#artielu has opinions

[artielu]

Annual rant, with no shade at the excellent fics and art coming out made with love by many talented authors and artists which I will definitely enjoy and kudos and comment and appreciate.

Why the hell does the British wizarding world, in canon, celebrate Christmas?!?! Yule or winter solstice make sense, sure. But a Christian holiday???

Of course, many muggleborns probably do as their families of origin. It makes sense that the Grangers and the Dursleys likely would (though not the Patil twins).

But the pureblood families?!?! Why the hell do the Weasleys celebrate Christmas?!?! Are they Christian?? Do they believe that Jesus is their lord and savior?? Really??

And the Malfoys?!?!?! Who distain all things muggle?!?! Seriously???

Why is Hogwarts, run by the pureblood board of governors, celebrating a Christian holiday??? Dumbledore is Christian?!?!

I mean, obviously the answer is that jkr has serious, deeply problematic biases and bigotry and ethnocentrism and the world she created reflects all of her flaws.

But it still drives me absolutely crazy every year.

Are there any fics or metas that address this??? Please tell me because I want to read them.

[artielu]

I'm also gonna reblog this totally awesome post without my commentary, but I feel so strongly about this that I do not want to put my comments in the tags.

I cannot fully describe how wonderful it has been to have endless annoying ball shaving ads, finally pay the $40, and never see those ads -or any other ads- again. It has absolutely been worth $40, which I am fortunate to be able to afford, to have an ad-free experience on Tumblr.

If you can afford to help keep Tumblr running with $40, it is literally among the best money I've spent in a year in terms of ratio of my marginal enjoyment to cost. Let's say I spend ~30 minutes on Tumblr a day, so ~183 hours a year is *22 cents an hour for no ads*. More hours on Tumblr lowers the cost per hour even further.

If you could, would you pay 25 cents to not see those ads for an hour? Of course you would. And you would be happy that you did so.

Join me in the glory that is ad-free Tumblr. It's glorious.

i feel like tumblr is doing something kind of revolutionary with its advertising rn? like… if they’re doing what I suspect they’re doing, it’s almost impressive?

[artielu]

I'm still surprised by that poll characterizing oatmeal as "old people cereal". Oatmeal is AWESOME, y'all.

It's cheap, especially if you buy a bigger size. You can get really nice oatmeal brands for a low price, especially in terms of cost per serving. You can get twenty servings of nice oatmeal for like seven dollars plus tax.

It's nutritious. High in protein and fiber and complex carbs that give lasting energy and keep your digestive microbiome happy.

It doesn't spoil. Keep it in an airtight container (like the awesome metal can McCann's comes in) and it will stay good until you eat it all.

It's perfect leftovers. You can make it ahead and it reheats great in the microwave. I make 4 cups of milk to 1 cup of oatmeal on the weekend and eat it for breakfast all week.

And it's delicious. It's so versatile. It's a vehicle for yum.

McCann's Irish steel cut is my favorite. Just simmer out in the stove for half an hour while you do whatever. I use plant based milk instead of water, for flavor and nutrition. My favorites are ripple, oatly, and cashew when it's in sale. Usually ripple. The steel cut has a fabulous texture and mouth feel, and is full of fiber and protein. You can find these at regular grocery stores and Amazon.

Bob's Red Mill is also great. Their quick cook steel cut oats are also yum and a lot faster than the McCann's. I get mine at Costco but again Amazon etc. This one is less common at regular grocery stores.

And then there's the brilliance of overnight oats. Stupid easy and so delicious. Add Greek or Icelandic yogurt, some fruit, and you're good to go.

And y'all, oatmeal can be sweet or savory.

Oatmeal is great with everything bagel seasoning and a fried egg. Or bacon and cheese. Or spiced nuts. Oatmeal likes Sriracha, if you're into that. Sprinkle chia seeds out ground flaxseed or hemp seeds for extra nutrition.

Oatmeal is great with maple syrup (the real stuff) or honey and dried fruit and some nuts. Re nuts, buy the cheap tiny bits of pecans or almonds (see trader Joe's). You don't need pricey whole nuts or halves. If you want to be really fancy, toast your nuts in a warm pan for a minute first.

Oatmeal is great with a blob of nut butter swirled in.

Oatmeal is great with cream and fresh berries. I like it with coconut milk and raspberries.

It's great with chocolate chips and cinnamon and butter.

Y'all. Oatmeal is fucking great.

Love yourself and buy the good oatmeal.

[artielu]

This is really, really, really bad.

You'll find the best analysis of all the SCOTUS decisions, as well as the opinions, here:

“We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts,” the chief justice wrote.

Justice Kagan's dissent is a must read too. “Of all times to abandon the Court’s duty to declare the law, this was not the one. The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court’s role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections. With respect but deep sadness, I dissent.”

I cannot sufficiently emphasize how bad this is.

Really, really, really bad.

Thanks to a SCOTUS seat stolen from Obama by McConnell, and a SCOTUS seat given to a perjured misogynist by Trump and McConnell.

Who have also shoved through confirmation dozens of federal court judges that McConnell refused to hear during the Obama administration.

Mitch McConnell is the worst thing that has ever happened to this country.

[voicedimplosives]

All Our Days is utterly ruining me. And I've never read Persuasion, so I really don't know what's going to happen, so I'm like 95% agony, 5% hope. That holoprojection in the prologue is where the 5% comes from. The rest of me is definitely in agony. Or in the quiet, resigned misery of a person who has totally let go of thinking she can have anything nice, that she deserves anything good. Small wonder given how her family treated her. She's dying inside. I love this fic. Thank you.

have hope, artielu!!! i am honored that the fic is affecting you that way, thank you so much. and i promise that although persuasion is one of jane austen’s angstier works [in my opinion], it has a happy ending. things will start looking up very soon for rey! 💖

[artielu]

Am I the only one or Mal was one of the most decent characters in grishaverse, both as a realized character and in the moral sense

[artielu]

The care and feeding of fic authors

I have twenty three pages of inbox messages on AO3, mostly authors replying to my enthusiastic comments on their fics.

While I ***absolutely do not expect, nor do I think,*** that authors should or need or must respond to even one single comment on their entire fic (hi, they just gave us a chapter of fic, that was our present and our job as readers is to say thank you; they didn't owe us anything to begin with and they sure as hell don't after posting either).

And I'm sure that many, many more authors felt momentarily good because I said something nice, even if they didn't respond (which is totally fine!)

it is cool to see page after page of authors feeling good about themselves and their talent just because I told them that I enjoyed the gift of fic that they shared with me.

It's just a nice reminder that I am a supportive reader. Virtuous cycle. These authors deserve my support.

You should be a supportive reader too. Try to comment every time you read a chapter!

[artielu]

It can happen to anyone

Here's the point: National Domestic Violence hotline https://www.thehotline.org/ 1−800−799−7233. Aspire News App for DV victims/survivors: https://www.whengeorgiasmiled.org/aspire-news-app/

A friend of mine is a lawyer. Smart, beautiful, hard working. We're not close, but friends. A really good person. She married a great guy who went to medical school and became a doctor. They've been together for more than a decade, a team. They have a young child. She's a great mom. The husband's parents are super nice, super welcoming and warm, really great in-laws.

About a year ago, my friend realized her husband was living a double life. He had been having multiple long term extra marital affairs in dangerous situations and giving the other women money and time. For years. That he was gaslighting her. That she was being emotionally and psychologically abused.

She couldn't believe it was real. She finally told one of our friends, who's very close to both of us, and they worked together to get her in counseling and a divorce. Things got worse, because that's how abusers are.

She tried co-parenting and joint custody because she wanted what's best for their son.

He said he stopped doing the things, that he was going to be a good father. He lied, of course. It all got worse. Much worse.

Our mutual friend told me recently (with permission) and I was horrified too. So now I'm working with her too, helping her navigate the legal process as a friend. Because even though we've never been close friends, it doesn't matter. She's a victim/survivor, she needs help and I am sister's keeper.

She feels broken, she blames herself, she is in therapy. She's not actually broken and it's not actually her fault and she maybe intellectually knows that but abuse is vicious and pernicious.

My points are these:

1) domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone. Anyone. Even smart, educated women. There's nothing any victim/survivor can do or should have done to avoid it. It's never the victim's fault.

2) Domestic abusers can be anyone. Anyone. Even well educated, successful men from great families. Looking good on paper is never a reason to think you're overreacting.

3) believe survivors. Every time. None of us, her friends, had any idea this was going on. Not even a hint. He seemed great. He really did. We were wrong, end of story. To their credit, his parents believe my friend, not their son.

4) you are not alone. Ask for help. The national hotline is at the top of this post. The Aspire news app is a stealth app for DV victims to get help, designed in working with survivor organizations. Tell people you can trust and ask for help. Lean on your village.

5) have a safety plan. If you can, if it's safe to do so, tell your neighbors to be watchful. Give the police a head's up. Set up regular check-ins with friends who know to call the police if you miss a check in, or whatever makes sense for your situation. Be thoughtful and careful about when it's logistically safer, relatively, to make a move. Leaving is the most dangerous time for victims/survivors.

6) check your devices for stalking and spyware apps. Maybe change your passwords using a device the abuser doesn't know about, like your coworker's phone. Talk to experienced support organizations who know what to look for and what to do about it.

You are not alone. Abuse is never deserved, never the victim's fault.

Believe victims. Believe survivors.

[artielu]

Sending love to @qqueenofhades and @kylorenvevo for their interviews in the link and for the million-plus words of fic they have already given us. For free.

Thank you both so very much. You're immensely talented writers who have blessed us for actual years with your many works.

[artielu]

I wrote a thesis in college on ranked choice voting. It fucking RULES. It's a great way for people to be able to express "well i really prefer the socialist candidate, but as that person cannot win, I definitely prefer the Democrat over the Republican."

In winner take all, which almost all of the US has, voting for a third party candidate is a wasted vote. That person is never going to win, and surely you prefer one of the major parties over the other.

See re Bernie Sanders supporters who voted for Bernie instead of Hillary Clinton, though Bernie had no fucking chance of winning and therefore were missed votes for Clinton that should have counterbalanced votes for Trump... And then Trump won the electoral college (but lost the popular vote by millions of votes).

With ranked choice, the Bernie bros could have said, legitimately, first choice Bernie, second choice Hillary. And then when Bernie lost, all their votes would have rolled to Hillary and then she would have won the electoral college in addition to the popular vote by an even wider margin.

And the Democratic national committee would have seen how many people preferred Bernie's politics and taken that into account in crafting the platform.

Ranked choice voting is a powerful signal of voter preference that does not require people to waste their vote on third parties that simply cannot win under this election system.

Ranked choice voting fucking rules.

I like that Alaska has ranked choice voting (seems like a good idea and I wish others also had it), but my goodness do I wish the results came in faster. I hadn't realized just how tense I was until they called Nevada senate, and I know alaska is going ot be republican, but I'm really hoping Murkowski wins her race since she seems like the lesser of two evils

You also have to consider Alaska is an absolute batshit huge fucking state where much of it is incredibly rural (as in, no roads to the outside world, only access is by plane), and it takes a long time not only to count the results, but to get them in the first place, make sure all the eligible ballots are in, find a way to contact voters out in the bush, etc. So yes, there's pretty much no way to make that go any faster. Murkowski is definitely the lesser of two evils; I haven't heard how that is going recently, but let's hope she hangs on. The last time I looked, which was admittedly a while ago, Peltola seemed in good position to hang onto the Alaska House seat for the Democrats, but yeah, it's just so fucking enormous and so rural that it's going to take extra time.

[artielu]

Sunk cost fallacy is a god damn fallacy

I swear to god, if they left Arya and/or Jon alive only to kill Dany, with assistance from Tyrion....

I hate myself so fucking much for falling for this bullshit.

I stopped watching in season one because misogyny.

I came back in season seven because they got past the books and I wanted to know how it ended because it seemed like GRRM was never going to finish the fucking series and sunk cost fallacy because I read all the damn books.

This is GRRM’s fault I’m even here. He should have published the next book years ago. And the fault of his attorney for letting him sign over creative control to HBO. You guys fucked up so badly.

And so. Season eight. Fridged the last WOC, abandoned multiple seasons of character foundation and development for Dany and Jaime, turned the POC unsullied army into savages who murdered white Lannister men who surrendered... and so quickly dispatched with TNK after seven seasons of build up.

So now they’re going to kill Dany. Because she’s a legit war criminal, despite her abhorring the killing of innocent common people for seven seasons. Because ruling by fear means watching for assassins at all times. Because Bitches Be Crazy. Maybe Jon will do it (hopefully not by faux seducing her because a woman losing her senses when offered a savior dicking, particularly by mr honest to a fault, would really be the cherry on top of this misogynistic sundae) because War Crimes and Guilt and then fuck off to the free folk and Ghost. Or Arya does it because she’s Good At Killing People and is mad about the burned mother and daughter.

No more iron throne. That shit burned down today anyway.

Tyrion lives through the finale and gets to stew in his many, many regrets. Jaime would have lived if Tyrion did not release him and send him to Cersei.

Sansa continues to do a good job rebuilding the north and feeding her people.

I hate that I spent any time on this.

I should have just stayed in The North Remembers. Stupid stupid me.

[artielu]

Hahaha no

My Google landing page on my Droid suggested that is be interested in a buzzfeed article that was recommending ASOIAF/got fics, so I clicked to see if @qqueenofhades masterpiece The North Remembers was on the list. It wasn't.

A gendrya fic with a potentially interesting premise was, so I clicked the link.

And it took me to FF.net.

And I immediately closed the tab. There is no fucking way I'm reading anything on FF. That site sucks, the UI sucks, no way am I using it after years of avoidng it. AO3, ride or die.

Fail, BuzzFeed.

[artielu]

Fuck yeah

My girl Nancy is going to be Speaker of the House. Again.

A tougher, more experienced, more strategic, more powerful woman in Congress there has never been.

Five kids. Decades of experience. Unwavering support for Obamacare. Supports reproductive rights, lgbtq rights, dreamers.

Is she as liberal as I'd personally want? No.

But I'm not representative of the whole country and I'm not responsible for herding the cats of the Democratic caucus in one direction at the same time. She stays focused on the possible, on the long game, and raises millions for democratic candidates.

She's a woman who gets shit done.

That's who I want on the wall against Trump and McConnell. That's who I need.

And she's going to be in charge when Mueller delivers his findings.

Stay involved. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Keep pushing, keep fighting. And don't let the GOP split our vote by getting us to fight each other.

Remember who the enemy is.

Our enemy is not Nancy Pelosi. She's our general in this war. And she can lead us to victory.

[artielu]

Americans, get TSA pre-check. For reals.

airport security is like when you’re trying to put your money back in your wallet before it’s the next person’s turn in line except you’re barefoot 

[artielu]

On Mother's Day

To those of you hurt by this made-up holiday.

To those who did not get the loving mothers you deserved when you were kids.

To those who are involuntarily estranged from their mothers, whether due to circumstances she could or could not control.

To those who are voluntarily estranged from their mothers, because her toxicity was finally too much to bear.

To those whose mothers are gravely ill or have died.

To those who are mothers of children who have died.

To those who are mothers of children in utero who didn't survive gestation or delivery, despite being very much wanted.

To those who gave up a child for adoption and wonder sometimes, even if without any regrets.

To those who made the right choice for their lives at that time and ended a pregnancy, but still feel sad about it, about what could have been, even if they don't regret the choice.

To those who so very much want to be mothers but their bodies are not cooperating and every period feels like a fundamental failure.

To those who hate(d) being pregnant and/or the infant stage.

To those who are on seemingly endless wait lists to adopt a child but have not been matched yet.

To those who foster a child only to see the child returned to his or her unstable biological family.

To those struggling with their being involuntarily drafted into the Mommy Wars and Pinterest Olympics about how to be a Good Mom TM and constantly feeling like a failure for any choice they make, no matter how hard they try, because it's never Good Enough TM.

To the mothers who don't (yet) love or even recognize the bodies they now have, after pregnancy and delivery.

To those with postpartum depression, or anxiety, or depression, or any other mood disorder and still keep up with most or some of the endless tasks of being a mother.

To those who have children but honestly sometimes hate being permanently stuck in the seemingly most exhausting, painful, sacrificial, repetitive, boring, disgusting job that they can't escape, and then the overwhelming guilt about feeling that way.

To those whose children are estranged, lost to drugs or a toxic significant other, or for mistakes that the mothers made and can't fix.

To those whose children are fathered by men who are not equal to the task of parenthood and leave the burden on the mothers.

To the voluntarily and the involuntarily single mothers.

To the mothers struggling with joint custody arrangements and putting on a brave and gracious face for the sake of their children's mental health.

To those who care for children that are not their own, whether as teachers or the significant others of parents, or aunties in all but blood, but English fails to offer an adequate name for your role, nor a holiday to honor you.

To those who care for our children so some of us can work.

To those separated from their children by immigration status.

To all those hurt by this made-up holiday.

I see you.

I see your pain. I share it.

I love you.

I hope you find some modicum of peace on this holiday. Take care of yourself. Take care of each other.

[artielu]

Game on, you guys.