#and told me to *do my own research on it*

[quaranmine]

On Wednesday before I gave my presentation I confessed to a new employee that I was worried it would be too long and she brightly told me her life hack was to just let AI rewrite things for her. She said I should put in all my talking points and ask ChatGPT to give me a five minute exactly presentation. I was like....how is the most polite possible way (since this is a new colleague I shouldn't get off on the wrong foot with) that I can express that I will Not be taking this advice. Ever. I told her that I didn't think we were allowed to use ChatGPT at this job (we most certainly are not, it is a nightmare for any type of protected information) and also that I prefer to write all of my own work. Despite my best efforts the last part of that was still passive aggressive, lol.

Something about being a writer makes it so that it's almost offensive to me for someone to suggest I use AI to do my work instead? Like, the day I reach the point where I let AI write something for me is the day y'all need to be checking me for brain damage because clearly I'm losing it

[felignis]

i think chappell roan enforcing her boundaries to creepo parasocial fans is so fucking awesome and based and she should be allowed to do whatever she wants forever

[faaun]

pls i need to provide updates

[moregraceful]

i was thinking abt that post about getting involved in activist groups if you have physical or mental disabilities that make it difficult to do the really sexy work of getting out in the street and how a lot of the time volunteer orgs really need someone to like, make a spreadsheet of volunteer info. compile and track data of hours donated or volunteers recruited or any kind of statistic that proves how impactful their work is and why it should continue. lots of ways to get involved behind the scenes if the org is able to identify their needs and work with you...

and how like a lot of the time i see ppl in my communities feel like they have to tackle Every issue or they have tackle a Big issue and then they just get completely like stricken with overwhelm bc where do you even start when the entire world is on fire? and i think a lot of the best activism starts when you choose an issue and narrow in on it, and/or choose a local or even hyperlocal issue and put your energy into it. i remember talking to a friend who was like, i can't do shit about how my state's dept of education is failing students but i CAN organize my neighborhood to keep our local park clean and bully our city councilmember into putting in a bench and a water fountain so it's more accessible for families. or like, easy to feel helpless in the face of everything going on in gaza when you're an ocean away and have no money, but are there refugee resettlement organizations in your city that need public transit cards or language tutors? (stuff i've seen these orgs request!)

easy to feel overwhelmed by the world but there's a lot of ways to get involved on the ground in your own communities. yk like if you feel helpless globally or nationally look at what you can do locally. and if an org is stupid enough to be like oh you are too young or too disabled or whatever to be involved, that's a failure on them on to make their work accessible to all imho.

[fatal-blow]

sometimes i really don't think we've fully absorbed the realization that humans are animals. we keep trying to find new and spectacular ways to delineate between us and them, even as we try to deconstruct the beliefs of past western science

first we were put above other animals, who in the name of science were declared nothing more than organic automatons devoid of personality. today we know this isn't true, that every animal is the culmination of billions of years of chance and choices, and then a lifetime of experience to fine tune the rest.

so the discussion moved to the question: why are we different? breaking ourselves down to try to separate out the True Human Experience. we have tools--but so do other animals. we build homes and cities--likes termites and coral. we are intelligent--but then, what even is intelligence? we have culture--and yet again, so do other animals.

so we venture in vain to other traits. humans must be uniquely violent, destructive, upheaving the ecosystems of the world in a way no other creature has

but hundreds of millions of years ago, photosynthesis evolved and spurred one of the worst extinctions earth has ever seen. a species can encounter a new habitat and spread like wildfire, sometimes as destructive as one as well.

so surely our systems and our hierarchies set us apart in their depth and complexity. but it's myopic, naive even to think that other creatures don't form their own complexities outside our purview. we see our complexity because we are born and raised in it, but it's hardly what makes us different.

and in this journey to find out what makes us so different, instead we've found out the many ways that we are similar. the way our brains are similar to those of other mammals, how our bodies are all stretched out from the same general base tweaked and formed over an inconceivable number of generations. how the further we trace ourselves back, the more and more animals we share ancestors with.

i don't know where I'm going with all this. i think im frustrated with our medicine, how so much of it is grounded not in biology but in our own culture.

when we see a human not performing well, we call them lazy. when it's an animal, then something must be wrong. we understand the physiology of other animals and treat them within those bounds, yet despite what we know about the human body the way we discuss it seems frustrstingly disconnected.

maybe it's because we can talk to each other and so we assume that we can verbalize the problems we're experiencing, but language is a dismal thing to base healthcare on when most of us don't even use the same words to describe things. it's a subjective, moving target, and it assumes that the patient themself knows what's wrong. we rely too much on the ability of a patient to describe what they are experiencing, and not enough on observations of their behaviour.

my dad's shoulder hurts. he dislocated it a while ago, and it never stopped bothering him. but when i watch him he holds both shoulders forward and tense. slouching has for a long time been deemed lazy and improper, but it doesn't line up--the way my father strives for a healthy, active body but can never seem to make it work. the way he loves to be active, the way he wants to exercise, to walk and run, but it seems no matter how hard he tries he can't.

he told me his shoulder hurts, but the more i watched the more i saw that he doesn't move with the relaxed, easy movements that a man who's as active as he is should be. a human is an animal that loves to walk, and in many ways we've developed anatomy to this end, from the balanced efficiency of our bipedal forms to the way we utilize momentum as the driving force of our movement. we have science that says all this, so why does this not seem to hold true for some people? and why are we looking at them and calling them lazy? why aren't we looking for something gone awry, like the way we would a dog with a limp? we wouldn't blame the dog for not standing up the way a dog should, so why does this not hold true for humans?

[tianshiisdead]

im happy my post is garnering discussion but honestly i wasnt around for 2018-2021 fandom on tumblr and i was mainly talking about how its kind of silly to get mad at people for portraying colonizer countries as mean, or calling it demonization and stuff. like its okay not to like personally portraying ur fav characters as mean or part of the state, but getting irritated at the fact that it exists or is popular imo kind of misses the fact that this… is the state and nation personification fandom. and its hard to say its not canon when canon did once portray the characters in uniform and at times involved in their state activities… like the early strips discussing western imperialism in china is literally ‘china being bullied by the allies’ ‘france wanting to grope china’ ‘china being treated like a maid’ etc etc like they were very much. the state LOL also china and japan’s canon relationship, as much as I have my issues with it, has an entire thing about china being stabbed by japan… i do feel like hetalia started out as a history nerd’s history exploration that blended humour with ‘what i find cute’ with satire etc etc, which inevitably involves illustrating the personifications as vessels of state and culture, and although the modern strips have deviated quite a bit… well, different people will approach this series for different reasons, right? Whether its serious or comedic content showing the characters as mean or imperialist or unpleasant, it’s not something that deviates too far from canon (if we take all canon eras into consideration) nor is it surprising given how history laden the topic is.

[casbitchh]

i emailed my boss saying he needs to talk to the people developing a satellite i’m working on (unpaid) bc they’re giving me too much work and it’s unsustainable please clap

[silusvesuius]

Hiiieelllooo.. I was wondering if you had any tips on drawing figures / poses and overall profiles? I adore how your art is so like .. unique when it comes to this and I was just wondering if you had any base shapes you like to lay down / something along those lines !

Hi's 🧸 i wouldn't say i do and i'm not a good tip-giver in general, especially in art, cos i can't really formulate the way i draw in words, and i believe it's more productive to try and analyze poses you like in art rather than ask the artist about it (Not saying this in a mean way it's nice of U to send an ask 🥰) , cus i honestly don't know how i'd describe how i do it. all about the ' ' action lines ' ' or whatever those tacky art tutorials say i guess. since you said that you like my flow of poses, you could study my things, perhaps there are other artists you like. i would recommend ones that have an insane Death Grip on movement and 'dramatics' in their poses, like Nika Goltz (big recommend), any other fairytale illustrator or any artist on the internet you might stumble upon. i love this twt account 4 how much 'rare' drawings you get to see from older artists, i go through their media pretty often to see something new i can adapt into my stuff 🙆‍♀️ Pierre Brissaud one of the bestest that i leech off from all the time. i might not know how it is for everyone, but it's easy for me to jot down what i specifically like in a drawing, so it's just the same for poses. i like the feeling it conveys, i like the dynamic it sets up between two characters. Omg also pro-tip: liking pairings with power dynamics will have your brain frying up poses better than if it were between equals LOL.. or just drawing characters with a power imbalance. anyways um as for profiles, i'll guess that U mean head profiles? maybe i'm wrong but that's the only profile i know of. Lmk please. i've only recently started getting experimental w/ the way i draw them && obviously it's easier on characters that you've drawn at least ones before. my beeeest tip for this is to get around to drawing a lot of different looking characters with real features (anime characters go out the window ((with exceptions ofc)) ), as u can tell i'm obsessed with drawing celebs. draw pac or biggie or something. maybe you have some celebs U like? or just draw random ones whose features you noted. maybe there's strangers around u in da street whose face seemed unique to u. i personally love toying around with the facial features of characters with straight noses most, not that it matters, but for those the Nose can become a noticable characteristic lol, just an example. with faces it becomes easier with time to pin point the things that make that person look like What they Look like. another example: both pac and c*cero sk*rim have beautiful eyes you know.

[moodr1ng]

heres the real truth i never wanna admit to anyone ok: the real reason im so afraid all the time is i know i will never ever manage to hold down a normal job. i know im too disabled for it. and i dont want to. and i want to stay like this forever. i dont want more. i want to remain in this apartment and get my disability checks and do a little art and a little writing and have time to hang out with friends. i want that for the rest of my life. if that was ok then i would be ok. but i can never admit that because if i say that then i will be taken off disability and labelled a faker. because everyone thinks i can get better or its not that bad. even my doctor. but it is that bad. im never getting out of this, im never going to be functional like other people are. every time im good enough to have a job, i will have another depressive episodes for months or a year and everything will fall apart. its hardwired in me. if i could just be on disability for the rest of my life then id be fine. i would just live my life like i do now and i dont need more than what i have now. but im not allowed to want that. im supposed to want to "get better" and "be healed", even though its not possible, and im supposed to want to get off disability and have a "normal life". but i know i cant have that. so i just want to be on disability for the rest of my life and be allowed to glean what little happiness i can still get from the sort of life ive been handed. but im not allowed to want that. if i was honest and said this to my doctor he would never renew my disability benefits bc hed think i was faking it. so im always scared and always ashamed. so there it is.

[anglerflsh]

hope i don't come off too intrusively but that all sounds like the qualifications for ocd! or at least anxiety with obsessive compulsive tendencies which would require the same medication, i would go get that checked out!

lovely sentiment but- I'm not going to say for certain I have any kind of Thing going on with my brain without having gotten either a professional (psychiatric) opinion or a professional (peer reviewed by people with that disorder) opinion, and since at the moment I can't go to any doctor about it... it'll stay a mistery + I won't be getting meds any time soon

[thegoldenavenger]

Not my mom sending me a link to a video about gender reassignment

[coffee-keith]

Really struggling with trying to figure out what's me. Like what I enjoy and what ideas/traits/desires are actually my own. I think it's beautiful that people influence each other and grow together, but I'm left feeling lost right now and wondering what's actually me.

[faaun]

the forest looks like heaven today i woke up feeling the heaviest weight at the top of my heart

[toyhousedramas]

i had someone who writes rapefic (offsite) blow up at me and call me immature when i calmly told them i was uncomfortable having my art on their page. they blocked me after their rant and threatened to write a psa on me :/ i did my best to be calm and polite in dms but they immediately became passive-agressive with me ?? it's not like i had scammed them or anything. i refunded the trade bc i wanted to do the nice thing. like, did i actually do something wrong here?

.

[princessmyriad]

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[chipped-chimera]

FOR THE TIRED PEOPLE: Some new research about Chronic + ADHD(inattentive) related fatigue, and BCAAs

[DISCLAIMER // I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I AM NOT A MEDICAL PRACTITIONER. I AM NOT A DIETICIAN. I'm just a big tired nerd with way too much time on my hands who likes science. I am however, sharing this because this could potentially help others and BCAAs are already safe for human consumption, widely used and easily accessible. If you are uncertain about adding BCAAs to your diet please talk to your doctor first. There are also some medications which interact negatively with BCAA's. Do your research. Also generally be careful about taking medical advice from the internet! ]

I was going to post about something else but I went down the rabbit hole of explaining this study I read and decided that no, this needed it's own thing or it's gonna be a mile long.

So in one of my usual weekly fatigue breakdowns where I was scraping the internet for any kind of information that might point out something I've SURELY missed to explain why I feel the way I do, I stumbled across this study published last year (2022) -

[ The relationship between central fatigue and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder of the inattentive type ]

The TL;DR on the paper - our previous assumptions about the tryptophan-serotonin system might be wrong (tryptophan being the precursor for a bunch of stuff, including melatonin which is the sleepy chemical - aka why people say drink warm milk before bed to help sleep, that's tryptophan) what was previously assumed was reducing tryptophan = bad because it could affect serotonin production.

Testing in rats (so grain of salt here) indicated that higher levels of tryptophan =/= higher levels of serotonin and when reducing the level of free tryptophan in the bloodstream it returned to baseline. High levels of tryptophan were associated with fatigue and inattention, and rats on a tryptophan deficient diet by contrast took longer to reach a state of exhaustion. I'm skipping over a bunch of stuff but basically - research is now pointing to both Chronic Fatigue and ADHD related fatigue being related to Central Nervous System Fatigue which up until now, has only really been associated with the fatigue athletes experience when exercising really hard (now just picture me doing jack shit and feeling like that every day. Yeah). I've only just stared to see bits and pieces pop up about this recently but nothing in relation to this tryptophan study.

Anyway, the thing about BCAAs: BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids) are currently used to reduce the uptake of tryptophan in the brain for better performance in athletes, help with reduction of exercise fatigue (CNS fatigue) and muscle building. You can pretty easily find BCAA's added to protein-shakes or in it's own kind of supplement. It also occurs naturally in some foods (Beef, Chicken, Eggs, Lentils, Chickpeas, Brown Rice etc.) so it is absolutely safe to consume. It's also generally fairly affordable (especially compared to the lengthy process of treatment + medications that might not even work and you have to keep changing them, yes I am talking from personal experience).

Again, this is all very new and absolutely needs so much more research because up until now, no one has really been sure what causes Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but tests have shown that those suffering CFS demonstrate similar activation of their muscles as fatigued athletes - as in they could activate them but not to their full capacity. This connection is only considered 'possible' and it might take a good few years before we can say anything with certainty.

But as an extremely tired bitch who is extremely tired of being extremely fucking tired, I am sharing this because it's easy to get, safe, and affordable and if you're like me you're about ready to try anything. And it's not another goddamn pill (I'm on 14 a day).

Also for the ADHDers specifically: protein rich diets are usually advised for us because it helps with the metabolism of stimulants, and can help with softening medication crashes when they wear off. So adding a protein shake with BCAAs to your morning routine might be a good idea. Or just any protein shake in general.

There can be side effects to taking BCAAs, but it is considered rare and this depends entirely on the person. Cross check existing medications, talk to your doc etc. if you are not 100% certain adding BCAAs to your diet is possible. Stay safe peeps.