#and thats not even to mention the trauma of watching living creatures get old and die while you must keep living

[strangegutz]

If it’s spoilers, that’s okay, but does that picture of Eddie with the hearts have a backstory? Has he ever had his heart broken before?

Eddie is too afraid of having his heart broken to let anyone in, but being a natural lover and romantic he leaves a lot of broken hearts in his wake.

He was hurt very badly once, a long time ago, before he was Black-Eyes, or even Eddie, and hasn't allowed himself a real relationship since- difficult feat for an android created for companionship, it's in his programming to love

[cherry-pop-soda]

okay ive been enabled, time to be unhinged!!

review/my ramblings underneath the cut B)

okay so before i go into the actual plot i just need to talk about the narrator. hes this weird pink thing, god only knows what animal hes supposed to be. a pig?? a weird bear?? a cat?? i have no clue.

anyways hes voiced by the guy who made the whole film, and i dont really understand why his character is necessary because the story isnt any less confusing and insane with him interjecting and trying to explain.

starting in on the story, we have our main man Joshua.

hes a kid with a pretty shit family who argues constantly and yells at him for nothing. his father is immediately characterized and scary and aggressive, and his mom is just mean. joshua’s parents argue and then yell at him, so he goes to his room feeling down and falls asleep.

then this weird creature shows up??? i have NO IDEA what hes supposed to be but he just. clips through the ceiling and materializes out of thin air.

he introduces himself as Christopher Andrew Eugene Barzione, or just chris. hes a fucking weirdo who says red flag things the entire time. anyways rven though hes a complete stranger he convinces joshua to trust him, takes joshua by the arm and flies off like? out of the space time continuum or something?? and just somehow ends up at the time of the bible story in which moses is leading the jewish people out of egypt. then chris just fucking?? puts joshua into the body of the biblical joshua??? so joshua, a child, is literally now possessing the body of an adult man in ancient egypt.

at this point they go through the parting of the red sea, and joshua, who is again, a child in the body of a grown ass man, probably collects a shitton of trauma as he watches the red sea close back up and drown a bunch of people.

they continue through the biblical story, and joshua becomes moses’ right hand man. i should mention moses looks like this.

also no, thats not a giant chin, thats a really poorly rendered beard. i cant unsee it as a chin but i swear its supposed to be a beard.

theres also a battle scene where joshua is chosen to lead the people into battle with another nation, which is insane to me on numerous levels because for one thing i cannot wrap my mind around how nobody questioned that joshua, a grown man, has the voice of like a 9 year old boy. but anyways joshua collects even more trauma as he goes into battle and absolutely destroys a ton of people, murdering them willingly despite literally being a child.

continuing on, i think i’ll also mention that in the part of the biblical story in which the people start worshipping a golden calf and moses punishes them, in the bible he actually has them all slaughtered, and in this film he melts down the statue and makes them drink the gold. it makes sense to take out the slaughtering to not freak kids out but idk, drinking gold wouldve freaked me out just as bad as a kid, its making me cringe now. but idk i digress i just think its odd.

oh and ALSO before i go on. when moses gets the ten commandments he takes joshua with him but then just leaves joshua on the side of the mountain they climbed for forty days??? which i know is not weird if you know the bible story, but also, its important to remember joshua is in like. some undefined weird dream state this entire time. so hes basically having an insanely long dream, and it gets even longer, but we’ll get there.

so moving on eventually they get to the promised land, a city called Jericho. but theres already people living there, and joshua gets sent to scope the place out. he sees the people there sacrifice a baby, and later chris weirdly convinces him that this is a reason to have the whole population destroyed, because what they did was against god. and i do have to say that objectively, sacrificing a baby is a very weird and bad thing to do, but also, these people were in this city just living their lives without even knowing the ten commandments existed. so theyre essentially about to get completely obliterated from existence for disobeying a commandment they had no idea existed.

also, i need to mention that all the people of jericho look like this.

and so the biblical story continues, and the people carry this box with the ten commandments inside it around the outside of Jericho six times, and then stop. for some reason this makes the jericho people laugh, ig because they think these other peoples’ god is pathetic. but as theyre laughing, these massive fucking angels appear behind them. wait let me put images

yeah so these guys appear with gigantic hammers and just completely obliterate the whole city with all the people still inside.

and after this the other people cant even move in not just because its destroyed, but also because god got mad at all of them and condemned them to live in the desert forever, saying only joshua would enter the “promised land”.

joshua becomes the leader and is completely like. indoctrinated into playing the role of the grown ass man he is still possessing.

theres also? this one part where the narrator appears and says some things but then hes like? “thats my cue” and just fucking reverse breaks the fourth wall and goes INTO the story, turns into an angel, comes up to joshua, and joshua is like. “what message does the lord have for me” and literally all the other guy says is “the land you are standing on is holy” or something close to that and thats just. it. and the scene abruptly ends after that.

but anyways shortly after that chris comes back and he takes joshua back to his real life. funnily enough, when he took joshua off on the weird dream thing, he promised joshua he’d get him back in time for dinner, but when they come back, joshua is late for dinner and chris is literally just like “its not my fault” even though it absolutely is his fault.

ONE FINAL THING. when jericho gets destroyed, the weird devil head from way up on this post materializes and when joshua is transported back to his real life, the devil thing follows him. and joshua has to FIGHT SATAN WITH A FAKE WOODEN SWORD IN HIS BEDROOM. and somehow he succeeds and the devil head thing turns into rocks, and the rocks just disintegrate like sand, and then the whole thing is just over. it is so abrupt and so weird.

coming to the end, joshua’s parents are still arguing when he comes in for dinner, but after he sits down they suddenly just 180 and completely change their tune and start apologizing to each other and to joshua for being shitty. and thats the end of the 55 minute long, poorly animated fever dream!

i honestly summarized very fast to keep this post from being a bajillion miles long, but truly what ive said and the screenshots ive added dont even cover this movie. you need to just experience it. i did not even get into the sound in this film whatsoever because its just. you just need to watch it and hear for yourself how bad it is. its comically bad.

i highly recommend watching an actual movie review on it so you can hear what it genuinely sounds like. i definitely recommend ted nivison’s video on it, i found it insanely funny and it covers a lot of stuff i couldnt really cover well in the format of a text post.

but thats been my ramble :^)

i think my new hyperfixation is watching the absolute worst animated films i can possibly find

[ifartsparkswithkaty]

Cows are not sexually abused, and if you knew anything about working around large animals you would know that. A cow in heat doesn't care whether it is artificially inseminated, which is really obvious if you've ever seen it done (or met a cat in heat, they're the same way - hornier than you or I could possibly imagine.) Bulls are extremely violent and will often injure cows by mating with them aggressively and repeatedly, even if they don't want it or try to get away, which is why farmers use artificial insemination - it is actually significantly more expensive than using bulls, but much safer and gentler for the animals. Calves are also only taken away from their mothers for safety reasons with some breeds - a friend of mine working on a dairy had a cow calve in the middle of the night and they didn't notice right away, by the time they found it she had trampled the baby and it was so injured it had to be euthanized. It's not the only story I've heard like that either. Beef breeds are good moms and their babies stay with them after birth. Cattle of both sexes and all breeds are slaughtered at one year at the earliest, unless they have some kind of incurable health problem that's a welfare issue, and in beef slaughterhouses the animals can't see each other when they are killed, so they have no idea it's coming and don't have time to panic. The slaughtering method used in modern slaughterhouses is amazingly fast, it's like a light switch getting flipped off, not at all like the awful videos from years past that you see. It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane. I don't have personal experience with pigs because my family all warned me never to work on pig farms because they are so horrific. I know from family who have worked in chicken houses that chickens are kept in very poor conditions. As someone who really cares about animals it bothers me to see misinformation spread, because it leads to a place where people assume that because there is so much misinformation about cattle, then the horror stories about chicken houses and pig farms must also be fake. I would really like for pigs and chickens to get the same consideration and care that cows do, and I think we should work toward that - my family raised our own pigs and chickens when I was a kid, and we always treated them as well as our cats and dogs, despite them being raised for meat, so I know it's possible. Hopefully in the future laws can be passed protecting these animals from abuse.

Yes, I also hope that laws continue being passed to protect animals from abuse. I’m glad you said that you really care about animals. Having said that, I’m a little worried about everything else you mentioned. Your family treated your pigs and chickens as well as they treated your cats and dogs? Did you also kill your cats and dogs for meat later? If not, why not? You treated them the same and cared for them the same except for the part where you killed the pigs for food but kept the dogs around for cuddles? In some parts of Asia dogs are killed for food - how do you feel about that? Do you feel dogs and pigs should be treated exactly the same except for the part where you kill one for food but not the other? Why?

Let’s address the point of the misinformation about cattle next. You started off by saying that cows aren’t sexual abused but then went on to say that well when they’re horny they don’t care what happens to then. Yeah, fuck off. Every sentient being should have the right to their own body and should have the right to consent to what happens to them. Even if you disagree with that (shame on you for thinking of other sentient beings who can feel pain and trauma can/should be impregnated without their consent), here is an article reporting violence and non-impregnation relation sexual assault on cows in factory farms. It also has video footage if you’d prefer. These are animals capable of feeling psychological trauma, so don’t fucking dare tell me that being impregnated without their consent isn’t going to be traumatic. And don’t try to bullshit me with the ‘its safer and gentler for animals thats why we do it’ because honestly an industry which kills male calves as soon as their born or tortures them after birth so they can be sold off as veal doesn’t give a shit about being ‘safe and gentle’ with their animals. Sure, you might have wanted your own small number of cows to be as healthy as they can be before you murder them - but don’t expect factory farmed animals to be treated like anthing other than an object.

And let’s talk about the murdering part, shall we? You said: “Cattle of both sexes and all breeds are slaughtered at one year at the earliest”. Do you know what the natural lifespan of a cow is? Well take a look at this:

Don’t you fucking dare come here and tell me that ^this is ethical in any way. The analogous age for a human (who would otherwise live for 80 years) to be slaughtered would be 6 years. Killing a cow at 18 months for meat is analogous to killing a 6 year old human child in terms of how much they’ve lived and experienced of life.

The next thing you say is that “in beef slaughterhouses the animals can't see each other when they are killed, so they have no idea it's coming and don't have time to panic”. Let me counter that by showing you some real life examples. A warning for anyone clicking these links - it has videos from the inside of slaughterhouses where animals are panicking because they know they’re about to die. The animals are risking their lives to try and escape.

By the way, if you don’t believe me or don’t bother watching the videos - you can read this confession of a former slaughterhouse worked posted on the BBC. Not only does it confirm what’s shown in the videos that animals do see others being killed and they do panic and that it’s all very barbaric, it also talks about why slaughterhouses are horrible for the humans who works there. It’s literally awful for everyone involved.

The next thing you say is “The slaughtering method used in modern slaughterhouses is amazingly fast, it's like a light switch getting flipped off, not at all like the awful videos from years past that you see. It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane.” Did you ever have to euthanise your cats or dogs? Did you take them to a slaughterhouse or did you take them to a vet? Why wouldn’t you want your cat or your dog to be euthanised in a slaughterhouse? After al, you did literally say “It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane” and wouldn’t you want the most humane possible way of saying goodbye to your beloved pet? Literally no one would even think about taking their pet to the slaughterhouse to be euthanised because everyone knows it’s not fucking humane.

As for the modern methods for slaughterhouses? Let’s take a look at these modern method. Here’s an excerpt: “The simplest mechanism consists of electrodes or probes built in the form of tongs with insulated handles and applied between the ear and eye of the animal for 1–4 secs.” You can read more about that here. How fucking dare you call having metal tongs inserted in your brain and being electrocuted ‘humane’? Just because it’s “fast” doesn’t mean it’s not painless. If you want to have your dog euthanised and you see the vet inserting metal tongs in between your dog’s eyes and ears you’d fucking start screaming animal abuse and just ask another vet for an injection. So don’t you fucking dare come over here and say ‘oh modern methods are very fast and efficient so theyre very humane’ when theyre just fucking barbaric.

Now, if you do really care about animals then put your money where your mouth is and join the movement to end animal abuse. This means not killing them. This means not gassing them or electrocuting them. This means not stealing their babies and killing them because it’s cheaper than rearing them. If you care about animals then protest against their exploitation. They’re sentient creatures capable of feeling pain and trauma, so protest against the industries who keep them in traumatic conditions and inflict pain upon them. If you care about someone then you don’t kill them when they clearly don’t want to be killed. There’s no ethical way to kill someone who doesn’t want to die.

If after reading all this you still disagree with me, then kindly fuck off. I don’t want you here in my inbox trying to defend animal cruelty. And I don’t appreciate you sending me an ask that forces me to go look up instances of animals cruelty so I can back up the points I’m trying to make. You’ve successfully ruined my day, and I don’t want any more asks that defend the instituitionalised torture of helpless animals.

[goonmilk]

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

I don’t think any other living creature on this planet knows how it is to be a Black Man in America in 2019. A bold statement I know but lets count up the strikes against us. In a country where we have only been free and given rights for the lsat 50/60 years, and still have those rights taken away if we look threatening or are big, black, and the opposing person feared for their life. In a nation that would rather see a black man in jail than in a classroom, or on a workforce, or in a lead position how can one not feel oppressed. Not to mention; when, or shall i say, if we get in any of these positions we have to “act” a certain way or that position will be taken away. But before any of that pseudo success happens lets speak on the childhood trauma that every black man goes through…

“Be a man!” *yelling at 13 year old boy” This is how black boys are told to deal with their emotions… As a Black boy in america, nobody grows up faster than us. Taking responsibilities you shouldn’t have to worry about at the tender age of adolescence. Emotions are unheard of for some black men, and I think it is an issue in our community. In no way am I advocating for cry babies, but their should be some type of emotional comfortability within our culture for emotions to be expressed without attaching weakness to it. Some of us have been “grown” and taking care of home for as long as we can remember. Single parent households, living with grandparents, shit i even know some niggas that raised themselves with their siblings, alone. You’re the Man of the house but you’re not even a man yet, that pressure busts pipes.

Lets talk about the environment we grow up in, how our neighborhoods are food deserts with no local grocery store for miles, but theres a Wackdonalds, Liquor store, and Carryout on every street corner. It has been proven that most health issues our community faces is due to poor eating habits and lack of nutritional value in our diets. Living in Projects and hoods that look like third world countries. One fucked up family living on top of another raising a generation of more fucked up situations. Fighting everyday for a piece of property thats not even yours to own. Watching your back in a paranoia cause you don’t want to get caught slipping. Plagued with drugs and alcoholism our neighborhoods are war zones. We really are roses growing through the concrete. Fucked up petals and all. The world asks why? when you should be asking how? How can You survive through this bullshit and still hold it together? Its the hardest task in the world I promise you.

Being a Black Man in America you develop PTSD immediately, and most don’t even know it. Most Trauma we go through isn’t diagnosed as that, its just life. Fathers not around, mom working two jobs, nothing to do but get in trouble. Life has never been fair for Black people period. We were enslaved for 400 years and the 50/60 years that we’ve had rights in this country they’ve skewed the rules to put us in prison instead of cotton fields. The 13th amendment is real. And the chances of you beating the court system are slim to none. So you’ve already been dealt a bad hand and the moment you make a mistake you’re life is over. A life of fear is what most live as a black man in america but you’ll never know. I haven’t even gotten to the senseless violence, Police Brutality, Sexual Abuse, or the Human trafficking epidemic going on today. Kids can’t go to school without practicing for a school shooter which makes no sense to me, he’s in the school practicing with them! Women can’t walk down the street without worrying to get snatched up, Police pressing people out over nothing just to be too scared to treat the person like a human being and will shoot you over the slightest movement. So even if you doing right there’s still a fear of making a mistake and losing everything you’ve worked, sacrificed for.

What about your goals, what about that dream of making it to the NBA/NFL and when it doesn’t happen you’ve wasted 20 years on dreams. What about your aspirations of becoming whatever you wanted as a kid only to be told in high school you’re better off getting a regular job where none of your god given talents can be shown off, but you gotta provide so that dream you always wanted is crushed before you’re even old enough to choose what you want out of life. Thats if you make it out of your teens alive in the first place. I was lucky enough to make it to 31, and find purpose in life, but I still understand everything our young men and women are going through these days because I haven’t grown old enough to not care about the things going on around me and still care to help those coming after I’ll be long gone. Something I wish more people would understand.

I stumbled upon this clip of American Gods breaking down the plight of the black man/woman in america and how Slavery and Human Trafficking is a cult. Powerful scene that I think everyone needs to see and take notice to these atrocities plaguing our communities by the powers that be.

So, how do you combat this, how do we grow to become a better human race? How do we reverse the PTSD? how do we unpack the many years of “free-oppression” that we’ve lived in fear disguised as freedom? How do we fight this Disorder? DO we subscribe therapy from a stranger? do we self actualize and take accountability for our roles in allowing these atrocities to occur? do we gracefully bow out and allow the raping, killing, and pillaging of our people and culture to continue? How do we Get out of these negative situations? How do we protect our communities and grow toward sustainable living and work for Black folk? How do we solve homelessness? It won’t be from serving a country thats yet to serve us the way we’ve been forced to serve it for over 400 years… It won’t be by continue to kill and harm our brothers and sisters. It won’t be by any other means than by helping each other and loving one another despite your trauma or background, or cultural differences, and by building bridges not walls. But I digress, hopefully this think piece will do just that and get someone thinking past their PTSD and onto change for the better and for the future generations.