#and also understand that a lot of what we are taught in the u.s. is propaganda

[astermagnolia]

My Stalkers and Cryptids Soulmate Au headcanons

Danny Fenton Nightingale

• Danny played football (aka soccer) when be was young. It didnt last very long and though he enjoyed it, it wasnt something he wanted to do

• Danny refers to his friends and chosen family as "his humans". Wes, Tim, and Bernard get added to this list. While in phantom form he uses the term Fraid.

• Hes trans (ftm) and goes by They/He. Hes also biromantic asexual

- he started transitioning when he was 12/13.

-Flash stopped bullying him for a week and then went back to pushing him around but used the right pronouns. Paulina and the others yell at Flash if he ever misgenders or deadnames Danny and even apologizes to Danny for it. (Danny finds it extremely strange but amusing)

• In college he majors in aerospace engineering and astrophysics and minors in astronomy

- he took a break for a year with Wes before enrolling into college. They traveled the U.S sightseeing and went to the most "haunted" places in America.

• Danny is fluent in spanish because he wanted to impress Paulina. Eventually, he just wanted to learn the language

- after he died, he knows all the dead/no longer spoken languages

• Danny has his ears, eyebrows, and tongue pierced.

- Danny got his ear pierced first with Sam and Tucker (and wes joined to watch). He liked how it looked and got other piercings after

• Danny gets little to no sleep. Since hes half dead his needs are halfed.

- he tends to forget that he still needs to sleep, eat, etc. So Bernard and Wes worry about him

• danny was terrified of telling Tim and Bernard about his deathday after they found out about phantom.

- His lichtenberg scars glow and hes in absolute pain. Not only that, he gets incredibly clingy to his humans.

• his love language is touch, acts of service, and gift giving (creating things and giving them to his humans)

• he has different ghostly forms.

- his regular phantom form. His ghost prince (future king) form. His space Eldritch form . And finally, what his friends like to call, little baby man form (he rarely used this form and usually when hes low on ectoplasm and tired but not enough to turn back into a human.)

• danny is still a bit uncomfortable with his body and what changes have occurred so the others always try to be there for him

• he gave his partners celestial/star pet names

• animals that are generally associated with Death flock to Danny and are chill with him

- Danny likes to joke that this is why the batfamily likes him so much. Damian is absolutely jealous that crows, raven, owls and other such animals like Danny.

• despite being 6'3, he loves to curl up on his partner's lap

• he doesn't quite like mouth kisses (he'll give them here and there but not a lot) and prefers cheek and head kisses.

• hes shit at cooking and is kinda afraid to stay in the kitchen for long periods of time but he knows how to bake. His fudge (that his dad taught him) is the absolute bomb. He makes his fudge on special occasions

• he gets phantom pains on his arm and migraines sometimes, usually when he gets shocked or reminded of his death in detail. Wes, who's dealt with it, knows what to do. Tim, being a vigilante, understands these pains and Bernard helps in the background

• danny learns how to ride a motorcycle through Johnny and, despite how Johnny acts, makes sure to give Danny a rundown of bike safety

- Wes hates the bike due to his fear of vehicles. He always tells Danny to be safe when he goes out for a ride

• Funnily enough, Danny is allergic to dogs. Not extremely, the fur just causes him to sneeze so danny finds it funny that Cujo chose him as his owner.

• he never really put importance on his soulmarks (tattoos) since the fentons weren't soulmates but he did love to look at them.

- when he was a kid, he liked to imagine what kind of people his soulmates were. Tim's was a camera, Bernards is a pin, and Wes's is a magnifying glass.

• Bernard adores Danny's freckles especially when they glow

[moistvonlipwig]

🔥

kara danvers :)

ok well you and i have discussed this at length so this will not be new to you but imco (in my correct opinion) kara danvers [as portrayed by the cw's supergirl, not necessarily in other versions] is actually pretty lazy, and i would argue this is one of her most central and consistent character traits. and i don't just mean physically lazy, although i should note that per 3.17 "trinity" she canonically Hates Walking and doesn't understand why humans exercise. i mostly mean on an intellectual & moral level.

kara wants to be a reporter, but when she figures this out (because......a pretty lady told her she should do it? ig?), she does not apply to journalism school, or take online classes. instead she is handed a reporter job by her boss (who scrawled 'reporter' on her hilariously terrible resume when they met for reasons known only to her) and from then on proceeds to basically just do whatever she wants and get offended when more seasoned reporters who have gone to journalism school ask her to do basic functions of the job like Acquire Sources and Report On The Facts And Not Just Your Personal Opinions. at no point do we really see her ask her colleagues, even friendly ones like james, for advice or help; instead, advice is something that's imposed upon her by the wicked snapper, who dares to be unimpressed by her uneducated slay. throughout the show, on multiple occasions, the idea of actually Doing Her Job seems to offend her -- lena even calls her out for this explicitly in 3.02 "triggers," but she continues to display this behavior with andrea in s5 & s6. in the finale, when she is promoted to editor-in-chief in an act of blatant cronyism that truthfully should prompt the entire catco staff to quit in protest, it is not on her initiative, nor due to her efforts, nor is it because anything about the position has piqued her interest; it is, again, simply handed to her, and she just accepts.

additionally, we rarely see her express meaningful curiosity about, well, any subject, really -- we know she learned calculus young, but her interest in math and science seems nil; she is deeply naive about the u.s. justice system in s6 in a way that suggests she has never looked into it, though her own mother was a judge on krypton; and a lot of her interests seem very Basic (pizza, potstickers [? why girl.], nsync, the wizard of oz, harry potter), which to be clear is not inherently a sign of intellectual laziness or incuriosity, but it also does nothing to suggest that she is someone with a wide knowledge of food, literature, music, or film.

she also demonstrates what i would argue is a kind of moral laziness, though you could call it an offshoot of her intellectual laziness, in her general lack of real self-reflection about, like, any of her actions. although some of the other characters sometimes bring up how messed-up the DEO is (e.g. james in s1 with the gitmo comparison -- which, CRAZY line to put in your show and then never address, btw), kara herself does not question it (until the Wrong People take over, of course). her rhetoric in early s2 about daxamites suggests that she is quite comfortable believing sweeping generalizations she was taught as a child and has never really sat down to interrogate them, but while mon-el being.....pretty bad but i guess not as bad as his mom? yay? inspires her to stop being bigoted against daxamites specifically, we will later still hear her say that certain species tend to be peaceful or aggressive, etc., with no self-reflection. in 3.05 "damage," when morgan edge tries to make it seem like lena's lead dispersal device that kara activated poisoned children, kara does not take the opportunity to self-reflect on the choice she made and whether it was worth it; instead, her arc for the episode is reacting emotionally to her best buddy feeling guilty (about the thing kara also did. i cannot emphasize that part enough).

i would argue the conclusion she draws in 5.13, too, smacks of this moral laziness; she spends the episode looking for a magic shortcut to not having to feel bad anymore, and when she can't find one, she decides that actually, meh, there was never a perfect way for things to go down, so all that lying wasn't such a big deal and lena should just get over it. kara is dripping with a lot of guilt in 5A, but throughout both 5A and 5B there's very little actual, thoughtful self-reflection on what she did wrong and why, and that carries over into S6 when, after like ten episodes of lena (and also william ig) repeatedly trying to tell her not to play god, she decides in the very penultimate episode to solve her problems by eating the sun, and then when she decides against it partway through doing it, there's again very little self-reflection on her part of why the hell she thought that was a good thing to do. kara's morality, on the whole, seems largely based on (a) alex and (b) vibes, and not so much on any actual thought she's dedicated to the moral questions at hand.

and similarly to when kara is asked to Do Her Damn Job at her place of work -- when kara is challenged on her morality (like when lena challenges her on the kryptonite in s3, or on myriad in 5.17), she acts annoyed at the very idea of having to do the hard work of thinking about the morals she espouses as a superhero. and it doesn't read as someone who has thought very hard about her moral choices and is offended because she believes so strongly that she's right, because we never actually see her thinking hard about these moral choices she makes at all. it reads as someone who hasn't thought about it beyond a very cursory level and is frustrated that she's being asked to. because, again, she's just fundamentally kind of lazy.

and the thing is this might sound like i am dunking on her but actually i think this is a trait that is incredibly funny. my favorite portrayal of supergirl/kara danvers is the one from the children's cartoon dc super hero girls 2019, whose version of kara is ALSO lazy, on top of being an aggressive, quick-to-anger, rude, irresponsible, selfish brat. and she's hilarious in that show, she's one of my favorite characters. another favorite character of mine, also a children's cartoon character, is anne boonchuy from amphibia, whose entire character journey is about learning not to be physically, intellectually, or morally lazy and learning to [school principal voice] Apply Herself instead. it can be incredibly fun to watch characters be lazy and incurious and self-centered, whether they change for the better or not. but it is a bit strange that some people act like kara is this super disciplined person who loves working out and loves learning and reads widely and is curious about everything and self-reflects on her own decisions and how she affects others to the point of obsession. i wonder if part of it is 'femslash same-character syndrome,' where people slap other characters' traits from other popular femslash ships onto each other. because the character i just described is adora from she-ra. who a lot of people think is similar to kara. except no. she's not at all. as evidenced by this whole write-up ☝️ lol. they're just both blonde and for some reason (#blondephobia?) femslash fandoms wanna act like all blonde girlies are the same. but they are not. #wakeupamerica.....

[maxdibert]

Max we may not agree on everything but as a Polish hp fan and ww2 history nerd I stand so hard by you. As another person so disgustingly tired by USians or however u say it. everything u said was true and they're mad with having to face reality 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ take care and know I'm with u

I think there’s a shared feeling among people from cultures that have lived through wars, endured totalitarian regimes and dictatorships, and gone through long periods of extreme poverty, and it’s that we’re disgusted by States’ people when they talk about politics. Especially when they come crying about things that have happened — and are happening — around the world forever, many of which, over the last century, the U.S. has been directly or indirectly responsible for.

And then they have the audacity to lecture us on what does or doesn’t count as national suffering. Or to explain our own history to us. Or to “legitimize” social trauma that still affects so many societies to this day, and all of it from a position completely disconnected from our realities, with zero cultural understanding.

Honestly, I think these people live in such a Hollywood bubble that they can’t even realize that yes, our countries may have their disputes, mutual resentment, and complicated histories, but if there’s one thing we all agree on, it’s that US people are unbearable. And the problem is they don’t realize that. Yes, our cultures have our internal conflicts, but we know where the line is. Then they show up and start spewing nonsense they don’t understand, preaching with their puritan morals straight out of Methodist churches and Presbyterian cults like they’ve got the slightest clue about the real world.

They talk about WWII like the garbage movies they were sold are the truth, because no one ever taught them that it was France, England, and Russia who broke their backs and lost hundreds of thousands of lives fighting Nazis, and by the time the “heroes” showed up, Hitler was already pissing himself in a bunker.

And no, I will not tolerate someone from a country that’s never had a war on its soil in the last two centuries lecturing me about fascism, especially when Nazis tested their weapons and assault strategies on my country, flattening cities to help install a dictator who stayed in power for forty years.

And I truly think there’s a universal sense — among people who’ve actually lived through these things — that no one has the right to explain your history or trauma to you. Especially not someone whose country hasn’t seen real war or dictatorship in generations.

I know I’m mixing a lot of things here and getting intense, sorry. This really isn’t the side of me I meant to bring out in this space, I usually keep this for political circles. But I have a huge problem with Americans talking about fascism like they’re experts, because honestly? Anyone else has more right to speak on it than they do.

I just can’t with them. I’m sorry. They bring out the worst in me.

Forgive the rant, I just got my period and I tend to get even more intense than usual when that happens. So to anyone reading this: I apologize. But also… ugh. Americans.

[nothorses]

i am a proponent of open borders/worldwide free movement but i do have a hard time reconciling the sovereignty of indigenous nations with the utopian world i imagine where belonging to a nation is immaterial. do you know of anyone who can talk more about this?

I don't know of a particular person I could refer you to online, but I'll outline some of the suggestions I do have for learning below.

Does anyone else know someone online who might be able to speak to this?

My personal understanding (as someone who is neither Indigenous nor an expert, so grains of salt!) is that the things Indigenous Peoples need in order to attain sovereignty are largely dictated by the colonialist system they've been forced to operate under-- which means a decent place to start is just learning about how different Indigenous Peoples have historically understood relevant concepts like what made a People a nation (or tribe, or band), membership to a particular nation, and land "ownership"/territory (if there was such a thing).

Step two, then, is learning about what sovereignty means to them now- and why. Indigenous Peoples have had vastly differing and complex relationships to land and nationhood (as we understand it now) in the past and present, many of them much closer to the ideal you're imagining than is able to exist under settler-colonialist governments like the U.S.

Modern reservations don't even all require those who live there to be members of the nation whose land they live on, nor do all members of those nations live on reservation land (some nations, like the Duwamish, don't have federal recognition or reservation land- yet still have a process for attaining membership).

The Landback movement aims to return land to the Peoples who orignally stewarded it, but that has more to do with ensuring sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples; Landback on the whole isn't really about kicking individual people off the land they live on. That anxiety comes from settlers and settler-colonialism, and fearing that what we did to them will be done to us. Not from, like, actual Indigenous people.

I'm always recommending Indigenous History Now's videos because like, the whole channel is really great, imo. I can't remember exactly which one it is that he talks about land "ownership" in traditional Coast Salish cultures, but I think it's either Indigenous History of the Pacific Northwest Coast, or Indigenous American Culture Zones: The Pacific Northwest Coast.

I think it might also help to learn a little bit about why Indigenous Peoples might prefer the term "nation", especially in a settler-colonialist context.

More valuable than any of that, though, is learning about and from the Native nations local to you. Museums & cultural centers are typically open to the public; you can always check their website to find out, or just find a person to contact and ask directly.

Native nations also tend to run events that are specifically open to the public, which tend to be listed on the nation or center's websites. Be sure to check sites for Native nations in your are that aren't federally recognized as well; a lot of them have websites and events and things anyways.

Every interaction I've had with local nations & individual Indigenous people has taught me that on the whole, Native nations here aren't just friendly, but actively want non-Natives to learn about them, from them, and are really excited when we approach with genuine curiosity & respect. I can't speak to what's true where you live, but it can really be a joy to connect in that way. There is of course also a lot of hurt, grief, and very justified distrust as well, so y'know. The genuine curiosity and respect is key, I think.

[thebroccolination]

SCANDALS BY CULTURE

I was talking to a friend the other day about the different cultural perspectives on what constitutes a scandal in fandom. As a western fan, I’ve learned over the years that a lot of what rolls off my back can be taken quite seriously in fandoms based in countries like Thailand and Japan.

[above: former member of Japanese pop group KAT-TUN Taguchi Junnosuke following his arrest for cannabis]

As an example, take dating. In East Asia (and spreading elsewhere), the traditional arrangement between idols and their fans is that, in exchange for monetary support from fans, idols will create and uphold a Fantasy of availability and moral uprightness. Thus, dating breaks part of that illusion, which means an idol has reneged on their side of the bargain. An idol gets fame and money in exchange for the sacrifice of their private identity, in a sense. In practice, this means you can date, but you can’t get caught.

I spent eleven years in Japan and saw dating scandal after dating scandal with various degrees of backlash from fans. Naturally, female idols got the brunt of the hate and judgment.

[above: former AKB member Minami Minegeshi begging for forgiveness after breaking her company’s no-dating policy]

Minami Minegeshi is probably the most internationally well-known idol affected by a company’s no-dating policy. In her video posted over ten years ago, she told the public of her shaved head, “I don't believe just doing this means I can be forgiven for what I did, but the first thing I thought was that I don't want to quit AKB48.” As far as I know, the reaction to the video was mixed, with many even in Japan saying she didn’t need to feel that guilty about it.

In 2022, however, she announced her marriage and seems to have received a much warmer reception.

Most idols—even if they’re contractually free to Date—tend to keep things simple by hiding their relationships from the public unless they intended to marry, and even then, most of them seem to wait until their thirties or later to announce it.

Nagano Hiroshi of the Japanese pop group V6 announced to his fans through the group’s official newsletter that he intended to marry almost a decade ago. From what I saw and what was reported, the fan reaction was overwhelmingly positive and congratulatory.

Personally, I think it helped that Nagano is an enthusiastic foodie and designed his announcement to look like a menu.

Like, please look at this adorable bullshit we all got in the mail:

But it’s more likely that Nagano was a grown man in his forties by then, his fanbase was also on the older side, and his future wife, actress Shiraishi Miho, was also well-liked and close in age to him.

(Speaking of V6, fellow member Morita Go later married actress Miyazawa Rie and received equally positive reception from fans. This was even lovelier to see because Miyazawa was older and divorced with a child, and Morita’s statement included something incredibly sweet about wanting to be a stepfather just as much as he wanted to be Miyazawa’s husband. Like, goddamn! By all appearances, V6 are lovely dudes and I wish them all well. Miyake Ken even learned and taught sign language all because a deaf fan tried signing with him once and he felt bad that he couldn’t understand her! Okay, I’m done talking about V6. For now.)

As a western fan, I don’t feel any kind of way at all about anyone’s dating life unless there’s something unusual about the relationship or, y’know, allegations of abuse or bigotry. But even then, I don’t feel entitled to know anything about or have an opinion on a stranger’s personal life. I didn’t grow up with idol culture, and while I saw plenty of U.S.-based fans complain and spew hate whenever the Backstreet Boys had girlfriends, U.S. American society at large saw that as obsessive behavior, and I remember older fans encouraging distance if your personal attachment was getting too intense.

In the conversation of Should Idols Be Allowed to Date without Sneaking Around About It and Not Get Socially Executed if Caught, though, I’ve seen the general opinion growing more and more nuanced across all cultures. For many, it’s not that the old system is outdated, it’s just unfair. Why should fantasy take priority over someone’s personal life? Especially when upholding that fantasy effectively means someone is “on the clock” permanently? Isn’t that basically indentured servitude and, y’know, not a thing society as a whole should encourage?

Also, hey, what about drugs and alcohol?

I mentioned above that part of the pact idols make is maintaining an image of moral uprightness. This includes, y’know, not breaking the law.

When I was a fan of the Japanese pop groups NEWS and Kanjani8 in university, I learned about one member of both who got ejected for getting drunk underage and, infamously, kicking a cop car. I heard this and thought, “Awesome,” mostly because he kicked a cop car (based) but he was demoted hard. Even though it had arguably been the responsibility of the industry adults who were out with him and allowed/encouraged him to drink, he was dropped from debuted artist to trainee, even lower than Junior. No capital letter for him. Despite years of working to recover his reputation and rise back to debuted artist, he never did.

Over in Thailand, vaping is illegal and therefore understandably a Big Deal for many fans domestically and in surrounding countries. I can’t speak from a Thai perspective, but I once watched a documentary about the Thai prison system in which a monk solemnly told the filmmakers that he believes marijuana dealers deserve the death penalty. This led to me assuming that there’s probably a bit of a religious bias underscoring the issue.

Meanwhile, you couldn’t pay me to care if a Thai actor was caught vaping. I just saw someone vaping on the sidewalk ten minutes ago. Societally, I’ve been desensitized to most drug use, and I’ve done enough independent research on my own to see drugs and even addiction through a lens of compassion rather than judgment. At most, I’d feel mildly concerned about their lung health if it was an actor I like, but that’s their body and their choice, so I wouldn’t think badly of them in the sense of who they are as a person. Just, y’know. “Oh, they vape. Eh. I’d go for edibles. Do I have any couscous left for dinner?”

If you’ve been in Thai QL fandom for a while, though, odds are you’ve seen or heard of a case like this: I once saw an actor’s friends accidentally film him vaping on an Instagram live, and because the footage cut away so fast, interfans shared the clip on Twitter thinking it was silly that his friends were acting like they’d caught him cheerfully murdering a small animal. But of course in Thailand it’s illegal, and these actors’ reputations decide things like 1) sponsorships, 2) job opportunities, 3) fan support, and more. Thus, Thai fans quickly assembled and told interfans to delete the clips and stop talking about it. Vaping may be quietly common in Thailand, and I’m sure plenty of actors do it, but it’s best for them if we, y’know, pretend otherwise.

In a similar vein, years ago, Japanese idol and former KAT-TUN member Taguchi Junnosuke and his girlfriend were busted for marijuana, and I was on Twitter watching the fallout.

It was on the news.

After posting bail, Taguchi bowed with his forehead on the pavement for twenty seconds. For marijuana. Meanwhile, I just had a holiday in Denver where a friend offered me a range of colorful weed gummies to help me fall asleep. Whee!

But the reaction I remember seeing on the Japanese fan side of Twitter was pure anguish. Tweets like, “I had no idea he was like this,” or, “I feel betrayed,” and, “I��ll never look at him the same way.”

Because that false image they had of him was part of the facade he implicitly (and likely contractually) agreed to uphold when he took the job. Of course most fans knew he was just a regular dude, but that’s not who they loved. They loved the idol, the fantasy, and he’d betrayed them by burning the facade.

Is that system exploitative? Absolutely, if you believe it’s wrong to expect a performer to be permanently “on” without rest or the right to authenticity. But whenever I see western fans rolling their eyes and asking, “Why do they care?” and saying, “[Asian country]’s fans are insane,” then I always want to make wide gestures with my arms at the words: “CULTURAL DIVIDE.” They’re not insane, they’re just accustomed to a system we don’t have, and even within any given country you’ll find nuance in the conversations surrounding these systems. Never paint with too wide a brush. You know yourself how diverse the opinions are in your culture and country, after all.

These issues benefit so much from (respectful) discussion. Is it fair to expect a human being to hide their relationship in exchange for money? And if they choose to hide, is it truly a choice if it’s under duress? What if they choose to hide out of a desire to protect their partner from the public eye? If the system stops demanding the Fantasy, will fans still uphold the expectation?

And are drugs a moral failing? Or only certain drugs? Is morality tied to legality, and if so, does the decriminalization of a drug mean society should also adopt an attitude of leniency to the people using that drug? Where does the connection between drug use and morality come from, and should there be one at all?

I think one of the benefits of joining a fandom whose base is in a culture outside your own is that you have the opportunity to look at the world with different eyes. You meet fans of different ages with different life experiences. And you may not change your own beliefs as part of being a foreign fan, but it’s such a rare opportunity to learn why people believe what they do in such a casual setting. We’re a cooperative, adaptable species at heart, and I think we’re at our best when we find ways to connect and thrive despite or thanks to our differences.

What’s culturally scandalous to one person may not be to another, and sometimes having the opportunity to break down your kneejerk cultural judgments in very simple terms can actually lead you to questioning them yourself. Or maybe you’ll bring someone to a conclusion they’d never made before.

All because an idol got caught with a boyfriend while smoking a vape.

/long post dismount

[lyxthen]

I am a Marxist not in the sense that I think Marx (and Engels) were "right about everything" but in the sense that pretty much all social sciences today have their roots in Marxist thought, because he was the one to propose a more scientific approach to the study of society and social dynamics, focusing on material conditions and their impact, on the things that can be observed and measured and studied. Dialectical materialism and critical theory are to sociology what natural selection and gene theory are to biology.

Of course, it doesn't mean Marxism sacred, that there aren't things to revise or add or discard. We have to question these things if we want to make progress, the same way questioning the law of universal gravitation led to the discovery of relativity. This isn't a cult, it is not supposed to be, we are meant to debate and argue, because that's in the spirit of science. Infighting is not a bug, it's a feature.

The wider society needs to understand Marx not as an extremist political figure (which is what U.S. sponsored propaganda has turned him into, I believed this for a long time), but as a philosopher, the most important philosopher of modernity, in fact. We also need to teach history as a science, instead of as a collection of fables centered around specific individuals, with a clear narrative structure and a sweet little moral at the end to wrap it up. That is not how things work.

I remember, back when I was like 15, when I got my first Engels reading for school: The Part played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man. I rolled my eyes, because I'd heard from the right-wing political YouTubers that anything remotely associated with Communism was evil, and I was just starting to deconstruct all that, calling myself a centrist and all that. But instead of revolutionary propaganda, what I found was just... science. Science I already knew about, and that I knew was true. It's not a particularly challenging read, and while some ideas are outdated, the text has aged surprisingly well, over all.

I liked the essay. I really, really liked it. I still hold it dear to my heart, flaws and all, because it made me realize that maybe these radical leftists weren't so scary. If one of their most prominent thought leaders turned out to be a reasonable, approachable guy, maybe they were reasonable, approachable people, too.

So I kept reading, and I kept learning. It took me years to finally come to terms with the fact that every field from sociology to economics to psychology had been influenced or directly sprouted from Those Communist Guys, and even longer to finally admit that yes, I am a communist too, because instituting communism through violent revolution is the only reasonable response to the systems of exploitation behind poverty and climate change, and we should probably set things on fire about it.

(Meeting actually practicing communists helped a lot, too. Turns out, the guys committing acts of domestic terrorism against the local government are actually kinda chill.)

What I mean to say is this: we need to teach people how the world actually works first. We can radicalize them later, but the first step is giving them the tools to accurately describe and understand their reality. Not everyone has to become a scholar, I certainly am not, but getting familiar with the basics is essential, the same way it's essential to learn to read and write, and perform basic arithmetic. I was lucky enough that this was taught to me in school, and I can attest that it makes a difference.

We live in a world where misinformation and conspiracy theories on social media are turning our kids into little fascists. We need to bring them back to earth before it's too late.

[lol-jackles]

Here's another article about the current contraction within Hollywood, this time focusing on the crew members. My question is, what will it take for Hollywood to break out of the current contraction, if it does, or is this the new normal?

.

Link.   There will be a new normal, this is probably the 3rd new normal in my lifetime. Due to the boom era that culminated during the streaming decade, peaking in 2015, a lot of people moved to L.A and got into the industry. Now it's the bust era and there's a surplus of crew and a shortage of projects. A lot of people are going to get weeded out. Only some will be able to stay in the industry, others who aren't working will find other work while they bide their time, move to another city with more projects (and not enough crew), or leave the industry altogether. Eventually we'll be back at something closer to equilibrium, but with lot less crew members in the industry in LA. That goes the same for actors, writers, and producers.

Back in 19'70s, legacy studios were going belly up because people moved out to the suburbs and stayed home to watch TV instead of going out to see movies. Same problem today, covid lockout taught people to wait for movies to leave the theater and show up on their streaming services 80 days later. During the '70s, independent films took off, including something called Star Wars. Soon blockbusters were in and small quirky arty films were out and the "Hollywood Renaissance" era began. In contrast the Japanese own film industry never won their battle against tv.

The current tv landscape also reminds me of the 1990s when network TV struggling to regain an audience in the age of cable, the VCR/DVD, and satellite TV. Then they discover The Bundle. The cable-tv bundle was very lucrative because companies were paid twice: first by cable distributors, which shelled out billions every year to have channels like ESPN available for their subscribers, and then by advertisers, which opened their wallets to promote products alongside the hottest shows. Now that era is gone due to cord cutting so they're figuring out a new bundling scheme with streaming services.

But the current problem today is also started back in the 1990s when tech nerds started to take over Hollywood, they didn't understand show business and why tv and film budgets exploded since the 90s. That problem came home to roost in the 2020s, resulting in slashing production budgets by 60%.

Excerpt from the article:

Even the shows and films shooting in L.A. now have slashed many departments, he added, noting sets that historically employed 20 hairstylists now have just two or three.

Orion said “9-1-1” was a “very hard show,” noting that crew member Rico Priem recently died in a car accident after pulling a 14-hour overnight shift. “We were all tired, it was a very terrible thing,” Orion said after noting that hours on sets are generally “brutal and relentless."

Outside of the U.S., several countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, are offering cushy tax incentives for studios, where they can bypass unions and pay crews lower wages than in the States.

[lunarsilkscreen]

On Terrorists Cells

So I talked before how there's Trolls in the hacker community trying to sow Discord among nations (Not the App).

And this is important for the idea we have in America about decentralized terrorist cells.

This comes from our understanding of Gang-warfare. We may have also used similar tactics to throw decades worth of tea into the harbor called "Guerrilla-Tactics".

Yup, that concept is taught to us in elementary school. We know our historic warfare tactics better than our times-tables.

And the evidence we've had to go on at the time identified similar ideologies, speech patterns, and gang tactics that we're used to.

What this has resulted in in the "real-world". Is a conflation with unaffiliated cells, civil unrest, and multiple separate groups identified as parts of the same terrorist organization.

In corporate terms, we'd call this "A Conglomerate."

And it's led to mass recognition of Hamas, Al-Queda, ISIS, ISIL, the Iraq and Iranian militaries, and many more as parts of this same groups.

There were so many potential Paramilitaries that we had trouble seeing the forest for the trees.

With so many different governments for the various areas; our citizens had trouble telling the actual scale of the various conflicts.

Tiny; like football teams and city mayors going to war with each other.

Not the same as a conflict between, say, Ukraine and Russia. Which is closer to what we might call a civil war.

With all the history and all our perceptions; Russia is definitely a seemingly purposeful Bully. So we must consider exactly what this conflict is really about. If it's simply territory; the easiest solution is form conglomerations.

Which is where we as outsiders must make certain we don't make petty escalations the problem of neighboring Territories. "Neighbor Hoods" or "Towns" or "Cities".

And in the case of Migrant Tribes.... Like the Romani; we have to take care we don't tip the scale with our big elephant foot to someone else's Stag Beetle.

In America we caused attrocities to our own Migrant Tribes; what we refer to as "Native Americans" only because they were here before the white people.

If you're really having trouble on such a small scale; you can't stand a chance against our very large scales.

And this can apply to a lot of what America does; warfare can decimate local militia. Aid can destroy local businesses and disrupt small economies, which are inextricably linked to our global economy.

We've become masters of Guerrilla-Tactics from both sides. *We* should know better.

But we became fearful of our enemies; Germany, China, Russia, Mexico, tiny little ol Cuba.

When people were persecuted we found somebody in charge of the whole thing to arm so they could "Take care of themselves".

This brings me to Israel.

Knowing whatever I've told you already + your misconceptions, stereotypes, any added information.

What do you think of the situation?

Israel is the only tiny little places in the world with as much authority as a Nation like China or the U.S. despite still being in that "Mayor" mindset.

How can we expect such a small place to defend itself against the entire world?

It's just that tiny.

Our attention gave them authority over the other people around them; and other similar sized leaders; like Mayors. Became enemies.

Israel is a single State and not as United as our States are.

They need to understand that they are now responsible for the lives of all the people around them; especially ones outside their borders. The same kind of responsibility only we have known for quite some time.

No offense China. Our Unity is quite different from yours.

As Scary as it may seem; Israel has been chosen to lead a unification process, but abused it in fear for their own sovereignty.

Well, we can't go back on word now. But we must remember; they can be bullies to the Jews outside their borders, just like we can be to Mexico and Canada....and the whole world really.

Just because the Sun rises in Israel, doesn't mean it should set over Palestine.

And so we must be sensitive to what damages even our "Friendly Gestures" might cause.

So the question to Israel; is this *really* an "Us or Them" situation? Or are you exiling Jews as you've done before?

Strength is in uniting with your neighbors in beneficial ways for all.

But fear gets the best of us.

Fear for our God given Lives. If life is a gift, and we should be thankful for it. It's not in service to a single man.

Better understanding of your own local laws, even from "outsiders" is key.

But here's the thing that all men can understand;

Most laws can be boiled down into one Law; "Don't be a [big meanie]".

If you want to split them into ten; following the commandments might as well be good enough for any place in the world.

If you're not Religious you can replace [no God's before me] and [not to worship idols]

With [separation of church and state] (don't bring up religion because then they'll counter with theirs)

And [Celebrities are not the Law]. Politicians, people, whatever.

And "Stick to those rules before being told anything else is allowed."

You know; entrapment and all that.

Because; which laws aren't covered here? By these ten, even if you ignore the God part.

Just Remember; Taylor Swift fans comprise twice the population of Israel. That's the kind of difference in scale we need to take into account.

[brettesims]

A Humanitarian Rant:

Palestinians x Christ Consciousness

If someone told me that on a humanitarian level, they haven’t been affected by the last nine months I would be concerned. We are in heavy times, on a global level; however I always say that it is possible to have a light heart even during times of war.

Palestinians take this truth to a whole other level. In the bitterness and emotional apathy that has afflicted the world, Palestinians are somehow different. In this American (yes) an American Genocide (as Israel is just a U.S. puppet state), I have only found solace in the beauty and purity that is the Palestinian people. Different from other Arabs, due to their dire circumstance of occupation for 75 years, being completely ignored by most Arab nations out of greed, racism and due to lack of funding - their steadfast resilience shines bright. Their faith glows in the darkness of war.

I have found so much renewed joy, peace and strength in learning more about Palestinian culture. They truly walk with God and in this day and age, I think very few people can truly say that. I have only seen such strong and steadfast faith reflected during my trip to Ghana. But Palestinians have equal if not stronger faith due to the Zionist oppression they face daily.

The conscious community and spiritual community at large speak a lot about Christ Consciousness. But anyone in the "spiritual community" who speaks of Christ Consciousness, but never mentions Palestine or reverence for the Palestinian people (the actual people of Jesus' lineage) seem deeply fake to me now. This is the lineage that literally embodies Christ Consciousness.

I think people often misinterpret what Christ Consciousness even is. In my opinion it is actually just the understanding of presence and having steadfast faith in the here and now no matter what may come. This is what Jesus actually taught, although it has become warped by the multitudes. The present moment is the access point for all miracles. Even when facing death, Jesus taught his followers that it's possible to ground in the light and reality of the here and now, and in that light, eternal peace can always be found.

Until I started learning more about Palestinians and Palestinian history I am not quite sure I even fully understood Christ Consciousness (although respectfully, they are Muslim). I also didn't fully understand why the collective Fascist Governments where so threatened by any rising leader that expressed aspects of Christ Consciousness within their hearts.

I believe it's because Politicians and Zionists know the power that Christ Consciousness holds and brings to the collective. From Malcolm X, to LMK, Tupac, Biggie, and to Mohbad (an Afrobeats artists who was most recently murdered) - all these humans expressed attributes of Christ Consciousness. While differing in religions (some Muslim, some Christian) they all held levels of high frequency consciousness. They all also had knowledge of "The New World Order", and they all were taken from this world because of the strength they possessed.

Mohbad, who I wrote about most recently was taken out a month before the "War"/ Genocide on Gaza began and his #1 single was entitled: 'Peace'.

If such resilient community leaders were aloud to live their messages would spread like wildfire. Thus, they were all a threat to the Zionist regime.

Understanding, listening, and watching Palestinians dominate media, put Palestine on the map, and share their stories with little to no resources has really renewed my faith as a humanitarian. Their creative talents and use of basically the only weapon they have (their voice) - has inspired me to no end. It has reignited my light in new ways and enabled me to remain steadfast in my own cause under Zionist threat.

So, dear reader at 1am on a Thursday, I write this because the entire situation lays heavily on my chest. Living in a society amongst individuals who would rather ignore an actual holocaust than acknowledge personal implication makes me sick. I for one, am not going down in history as someone who remained silent in the face of oppression. I will always stand on the right side of history.

Above I posted a beautiful music video by a Palestinian born and Gaza raised artist names Saint Levant. He actually graduated from UC Santa Barbara making him a Cali boy as well. The creativity, faith, power of the Palestinian people never cease to amaze me.

So, I will just leave you with this food for thought:

Imagine being an elderly Palestinian person and having your home taken by Israel in 1948, during the first Genocide. Imagine either having to relocate (becoming an immigrant) or being in Palestine forced to live in a refugee camps in Gaza or The West Bank. Then imagine years going by and you witness on TV, Black Americans being freed from Apartheid (Jim Crow) and South Africans being freed from their Apartheid, hoping and assuming that your own freedom will inevitably come - only to face yet another repeat of the same horrific Genocide you narrowly escaped 75 years ago. How would you feel? What would you cling to to keep going? Palestinians choose to cling to their faith, and for right now it is the only force in the world that is on their side.

It is important that we are able to put ourselves in one another’s shoes, after all, thats humanity.

And so, on that note, another humanitarian rant over and out! Thank you for reading community - especially if you made it to the end!

I think silence is violence during these times. So no matter if you write, sing, dance, draw or paint, I think it is important to express what you feel during these times in some way. The deafening silence of people surrounding me about Genocide has been the most unnerving thing about the situation for me and I can only hope that more humans will be brave enough to choose the art of expression - no mater what it looks like for them.

~ B

[oldbutnotyetwise]

Unexpected Gifts

     I have said this before and it bears repeating here, every good thing that happens has some bad attached to it, and every bad thing that happens has some good attached.  

     As I am writing this I have crossed the one year anniversary since my diagnosis of ALS was confirmed at Sunnybrook Hospital.  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a rare neurological disease that affects motor neurons in the brain or spinal cord that affect voluntary muscle movement.  Think of it like when you go to sleep, except in my case parts of my body are going to sleep never to wake again.  I’ve lost the use of my legs, I’m losing the use of my left hand, and my ability to speak is being impaired.  Eventually the muscles that allow me to breath and swallow will stop working.  In some cases ALS also results in frontal lobe dementia, so your two options are having a healthy mind trapped inside a non-working body, or dementia where you still are trapped inside of a non-functioning body while you have no understanding of what is going on, or the burden you are placing on your caretakers.  

     So about now you should be saying, how can there be anything positive about having ALS?  What good can possibly come from this Death Sentence?  Well let’s ponder that question and see what we can come up with.

     When given a terminal diagnosis I had a rather drastic shift on my perception of time.  Prior to the diagnosis, I didn’t give time much thought, foolishly I thought that my time was almost like grains of sand on a large beach, almost endless.  Once I received my diagnosis suddenly time became like the water in a canteen, something not to be wasted or used foolishly.  So you are wondering why is this a good thing, well it is because I have been taught the lesson of Mindfulness.  When you have lots of something it is hard not to take it for granted.  When you have something that is limited and quickly running out then you appreciate it a lot more.  You suddenly realize what an amazing gift time is.  You suddenly have the wisdom not to waste your time on foolish things.  You don’t waste your time on bad books, bad movies or with people you don’t want to spend time with.  If you want to do something and you can, than you do, no longer putting things off for some day in the future because now you know that someday may not come.  I wish that I had learned this lesson about the value of time much earlier in my life, but am grateful that I did learn it eventually and in turn  have worked much harder at enjoying what remaining time that I have left. 

     Living in Canada, or in this case Ontario I have a government run Health Plan.  On top of this I also have a benefit plan from my workplace until I am 65.  I will spare you numerous sad stories of people in other provinces, or in the U.S. who were waiting for approval for the ALS drugs and after two years of waiting they finally get the letter advising they had been approved,,,,the day before they enter a Hospice.  People who live in remote areas of provinces where they are hours and hours away from the nearest ALS Clinic, or even any medical assistance.  We are now living just over an hour from the ALS Clinic at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, generally accepted to probably be the best one in Canada.  I never really understood what a gift the pubic health care system was prior to this, but I do recognize how lucky I am in comparison to so many others.

     I would guess that my ALS medications probably cost somewhere between 200 and 300 thousand dollars a year.  My benefit plan is presently paying for my drugs, can you imagine not having coverage for drugs that could possibly help you?  Where you have to decide between selling or mortgaging your home and draining your bank accounts to buy your medications or choosing to go without.  Where medical decisions are based on dollar amounts instead of what is best for you?  I am grateful for the gift of a benefit plan that allows me to take these expensive drugs in the hope that they are helping me.

     I have met so many amazing people in the medical field since the first day I attended Sunnybrook.  The entire team at Sunnybrook who compassionately care for their hundreds of patients, knowing that everyone they are caring for will eventually lose their fight,  ALS remains undefeated.  As well the nurses, ALS Society, and Community Care Team who all make this horrible disease a little more tolerable.  I am grateful for the gift of all the caring people who work hard to look after me in such a kind, caring and compassionate way.

     A disease such as ALS is expensive.  The amount of medical or assistive equipment can be prohibitive, says the guy waiting for his $32,000 electric wheelchair.  The items we have around the house are a collection of things people have given or loaned us, we have purchased new or used, or that we have been reimbursed for through my benefit plan.  There is something called the ALS Loan Cupboard where people donate used medical equipment, let’s be honest, probably after their loved one dies.  I presently have a walker, electric lift chair and an electric hospital bed all loaned to me from the loan cupboard.  The list of medical equipment I require is constantly growing and already my life would be unbearable without it, so I am grateful for the gift of all this equipment that I have access to that helps me make it through my days.

     I will wholeheartedly acknowledge that I find myself surrounded by the best possible friends.  These are friends that take time out of their very busy lives to visit, or call, or email or set up video calls.  Somehow the whole world is going on at an extremely hectic pace while my life is coasting to a stop.  Most of the world continues on riding the merry go round of life, but a few people realize something important is going on and they are here for me.  Together we exchange old memories, share embraces, shed a few tears and just generally stand by each other.  When you are travelling a dark scary path and suddenly you find a trusted friend at your side you will notice your path becomes a lot less dark and scary.  I am grateful for the gift of dear, treasured friends.

     I have my dear sweet wife Robin here by my side from sun up to sun down working so very hard to look after me.  I don’t think anyone else has someone as amazing as her, and some people are forced to go through this nightmare alone, which I can’t even begin to imagine how impossibly hard that would be. I am grateful for the gift of my loving wife Robin.

   In Canada there is Medical Assistance In Dying, also known as MAID.  If you have a terminal illness, you can fill out a form, meet with a Physician who should agree with your decision and sign off on the form.  Then a minimum of three months later you meet with a second doctor go through the process again at which time you can select a day you want to end your life.  You can change your date or back out at any time, and yes if you are wondering it is a surreal experience going through this process.  I have friends travelling the same path as I am in the United States who would have to travel to another state to end their lives, as if this process isn’t difficult enough they have to travel to a strange place hundreds of miles away from their home and friends to end their suffering.  I am grateful for the gift of living somewhere that I am treated as kindly as a beloved pet who is allowed to leave this world when their struggle to live becomes too much for them.  Leaving this world in a kind compassionate manner, surrounded by loved ones, finally able to rest after fighting the good fight.  

     So I encourage you to always remember, every good thing that happens has bad attached, and very bad thing has good attached.  So next time something bad happens to you I encourage you to look for the good.  Yes you may have to look hard, yes it may be hard to find but I assure you it is there.  Then once you find those good things I encourage you to focus on them rather than the bad things, I think that will help make your journey a bit easier.

[redheadbigshoes]

Hey I don't want to start an argument or anything because it really isn't that serious but American Latinos didn't really have a choice to assimilate. They weren't allowed to speak Spanish in public, they were segregated and a lot of older generations carry that trauma on similar to how Indigenous Americans have. This causes a lot of (especially non white) Latinos to have identity issues because they're constantly told to speak Spanish and constantly ostracized by Latinos from Latin America who don't understand what it's like to live in the U.S as a poc. Tbh It's really interesting to me how white Latinos from Latin America will claim every American White Latino while not claiming any black or brown Latinos and dismissing them when they try to reconnect with their Indigenous half. I understand why Jenna Ortega and other actresses weren't taught Spanish. White Latinos are seen as superior to black and brown Latinos in the U.S and are rarely if ever treated with the same amount of disgust. As an American Latino I agree we can be really annoying but I don't understand why mostly white Latinos have an issue with American Latinos trying to claim their culture. There's just something weird to me about white Latinos trying to gatekeep the term "Latino" while not even trying to hear what non white American Latinos have to say. I guess I have a more personal take on this because I'm half Salvadoran half Mexican, and Central Americans are commonly looked down upon by other Latinos so much that many Salvadoran Americans lie about being Mexican because it's more accepted. Which is something I've personally experienced in the past few years with the newer president suddenly everyone wants to claim being half or full Salvadoran when they acted like it was a slur before. My Salvadoran family even has some identity issues because they ignore their Indigenous heritage in favor of being Mestizo. Now this is only my opinion as one American Latino I'm not their rrepresentative and you can have your opinions lol just wanted to give some context I guess.

If you checked my tags you’d see I imply I was talking mainly about American white Latinos.

Idk which white Latinos you interact with but most Brazilians don’t claim any white American Latino lol I’ve never seen that happening before.

I don’t disagree with you about how white Latinos are better treated than POC Latinos, I’ve never said otherwise 😃

It’s definitely not only white Latinos “having issues”, maybe this is just your experience. And based on my own opinion I have issues because when it comes to media outside Latin America American Latinos are definitely way more represented than us (and I say Latinos born and raised in LatAm in general). A lot of them like to speak over born and raised Latinos as if they’ve ever been here. A lot of them treat race just like Americans and are not willing to listen to how race and ethnicity are seen differently here because, just like most Americans, they think their views are universal. You implied white Latinos as if also talking about me so according to your (and I mean the American view of race and ethnicity) views I wouldn’t be white lol

I hope you can understand why I am so annoyed of this because it’s truly annoying how (talking about outside LatAm) we don’t seem to have much voice, and when we do we’re represented most of the time by American Latinos.

Not to mention how annoying some people (like I said in my other post, especially white people) treat being Latino as an aesthetic, and when it comes to actually getting in touch with LatAm culture and language they treat us as inferior.

[londonrebeldyke]

A love for people

[BLOG POST #10 - CULTURAL EXPERIENCE] @queerandwilde

June 3 - June 20, 2025

Throughout the entirety of my study abroad experience in London, I had learned so so much about myself, but also about humanity. I had even made a friend arriving in Heathrow airport, and by the 20th, I had had so many cultural experiences and new local London friends, that it was hard to leave. But I know that they aren't really gone, because the memories and conversation we made along the journey will always be a part of me in a weird sort of way. I always think about that quote from a random tumblr user, that goes something like this:

"I make my ramen the way a friend taught me in eleventh grade. Every fall, I listen to a playlist made for me by a boy I drove across a border to hook up with. I eat sushi because a girl who won't talk to me anymore made me try it, and Indian food because my best friend's parents ordered for me before I knew what I liked. There are movies I love because someone I loved, loved them first. I am a mosaic of everyone I've ever loved, even for a heartbeat."

-viridianmasquerade

It might sound silly, because most of these people I met I only knew for a moment. But sometimes I think a moment is all you need to connect with others in your humanity. The only problem I have now, is who to talk about in this blog post first!

On June 8th, our group went to The Divine in London, which is a LGBTQ+ bar and performance venue that opened just last year. We saw a cabaret drag performance of Horrible Herstories: An Unauthorized LGBTQIA History Cabaret. On the walk to the venue, we met two young men: Dom and Andrew. They complimented our cabaret-styled make up, and I quickly took the opportunity to engage in conversation with them. It was revealed we were all going to The Divine, and so we walked the way together (which was super useful, since we were a little lost at that point lol). We talked a lot about where they were from and what the queer environments were like in their hometowns. We did the same, and we also discussed the current political climate and (lack of) safety in the U.S. It was really interesting to hear it from their perspective. They lamented how paralyzing it felt to watch such horrible things happen from "across the pond," so to say, and see it even being mimicked in their own country. But we also talked about perseverance and queer joy. I mentioned how Providence is the gayest capital city, and they lit up. Dom then introduced a piece of queer history that I had never known before: Polari. Polari was/is a form of queer slang made up of several languages including English, Italian, and Romani. It was a kind of secret language that was developed in the UK in the 1920's up until the 1970's, that allowed queer people to talk to and understand one another safely. They both went on to speak some it themselves, including "Bona to vada your dolly old eke," which meant, "Nice to see your pretty old face." It was just a really beautiful moment of sharing ourselves to one another and the history we share as part of the queer community.

During the performance's intermission, the two guys who sat in front of us turned around and complimented me, calling me gorgeous. I was flattered, and we talked a lot at the bar where we went to go get some more drinks together. Kyle and Ethan were very close in age to us, and it was fun to banter with one another. They joked about how old they were, when they were only about a year apart from us. Again, we both talked about where we were from, what was going on in the world, and our queerness. But we also talked a lot about our personal interests, and we cracked plenty of jokes to one another. We even shared social medias, and I've been keeping up with Kyle and Ethan ever since on Instagram. Ethan in particular, as we both have a love for art and he loves designing drag costumes.

By the end of the performance, we were saying our goodbyes and hugging both Dom and Andrew, as well as Kyle and Ethan. It was just so lovely to have a genuine human connection in such a safe space. To also then afterward have the chance to speak with the performers- it was just mind-blowing. My heart felt content, and even more full.

On June 17, trying to catch the underground back home from The Globe's Romeo and Juliet performance, we met three amazing older women: Haylee, Lucy, and Kim. They were very clearly coming home from a fun night out, as Lucy and Kim were drunk and Haylee was trying to navigate them back to their respective trains to get home. Roman, Sarah, and I were confused on what train to take, and Roman asked Haylee for directions. Haylee, being sober enough to help us (haha!), very kindly directed us to what train we were to take. It turned out we were taking the same train as Lucy, and the six of us waited the 15 minutes together for the next train. It was really sweet, as Lucy assigned her friend group onto mine, classifying Roman as the "navigator," and thus, as Haylee. Lucy grabbed hold of my hand and we skipped down to the station's seating together as she said that I was her, and Sarah was Kim. We stuck to our assigned people, and we all had very lovely conversations with one another.

As I talked with Lucy, she kept remarking how we were shadows of their younger selves, thirty years before. It was honestly really really sweet, because she had explained that they had all been friends for years, and that us three were like the alternate-American dimension versions of them. Lucy and I went to talk about our lives, and Lucy entrusted me with some personal difficulties she was facing. While we talked about our struggles, we also talked about things we loved. She loved her son, and she had recently made a friend from Salem, Massachusetts- who she met through Pokémon Go, a game she loves so much that she even traveled to Paris the pervious weekend to attend the convention of. We particularly bonded over that, and it was just so beautiful to share a feminine energy between the six of us, and to also see a version of my best friends and I in the future.

We rode the train with Lucy up until our stop, and she even offered us to come back in July for the Pokémon Go party she was hosting for her friend from Salem. She insisted I had to try her eggplant parmesan, and while I couldn't promise to be back in July, I did say that I'd love to come back and visit her in the future. We exchanged information, and I haven't forgotten our meeting since. I hope that by the next time I'm in the UK, I can have an amazing dinner with Lucy and her son, and maybe even play a little bit of Pokémon Go.

And what better way to have spent your last night in London than at a Lesbian Bar? On June 19th, my friends and I had the lovely experience of going to SheBar in Soho, London. We were able to be our complete sapphic selves, and I've never truly felt that way before. There, I met Maya, and we talked a lot about our lives and our piercings. We all danced together as a group, and me and Maya exchanged information so we could hang out sometime! She is moving to Canada in the coming months and plans on doing a trip to NYC in October, so we talked on Instagram about hanging out during that time. It was just really nice to meet someone and have an instant friendship with them. There is something so human about that, and I'll be grateful for it always.

[alicevgcna]

Leading Nursing Homes Offering CNA Training: Elevate Your Care Career Today!

top Nursing Homes Offering CNA Training: Elevate Your Care Career Today!

If you’re looking to start ​a rewarding career in healthcare,⁢ becoming a Certified ⁢Nursing assistant (CNA) is an excellent choice. CNA training not⁢ only equips you with the ‍essential skills ‍needed to care for patients, but also boosts your employability ‌in the⁢ ever-growing ⁤field of nursing. In this ‍article, we’ll explore the top nursing homes offering CNA training⁤ programs‍ that can⁣ help elevate your care career. Let’s dive into the ‍benefits of becoming a CNA and how you can kick-start this journey with the right training.

Why Choose a Career as⁣ a CNA?

before we discuss where to undertake CNA training, it’s importent⁣ to ⁣understand the benefits of becoming a CNA:

Job Stability: The demand for‍ nursing ​assistants is expected⁣ to grow ⁢substantially. According to the U.S. Bureau of‌ Labor Statistics, job opportunities are projected to increase by 8% ​from 2020 to 2030.

Hands-On Training: CNA programs often offer practical training in real healthcare environments, ensuring‍ you have the experience needed to provide quality care.

Flexible Work Options: Many nursing homes provide various shifts, making ⁢it easier to balance work with‌ other commitments.

Stepping Stone to Further ⁢Education: Working​ as a CNA can serve as a pathway to ‍advance your career in ‌healthcare, such​ as becoming an RN⁤ or LPN.

What to Look ‍for ​in CNA Training Programs

Choosing the right CNA training program is crucial for ⁤your success. Here are some factors to consider:

Accreditation: ​Ensure the program is approved by the state and recognized by industry authorities.

Experienced ​Instructors: look for programs led by qualified professionals with​ experience ‍in nursing and teaching.

Hands-On Experience: ⁤ Check if the training includes clinical practice in a nursing home setting.

Job Placement Assistance: Some programs offer career services to help ‌you find a job after certification.

Top Nursing⁢ Homes Offering CNA Training

Here is a curated list of the top​ nursing homes offering CNA​ training programs:

Nursing Home

Location

Training Length

Certification Assistance

greenwood Nursing ​Home

New York, NY

8 Weeks

yes

Sunset Healthcare

los Angeles, ⁣CA

6 Weeks

Yes

Pine Crest Home

Chicago, IL

7‌ Weeks

No

Maple Ridge Care Center

Seattle, WA

5 Weeks

Yes

Harmony Haven Nursing

Miami, FL

10 Weeks

No

Benefits of CNA ⁢Training at Nursing ​Homes

Training at a nursing‍ home offers several advantages:

Real-World experience: You ​get‌ to interact with patients and gain‍ hands-on experience in a supportive environment.

Networking Opportunities: Meet and connect⁤ with professionals in the field, which can lead to job referrals.

practical Skills Advancement: Work alongside nurses and gain practical⁢ skills that are necessary‍ for the role.

personal Experience: A Day in the Life of a CNA Trainee

Maria, a recent CNA‍ trainee at Maple Ridge Care Center, shared ​her experience: “The program not only taught me the‌ technical skills needed to care for patients, but I also learned ‌a lot about empathy ‍and‌ communication. Every day was a new challenge,but with the hands-on training,I felt‍ ready for ⁤anything!”

Case Studies of Successful CNAs

Let’s look at some remarkable‍ success stories of⁤ CNAs who have advanced in⁢ thier careers‍ after completing ⁣CNA training:

Case Study 1:⁢ John’s⁢ Journey

After graduating from⁤ Sunset ⁢Healthcare’s ⁣CNA program,John secured a job instantly. He ⁤later went ⁣on to gain ‍experience as​ a nursing⁤ assistant⁤ and is now pursuing⁢ further education to become a‌ registered nurse.

Case Study 2: Linda’s Conversion

Linda trained at Greenwood Nursing Home and fell​ in love with patient care, ‌leading her to specialize​ in geriatric nursing. Today, she manages⁣ a ‌nursing team and advocates for improved patient care standards.

Practical Tips for ‍Success in CNA Training

Here are some practical tips to help⁢ you excel in ​your‌ CNA⁣ training:

Stay Organized: Keep track of assignments‌ and practical skills to master before certification.

Practice Empathy: Understand the emotions and needs of patients to provide compassionate care.

Ask Questions: Make use of your instructors’ knowlege; curious​ minds ⁤thrive in the healthcare field!

Conclusion

Starting‍ a career as a CNA can be immensely rewarding, and choosing a nursing home that offers ‌quality CNA training is a vital step in ‍your journey.Whether you want to ‍help the elderly or⁣ those with disabilities, nursing⁣ homes provide the perfect environment for gaining real-world experience while receiving comprehensive training. With ‌the right ​program ​and dedication, ⁢you can elevate your care career today!

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[mountphoenixrp]

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

           Han Hayun, a 25 year old daughter of Arawn.            She runs a bird sanctuary on the island.

IN CHARACTER

FC NAME/GROUP: Eunha - VIVIZ

CHARACTER NAME: Han Hayun

AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 25, May 12th

PLACE OF BIRTH: Portland, Oregon, U.S.

OCCUPATION: Runs bird sanctuary

HEIGHT: 5'4"

DEFINING FEATURES: She has scarring on her right leg, and though it might not be seen she is hard of hearing in her left ear.

PERSONALITY: People tend to call her a Peace Warrior/Humanitarian. Being her whole life she was taught and encouraged to help others less fortunate, promote peace and good ways to resolve conflict. Though a compassionate and genuine person, she can still get rather hot headed and snappy. Usually when she is dealing with difficult spirits, or when she doesn't get to sleep well. It takes a lot for her to do snap, usually just coming of non chalant or slightly rude. Even still she'll give you the shirt off her back if you asked. 

But all that energy poured into her being a giving person had resulted in her giving too much, and that what she thinks made her lose her mom. The one person who taught her to be selfless, Hayun wanted her all to herself by the end of the day. To just hang out with her mom sharing jokes and fun stories. But that loss made it difficult to continue her work at its full force, but it manifested into animal care taking, with birds and horses. She still has days where her grief is difficult. Though she has her mothers ghost, the chilling touch is not the same as an actual hug. Turning into some mild sensory problems with touch.

HISTORY: CW: Car crash, trauma and grief 

It all started 25 years + 9 months ago. Korean immigrant Han Gyeong-Ja landed in the U.S. fresh out of college and with a group of UCEF workers, stuck in the state while they awaited their assignments. Ms. Han was a known free spirit, and a humanitarian. Seeking for equity amongst all, and trying to bring light to those stuck in the darkness of the world. That drew in a god one day... safe to say the rest is history. Gyeong-Ja didn't want to be married though, and accepted the man she thought to be the father as a boyfriend. He wasn't the most fond of what Gyeong-Ja did, often wanting her to stop her job and just quit to raise Hayun properly. But her mother was having none of it, and instead doubled down in her methods. Deciding that once Hayun was old enough to travel safely, about the age of 6, she went with her, wherever her work took her. And though it wasn't conventional nor the best way to grow up, Hayun happened to be the type of child that loved it. Meeting both new and 'imaginary' friends every where she went. 

It was like that her entire life, with being homeschooled, and taught extremely well above the U.S. educational standards, all while successfully managing to also teach Hayun what doing good truly meant. During all this her supposed father became a distant figure, who just accepted that Hayun was happy and just a cheerful child. Though a close call with some creepy men in Europe when she was 11, Hayun's mother added another lesson to her crazy curriculum of life, self defense. Between traveling, education, training, Hayun never noticed that her imaginary friends never disappeared, just accepting the many faces in her life for what they were. Hell they even talked to her, but it was rare she understood if they were in a different country that didn't speak Korean or English, rather understand them enough. She only knew basics of pleasantries, yes/no, and where does this go?. And at that it wasn’t every language just a very small handful. Remaining that way for years.

Untill one day after her 22nd birthday, when they were on a road trip driving from Portland to Chicago for a Christmas adventure, the roads got icy... and dangerous. A semi had lost control and was taking a deadly turn. Veering off its lane it crashed into their vehicle. By miracles they were hit just right that instead of a head on collision they rolled. But was it truly a better out come? Hayun's odd strength saved her life during the roll. But it didn't save her mother, the metal of the car also causing her leg injury she was trapped and waiting for help. In that moment, she saw her mothers spirit leave her body and crouched next to her daughter in concern. Hayun's eyes widened and then it clicked, at the worst time possible, she could see the dead. Then she went unconscious.

Many months went by, and Hayun had recovered from the wreck held her mothers absolutely enormous celebration of life, with it also was an understanding of a gift she had. As well as meeting with a UCEF worker who could see Hayun was now a demigod for her survival made no sense besides something slightly inhuman.

The worker was who gave Hayun the information to go to MP. In which she took and moved to the island three years ago. Deciding to open a bird sanctuary and a ranch. Though she doesn't have many horses the few she does she'll lead guided trail rides amongst other things. She enjoys her life now, just wanting to do this easy life. 

PANTHEON: Celtic

CHILD OF: Arawn

POWERS: Sight of the dead, Inhuman strength, not a real power but she has a strange connection with birds and horses.

STRENGTHS: Power aside, she is skilled in martial arts and self defense (taught by her mom), she is extremely well connected to many leaders/fronts with UCEF and adjacent organizations, highly observant of her surroundings plus the addition of her mothers ghost knows more than she lets on. 

WEAKNESSES: Due to a car crash she does have mobility issues with running long distances, she is a bleeding heart and struggles to say no when someone asks for her help, she has an intolerance for red meat and is pescatarian but will eat chicken, she tends to attract angry spirits at times which drains her energy, thus makes the sight of her mother also difficult. The higher the energy a ghost has the more it uses up her powers and makes her extremely lethargic.

[toetips]

I have a friend that I love dearly. She has truly been one of my best friends for many years. We started college together graduated together and overall just grew into adults together. We’ve voted together and took many years understanding how our morals and standards align and where they differentiate.

This current election is very huge. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, I think anyone would be able to tell that election is not one to play around with.

The presidential candidates and Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Anyone who has any sort of grasp on politics when know that Donald Trump is not a good fit for the position. He has been backed/endorsed by the literally KKK. When he was having his rally’s, he would only go very racist areas and areas where he knew people were pro Trump. Harris had been very vocal about her plans to reinstate Roe v. Wade and have get tax policy idea like increasing taxes for the rich and cutting them for the middle class and lower class.

Under Trump’s admin, it was been very clear that that his main demographics in terms of intended audience is white racist people. His has been convicted of rape and so far officially been convicted of 34 felony charges out of 88. He wants police to have full immunity from the crimes that they commit. And also wants to dismantle the department of education and will not want any funds to go to any schools that teach things that he doesn’t want to be taught like critical race theory. The people from his cabinet have said that he should not be president again and he had fascist views. He also praised dictators and has said that he wants the American people to obey his orders and will put the military against those he do not follow him. This is very clearly not a good man. It is very clear that this election is very important and I very big deal.

My friend Britney said that she was having a hard time choosing who to vote for. Which is obviously very concerning. Kamala Harris is the most qualified candidate. She been in the senate, House of Representatives and currently vice president. She has also been an attorney general. So to me it is not hard to know which is the better option. She has at least two policy that I align with and she is beyond qualified to been the representation of what the U.S. is. The day that Britney voted she didn’t want to tell anyone who she voted for. Obviously that is cause to assume that you voted for Trump if you’re embarrassed or not comfortable to talk about who you voted for. This is what the whole group thought.

Obviously I would not want to be friends with someone who thinks that voting for Trump is okay. Why would I want to be friends with someone who does not value my life and my rights? Why would I want to be friends with someone who thinks this is a game and is actively refusing to understand why this is a big deal.

But I love her. I love Britney and she has almost always been such a great friend to me. But I love myself more to not allow someone to keep their place in my life if they don’t value my rights and doesn’t see how the potential of losing them is a big deal. The idea of having to let her go hurt me a lot. But it is something that must be done. I can sit here and cry all day and night but that doesn’t change anything. I cannot make her understand basic human decency. But I also wanted to give her the chance to explain herself and I also wanted to explain myself and how her lack of understanding hurt me. But she declined the talk and wanted to reschedule but now I feel like I don’t ever want to talk to her again. I’m over it. As of now it’s done; I’m done.

[leonbloder]

When We Worry Too Much

I read somewhere not long ago that there are more people in our current culture walking around with low-grade depression and anxiety than at any other time in U.S. History.  

That's an astounding claim, but based on my own experience, I tend to believe it.  

There's a lot of uncertainty in our world, and when you combine that with the amount of information we have access to about all of the things that are not going well, it makes sense that more of us worry than our forbears.  

The other day, I ran across this quote from the comic strip "Peanuts" that both made me laugh but also made me think: 

“Sometimes you lie in bed at night and you don’t have a single thing to worry about. That always worries me!” - Charlie Brown

I have to be honest; that sums up how I felt for a long time.  

Over a year ago, I was struggling with depression and anxiety, so much so that I was having trouble doing even the most straightforward task without overthinking it, fretting over it, and then worrying about whether it was good enough after I did it. 

This would often send me into a spiral into darkness where all I wanted to do was sleep, check out, or otherwise shut out the world and not have to think. 

My therapist had recommended I begin taking anti-depressants, which I had resisted for some time because I was afraid it would make me numb to my feelings, which I didn't want. 

But I finally relented and got a prescription.  I had no idea how much it would change my life.  My fears about not feeling my feelings were completely unfounded.  I still felt all the same feelings as before, but I could work through them more easily.    

I still worry about things, to be sure. Sometimes, I worry too much. But I've been able to understand my worry more objectively and to do my best to make it productive. 

Worry can become productive if we are willing to remain curious about it even when we are worried.  

Suppose we can remain objective enough to let our curiosity lead us to the root causes of our worry. In that case, we soon realize that almost all of the things we are worrying about have little to do with the actual thing itself and more to do with past experiences, trauma, and the like. 

It can also be productive if we see more clearly that worrying about something doesn't affect the outcome.  

One of the teachings of Jesus from Matthew's Gospel often comes to mind when I ponder my worry and anxiety: 

25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6:25-34)

Jesus often taught his followers to live more in the present because it was unproductive to dwell on the past and pure speculation to worry about the future.   This is one of the most difficult things we can do as human beings, much less as followers of Jesus.  Most of us struggle to surrender our outcomes and place ourselves in the hands of a loving God because we worry that things won't work out for us.  Sometimes, our worst fears are realized.  Sometimes, the things we were worrying about do come to pass, confirming our worries about them.   But even so, those calamities ought not destroy us.  We are never outside God's grace, forgiveness, and mercy.  We are never so far gone that we can't be found.  There is nothing in this life or the next that can separate us from the love of God.   May we realize this as one of the truest things we can know.  And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forever. Amen.