#article shill tag

[rudojudo]

My latest piece is live and it's my favorite so far: happy Women's Month, Kamen Rider needs to do better!

[wordstome]

how c.ai works and why it's unethical

Okay, since the AI discourse is happening again, I want to make this very clear, because a few weeks ago I had to explain to a (well meaning) person in the community how AI works. I'm going to be addressing people who are maybe younger or aren't familiar with the latest type of "AI", not people who purposely devalue the work of creatives and/or are shills.

The name "Artificial Intelligence" is a bit misleading when it comes to things like AI chatbots. When you think of AI, you think of a robot, and you might think that by making a chatbot you're simply programming a robot to talk about something you want them to talk about, and it's similar to an rp partner. But with current technology, that's not how AI works. For a breakdown on how AI is programmed, CGP grey made a great video about this several years ago (he updated the title and thumbnail recently)

I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you watch this because CGP Grey is good at explaining, but the tl;dr for this post is this: bots are made with a metric shit-ton of data. In C.AI's case, the data is writing. Stolen writing, usually scraped fanfiction.

How do we know chatbots are stealing from fanfiction writers? It knows what omegaverse is [SOURCE] (it's a Wired article, put it in incognito mode if it won't let you read it), and when a Reddit user asked a chatbot to write a story about "Steve", it automatically wrote about characters named "Bucky" and "Tony" [SOURCE].

I also said this in the tags of a previous reblog, but when you're talking to C.AI bots, it's also taking your writing and using it in its algorithm: which seems fine until you realize 1. They're using your work uncredited 2. It's not staying private, they're using your work to make their service better, a service they're trying to make money off of.

"But Bucca," you might say. "Human writers work like that too. We read books and other fanfictions and that's how we come up with material for roleplay or fanfiction."

Well, what's the difference between plagiarism and original writing? The answer is that plagiarism is taking what someone else has made and simply editing it or mixing it up to look original. You didn't do any thinking yourself. C.AI doesn't "think" because it's not a brain, it takes all the fanfiction it was taught on, mixes it up with whatever topic you've given it, and generates a response like in old-timey mysteries where somebody cuts a bunch of letters out of magazines and pastes them together to write a letter.

(And might I remind you, people can't monetize their fanfiction the way C.AI is trying to monetize itself. Authors are very lax about fanfiction nowadays: we've come a long way since the Anne Rice days of terror. But this issue is cropping back up again with BookTok complaining that they can't pay someone else for bound copies of fanfiction. Don't do that either.)

Bottom line, here are the problems with using things like C.AI:

It is using material it doesn't have permission to use and doesn't credit anybody. Not only is it ethically wrong, but AI is already beginning to contend with copyright issues.

C.AI sucks at its job anyway. It's not good at basic story structure like building tension, and can't even remember things you've told it. I've also seen many instances of bots saying triggering or disgusting things that deeply upset the user. You don't get that with properly trigger tagged fanworks.

Your work and your time put into the app can be taken away from you at any moment and used to make money for someone else. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people who use AI panic about accidentally deleting a bot that they spent hours conversing with. Your time and effort is so much more stable and well-preserved if you wrote a fanfiction or roleplayed with someone and saved the chatlogs. The company that owns and runs C.AI can not only use whatever you've written as they see fit, they can take your shit away on a whim, either on purpose or by accident due to the nature of the Internet.

DON'T USE C.AI, OR AT THE VERY BARE MINIMUM DO NOT DO THE AI'S WORK FOR IT BY STEALING OTHER PEOPLES' WORK TO PUT INTO IT. Writing fanfiction is a communal labor of love. We share it with each other for free for the love of the original work and ideas we share. Not only can AI not replicate this, but it shouldn't.

(also, this goes without saying, but this entire post also applies to ai art)

[auckie]

I think the things that offend me most nowadays in like, smaller interpersonal interactions rather than grand, sweeping trends in culture, are when people chose to not partake in a wide set of things. Like musical close mindedness, or refusal to try different foods from different cultures. Not watching an entire subset of films bc they’re ‘french’. Avoiding reading bc you say you have adhd and it’s too hard. Like dude I get it, I’m busy. I can be picky. Everyone can. But the willful ignorance of closing yourself off to those VAST portions of the human experience, and not having curiosity and a lust to learn and explore art that was made by someone worlds apart from you either in terms of their culture, era, whatever. I dunno man it just pisses me off so bad. I think it’s arrogant. Like oh you’re comfortable in your safe little bubble huh? And you’re enforcing its barriers with the excuse that you’re autistic and have sensory issues. With music made by black people?? lol okay. It is pretty presumptuous for me to assume malicious intent but I think those prejudices are borne from either the comfort of being someone who’s wealthy and probably white not feeling the need to learn past what they think is enough, or it’s a reflection of a society that’s taught you to prioritize what it shills— popular, current (white, depending where you live ig) artists who are making streamlined, easy to digest content. Often when I meet people with these issues they’ll have one particular ‘niche’, and it tends to be like. 70s music. Victorian literature. Anime and Japanese games. But they’re still not really investing beyond the media presented. Like there’s so much more to Japanese culture than liking some cartoons put out between 2010-2020. You don’t gotta become some sorta Einstein who learns the background of every little freak in FGO yeah. But don’t you wanna aim higher? Aren’t you interested in any of the historical figures? And nothings wrong with hopping onto a trend. You read Dracula bc of that Dracula daily thing. Cool! Read more. Some people will say they’re chronically ill or disabled and can’t get outside. That’s okay. The internet is full of things you can read other than fanfiction, YouTube has a shit ton of free music. There’s Wikipedia and free articles online if you have questions about things. Yeah nobody is spending four hours a day looking at the national archives website and studying art history but it’s imbued in the things around you, and youll absorb it ambiently as you go along. you dont have to be a jack of all trades and cover every major genre of every major medium, but it never hurts to try! I really love seeing ppl ask too. Bc it can be kind of humiliating to admit to what seems like some jackass hipster that you’ve never delved into, idk, Serbian films (lol not that one). And hopefully if whoever you’re asking will give you honest good recommendations and not berate you. I’m kind of berate a straw man rn I guess. The hostile tone def doesn’t lend to an atmosphere of sharing but I cannot tell you how many times I’ve rbed anything involving specifically jazz only to see someone rb and add the stupidest comment on the post, or in the tags, or go into my inbox to be like waaah I don’t like jazz bc it’s boring and old and for pretentious hypocrites who hate neurodivergent people! Like what are you TALKING about. Fine if you don’t like it but don’t try and rationalize that as a moral standing you shit lark. And just as they’re allowed to dislike jazz I’m allowed to not really enjoy people who don’t like jazz. Or country. Nautical knots. Knit wear. Watching urbex YouTubers get their shit rocked by squatters. Korean food. Pachuco fashion and stupid ugly low riders. Bollywood films. and they don’t want to try any of those things either yknow? The next thing I’m getting into is circuit bending.

[thetruearchmagos]

Summer Winter Reading/Writing/Art

A very grateful thank you to their royal highness @athenswrites for the Tag! Though, considering my geographical location, I must admit find the whole premise of this game ridiculous! ;)

Describe one creative project you plan to work on over the summer winter:

Well, so far I think I'm doubling down on just the one project. Currently writing an article over on World Anvil for a certain military campaign in the 12 Worlds. I've only just reach the actual battle stage for The Campaign for Ustani and I'm already 2.7K words in, so it'll be a big one!  

Recommend a book:

Ouughh, my reading tastes are... a little strange. Red Storm Rising was one of Tom Clancy's pre-drunk-kool-aid books and one I've always held close to heart, which you might be able to tell from some of my own writing. 

Recommend a fic: Feels a little inappropriate to shill for my own fic, and I haven't read any fic recently which I will ever admit to another soul I've read.

Recommend music:

A Good Song Never Dies has been a real favourite of mine for a long time!

Tagging, softly as silk, @theprissythumbelina @hessdalen-globe @caxycreations and anyone who'd like to join in!

Empty template;

Describe one creative project you plan to work on over the summer winter: 

Recommend a book: 

Recommend a fic: 

Recommend music:

[haghottie420]

You Run My Mind, Boy (35260 words) by GreendaleHumanBeing Chapters: 5/6 Fandom: Community (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dean Craig Pelton/Jeff Winger, Annie Edison/Original Female Character(s), Frankie Dart/Britta Perry, Jeff Winger/Original Male Character(s) (past) Characters: Dean Craig Pelton, Jeff Winger, Annie Edison, Britta Perry, Abed Nadir, Frankie Dart, William Winger, Willy Junior, Ian Duncan, Ben Chang, Dean Spreck, Garrett, Starburns, Leonard Additional Tags: Bisexual Jeff Winger, Emotionally Mature Craig Pelton, Drag Queen Craig Pelton, Jeff Winger Has Issues, Jeff Winger Character Study Kinda, POV Jeff Winger, Past Annie Edison/Jeff Winger - Freeform, Bisexual Annie Edison, Bisexual Britta Perry, everyone is gay basically, Greendale Community College (Community), Ensemble Cast, Jeff is hot for Dean, Jeff finally sees Craig's Value (hot and good kisser), Bets are made, the lgbtqia name is used in vain, just to best city college tho dw, mushy videochats, they're all fruity your honor, Post-Season/Series 06, Daddy Issues, Accidental Voyeurism, Masturbation, Shower Sex, Craig Fucks, Anal Sex, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Recreational Drug Use, Excessive Drinking, So many Craig Costumes, Denial of Feelings, Slow Burn, Jeff's dad is a homophobic and transphobic asshole, email, Jeff Hates Email, stoner craig, Yearning, Pining Jeff Winger, Craig Has a Cat, Tabloid Articles, Jealous Jeff Winger, Cafeteria Riot Chapter 5 Summary: He hadn’t found Craig in his office, so he wanders over to the cafeteria to find a large crowd assembled in front of the podium. Jeff hopes it's not another funeral. Over the din, he can hear Britta’s voice.

“While I didn’t support the corporate shilling done by The Dean, I do support the LGBTQIA+ community. I’m a proud, bisexual woman.”

One loud voice boos her.

“Shut up, Leonard.” She says, eyes wild. “That’s homophobic! You’re not even gay!”

The cafeteria makes a sitcom-like “ohhh” sound of gossipy anticipation.

“Of course, I’m gay!” Leonard insists, pointing to a pink and orange pin on his chest. “I’m a lesbian, duh.”

The crowd now turns on Britta, as it so often does, with loud boos.

  Jeff struggles to imagine Season Seven but he's figuring it out.

[bitcoincables]

Legendary Forecaster Warns of Stock Market Crash, Recession, and Overhyped Bitcoin and AI

A legendary market forecaster has warned that the S&P 500 could experience a 30% crash, signaling a potential recession. Gary Shilling, the economist, said that stocks are "very expensive and very distorted" and compared the current market situation to the stocks that plummeted in the 1970s. He mentioned how focusing on a narrow segment of the stock market could imply trouble for the rest.

Shilling predicted that the S&P 500 could drop below 3,500 points, its lowest level since late 2020. Despite recent rebounds in the stock market, Shilling cautioned that future gains could be limited due to modest economic growth and high valuations. He also warned of a possible recession this year, pointing to classic signs such as an inverted yield curve, declines in leading economic indicators, and weakness in the Small Business Jobs Index.

In addition to his concerns about the stock market, Shilling expressed skepticism towards bitcoin and artificial intelligence (AI). He criticized the speculative demand for bitcoin, calling attention to its lack of substance and potential for illegal transactions. Regarding AI, Shilling questioned whether the extensive computational efforts to find patterns in massive amounts of data would truly provide significant value.

To read the full article, click here.

Tags: #StockMarketCrash, #Recession, #Bitcoin, #ArtificialIntelligence

[mercurygray]

I have, as many of you know, just purchased a house, which was built in 1931, and am trying, as much as possible, to furnish it with things that feel older. I'm not above Ikea - I'm sitting in a Poang chair right now - but I'm also a big fan of Mission style furniture, a design movement that grew out of the late 19th century American arm of the Arts and Crafts movement and emphasizes upright lines, simple design, solid construction, and harkens back to the handmade furniture of the Spanish missions of the West Coast.

I live in a fairly well-to-do area, and I have a lot of luck at my local secondhand furniture stores, particularly with Mission style. (I don't have the space or budget for Stickley, but a girl can dream.) On Friday, I went with my parents to see if I could find a dresser and a couple of other things.

After finding the dresser (1920s, Art Deco, rounded corners) I'm wandering around the store, as one does, and I see these chairs across the room. Upright lines. Simple design. Solid construction. Kind of Arts and Craftsman. Definitely old. Okay.

And then when I get to the chair, I see this Wikipedia article, which has helpfully been printed out to interpret the name on the price tag, which includes a phrase that means something to me but probably wouldn't to anyone else wandering through the store that day.

Now, I'm very aware of Utility Scheme clothing, which was designed to use less cloth in an effort to avoid 1940s wartime shortages. I had no idea that the Utility scheme also extended to furniture.

So I sat down - gingerly - on the chair and I read the Wikipedia article. (She's at least seventy years old and she needs new glue.)

Owing to wartime shortages of timber, and the combined need to refurnish both bombed out houses and newlyweds setting up house for the first time, the British government formed an advisory committee. The purpose was to draw on leading furniture makers and designers, like Gordon Russell, to come up with new patterns for furniture that was practical, cost- and resource- effective, and still filled the needs of wartime homeowners.

Russell - whose workshop is now run as a museum - later became the chairman of this committee, and used this as a moment to advance a new vision for furniture. This was a moment in design that - like Arts and Crafts - emphasized craftsmanship and the ability of Britain's craftsman to supply the market with well-made things, and, like the Mid-Century Modern movement that followed it, removed a lot of the flourishing and carving that had characterized a lot of 19th century furniture making for simple clean lines. It also drew a lot on the emerging Scandinavian design movement, which would also feed into MCM.

According to the original catalogue, one of these chairs would have run your average householder 1 pound 9 shillings in 1943, as well as 1 furniture coupon. (People who'd suffered bombing damage would have been issued 60 coupons to re-outfit their new flats. A kitchen table for said chairs would be 4 coupons, and an armchair would have been 6.) Adjusting for inflation, the Bank of England tells me that works out to 76 pounds, or 98 dollars, today.

I'm not sure exactly when these chairs would have been manufactured, but this type of furniture persisted in Great Britain until the end of rationing in 1952. I wish I knew how they ended up in the American Midwest in my secondhand furniture store.

Anyway, I didn't need two dining room chairs but they're mine now. Two very small old chairs for my very small old house.

I have just purchased the absolutely niftiest piece of furniture for my house and I'm so excited to share it with you all when it's not pouring rain and I can take a better picture of it.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

Since Apparently

So I have a notification by someone and I’m not going to read it because they are a dishonest shill as far as I'm concerned and referred to me as “Propaganda” because I happen to be a left libertarian (little L), and want to call out others on my “side” as it were, to try to make people more aware, I’m just going to share the stories I was referring to in my post to make a point. 

Boy assaults multiple girls while in girls bathrooms (assumed trans because they wore a skirt) -https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2021/10/loudoun-co-judge-rules-teen-sexually-assaulted-girl-in-school-bathroom/

Women getting pregnant in prisons due to sharing prisons with biological men. -https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/women-prisoners-new-jersey-pregnant-from-trans-inmate-1938062-2022-04-15

Detransitioning numbers rising *reported from several sources* -https://www.foxnews.com/health/detransitioning-becomes-growing-choice-young-people-gender-affirming-surgery -https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-transyouth-outcomes/ -https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/detransition-transgender-nonbinary-gender-affirming-care/672745/ -https://nypost.com/2022/06/18/detransitioned-teens-explain-why-they-regret-changing-genders/ -https://segm.org/first_large_study_of_detransitioners

I’d post links about LGBT “Q-mmunity” views on cis people but you can do that on your own just looking up the tag “Cis” on this hell site. 

Lesbians feeling pressured to have sex with biological men -https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-57853385

The list of things that puberty blockers do is numberous. More so when you factor in long term effects. Also note, that “scientific” health journals are using terms like “assigned sex at birth” which is THE MOST unscientific term I’ve ever heard in my life. Sex is not “Assigned at birth” It is observed. And any clinicians that say otherwise have lost the fucking plot. And frankly deserve to have their creds removed. 

But here are some things that happen along with a number of other effects. 

And a plastic Surgeon talking sense about worries in regards to surgeries and hormone blockers.  -https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/2023/03/19/puberty-blockers-concerns-plastic-surgeon/69990751007/

The NHS now going ON RECORD and saying that long term use of Hormone blockers are NOT reversible, which if anyone read a book they’d understand. Mostly because the “Oh yes they are reversible” argument intentionally removes what happens when your bodies natural puberty starts to slow and stop. Of which you never get a come back from. Once you miss puberty, you miss it. All the development associated with it? Gone. Immune health. Brain development, bone development, height, sex characteristics, fertility, etc. All of that? It doesn’t just restart. It starts from where it thinks it needs to. If you are on blockers for 5 years, you MISS 5 YEARS of body development in ALL IT’S FORMS.

Preferred pronoun laws etc and liberal use of words like “Harassment” -https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2021/november/could-californians-go-to-jail-for-misgendering-state-supreme-court-weighs-preferred-pronouns-law -https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2023/march/uk-preacher-reported-as-terrorist-after-disturbing-misgendering-arrest-wins-big-after-legal-nightmare -https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2021/03/18/canadian-man-jailed-after-misgendering-his-daughter/ -https://www.christianpost.com/news/uk-mom-formally-charged-after-arrest-for-misgendering-trans-activist-online.html

But no all of this shit is just propaganda. None of it is ACTUALLY REAL. And don’t make me go on Twitter, or strait hate groups on Twitter, HERE, and Reddit to prove my point about indoctrination of youths. But here is one anyways. And this is not the only story like it -https://www.foxnews.com/media/florida-father-daughter-suicide-school-counseling-gender-identity -https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10445195/Catholic-father-files-lawsuit-daughter-attempts-suicide-gender-identity.html Oh and this story? THIS STORY is why the Parental Rights in Education law was passed in Florida. 

But sure. Call me a “Good example of propaganda”. Jackass. 

[screams-in-confused-teuton]

Languages Closely Related To English (Ingvaeonic Languages)

“Woah! Dude! New fact! Languages x and y are basically mutually intelligible! Sometimes, speakers of language x who live close to country y understand language y more than speakers of language x who live far away! Sometimes, if you whisper language x in the middle of the night, speakers of language y will cry in their sleep out of sheer intelligible-ness!”

I’m preeeetty certain that you recognize the kind of post I’m talking about. Whether it’s the Nordic languages (it’s usually the Nordic languages) or some other group of tight-knit languages, people are fascinated with mutual intelligibility between two languages not-quite similar enough to be dialects.

When these kinds of posts or memes or whatever may have you circulate, I see plenty of people wonder about English. Some are curious if English-speakers get any similar international clout, while others are under the false assumption that there is nothing that closely related to English, save for a directly ripped French phrase or two.

This post is brought to you by my heart going out to both kinds of people. Fear not, English speakers! We have hope! I bring to you the Ingvaeonic/“North Sea” branch of Germanic languages, where you can find English. While I can’t guarantee that you can go out right now and have a conversation with a Low German speaker the same way recalled in tales by Norwegians who have ran into a peculiar Swede in a Swedish-Norwegian border town, you’re still looking at English’s closest cousins, and there is a lot of fun to be had in that.

Have you ever heard of “Scottish English”? Maybe you’ve seen an odd Scottish tweet or two in a bizarre dialect that you can somehow perfectly understand yet can’t understand at all? That would be the language of Scots, the closest distinct relative to English. Scots and English separated relatively recently, all things considered, and it is the main place you will find such shenanigans from the viewpoint of an English speaker. It’s so close to English that some argue that it’s just a dialect with its own distinct culture and identity, but I’ll let you in on a linguistic secret: when you get down to it, a dialect with its own identity is all a language is.

The Frisian languages and the Low German dialects aren’t as intelligible to English as Scots, but are still quite interesting if you like the topic. If you’re the kind of nerd that compares languages for fun, it’s a pretty neat experience compare and contrast them to English.

———————————————————————

NOTES:

• Dead languages and the various fringe minority dialects are not featured in this graphic. There are a few I wanted to feature, but I had to hold myself back in the name of simplicity.

• As stated above, this is an introduction, and was made with simplicity in mind. If you take up extensive research on the topic expect many “Oh, that’s HELLA complex” moments to come your way. This is especially the case for Low German, which is a beast of confusion.

• If you’re interested in this topic and how it relates to English, I’d definitely do some research into German and Dutch. While they aren’t AS closely related to English as the languages above, they’re both still Germanic languages, and have quite a lot in common with English. If you ever need a laugh, set your smartphone’s system language to Dutch and google the German name for birth control pills.

———————————————————————

Anyways, I hope this post has offered you some form of dopamine and look forward to making more of them! Spreading this post around if you enjoyed it (or maybe if you didn’t, I’m not here to judge) would be greatly appreciated. Also, if I slipped up on something, please feel free to tell me. I am by no means perfect or a main authority on this subject or any I choose to cover in the future.

[rudojudo]

My new Toku Source article is live! I did a quick overview on Car Sentai as part of my agenda to get people to watch shows older than Gokaiger!

[dearly]

The whole section on media outlets being compromised because of brand/corporate loyalties is intense. Of course, there’s the discussion of native ads all brought to you by respected journalists and anthropologists (in Wired’s case) but then you get to the meat of the conflict of interest and things get hairy. Particularly when Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti keeps talking about how he wants the site to be a bastion of journalism.

This section in Black Ops Advertising discusses Buzzfeed but other publications mentioned with either existing controversy or potential issues due to their native custom content or because of their deals with corporations are New York Times, Forbes, the Economist, The Atlantic, WSJ, Vice, Refinery29, CNN, Wired, Conde Nast. There are multiple examples of sponsored content that is written by respected journalists with news credentials who have moved over into being brand strategists (NYT was called out for this one.)

We even have Peter Oborne, a high profile journalist resigning from The Telegraph because their coverage is “a fraud on their readers” because of the corporate influence at play. I recommend reading his resignation letter as it really illustrates the slow decline of the paper, and it’s not a reach to think the same happens at other publications. 

I’m putting more Buzzfeed sources and quotes under a cut as this is already quite long, but I want them easily accessible mostly for myself. 

Top 10 Best Ever WTF Reasons Buzzfeed Fired me, LOL

Ben Smith made me delete a post I did on Axe Body Spray's ads, titled, "The Objectification Of Women By Axe Continues Unabated in 2013" (it was initially called something to the effect of "Axe Body Spray Continues its Contribution to Rape Culture," but I quickly softened it). Get this: he made me delete it one month after it was posted, due to apparent pressure from Axe's owner Unilever. How that's for editorial integrity? Ben Smith also questioned other posts I did knocking major advertisers' ads (he kept repeating the phrase "punching down"), including the pathetically pandering, irresponsible Nike "Fat Boy" commercial.

I of course understand that websites like BuzzFeed need lots of advertising dollars to operate, and that no media outlets—including the one you're reading this on—are immune to advertiser pressure. I understand that my posts may have pissed advertisers off. I also understand—very clearly—the job I was hired to do because I invented it.

After Removing Article Critical of Dove, Buzzfeed Says It Wants To Avoid ‘Hot Takes’

Buzzfeed Under Fire After Deleting Stories Critical Of Its Advertisers

BuzzFeed has new rules against deleting posts. It's part of the company's ethics policy, created in January, after it had pulled more than 1,000 articles for reasons of plagiarism, poor attribution and quality concerns. Yet in March, a British BuzzFeed writer called Monopoly the worst game in the world. It appeared just a month after BuzzFeed had struck a partnership with the toy manufacturer Hasbro to promote Monopoly's 80th anniversary. The article soon disappeared. Earlier this month, Smith ordered the removal of a post criticizing an advertising campaign for Dove soap. Dove is made by Unilever, a major manufacturer that hasn't been an advertiser on the site in a year and a half. But paid articles promoting Unilever products can still be found on the site.

Buzzfeed Deleted Posts Under Pressure From Its Own Business Department

Buzzfeed Blows Up Its Own Editorial Guide In Order To Delete a Post About a Dove Soap Ad

[weebsinstash]

Omg, did the whole debate start because of the Jennifer Gu thing?? If this wasn’t the Tumblr, I’d suspect that person to be one of those pathetic wumaos. CCP shills really have fragile egos, huh. 🤷🏻‍♀️

You do you, Queen! 💪 (And I sure hope AO3 won’t ever fall under the absurd censorship of China.)

Yes it is legitimately entirely because of the comments I posted in the tags of that reblog and I cannot overstate how stupid this all is and how I'm genuinely starting to believe this person is a minor

I can like, try and empathize where they're coming from, oh you shouldn't automatically assume she's connected to the government just because she's Chinese blah blah blah, even though she is a literal government employee, and also working in tech, but the sheer level of aggression over their assumption is like? Before I even reblogged that post, I was reading multiple posts where Chinese Ao3 users themselves were openly voicing their concerns about having their data leaked, about being exposed and getting in trouble with the CCP, because, again, Tiffany has admitted she works in tech support for, again, the government itself. This is a country where the government has literally thrown women in jail for writing yaoi fanfic. Ao3 is the largest fanfic site in the world, is American-based, and also unabashedly anti censorship and pro queer. You connect the dots why people would be extremely nervous. It's perfectly understandable to want to muscle her out of the voting even if she was completely innocent. You know their government can just... tell you to do shit right? And they'll jail you if you refuse? We literally already had this discussion with TikTok being Chinese-owned and how, even if the owner company doesn't WANT to fork over user data, they could be forced to by government demand. That's how an oppressive ruling imperialist power works.

Also i just googled what wumao means and, let's not say shit like that. This is almost absolutely guaranteed just someone going through their keyboard warrior SJW phase. This is obviously not coming from someone with any understanding of world politics or any social nuance at all really. Calling them a CCP shill would only enforce whatever professional victimhood/savior complex they have going on. This is already probably the most human interaction they've had all week. We don't need to overstimulate the kid.

also honestly I think that the American conservative far right is a bigger threat to specifically censorship right now. I was just reading an article about how schools in Fort Worth Texas are being told to remove ANNE FRANK'S DIARY from their shelves, along with other books that "promote critical race theory"

Honestly that's how i know this person is probably a dumbass American; they can't even pick a valid thing to be upset over

[tenlittlebullets]

whoooops, guess I was one of the ones whose theme got blown away when a bunch of people got booted into in password reset jail... oh well, it was due for a revamp anyway

and as much as I enjoy tinkering with my blog layout, I have never felt the need to actively shill for whichever theme I was butchering in the “Edit HTML” window at any particular time...

...but I do kind of want to give a shoutout to @april ‘s Vision theme for being

1. a de-crufted version of everything that’s good about the default Optica theme and the Tumblr dashboard view in general, with just enough sensible additions (sidebar, visible post dates, etc) to make it humane 2. much semantic, very HTML5, wow, this shit is readable as hell and doesn’t do anything with thickets of nested <div>s that can’t be accomplished with <section>s and <article>s and <aside>s 3. flexible and customizable in the EXACT ways needed to make it, incredibly, the only theme I haven’t had to butcher in “Edit HTML” at all to make it do what I want. and ONLY in those ways. no gazillion fiddly configs.

photosets still followed by a huge empty space in Firefox because of an issue scaling them down to fit the post width? or just want to give them more room on screens that’ll fit them? post width is a CSS variable! you can override it with custom styling in the advanced options!

wanna insert an analytics script, or offload some informational links out of the blog description but keep them on every page? there is one (1) designated widget space in the sidebar where you can enter any HTML you want.

you do not have to learn a Widget System. you do not have to curse and wonder what kind of Martian would need the option to put the searchbar in the page footer. you just slap some basic HTML down and piggyback off the existing styles and CSS variables to make it look like it belongs there. I made a featured-tag cloud with just a <h1>, a <nav>, a bunch of bare links, and no wrappers whatsoever. it’s EXACTLY what it needs to be and no more.

can’t promise I won’t eventually end up fucking with the theme HTML itself, because I like to fuck with things and I want timestamps next to my post dates, dammit, but the whole experience of setting this thing up was pretty remarkable.

[gaiahypothesims]

50 Questions for your Sim

I was tagged by TWO people but I can’t scroll back far enough to see who the second was!!! I’m so sorry! @ultroslovesyou Thanks for the tag that I CAN find.

Ash would LOVE to answer these himself. And its LONG because .... Ashley. (Its like... so long I’m embarrassed)

01. How old is your sim? Isn’t age subjective? I’m as wise as an elder, but youthful in looks as a young man in his absolute prime. 

02. When is your sim’s birthday? On the most perfect day. My Mother said the sun was shining and all the birds were singing. My newborn cries were met with tears of joy and happiness. 

03. What is your sim’s zodiac sign? This is a complicated question, as the Zodiac horoscopes you see popularly don’t take into account so many details. For one-... No I can’t answer this without explaining everything-

04. What is your sim’s ethnicity? I’m a child of the world. Fine, my parents are originally from India. Though I’ll have you know this kind of question is very narrow-minded.

05. Does your sim have any nicknames? Ash. That’s it. NO you may not ask my brother if I have any others.... or Evelyn... or Rosie. Just take my word for it.

06. Do they have a job? Travel Writer and a professional student in the teachings of the world. In fact, I do believe that being an avid learner in all things-

07. Where does your sim live? Its rude to interrupt someone every time they try to answer a question. AS I was saying, being an avid learner has taught me that there is no such thing as having a ‘job’. We have a responsibility to cultivate our PASSIONS. In that way you will never once be trapped by a ‘job’ or by one ‘place’, a box really, to call a home. 

08. Who does your sim live with? I’ve lived with so many different, unique, and beautiful individuals. I’ve been really helping my amazing friend Evelyn out. She’s very dependent on my mental fortitude. I don’t find it trying at all, though there are some days I do feel an imbalance in my Chi due to her constant bitching about my hair shedding. I tell her that just because she can SEE my hair better because its black doesn’t mean that she isn’t shedding as well. The OTHER day I found a long, thin, sad, brown hair in my soup, and I know for a fact that I have only the most luxurious raven black hair. 

09. What environment did your sim grow up in? (strict, loving, cold etc.) I have the most loving of parents. My brother on the other hand... well let’s just say he’s embraced Capitalistic conspiracy. 

10. What are your sim’s favourite food? I’ve found that the most healing and ethereal foods are what my body craves. Something like Lotus blossom water, I feel could sustain me for years. .. hmm?.. Oh no, I’d never TRY to live off of it. It is just water...

11. What is your sim’s favourite drink? I adore a good Oolong tea, I have an interesting story about how I was introduced to this-

12. If they have one what is your sim’s favourite color? Well that was rude, I wanted to explain the Oolong. Very well... moving on. How can one choose a favourite colour? The spectrum is SO vast. Can you believe that human eye can perceive approximately 10,000,000 colours? How can I choose a favourite?

13. Does your sim believe in any clichés? (love at first sight) Of course! There has to be a basis of truth if so many can relate to cliches. 

14. What is your sim’s sexuality? I would say that I do mostly enjoy the company of women sexually, but that’s not to say that I think men are unattractive. Sexuality isn’t a be all- end all. We are constantly learning new things about ourselves. I’ve recently discovered that I don’t mind a bit of anal play. I’ll tell you exactly how I discovered this, and it might surprise you-

15. What is your sim’s gender identity? How can you NOT want to learn more about my experience? It might change your life. I’m going to be writing about it for my next article. It has something to do with... a bath house.. and that’s ALL you’re going to get from me since you so rudely interrupted. Again.

16. Is your sim type a or type b? I don’t believe in types. Like asking me if I’m a square or a circle. I’m an entire sphere, unable to be bound to your strict typist ideals.

17. Is your sim introverted or extroverted? I would have to say that I am thoughtfully introverted. 

18. What is your sim’s favourite woohoo position? Oh so NOW you want to hear about my sexual exploits? Well its too late. I’ve been through the entire Kama Sutra, and NO that is not because I have Indian heritage, and it would have shocked you. 

19. Is your sim a pet person? If so what is their favourite animal? Not so much. I like Jonah’s dog actually. In fact he is likely more loyal to me now than he ever was to Jonah. An animal can sense things. 

20. Does your sim have a best friend? Rosie and Evelyn.

21. What is/was your sim’s favourite school subject? I quite enjoyed creative writing, which I think is why I turned to Travel Writing. The absolute best of both worlds. 

22. Is/was your sim a high, mid or low achiever in school? Every child has their own strengths and I find it unfair to measure one against the other when everyone is a unique learner. 

23. Are they planning to go or have they already been to college? If so, what would be or what was their major? I did go for a few years, but I never graduated with a degree. The classes that I took were all for my own interest, not to pander to organized academia for a worthless piece of paper.

24. What are your sim’s political beliefs? (if they have them) Politics are a construct to keep the individual from reaching their full potential. 

25. What is one thing your sim wants to do before they die? I’d like to share my travels with someone that I love, and that loves me back. 

26. Does your sim have a favourite TV show (cable) and/or movie? Watching television stunts a persons cultural and creative growth.

27. Is your sim a Netflix viewer? If so what are their top 3 shows. No.

28. Does your sim like books? Absolutely. I try to pick up a new book at every new location that I get to. I then leave my old book. Its a wonderful way to associate a certain story with a specific location. The feel and smell and tastes seem to stick better, for me, that way. 

29. Does your sim enjoy video games, if so what is their favourite one and do they play on PC or console? Well, I don’t love video games. But Evelyn owns one of those game systems, and sometimes we play together. Its purely for her therapeutic benefit that I join in.

30. What is your sim’s personal style? I wouldn’t dream of limiting myself to only one style.

31. Does your sim have a lucky charm? I make my own luck.

32. Is your sim religious? I’m an acolyte of all religions, including no religion.

33. What kind of music does your sim listen to and who is their favourite artist? There was a beggar woman in Romania that played the most beautiful violin. I gifted her talent with a hand-written poem. She didn’t seem to appreciate it, but I still remember her music.

34. Is your sim a festive person? If so what’s their favourite holiday? I love celebrating all the holidays, and festivals, as long as they aren’t attached to the shilling of Corporate greed. 

35. What is your sim’s favourite type of weather? All weather is beautiful and should be appreciated.

36. Does your sim prefer to start fights or finish them? I don’t prefer either.

37. Does your sim have a dream job? I am living my dream, doing something I love strictly for the passion of doing it.

38. Does your sim have any siblings? .... ugh.. one brother. Raj. 

39. Does your sim get along with their family? I love my parents very much. My mother is the most beautiful and loving woman, and my Father is generous and giving. 

40. What is your sim’s favourite hobby? Nothing, I don’t believe in hobbies. I believe in passion and doing. If you’re doing it and you love it, it isn’t a ‘hobby’ its a passionate endeavor. 

41. What does your sim look for in a romantic partner? I’m not very good at making things work with women. I’m not entirely sure why. It could be because I move so frequently. I have no schedule, no concept of time and plans. I suppose I’d love someone that also could be as flexible. 

42. What is a secret about your sim? I have no secrets, I’m an open book. <He’s extremely vain. His nonchalance is extremely cultivated>

43. What is a wish your sim has? To share my adventures with someone that loves me. 

44. What is a flaw your sim has? Is there really such a thing as flaws? Are we not like the kintsugi in Japanese pottery, “flaws” make us beautifully unique.

45. How do others generally perceive your sim? I would say that some are threatened by my complete oneness with the universe. They might see it as something else, arrogance... perhaps. Though if I could have a moment to explain it to them, they would understand and appreciate it.

46. Does your sim have a greatest achievement? Every achievement is a great one. For a person to get up in the morning, is an achievement. The will to say “yes! another.” and to make it through the day happily, unhappily, to have an adventure, to stay home and self-care, its what life is about. There is NO greatest achievement. Every action is great in itself, no matter how small.

47. If they have one, what is your sim’s greatest regret?  That I tried to follow in Rajan’s footsteps for too long. Instead of embracing who I really was. 

48. Does your sim have a favourite emoji? Emoji’s can’t properly convey all the feelings that I have. I feel that a wordy text, or a phone call is so much better. A long text is something the person can treasure over and over, but a phone call can contain so much more warmth and genuine conversation.

49. Does your sim use simstagram? <under his breath> Yes. 

50. What is the last text your sim sent (and who did they text)? Oh do I have to share? This isn’t exactly... fine.. its to Evelyn and it says: You’re a dirty tramp. <cough> ... I’m sure she’s treasuring the words right now, yes thank you. 

[spooky-scary-imagines]

Hi :) would you write one where ChopTop met the reader the the radio station along with Strech*idk if i spelled it right* but the reader dressed similar to him and was in a band herself makeing ChopTop love struck and just his stuttering getting worst and forgeting what to say witch the reader finds cute maybe it would get slightly nsfw to to the ebd but you can pick its ok if its just fluff :3 *sorry if its to long*

((Sorry this took so long! Gotta love my boy Chop-Top and this prompt not only gave me an excuse to rewatch his intro scene but it also seems super fun! It is a challenge to figure out dialogue for him tho because he’s so bizarre in all the best ways. This one didn’t end up being too romantic but I’ve been thinking about maybe writing a continuation for this just cause there’s so much more I can do with it. So let me know if any of y’all are interested! Tagging: @i-cant-get-with-it

Chop Top meets hippie s/o @ the radio station:

It’s been a pretty rough week at the station. Your good friend Vanita had gotten a terrible call-in the other day. Initially she thought it was a prank, as the men had been obnoxious all day, but even she couldn’t ignore the terrible screaming and shill grating of metal on metal. Not when she saw that article in the paper that seemed to match the call-in. She had told you about the plan she devised with some old sheriff, about playing the tape over the radio. To you it seemed like a bad idea and a great way to put a giant target on her back, but she was insistent that she had to do it and make a difference. Despite your worries, you couldn’t just leave her alone, so you decided to stay with her after that night’s broadcast.

Tonight had done nothing to ease your concerns, angry callers had been cursing out the station and since Stretch first aired the tape. L.G. seemed to be the most upset by it, talking about how much trouble Vanita was going to get into, though anyone with eyes could tell how soft he was on her. Sadly, it didn’t seem like the feelings were returned quite the same way. At least not yet, you thought, as you watched her turn down his offer to grab some coffee with him. Guess you two were sticking around for this “Lefty” guy.

Shortly after L.G. left, you heard the phone ring. You went to reach for it, but Stretch got there first. “Hello?…Hello?…Lefty?” You could guess from her side of the conversation that she was being met with silence. You raised an eyebrow and she looked at you, equally confused. The mysterious caller hung up. “What the hell was that all about?” you asked.

“No clue,” Stretch shrugged, “We get some weird callers sometimes, but-.” As if on a cue, you two heard a small slam from the other side of the station. Vanita’s eyes flicked to you. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Stretch had been gone for a suspicious amount of time, when you decided you needed to go after her. You stood in the doorway of the hall leading to the lobby. From there, you could hear Stretch and a strange male voice, talking manically. “Hi, I know what you’re thinking. This is weird. Hope I can handle it.“ You peered out into the lobby, there you saw Vanita nervously backed against her desk, across from her was an odd man. He appeared to be in his 30s, dressed in patched and campy hippie clothes, the odd look topped off with a shappy mop of black hair and lavender Lennon specs. Though a somewhat tacky outfit, it reminded you of the way you and your bandmates dressed, especially when hanging out around at festivals. He started getting up and moving towards Stretch, and you walked out from the doorframe. Both sets of eyes looking your direction.

“Uhhh, hey man…what’s up?” you asked, awkwardly trying to redirect him. He turned to you, and looked you up and down, face unreadable.

“Wh-Who  the hell’re you? I thought it was j-just the DJ?”

“Well it isn’t space cadet! Who the hell are you?”

“I-I-I’m just a fan,” he turned back to Stretch, “Me and my little brother, Bubba, we listen to this show e-every night.” He turned back to you with a sick grin, “Music…is my life.”

You smiled at that, “Oh? I dig it. I’m in a band myself.”

His eyes went wide at that, and the barely contained manic energy in him seemed to ramp up, “O-Oh yeah? Wh-What’re you like? Something h-h-heavy? Like-like Iron Butterfly!”

You chuckled. Despite him being kind of a freaky-deaky dork, you had to admit the spaz was kind of endearing and a little cute. “Kinda. We’re more like Vanilla Fudge or Quicksilver Messenger Service than anything.”

“Far-Out! So-”

“I hate to interrupt,” Stretch cut in, “But the station is closed for the night.”

The man turned back to her, a strange glint in his eye and a sick grin that made you shudder. “Well, y’see, I wa-wanted to phone in my request but, but I al-al-always get too nervous, y’know?” He paused for a reaction before continuing, “But, well, since I’m here. In-In flesh-and-blood…I figured I could just give you my request now right!

Stretch looked to you for help and you just lifted your hands in a shrug-like gesture. “Uh, sure, sure. You can tell me your request and then you need to leave.”

The man chuckled, and started heating up the coat hanger he was holding with an old rainbow lighter. “Al-Alright…How about Cold Stone Fever from uh, Humble Pie! Or uh…” he picked at his scalp, ”In Da Vidda da Gadda babey. Heh heh yeah…” he turned to you, “Real, uh, heavy stuff, y’know.” You hid a laugh behind your hand, at his goofy smile and the fact that he got both song titles wrong.

Then that menace was back in his eyes, “Or…how about s-something like that, uh, Lefty r-request record you played today? How’d it go again?” You and Stretch’s eyes went wide as the man screamed and growled in mimicry of the terrible sounds of the attack. You looked at each other in mutual fear at this man standing between you and the exit. “Wh-What was that anyway? R-Rambo III soundtrack?” he chuckled at his own joke. “Could you play it again? Or, uh, m-maybe you co-could get me a copy!” He grinned, “You could both sign it. To-To-To a far out fan!”

He seemed to respond better to you so you spoke up, “We, uh, actually don’t have a copy. Sorry sir. But we could, er,  play your other requests.”

Something dark passed over his face that you couldn’t quite place. He looked to the side in the records vault. “Hey, uh, is this where you keep the golden oldies? And mayb-” The rest of the sentence was cut off when the lights suddenly flipped on, revealing a horrifying giant wielding what looked like a chainsaw. You and Vanita screamed, she ran off towards the back rooms while you ducked out of the way into the far corner of the room behind and hid on the far side of the sofa. You heard the man from earlier hollering in pain and wailing at the giant to “Get the girl!” You saw the giant run after Vanita through the door, and you peered out from your hiding place. You watched the man from before scream and clutch at his head. “He dented my plate! My brain is burning! Nam flashback! Nam flashback! Leatherface, you bitch, I’ll…Oh just look what you did to my Sonny Bono wig. Oh, God damn it!”

You listened to the man’s cries of pain and rage from your hiding place as you resisted the urge to help him. Judging from what you could make out from his rant, he was clearly with the man trying to kill Stretch. Oh god…Vanita…what have you gotten yourself into? He eventually managed to get to his feet and began to go through the records vault, muttering something about dogs hunting. You covered your ears and tried to block out the terrible sounds coming from behind the door leading to the recording area.

You heard a door open from the other side of the room. “Hey! What the shit?” L.G was back! Maybe he could get the police and everything would be okay.

“Lick my plate you dog dick!” the hippie yelled, flipping L.G. the bird. It would have been funny if the whole situation wasn’t so terrifying.

“What the fuck you think you’re doing in here, you crazy-looking little son of a bitch? Get out of here!” You wanted to scream at L.G. to run out of here and get help, that these guys were totally buggin and super dangerous. But you stayed quiet for fear of revealing your position. This turned out to be a lethal decision as the man lunged at L.G. brandishing a hammer. “Time for incoming mail!” he shrieked, slamming into hammer into L.G.’s skull, “Ho Chi Minh!” Over and over you heard the sickening thuds through your covered ears. You squeezed your eyes shut but you couldn’t pretend it just wasn’t happening. Hell, the same thing was probably happening to Stretch right now .

You didn’t even realize you were crying until you felt the warmth of the tears sliding down your face, but someone else did. You open your eyes to see the killer’s leering face less than a foot from your own, “H-H-Hey there, rock’n’roll b-bunny! T-th-th-thought I lost ya t-there.”

“Please, don’t kill me,” you sobbed, “I’m, like, really sorry for whatever’s making you upset.”

This seemed to make the man nervous, and he started picking twitchily at the edge of a metal plate embedded in his skull. “I-I…I ain’t g-gonna, er, kill you. J-Just…” he looked around the room frantically, as if trying to find a solution to his problem. He spied the hammer over by L.G.’s corpse and his face broke into a grin. He scrambled to grab it, whipped back around, and started getting closer to you, arms out ahead of him as if you were a spooked animal. And I guess in a way you were. “N-Now do-don’t move or-or nothing. It It ain’t gonna h-hurt.”

Your soft sobs turned into bawling, “NoNoNo Oh God PleasePleasePleasePlease Don’t do this Please don’t do this!”

You noticed some emotion flash across his face that you couldn’t figure out. “A-one and a-two and a-three!” and the hammer fell down on your skull. You collapsed, yet you kept fading in and out of consciousness. You heard footsteps coming through the door to the studio and what sounded like the two men having a one sided conversation. “Did you get her, Bubba? Did you get that bitch? She was my fave…but-but she knew! And now…nobody knows!…L-look what you did to my plate, you bitch!…Y-You got her? Di-Did you get her good?…Slap me five!

You heard footsteps coming closer but you couldn’t see what was happening as you felt yourself getting dragged over to a damp section of floor. “I got some too. Bonus bodies! Look at that beef,” you vaguely felt a slap against your thigh, but it was as if you were made of cotton. “Help me get it out of here!,” said the hippie as you felt yourself be hoisted onto the larger man’s shoulders.

 You were tossed in what seemed like the back of a truck, though you were so dizzy it was hard to tell. Finally you succumbed to your head injury and passed out. The giant, Bubba, left to sit shotgun and only Chop-top stayed by, standing over you with a dopey look on his face. “Don’t wo-worry baby, we’ll b-be home soon,” he gave you a sloppy peck on the cheek and ran back around to the driver’s side. “Alright Bubba! Let’s blow this pop stand!” he yelled, and sped off back to where the rest of the family was waiting.

[fulcrum-agent]

Body By Thor

Some of you may have noticed this tag on some of my food posts. I’m going to explain where the hell it came from, and probably sound like something of a shill for a minute. Cut for length concerns.

CENTR

Last week, a programme called Centr launched, and I believe it’s the most comprehensive health and wellness programme you can get, short of being able to hire your own trainers and wellness staff.

For years, Chris Hemsworth has been approached about how he is essentially Thor in IRL. Questions about how he got so ripped, how he maintains all that bustling energy, why he’s so damn positive. (Spoilers: half the answers are because of Hemsworth being Australia, as a starter.)

The man has a massive health and wellness team, as well as myriad friends in the industry. So he’s picked 21 of the best experts he knows, and brought them together to create Centr.

Every expert has a series of videos in the programme, as well as some articles for self guided work, instead of the video and audio guidance. I’ve had the programme for a week now, and I haven’t made it through a fraction of the videos and articles.

The thing that caught me at the get go was the fact that there’s a huge article dedicated for how to train as someone whose either been injured, or suffers from chronic medical conditions and/or persistent pain. Literally, no other health or wellness programme I’ve touched in the past decade has had something like that. Further more, each trainer they have for fitness gives alternate movement sets and suggestions for those who are suffering physical ailments, and can’t do the full monty version.

The other thing that drew me to this programme is the fact their app is fairly much fully comprehensive. Previously, I’ve needed an app for a food plan, an app to track calorie intake and/or exercise, an exercise app, and an app for creating shopping lists at the very least. In some manner, all of that shite is built into Centre, which makes it a hell of a lot easier to manage.

Making management further streamlined, the app is heavily invested in the Apple Health system. It utilises nearly every aspect of the Health API, as well as the Apple Watch. I was shocked as hell when I did my first workout, and had my Watch suddenly flip on with all sorts of metrics going. It uses the Workout API of the watch, but has its own custom interface that has a lot more data right there and available.

The core of the programme is a weekly planner. This has your workouts, meditation and/or sleep aids, and your meals for every day of the week. The recipes for the meals can be adjusted by serving, so people who are cooking for just themselves can trim it down to one serving (or two for quick leftovers), while people who are feeding a family can crank up the servings to cover even parties worth of people.

What’s awesom there is that you can tell the app to move your weekly meal plan’s ingredients into a shopping list, which will auto calculate how much you need of what, even if something is used in more than one meal. It sorts it (as best it can) into what section of the grocery store items are located, but your milage on the accuracy of such will vary, based on your local stores. The shopping list does have the ability to add things not on the meal plan list, so that part’s covered as well.

Centr has one of the most diverse workout/fitness selections I’ve seen in a single app. There’s really good foundational movements, yoga and pliates, strength training, endurance training, muscle building, HIIT and HIRT, along with things like boxing and MMA. One of the guys who does a video set is Chris’ stunt man friend, who relates some of the various things he’s teaching to the world of stuntmen, which is pretty fun.

The programme is pretty flexivle in terms of the fitness. You can swap out workouts if you need something a little less strenuous, or want to up your anti on a good day. You don’t need to use equipment, but if you have it or a gym membership, the programme has series that focus on using such.

I think the one thing about the app that throws me off, and will likely throw others off, is that you personally are not tracking your calories. The app does it for you in the meal plans. As long as you stick to the meal plans (which do have snacking factored in), you can just not give any fucks about the calories going in. That’s...like the antithises of every other nutrition app, but I’m digging not having to give extra fucks over it.

And this last piece may sound odd, but unlike a lot of other programmes, Hemsworth has made sure there’s a link right in the iOS app to hit the Apple Store and adjust your subscription, whether it be to change your bililng cycle or cancel completely. Far too many apps now a days are super opague about that, and it’s really annoying.

The programme is literally by Hemsworth himself. He not only turns up in many different parts of the programme, he oversees the entire god damn thing. It’s letimately his work, something he’s doing between being a super hero and having a family.

Your first week ends with him popping up in a video, which was cute as shit. I won’t spoil it for anyone, but I giggled like a school girl at what happened during the vid.

There is one thing that may be a turn off for some people: this is not one of those free-to-use-but-has-in-app-purchase type programmes. It’s a straight up 7 day trial, then full on subscription. The upside is that nothing is gated during the 7 day trial, and then everything is yours to use once you subscribe. One of the most frustrating things is the variance between the amount of accesibility with an app that focuses on in-app purchases, and despite the programme being about the same amount as a gym membership, the lack of not knowing what I do and don’t have access too is pretty nice.

Centr has a pretty huge FAQ for people to look at before starting. I also suggest starting the programme right after you wake up, to maximise your 7 days. The first day is super chill, and all about collecting your week’s worth of stuff, but you really need that full day to get into it. I made the fucking mistake of doing it at like 2 AM and having my first day all messed up cus I didn’t have transportation to the store.

Completely by accident, I ended up being a Founding Member, since I stumbled upon it during the launch ramp up. I spent the night of the 13th into the 14th doing my grocery shopping, and man, that was a workout on its own.

To wrap things up, the reason I decided to write anything about Centre is because I’m seeing immediate results. My pain decreased dramatically, the amount of calories I burn each day has doubled already, I am sleeping more restfully (once I can sleep, insomnia is still being a jerk), and I’m giving less fucks about the things that don’t really matter, and enjoying the things that do.

I do mix Centr with another programme called Fabulous, which focuses on the mental aspects of life. But I literally only need two apps to have a full compliment of health and wellness help, instead of like...six.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. This shill was given freely, cus I’m not lucky enough to be endorsed by Hemsworth himself.