house was destroyed on October 13 –– our beautiful moments, our memories, and all our precious belongings were all gone with it. My law firm was also destroyed that week. Everything I had worked so hard for throughout my entire life, gone in an instant.We’ve been displaced 5 times in 5 different homes, and now our “home” is a tent that houses 15 people. We were forced to travel from the very north of Gaza to the southernmost area. We risked our lives every time we were forced to flee, as bombs and missiles rained down on us, destroying our neighborhoods and taking thousands of lives. Somehow, alhamdulillah, each time we miraculously escaped death as we searched for life without knowing what would happen to us the next day.

Our displacement journey began, moving several times from one area to another, until we ended up in a tent in the “Tal al-Sultan” area in the city of “Rafah.” You can imagine how difficult life is in a tent. Everything is done with great difficulty. We are forced to use primitive methods to carry out daily tasks. Every day we make fires to prepare food, and struggle to provide water to drink or bathe. Going to the bathroom is a struggle in itself for adults rather than children, in the absence of toilets suitable for human use.

The situation worsens with the advent of summer and rising temperatures. The tent literally turns into a “sauna” during the day, and we suffer from pollution,influenza, and other serious diseases that lead tohepatitis. On top of that,I lost my private office that I had established just a month before the war and my job. I was working as alawyer and legal advisor for many local and internationalinstitutions and became unemployed due to a complete power outage and lack of Internet connection most of the time. I am facing great difficulty in providing for my family's needs amidst the crazy rise in prices. We have suffered enough and been subjected to a lot of fear and panic over the past seven months. The city of Rafah is now threatened by a ground invasion at any moment by the occupation, so I decided to travel and leave Gaza.

Despite how much I love the place that will always be my home, the genocidal war has left nothing for us. I struggle every day to provide for my basic needs because of the huge rise in prices. My wife and I often do not know where our next meal will come from. We have no access to proper medical care. It pains me to say that I am living the worst days of my life. It’s one nightmare after another. There is no life here and I fear I will die if I can’t leave. I lost a brother of mine a while ago, I lost my home, my law firm, and everything I worked so hard for. I don’t want to lose anything else.

Your donations will help my wife and I escape certain death in Gaza by traveling to Egypt. We will then figure out where we can go next to continue our lives, we will go to any country that will take us. After the immense weight of having seen so much death and lost so much, we want to start a new chapter in our lives. Wherever we go, I will continue to do my life’s work of defending human rights and seeking justice for all people. We know we deserve a better life, and we are endlessly grateful for any support you can provide to help us get to this goal.

Thank you for your generosity, kindness, and support..

.

[vidding]

On June 23, 2021, You Tube announced that any Pre-2017 unlisted videos will be made private on July 23, 2021. Why? BTW this is an attempt to raise awareness about an event few fans may even know took place and highlight the importance of supporting archiving projects. It's written by those directly involved - any re-blogs are appreciated. An example of a rescued vid is at the end. Security update: Why? You Tube screwed up when it first developed unlisted videos. There was a loophole. Any unlisted video that was added to a playlist would automatically be made public. Oops! June 23, 2021 was when they made a formal announcement about their efforts to rectify it. You Tube's Solution? - Blanket privatization of ALL pre-2017 unlisted videos & then apply the security update for all new unlisted videos going forward. What if you don't want your pre-2017 unlisted videos to be made private? Filling out a form telling You Tube to do nothing is one option. Great for people who don't mind filling forms to send to You Tube. Make your videos public. 🤨 or download them and reupload them then make them unlisted with the new update. 🙄 You can watch the video below for descriptions of all the options. Most not ideal. Official Video: Released June 23, 2021. You can watch it whenever if you want to, but I must say contrary to what one would expect it is a very clear explanation without too much technical jargon. However, it doesn't really explain the obvious ramifications of this.

What are the freaking Ramifications: You Tube is 18 years old. What?!?!! 😲 Yeah, I know. Any pre-2017 videos would account for more than half of You Tube's history (11 years) and therefore fandom's history on You Tube. How many fans would be aware they had a 30-day notice and could act in time? Were you even aware of this?

More Issues: More importantly, how many users with abandoned accounts with noteworthy, valuable unlisted fanvids are no longer around to fill out a form. How many "Dead Embeds" would be the result of this when the videos go private. Many prefer to Unlist and Embed on other sites. Unlisted is not the same as private. It only means the videos can't be searched and found on You Tube but is available to anyone with a link or Embed. Private basically means no longer accessible and limited to people who were emailed a link directly.

There were only 2 people in Fandom (to my knowledge) who worked on rescuing content like that. We had about 2 weeks before the July 23, 2021 deadline to archive about 11 years of Pre-2017 unlisted fanvids and ask questions later. One of those people was Morgan Dawn and the other was myself. Other archive teams did work on this but their focus was on other types of videos related gaming, political history, anime, etc. Essentially non-fandom. In a nutshell, our collaboration led to the rescue approximately 12K unlisted fan videos. 12K fanvids that would have been made private forever and unable to be seen. The Work About 50% of that total came from accounts that had never uploaded a video since 2018. The work involved required more technical knowledge & resources than we had ever used before on any prior archive projects. There were several brand-new archive techniques we developed specifically out of necessity during that intense time period. One example was renting multiple virtual machines to sift through thousands of playlists just to find a fraction of unlisted videos. There was so much at stake. What happened with the content that was archived?

To my knowledge, there isn't an Open Doors for fanvids. There is just a few dedicated individuals who may be bad at promoting their work. Let's face it, when there is a fire at a library you marshal all resources to save as many books as you can and worry about everything else later. If archiving speaks to you whether that is fanzine, oral history or fanvid related, then there are certain things you can do:

Follow this Tumblr (we will post about relevant projects here)

If you have time, ask us how you can volunteer on projects and see if what we offer works for you. You can always opt out.

Re-blog this so that maybe someone who does have time sees this.

If you don't have time support our Patreon https://patreon.com/vidding

If you don't have time or money like this post acknowledging you appreciate that this work is being done even if you can't assist in those ways.

Choose whichever options work for you if possible.

This kind of work is done by very few people and not necessarily by those you would think would do this type of work. It can fly under the radar and so can support. This is an attempt to raise awareness which sometimes we are too busy to take time to do. If support doesn't go to the right places projects like this may never have happen or may not be as successful as they could be. This Unlisted You Tube Project is a perfect example of something a lot of fans may not be aware even took place. Thank you for whatever method of support you choose. The following experience was brought to you by archiving.

The following vid is one of the 12k saved. It's a Kirk/Spock vid. You will not find this vid anywhere but here. I know. I went to the original vidder's You Tube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@xKelociraptor and they have other vids on there. Last vid uploaded 11 years ago and no contact info. You want to know the kicker? I looked at all the other vids they have available but the best one (in my opinion) is the one that was unlisted & rescued. Unlisted vids are not necessarily unfinished projects or bad takes of a final version that should not see the light of day. They can in some cases be the best vids you will never see.

If you liked this post you might like this:

The last vidder friendly hosting & streaming site?

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Transverse Hoverfly - Eristalis transversa

In a similar vein to the Eastern Carpenter Bee post made earlier this week, today's post highlights the blog's YouTube channel's next insect. Year upon year this brightly colored specie returns to my backyard to hover in place while it flies around sampling the flowers. If not for their large, red compound eyes, their flight and striped pattern would be a perfect match for a small Wasp. However, unlike their stinging flower-mates, these Hoverflies are here to sample nectar and pollen, and in the process they contributed to flower pollination. It seems like open-faced flowers are the preferred flower for this specie since they are more accessible. A Fly like this one can simply lap up sustenance without having the crawl into a flower's opening.

While the rewards for the latter could be sweeter, depending on the flower (and its enticing aroma), perhaps a Fly also considers that it will need to take off from a suitable launch point. Moreover, it may not do well with wings compressed against the side of a flower as it ventures inside, defenseless as it is. Nevertheless, with a disguise as convincing as this, there aren't many insectivores that are fool-hardy or desperate enough to try and approach a Hymenopteran look-a-like insect from the rear! Eat well, beautiful Flies! If you find one (or a similar Eristalis specie): look to their eyes to make sure it's not a Bee, and don't be afraid to handle them (if positively identified). They're surprisingly light-feeling on the hand.

Pictures were taken on August 12 and 21, 2021 with a Google Pixel 4. It's simply a short post for today to celebrate this bright Fly. I don't mean to advertise, but if you're interested, you may visit this blog's YouTube channel this Sunday to see this specie featured there again.

[northern-passage]

this past week (october 1-7) was banned books week. last year, censors targeted a record 2,571 unique titles, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. the majority of these titles were written by or about members of the LGBT community, Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color.

[source]

recently, back in July, we saw Mississippi ban Hoopla & Overdrive for people under the age of 18, restricting young people's right to read and their access to library resources. this is likely going to continue as more parents lobby for "parent's rights" (aka the right to treat their children as property) and pressure school boards to remove certain books from the education system.

but there are people that are pushing back against these restrictions: Leah Johnson, author of You Should See Me in a Crown, has spoken out vocally against book banning as well as her experiences as a Black queer woman. she's also opened her own bookstore, Loudmouth Books in Indianapolis, which will be a haven and spotlight for marginalized voices and controversial literature.

George Johnson, author of All Boys Aren't Blue, has joined the PEN America vs. Escambia County School District to challenge the removal and restrictions of books from school libraries within Escambia County, Florida.

There are also multiple library systems across the country that have joined the Books Unbanned program, which offers free digital library cards to anyone age 13-21.

Brooklyn Public Library: ages 13-21, anywhere in the U.S.

Seattle Public Library: ages 13-26, anywhere in the U.S.

Los Angeles County Public Library: ages 13-18, California only

Boston Public Library: ages 13-26, anywhere in the U.S.

[source]

a lot of these book bans claim to be for the "safety" of children, but that is simply not true. these book bans target LGBT literature and Black literature indiscriminately. this does not protect children, it endangers the most vulnerable of them.

Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe, was the top banned book in 2022. You can find the author here, where e reflects extensively about the current book bannings & advocates for children's right to read as well as the rights of other banned book authors.

Some of the other most banned books of this past year also include (in no particular order):

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

Melissa by Alex Gino

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Push by Sapphire

at the end of this banned books week, we should continue the conversation and support for marginalized authors and diverse literature, especially for children, in schools & libraries. get involved at your own local library, talk to your children or your siblings or your nieces and nephews, attend their school board meetings, and contact your representatives and speak out against book censorship.

[mariacallous]

Engineers who work for Elon Musk’s SpaceX have been brought on as senior advisers to the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), sources tell WIRED.

On Sunday, Sean Duffy, secretary of the Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA, announced in a post on X that SpaceX engineers would be visiting the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia to take what he positioned as a tour. “The safety of air travel is a nonpartisan matter,” Musk replied. “SpaceX engineers will help make air travel safer.”

By the time these posts were made, though, according to sources who were granted anonymity because they fear retaliation, SpaceX engineers were already being onboarded at the agency under Schedule A, a special authority that allows government managers to “hire persons with disabilities without requiring them to compete for the job,” according to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

These new hires come after the terminations of hundreds of FAA probationary employees, and the most deadly month of US aviation disasters in more than a decade.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, none of the SpaceX engineers were fully vetted by their start date. Unlike the very young technologists associated with Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) who have been given access to critical systems at agencies ranging from OPM and the Treasury Department to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in recent weeks, though, the engineers identified by WIRED—Ted Malaska, Thomas Kiernan, Sam Smeal, and Brady Glantz—do appear to have experience relevant to the FAA.

Malaska is currently, according to his LinkedIn profile, a senior director of application software at SpaceX, where he started working in May 2021. Formerly the senior director of data engineering at Capitol One and a senior architect at FINRA, he graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2000 and cowrote a 2015 book on Hadoop application architectures.

Kiernan is currently a lead software engineer at SpaceX, according to his LinkedIn page. Before joining SpaceX in May 2020, he worked at Wayfair and is a 2017 Dartmouth graduate.

Smeal is a software engineer who has worked at SpaceX since September 2021, according to his LinkedIn. He graduated from Saint Vincent College in 2018.

Glantz is a software engineer who has worked at SpaceX since May 2024 and worked as an engineering analyst at Goldman Sachs from 2019 to 2021, according to his LinkedIn, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2019.

Malaska, Kiernan, Smeal, and Glantz did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FAA also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In his post on X, Duffy wrote, "Because I know the media (and Hillary Clinton) will claim Elon’s team is getting special access, let me make clear that the @FAANews regularly gives tours of the command center to both media and companies.”

But on Wednesday, FAA acting administrator Chris Rocheleau wrote in an email to FAA staff, viewed by WIRED, that DOGE and the teams of special government employees deployed in federal agencies were “top-of-mind,” before noting that the agency had "recently welcomed” a team of special government employees who had already toured some FAA facilities. “We are asking for their help to engineer solutions while we keep the airspace open and safe,” he wrote, adding that the new employees had already visited the FAA Command Center and Potomac TRACON, a facility that controls the airspace around and provides air traffic control services to airports in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia areas.

In a Department of Transportation all-hands meeting late last week, Duffy responded to a question about DOGE's role in national airspace matters, and without explicitly mentioning the new employees, suggested help was needed on reforming Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) alerts, a critical system that distributes real-time data and warnings to pilots but which has had significant outages, one as recently as this month. “If I can get ideas from really smart engineers on how we can fix it, I’m going to take those ideas,” he said, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by WIRED. “Great engineers” might also work on airspace issues, he said.

SpaceX functioned as the pre-inauguration staging ground for the DOGE team, according to reporting from The New York Times and sources who spoke to WIRED. In the months between November 5 and January 20, members of DOGE including Steve Davis (president of Musk’s Boring Company) and the young engineer Luke Farritor were operating out of the company’s DC office, according to a source with knowledge.

The company did not respond to questions about whether these employees will retain their salaries and positions at the company during their time with DOGE. Many of the so-called department’s operatives have joined as “special government employees,” who are limited to working 130 days in a year. Last week WIRED reported that Tom Krause, a DOGE operative at the Treasury Department, would continue to maintain his position as CEO of the Cloud Software Group while also performing the duties of fiscal assistant secretary. Other members of Musk’s companies, including xAI and Tesla, have also taken on positions with DOGE.

Late last week, the Trump administration laid off 400 FAA workers, according to their union, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists. The union says these included probationary employees who worked on air traffic control communications and related radio and computer systems. Air traffic controllers were not affected by the layoffs, Duffy said in an X post.

Just two weeks before that, the US suffered its most deadly aviation incident in more than a decade, when 67 people died after an Army helicopter collided with a passenger jet in Washington, DC. Though initial findings suggest complex equipment and communications issues possibly played roles in the disaster, President Trump was quick to blame “DEI,” railing against a decade-old program that helps the FAA identify talent among populations with disabilities. People with disabilities hired into the FAA and other federal agencies are often accepted under the Schedule A authority—exactly the route these new engineers have taken into the agency.

The FAA has frequently tangled with Musk’s SpaceX, as the rocket company and others fight to operate their own interests in crowded American airspace. In January, the FAA temporarily grounded SpaceX’s program after one of its Starship rockets broke apart midflight, reportedly damaging public property on Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. The FAA diverted dozens of commercial airline flights following the explosion and announced an investigation into the incident, which is ongoing and being led by SpaceX. Musk, however, characterized the failure as “barely a bump in the road” and did not seem to indicate that the investigation would slow SpaceX’s launch cadence. Last year, the company indicated it was aiming for 25 launches of the Starship in 2025.

FAA spokesperson Steven Kulm told WIRED that “the FAA is overseeing the SpaceX-led mishap investigation.” The FAA did not respond to further questions about whether the presence of SpaceX engineers at the agency would constitute a conflict of interest.

In September, the FAA proposed $633,000 in fines following two 2023 incidents in which SpaceX allegedly did not follow its license requirements, violating regulations. Responding to an X user posting about the penalties, Musk wrote, “The fundamental problem is that humanity will forever be confined to Earth unless there is radical reform at the FAA!” Shortly afterward, Musk called for FAA head Mike Whitaker to resign.

In January, more than three years before his term was due to end, Whitaker did resign.

“I told Elon, any conflicts, you can’t have anything to do with that,” said President Trump in a press conference this week, in response to a question about Musk, SpaceX, the FAA, and conflicts of interest. “So anything to do with possibly even space, we won’t let Elon partake in that.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SpaceX is directly regulated by a small FAA agency called the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which since 1984 has licensed the launch of US space rockets. “The purpose is to ensure public safety,” says George Nield, a former associate administrator of the office. “People on the ground did not consent” to rocket launches above them, he says. ”We absolutely need to keep them safe. The office has done a great job of that.” The office oversaw 157 launches in 2024 alone.

On February 10, several days after Musk posted on X that DOGE “will aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system,” a group of Democratic legislators wrote to Rocheleau—a career civil servant whose ties to the FAA go back to 1996—requesting information about any planned changes to FAA systems.

“We are extremely concerned that an ad hoc team of individuals lacking any expertise, exposure, certifications, or knowledge of aviation operations being invited, or inserting themselves, to make ‘rapid’ changes to our nation’s air traffic systems,” they wrote. “Aviation safety is not an area to ‘move fast and break things.’”

[bunnytalksf1]

bunny! love you and thanks for your work and talent ;)

could you please clarify for me why Drive to Survive is unreliable thing about F1? i get that it's speculated a lot but still want to understand more, thank you

<3

Hi, thank you <3

Writing this on my phone so please excuse any mistakes!

The unreliability of documentary as a media form is inherent, because in order to produce documentary, the director must construct a narrative. This narrative is taken from reality, but it is also inherently biased to what the director sees, what editors see, etc. Even if I was a fan of DtS, I would have this criticism of it. Documentary CANNOT BE RELIABLE. It’s in the nature of the format.

But specifically for Drive To Survive:

The most glaring issue with this series is that it is commissioned by Liberty Media, who are responsible for the sport’s promotion. It was taken to Netflix in 2017 and has continued since. This means that they can’t really show anything unsavoury, or things that might disillusion people from watching the sport. That’s an extra level of bias.

Additionally:

In the first season, the producers had VERY limited access to the top teams. Both Mercedes and Ferrari wanted nothing to do with the camera crews, given they had a lot more to lose. RBR was the only top team willing to be in the show, and at the time they were kind of averaging third-fastest over the course of a season. The lack of insight into the top teams’ mechanics is frustrating to me in those episodes.

It also requires some sort of foresight, which is impossible. The way DtS is produced means that they have to guess who will have a Big Weekend, since they are embedded into teams from Wednesday to Sunday. And some race weeks, they aren’t there at all. If they have no footage of something, they can’t weave it into the narrative they’re constructing, so it gets left out. In the 2023 season, towards the back-end, one of the biggest narratives amongst fans was the emerging rivalry between Norris and Piastri, phenom rookie, who won a race before him in Qatar, and the emergence, too, of a very fast McLaren in the back end of the season. These were almost entirely left out of DtS because Netflix was not at Qatar.

Qatar was a big weekend for Mercedes too, because Russell and Hamilton crashed into each other, and there was a lot of noise over the public apology Hamilton gave etc. It got left out, though.

The main issue that the drivers and teams have is that its largely sensationalised and designed to create tension that simply isn’t there during the season. Verstappen was particularly vocal about this, and he suffers a fair bit: he was villainised in 2018 vs. Ricciardo, and then again in 2021 vs. Hamilton.

DtS also has its “main characters” in Ricciardo, Sainz, Alpine, and Haas (Geunter Steiner) etc, who let the DtS crews have more access than the average driver, like perhaps Verstappen or Leclerc (and Ferrari). Relying on personal footage means that DtS picks its main characters before we know who the main characters of the Actual Season are, which limits their ability to roll with the punches and represent the sport accurately.

It tips the balance of footage towards personal lives, with a lot of footage being taken from off the track / outside race weekends, which I personally don’t think is necessary, and also opens up drivers to parasocial relationships from fans (some drivers suffer a lot more than others, i.e. Norris, Leclerc, Sainz).

I think my main criticisms of DtS come from a) the format (its completely non-chronological, and hops from team to team which means that inter-team conflicts are minimised in favour for intra-team ones) and b) it is a behind-the-scenes of the drivers, not the sport. I’d prefer to see most of, if not all of, the footage taken from race weekends, and for the series to be a peek behind the curtain at the sport itself, but Netflix is (or was, at the time) not allowed access because there is A LOT that these teams want to keep secret from camera crews, and this doesn’t just go for DtS: it also goes for the actual media present in the day-to-day of the sport.

A lot of this is My Opinion, but I share a lot of these sentiments with F1 fans. I watch DtS as a fun little bingo thing at the end of the year, rather than a replacement for the season.

That being said, the positive about DtS is that it gives an overview from 2018 onwards and allows new fans to learn enough quite quickly to interact with other fans, who have their own takes and thoughts and can even out the bias DtS presents us with. It gives a decent baseline understanding of the sport, even if Will Buxton has become somewhat of a meme because of it.

Hope that helps:) DtS is also NOT the only docuseries on f1 - theres the Brawn GP doc (v good) and Leclerc and Verstappen each have stuff produced about them by Canal+ and Viaplay respectively.