#assimilation as distinct from going underground

[the-everqueen]

this AND Remmick is very much a metaphor for the white record producers who capitalized on Black roots music in the early 20th century.

i highkey recommend everyone read Matthew Morrison's Blacksound: Making Race and Popular Music in the United States, but tl;dr: many early successful music publication houses and later record labels in the U.S. were started by second or third generation Irish-Americans or Jewish Americans. the ethnic demographics are important because their claim to whiteness was incredibly tenuous: working-class, immigrant backgrounds and non-Anglo Saxon, Protestant heritages made them targets of discrimination. assimilation meant aligning oneself specifically with WASP culture, which included an entrepreneurial spirit.

of course, they weren't the originators of Black exploitation: Morrison discusses how some talented enslaved people were forced to become prodigious musicians, either to provide free entertainment for their masters or as a concession for the enslaved population to engage in limited leisure time (also a kind of power-fantasy for slave owners--what Saidiya Hartman calls the "terror and fascination" of slavery). these fiddlers, banjo and brass players, and percussionists would have learned Western classical tunes as well as some of the popular songs adapted from Irish, Scottish, and British cultures. some aspects of those musics might have felt familiar to traditional African folk musics, or else musicians just mixed tracks for fun, but those influences all ended up in the blues as we know it, and the blues hit its peak of popularity in the 1920s-30s *because* of the Great Migration.

very few Black blues artists were materially *successful,* even if they were incredibly influential, because most labels at the time contracted Black musicians while the (white) producers retained the rights to the recorded music, meaning that the Black musicians got a one-time payment and nothing else, even if the record sold thousands of copies. producers attained social and financial capital via the exploited labor of Black people.

when Remmick led his newly turned posse in an Irish song, i thought of the plantation masters who forced the enslaved to perform their music on the threat of violence. when he said that the goal is eternal "fellowship," i thought of the Christians who forcibly converted Natives and displaced Africans, outlawing the hoodoo and other ritual and spiritual practices that nonetheless sustained many nonwhite people through systemic dehumanization and genocide.

it really frustrates me to think about how people are inevitably going to take Remmick’s one (1) singular statement about how much he resents the way the Irish were colonized and forcibly converted to Christianity and use it as fuel for “actually he had a point” and “he was right actually” and “he’s not really the villain here” posts, when the whole point is that Remmick is, through the vampiric hive mind he’s creating, forcibly assimilating people into yet another manipulative and parasitical system. he doesn't value the cultures of the people he assimilates—notice how all the vampires he turns dance to his culture's music using his culture's dances, and how he only uses the languages or knowledge other vampires have to offer when he needs to manipulate someone. Remmick is extremely transparent about the way he sees the people he turns as resources to exploit.

he’s perpetuating a cycle that he claims to hate and resent, and I think the movie is pretty damn clear about the fact that he doesn’t see anybody as valuable or useful to him except as prey and as pawns—otherwise he would just, you know, focus solely on people who actually consent to being turned. but he looked sad in that one scene and he’s an apparently attractive white cis man so people are gonna bend over backwards justifying all the harm he did.

[wordsandrobots]

I want to talk about Cybermen. Well, actually, I kind of don't but it's been that kind of day.

Cybermen are my favourite Doctor Who monster. Which is ironic given I spent a few years as one of the main Dalek Guys on deviantArt, but there we are. Introduced in the last serial to star William Hartnell as the Doctor, The Tenth Planet, Cybermen are cyborg invaders from an Earth-like world, seeking to harvest resources in order to prolong their own existence and –

OK let's get this out of the way. The Cybermen are not the Borg. The Borg (Star Trek's premier PVC and electrical accessory fanciers) are unchecked capitalism as an alien hive mind, consuming everything in their path, reducing individual distinctiveness to a component in the machine. The 'ultimate user' of everything and everyone. You don't lose yourself as a drone, per se, you are simply drowned out by the deafening majority, unable to affect the consensus drive to expand and expand, for ever and ever. 'Assimilation' in that context is a perfect term for the very precise meaning it carries: 'your culture will adapt to service us.' Borg do not destroy, they simply incorporate.

The Cybermen, however, are would-be Übermensch. A branch of humanity that has replaced body and soul with plastic and cold logic, removing all 'weakness' in the name of survival. To put it in their own words,

“We are called Cybermen . . . We were exactly like you once but our cybernetic scientists realised that our race was getting weak . . . Our lifespan was getting shorter so our scientists and doctors devised spare parts for our bodies until we could be almost completely replaced . . . Our brains are just like yours except that certain weaknesses have been removed . . . You call them emotions, do you not?”

There's a fair amount to unpack here. It is, first and foremost, easy to read this as some Nazi Shit, encapsulating obsessions with health, physical strength, degeneration et cetera (I believe El Sandifer drew this connection at some point but it wasn't in her Tenth Planet essay because that's when she compares the Cybermen to star monks). Coupling said Nazi Shit to spare-part surgery is perhaps on par with coupling it to evil underground troglodytes engaged in a war with Perfect Aryans for unfortunate implications: the Cyberman are explicitly conceived out of then-current interest in replacement organs and how this might lead to Theseus' Ship human beings. Their basic outline risks crude ableism and technophobia.

However, there isn't anything wrong with presenting the destruction of emotions in the name of eradicating weakness as evil, especially the way this first story presents it. Later on, there will be lots of shouty robot men extolling the benefits of emotionlessness with the same vigour as many so-called rationalists over the past couple of decades. But at the start, it manifests as apathy. To again quote the Cyberman from The Tenth Planet, when Polly responds to its casual dismissal of two doomed astronauts by demanding, “Don't you care?”

Cyberman: “Care? No, why should I care?”

Polly: “Because they're people and they're going to die!”

Cyberman: “I do not understand you, there are people dying all over your world yet you do not care about them.”

The Cybermen simply don't give a damn about anyone who isn't them. And of course, yes, it's perfectly true Polly doesn't personally care about every person on the planet. But there are people who do. There are people who'd try to save them even if it isn't possible, because the emotional, moral thing to do is make the attempt. Cybermen, on the other hand, are explicitly selfish creatures, unmoved by anyone else's suffering, seeing no worth in any goals other than their own.

And that's the scary part.

You see, to me, treating them as the invading horde that will make you Just Like Them misses the crucial point that the Cybermen did this to themselves. Indeed, those first Cybermen aren't really interested in converting humans. They extend the offer to people they assume are going to die when Mondas (their planet) drains away all of Earth's energy (it's a whole thing), but they aren't pushy about it in the way later versions will be, where it becomes the entire reason they do anything. When other characters react with horror, the response is the Cyber equivalent of a shrug: poor irrational humans who cannot see the favour we would be doing them by making them perfect.

Moreover, the 'perfection' they have achieved is one fitting them to a specific purpose. Mondas is an exhausted world, its people dying. So they core out everything that makes them human in order to persevere. Not just fear and pain but compassion and a drive to fix things. Adapt and survive, at the cost of the will to stop what must be survived. Why bother saving the world when you can become immune to its death?

I think about this when I see tools like Grammarly promoting themselves on the basis of 'clearer communication at work'. I think about this when I hear about people sleeping in offices to be more productive. I think about it when business owners try to make their employees into robots when robots turn out to be too expensive. I think about it when I realise those at the top of society will demand the rest of us change rather than make the slightest alteration to their own circumstances.

The Cybermen have occasionally been written as finding allies among industrialists, providing them with a super-strong workforce that does not need to rest, making 'useful' entities out of 'useless' populations. It's a terrifyingly apt juxtaposition. I think the core of horror in it, though, is not just the abuse of human beings it represents but that once you become a Cyberman, you stop minding your own degradation. You, in fact, start to see anyone who retains their feelings, their quirks, their love, their pride, their hate and fear as lesser than yourself.

You have adapted to serve someone else and you don't even care.

Anyway, this mini essay brought to you by a Big Finish Cyberman serial set in 1930s Berlin right after the actual Nazis took control that doesn't once mention the labour movements they were a reaction to or the establishment forces that enabled their rise to power because that was better than the communists.

(I am, by the way, fucking furious at James Goss for having a character compare Cybermen to golems in the same story they're explicitly used as Nazi analogies. The script is slapdash enough to irritate me on its own but that is just another level of unnecessary screw-up.)

[script-a-world]

Via Google Form: i recently just learned about the concept of closed cultures and religions.

Via Google Form: i recently just learned about the concept of closed cultures and religions. does this mean that if something like native american culture or wicca were closed cultures/religions, i absolutely cannot include them in my stories no matter what? out of curiosity, would anyone happen to have a list of all of them that i can reference before i think of writing them in my stories? -mabwry

sorry, i nearly forgot but, in addition to my previous question, if a culture or religion is closed, does that mean we cannot even include a fictionalized version of it in our stories or anything inspired by them in any way? -mabwry

Feral: We’re going to have to clear the air on a few things before we can have a real discussion.

First, I am a white, atheist, raised-Christian USian. So, what do I know about closed religions? Nothing. I don’t know anything. Because they’re closed. You don’t know anything either unless you’re a part of the community with that practice, in which case you would probably not be asking me for my permission. Anything you think you know about a closed religion was a glimpse without context stolen by an outsider or wholesale made up bullshit.

Second, there is not one, monolithic Native American culture. There are currently 574 federally recognized tribes within the United States, each with their own culture. (the “federally recognized” part of that statement is fraught with implications that I am not qualified to address, but suffice it to say that there have been and are many more individual indigenous cultures.) Each of these cultures will have their own practices, religious and otherwise, but these practices are generally understood to be for people within that tribe and only people within that tribe, so unless members of a specific nation issue you a specific invitation to learn more, err on leaving them alone.  

Third, Wicca is not a closed religion; there are initiation levels, which we will get to, but the religion itself is not closed; it is, in fact, highly publicized by practicing Wiccans. Also, even if Wicca was a completely closed religion, it makes me more than a little uncomfortable to talk about Native American religious practices in the same breath as Wicca, and this is because of the following:

Now, that we’ve gotten those clarifications out of the way we can get into why various Native American cultural and religious practices, and those of similar groups like the Romani, are closed, and it’s genocide. The actual massacre of the peoples, the extreme oppression and persecution they face and have faced, the systemic stripping away of cultural identity, and the forced assimilation into the white, European(-descent) cultures they have no choice but to exist beside. In many cases, you’ll find that closed religious practices had to go underground, essentially, to survive. And even in the time-and-space pockets where the peoples are not actively in physical danger, opening their sacred practices puts those practices in danger of ugly caricature and stereotyping and vile appropriation.

Now, there are levels. Closed communities exist on a spectrum as many things do. So, let’s talk about another level or type of closed community, that of the self-separated closed community. (note: using self-separated here to distinguish it from segregation.) Hasidic Jewish communities exist in this kind of self-separation (in the modern US; can’t speak for other places or times); they’re Jewish so it’s pretty easy to get the gist of their religious beliefs and practices, but the actual inner-workings, the politics, all that social interaction are kept closed off from the outside world. Now, with any Jewish sects, there is still a long, horrific history of genocide, but as a whole, the Jewish religion has not become closed; there isn’t an active search for converts but conversion isn’t forbidden. Still, let’s move away from genocide and talk about the Amish. They’re a Christian sect, so their general beliefs are not at all unknown, and they aren’t really cagey about what beliefs separate them from mainstream Christianity. The Amish just don’t want outsiders inside their community, messing in their affairs, and introducing unwanted influences, so their community is considered closed. Hasidic communities, the Amish, they show up in a lot of fiction, so does that make it okay despite their “closed” status? I cannot possibly answer how members of those communities feel about their portrayals in fiction across the board (I do have a guess at a few types of the portrayals, and that is appalled). What I can say is that you do not have an insider’s perspective - again, if you did, I would consider it very unlikely for you to have come to ask this question - so, thinking you can write an insider’s perspective is ludicrous.

In their* response to an ask on Native American religion, Lesya offers some advice on the portrayal of religious practices in fiction, which to me reads as “mention they exist but don’t try to describe them,” and also to take the advice of sensitivity readers who belong to the exact group you are trying to portray respectfully.

*I apologize, but I do not know Lesya’s pronouns and have erred on the side of gender neutrality.

Respect is key in all of this, and frankly, your asks tell me that you do not yet have a mature enough understanding of the issue at hand to have the respect necessary. You ask if you can create a fictional religion or culture based on one of these closed religions or entire cultures, and my question to you is how can you base a religion or culture on a religion or culture that you don’t know anything about? All you would be doing is making up more bullshit - bullshit that has often led to further persecution because of widespread belief in it by outsiders - or profiting off parts of stolen culture.

Finally, I want to touch on the concept of initiate levels, and the only reason I’m harping on Wicca specifically is because you brought it up and I can only assume you did so because it matters to you. So, Wicca has initiate levels (sometimes, depends on sect and denomination and all sorts of things; plenty of Wiccan sects do not have initiate levels and are completely open regarding their beliefs and practices.), which makes sense because it was manufactured from a lot of other belief systems, including a sort-of best-guess at the belief systems of ancient mystery cults. Wicca is certainly not the only religion to include the concept of requiring certain initiation rituals before one can gain the full knowledge contained within the religion. What this does though is creates a division within the religion itself so that all insiders are not completely inside, so to speak. So, even for a religion that is otherwise open, those specific practices are going to be closed and you won’t know what is going on inside. Why this is done is going to vary significantly by religion and will run the spectrum from benign to nefarious when you get into modern cults, but generally one can understand that in a religion that purports to have secret knowledge or to offer special interaction with a deity or even to provide supernatural powers, having initiation rites ensures that only the true believers or the cream of the crop or the ones with the inherent gifts will get access.

From your second ask, it seems clear to me that you want a rich diversity of religious worldbuilding, not just another cut-and-paste fake Catholic Church or Greco-Roman pantheon, and that’s admirable. But even when you’re working with religions that are not closed, when you’re not practicing that religion, it becomes tricky to get it right. Instead of just trying to base a fake religion on a real religion, study religion and spirituality. Read up on how religions are classified. If you understand the sociology, you can create distinct, nuanced religions for your secondary world.

I do not know of any list of all closed cultures and religions. I have included several in this response, but I would recommend just ensuring that you are always going to actual members and current practitioners as your sources for information - and to be clear, start with the written record before addressing people directly - , and if those members and current practitioners are categorically not sharing with an outsider, then it’s safe to assume that is closed.

[prose-for-hire]

Love, Hate, Love: Part one

Part Two // Part Three

Pairing: Spike x fem!vamp!reader

Request: Not a Cordy request, but i dont want to forget it 😅 How about Spike and the vampire reader really disliking each other until she finds out his human "identity". And they remember they were best friends as kids and wrote poetry together and stuff and they fall back in love? That would be amaaazing😋

Requested by: @therapieliteratur​

Warning: Violence between reader and Spike. Swearing. Tiny blood mention.

A/N: I got carried away and had to split this into parts, hope you don’t mind. This is part one of three 💜

You had lived for over a hundred years. That does things, memory-wise. You were forgetful over little details, especially so of your human past. Faces blurred and voices distorted. Scratched lines of poetry lost to the sands of time. It was so long ago, your memories of that part of you were in black and white.

You were a modern woman now. You weren’t hung up on the social codes of your time. You embraced every new decade. Every style and you got a kick out of learning the slang of the moment. It was cute, you collected these phrases as if they were necklaces. Or buttons. Stamps, even.

There was never much room for amassing material items however. You found yourself moving from one place to another. Often without thought or warning, people after a certain amount of time figured out that you weren’t aging. Or that you had been to the butchers too often. You had spent a lot of time in Europe and there was still thick superstition in many places.

Leaving you being run out of different towns all over the continent. It wasn’t so much pitchforks and the like anymore. You would be hassled on the street. Word of mouth would spread and suddenly the home you had made for yourself would be up in flames again.

You had moved to Sunnydale within the last decade. A new climate, new faces. New humans to try to live alongside. You ate animal blood, you had retained a soul some years back. It had been painful and incredibly hard. You had barely got through it with your mental health intact. The guilt would always be there, but you strived to be and do better.

Which was not something you could say for one vampire you had met since you arrived. Spike. He had more cheekbones than brains and he prided himself on being bad. The opposite of how you lived your un-life.

He lived, now alone, in an underground crypt after Drusilla left him. You had actually been quite fond of Dru in a strange way. You felt a little sorry for her which she screamed at you for feeling as soon as she realised. The stars told her, or something.

Angel, an acquaintance of yours, had explained all about what it had been like with Spike and the rest in the past. He was a piece of work, by all accounts. Angel left to LA and asked you to come, he had become hung up on the Slayer and couldn’t bear to live on the Hellmouth anymore.

You declined, knowing you were meant to stay for now at least. You made a home here. Something permanent for once. It was certainly harder with Angel gone. He understood how you felt about the past, about the guilt. He helped you through it the best he could too.

But you could manage on your own. You had to. You got on well enough with the Slayer anyway. She was sweet and very good at fighting so even if you had a problem you probably wouldn’t air it.

You were sat at drinking in your local demon bar when he walked in. You scowled, burning holes into him as you watched him coming towards you from where you sat on the side of the bar.

You had wanted a break. You had almost been staked. Again. Vampires hated you for protecting the slayer and you were only allowed in here because the bartender found you attractive.

Spike saw you and smirked, ordering his drink and slinking over to you. He did this a lot, he thought you were both playing some game. He hated you as much as he found you attractive. Not that you were entirely aware of this.

“Well, well, look at who’s embracin’ her roots” he gestured around the room.

“Look who’s embracing the stake about to go in his chest” You warned, glancing at him only briefly as you spoke.

“Now, pet. Wouldn���t want to get yourself run out of town again would you? I got friends here y’know… you don’t” He warned, glad of the distinct lack of Angel about the place again, “Only one of us that’s gonna be missed”

“Stop calling me pet” You reminded him as you always had to, “Why don’t you turn around and let me rest in peace” You remarked. His eyes danced at those words, ones he had thought himself before. But he still retaliated in his usual way.

“’Cause, if I remember rightly you were the one making my affairs your business” He pointed at you, still standing over you rather than sitting, “Tellin’ the girlie my little plan”

“It was barely a plan” You spat. He was going to take poor Willow hostage. Again.

“It was a good plan. Smart plan… that you buggered up by running to slutty the vampire slayer”

“Don’t pick on the kid” you snapped, taking a sip of your drink and trying to tune his voice out.

“Oo, someone’s got a crush” He taunted trying to wind you up, “What is it about that bird, got every soul’s knickers in a twist”

“Spike, please. Just for tonight… Fuck off” You muttered, clutching your head. You were starting to get a headache. You missed the look he gave you, the hand that hovered over your shoulder for a fraction of a second before he snatched it away. Why the hell would he do that? He frowned at himself.

“Fine, I will. Gonna get me a pretty woman… none around here though” He said pointedly and you just waved you hand, uncaring, and didn’t look up from your drink. He didn’t like this, so he continued, “Yeah, I’ll shag her… drain her” He shrugged, taking the shot of blood he had ordered as it arrived. He smirked and starting to stalk off. You sighed exaggeratedly.

“Can’t let you do that, Spike” You got up from your bar stool and grabbed his shoulder to pull him back.

“’Let’” He scoffed, shrugging you off.

Spike instantly threw a punch that you caught. You twisted his arm and started to pull him towards the exit. You shot the bartender an apologetic look as you left.

When you got outside you hauled him away from you as he smirked at your face.

“If you wanted to get me all to yourself, love, all you needed to do was-” He started top purr, but became silenced by your fist against his jaw. He scowled, tensing his jaw before he smirked again, “Oh, you like it rough don’t you? Come on then, let’s see who comes out on top”

He beckoned you towards him. You saw him jumping on the spot, warming up as he did. Enjoying himself. It was a dance to him. You his reluctant partner.

But, you ran at him anyway. Like you always did. You fought equally to begin. Until he started to fight dirty. He used every trick in the book and you were starting to slow with the pain. You had a headache already and this was making it worse.

He hit you successively, sharp pains in the jaw that you could barely block as he caught you off guard. You groaned in pain, which made him cocky. He started to restrain you by your wrists, his smile wide and shark-like as you hit the brick wall behind you. Your brain rattling around your skull.

Your skull. You propelled your head towards him, hitting the soft part of his nose with your now vamped forehead. He dropped your wrists to clutch his nose and you took the chance to kick against his torso, hard. He fell back against the hard pavement. You were instantly on him.

You straddled him, pushing him back from trying to get up. You just stared at each other for a moment. In that second, had anyone looked it could have gone either way. You could have lowered yourself to him, caught his lips. Embraced him with a passion that only you (and probably any nesting birds watching from above) would know.

But you didn’t.

You were angry at him. For being who you used to be. For being someone you could understand. For being horrible. You punched him hard on the jaw instead in your frustration.

It distracted him enough for you to grab the stake out of your waistband and dig it into his chest. You gave him a look, one suggesting you were serious.

You thought for a moment, sighing at the way your guilt worked now.

“Go home. Cuddle up to your loneliness” You ordered, removing the stake from his chest as he wiped his bloody nose. Deciding (seeing as he was only in dead company) to lick his own nose-blood from his fingers, “You’re so disgusting” You said hitching your nose up and getting to your feet. It was an act - it didn’t phase you. You had seen worse. But you still despised him for not having the guilt that you had so deeply rooted in your chest.

“Oh, like ‘totally’” He mocked the way you spoke. The way you assimilated. It angered him. Vampires weren’t supposed to be good. Have souls. Weren’t supposed to help slayers.

You walked your separate ways. Two sides of a coin. You could be each other, you had been each other. His ego was bruised and you had to ice your jaw. You cursed and blinded and hated him.

When Spike returned to the crypt, he felt the loneliness much more acutely. He was getting madder and madder. It wasn’t just because he had been beaten by a girl either. He had looked at you in a way he never thought he would. There had been something there tonight, behind the mists of your eyes. Something he recognised.

And he hated you for it. He swore he did. It angered him so much he was shaking.

“Bloody twat, thinkin’ she’s better than everyone just ‘cause she fought for a soul. Any bugger with half a brain and workin’ fists could go through that crap” he shouted, kicking at the gate in his crypt.

When you went home to your sweet little house, you were in the same predicament. You slammed the door closed, leaving the entire house shaking.

He had gotten under your skin. Again. Walking around as if the life you as vampires had now was better than what had been. As if killing and fucking and fighting was all that was required for perfect happiness.

You hated him. His attitude. His guiltlessness. But most of all, you hated that you could see through it. The mask. And you hated that you understood him. Could be him had you not fought for you soul to come back.

Because what had it gained you? Except self-hatred and a talent for identifying different flavours of animal blood by sight alone?

Of course, you wanted to help Buffy. The others. Save the world. But some days you envied him. The way you presumed that he could just stalk through the night and not have deep thoughts about the ending of life or anything else.

You punched the wall. Hard. Screaming in frustration, shivering with the guilt. Quivering with anger. Mixed emotions.

You both were in your own heads, emotions and thoughts flashing violently behind your eyes. Not even slowing when the light came and you had to try to contend with sleep.

That was the night that they started though. The dreams.

[princessgemma12]

Actually!

From the wikipedia entry for the word, under "early pejorative use:"

"By the late 19th century, queer was beginning to gain a connotation of sexual deviance, used to refer to feminine men or men who were thought to have engaged in same-sex relationships. An early recorded usage of the word in this sense was in an 1894 letter by John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry.[14][15]

"Queer was used in mainstream society by the 20th century, along with fairy and faggot, as a pejorative term to refer to men who were perceived as flamboyant. This was, as historian George Chauncey notes, "the predominant image of all queers within the straight mind".[16]

"Starting in the underground gay bar scene in the 1950s,[17] then moving more into the open in the 1960s and 1970s, the homophile identity was gradually displaced by a more radicalized gay identity. At that time gay was generally an umbrella term including lesbians, as well as gay-identified bisexuals and transsexuals; gender-nonconformity, which had always been an indicator of gayness,[17] also became more open during this time. During the endonymic shifts from invert to homophile to gay, queer was usually pejoratively applied to men who were believed to engage in receptive or passive anal or oral sex with other men[18] as well as those who exhibited non-normative gender expressions.[19]"

From the next section:

"In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, queer, fairy, trade, and gay signified distinct social categories within the gay male subculture. In his book Gay New York, Chauncey noted that queer was used as a within-community identity term by men who were stereotypically masculine.[20] Many queer-identified men at the time were, according to Chauncey, "repelled by the style of the fairy and his loss of manly status, and almost all were careful to distinguish themselves from such men", especially because the dominant straight culture did not acknowledge such distinctions."

We've always used the term "queer," it's just meant different things. It wasn't always a reclaimed slur for Americans--it used to masc gay men's go-to for survival. I think that's a really important aspect of our history. There was a time where we weren't even really safe with each other, simply because of the outside world's bigotry...

It was replaced by "gay" as the dominant identity in our community by the '40s, beginning to change the perception of same-sex attraction from being "strange" or "eccentric" and just... being the other side of the coin from hetero. It was rooted in younger gay men's perception of queer as a pejorative, and to reject any ties to femininity--there was a lot of assimilation in the queer community in the 20th century. By the '50s and '60s, to identify as "queer" was to position yourself as an outsider, away from the dominant culture in every sense. It was, of course, also used as a pejorative.

By the '70s and '80s it was slowly being reclaimed. It really began to boom in the '90s:

"An early example of this usage by the LGBT community was by an organisation called Queer Nation, which was formed in March 1990 and circulated an anonymous flier at the New York Gay Pride Parade in June 1990 titled "Queers Read This".[1]" (General)

"Queer people, particularly queer Black and Brown people, began to reclaim queer in response to a perceived shift in the gay community toward liberal conservatism, catalyzed by Andrew Sullivan's 1989 piece in The New Republic, titled Here Comes the Groom: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage.[22] The queer movement rejected causes viewed as assimilationist, such as marriage, military inclusion and adoption.[2] This radical stance and rejection of U.S. imperialism[2] continued the tradition of earlier lesbian and gay anti-war activism, and solidarity with a variety of leftist movements, such as seen in the positions taken at the first two National Marches on Washington in 1979 and 1987, the radical direct action of groups like ACT UP, and the historical importance of events like the Stonewall riots. The radical queer groups following in this tradition of LGBT activism contrasted firmly with, "the holy trinity of marriage, military service and adoption [which had] become the central preoccupation of a gay movement centered more on obtaining straight privilege than challenging power."[2] Commentators noted that it was exactly these "revolting queers" (who were now being pushed aside) who had made it safe for the assimilationists to now have the option of assimilation.[2]" (General)

If you like the word “queer” reblog.

[letterboxd]

Bridging the Gap.

Filmmaker So Yun Um highlights ten underrated Asian American and Pacific Islander films set against the backdrop of America.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month has many film lovers seeking to celebrate Asian American cinema. Beyond Minari, Always Be My Maybe and Crazy Rich Asians, there are dozens of films that depict the Asian American experience. In choosing to focus on ten of the lesser-seen, I contemplated the notion of what defines AAPI cinema.

For me, it goes deeper than films that have been directed by, or star, Asian American and Pacific artists. Having watched a wide selection of Asian American films, I can firmly say our cinema, no matter the genre, puts Asian Americans at the forefront on both sides of the camera. I believe the essence of Asian American cinema was born out of resourcefulness, mining themes and ideas that distinctly bridge the gap between Asian and American culture. These films tell stories that explore the vast differences between the two, and the ways in which they coexist, whether comfortably or uncomfortably.

In selecting these ten underrated AAPI films, I searched deep to find stories with uncompromising vision and character; stories about Asians that could only be told within, and against the backdrop of, America. These ten films highlight intimate, distinct and unfiltered experiences mostly unseen at our local multiplexes: family and cultural obligations, generational and cultural gaps, and raw, mostly obscured views of American life.

Chan is Missing (1982) Directed by Wayne Wang, written by Isaac Cronin and Wayne Wang

There would be no Asian American independent cinema without Wayne Wang’s Chan is Missing. Shot on black-and-white film, this striking noir follows Jo, a San Franciscan cab driver, and his nephew, Steve, as they track down the titular Chan after he disappears with their money. Wang’s unpredictable directing career spans neighborhood intrigues, rom-coms and family movies; alongside which, he has kept a strong focus on Asian American stories (he helmed the adaptation of Amy Tan’s generational bestseller, The Joy Luck Club).

In Chan is Missing, for the first time on screen, we get to finally see an “ABC” (American-Born Chinese) story from the source, with an all-access pass to the often misunderstood terrain and people of Chinatown. It’s the tightness of the plot and the authenticity of its characters that make this movie such a classic. Even after 40 years, Chan Is Missing doesn’t feel dated—its laugh-out-loud dialogue (they actually utter the word “FOB”!) and moody tone capture why Chinatown continues to be an enigma. Spoilers: Chinatown runs by its own rules.

Available on DVD via Indiepix Films.

Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) Directed by Justin Lin, written by Ernesto Foronda, Justin Lin and Fabian Marquez

Justin Lin’s directorial debut film is a visionary portrait of Asian Americans that’s still relevant two decades on. Since its release in the early aughts, there has yet to be a film that explores the nuances and complexities of the average Southern-California Asian American teen like this film does. Better Luck Tomorrow focuses on a group of Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime. It’s loosely based on four Sunny Hills High School students and the real-life murder of Stuart Tay, a teenager from the OC.

With its depiction of overachieving A+ students who are also foul-mouthed, drug-taking kids, this film was the launching pad for many iconic Asian American actors today—Sung Kang from the Fast and Furious franchise, John Cho (Star Trek) and my personal favorite, Jason Tobin, star of the Warrior TV series. (It’s entertaining to see the seeds of the Fast and Furious series planted in this film in the character of Han, played by Sung Kang, before the explosion of the franchise: one of the characters mutters, “Rumors about us came and went fast and furious”—and the rest is history.)

Better Luck Tomorrow still stands as the most iconic film to capture the suburban Asian American teen existence in all its good, bad and ugly light. “I was part of a movement,” Tobin recalled in this GQ oral history of the film, “and it was a culmination of all the battles I had fought before that to get Asian faces on the big screen.”

Available to stream and rent on multiple platforms.

The Grace Lee Project (2005) Directed by Grace Lee

If you’re an Asian American who grew up in California or New York, chances are, you know at least two Grace Lees in your life. But growing up in Missouri, Korean American filmmaker Grace Lee was the only one she knew with her name. She soon discovers that with the name comes a certain stereotype, that of the “good” Asian—quiet, well-behaved and a hard worker. Lee goes on a quest to interview a wide range of women who have the same name and soon discover if this wildly common stereotype is true.

Lee’s witty, autobiographical documentary is effortlessly funny and insightful. The Grace Lee Project dives deep into identity politics to reveal that sometimes, a name is simply a name. This was the start of Grace Lee’s journey as a filmmaker and she continues to be an important voice in not just the documentary space but in narrative stories as well.

Streaming on Kanopy.

Saving Face (2004) Written and directed by Alice Wu

Alice Wu’s Saving Face is a timeless queer love story. Produced by none other than Will Smith (yes, that Will Smith), Saving Face follows a Chinese American lesbian woman and her traditional mother (played by Michelle Krusiec and Joan Chen, respectively) as both battle with their reluctance to go against cultural expectations and reveal their secret loves. It’s part family drama, part rom-com, exploring expectations specific to Asian women across generations.

While most Asian American films focus on familial obligations through the point of view of the children of immigrants, Wu’s film considers the conflicts of both daughter and mother. For Asian Americans, it’s a tale as old as time but with a twist that shows that no matter how old you get, you still have to, unfortunately, fight to be who you are. I also highly recommend Wu’s spiritual sequel, The Half of It, on Netflix.

Streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi, and for rent on various VOD platforms.

In Between Days (‘방황의 날들’, 2007) Directed by So Yong Kim, written by Bradley Rust Gray and So Yong Kim

So Yong Kim’s debut feature, In Between Days, follows Jiseon Kim, a Korean teen immigrant, who falls in love with her best friend while navigating the challenges of living in a new country. Director Kim is a masterful storyteller and captures life as it should be seen: unfiltered and trivial at times, but using the mundane to find cinematic magic.

I like to categorize So Yong Kim’s work as a showcase of extreme intimacy. Her story features painfully delicate characters and moments so real, you’ll wonder how any of these scenes could be fiction. There’s a sense of vulnerability and loneliness that fills the air as Jiseon struggles to assimilate to a new country, replete with toxic relationships, self-sabotage and unrelenting jealousy. So Yong Kim’s work is so painfully real, it hurts to watch.

Available on Kanopy and Amazon.

Ping Pong Playa (2007) Directed by Jessica Yu, written by Jimmy Tsai and Jessica Yu

There are two things that embody countless Asian American men’s experience: their love for basketball, and their love of rap music. Ping Pong Playa covers both, and is exactly the kind of Asian American comedy I’ve been waiting for! Christopher “C-Dub” Wang (played by co-writer Jimmy Tsai) is a wannabe baller and a supreme slacker who has to step up to the plate when his family’s business and ping-pong-champion reputation is on the line. In addition to being centered around an Asian family, the core of the film rivals any other low-brow, underdog sport film.

Laugh-out-loud hilarious, this is Academy-Award-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu’s first narrative feature, following a groundbreaking career full of daring documentaries (her Oscar was for this portrait of writer Mark O’Brien, who spent much of his life in an iron lung). Seeing C-Dub as an NBA-loving slacker turned ping-pong playa felt validating; it showed that even if you’re a lazy and immature Asian, you can always find something to succeed at.

Streaming on Tubi, and for rent on Amazon and iTunes.

In Football We Trust (2015) Directed by Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn

While Salt Lake City, Utah, is seen as predominantly a white Mormon town, it in fact has the largest population of Pacific Islanders in the US mainland, due to the strength of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ proselytizing in the Pacific. The documentary In Football We Trust follows four Polynesian high-school students, as they chase their lifelong dream of attaining professional recruitment. Told in moments of adolescence, the film follows the greatest challenges for these four young men, as they chase their dreams while trying to grow up.

In no time, they’re faced with the harsh reality that just maybe, football isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. As much as their hefty attributes and builds serve as their greatest advantages, these boys’ cultural and familial obligations become both their greatest motivations and, possibly, their downfall. Filmed over the span of four years, first time filmmakers Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn chronicle the NFL hopefuls as they navigate the pressure to balance dreams and family to win a golden ticket out of gang violence and poverty.

Streaming on Kanopy, and for rent on various VOD platforms.

Spa Night (2016) Written and directed by Andrew Ahn

In his directorial debut, Andrew Ahn perfectly captures a specific corner of Los Angeles’ Koreatown. Spa Night’s focus is David, a closeted Korean American teenager who takes a job at a Korean spa to help his struggling family, and then discovers an underground world of gay sex. You may recognize Joe Seo as the goofy bully in the Netflix hit show Cobra Kai, but it’s Spa Night where you can see him truly shine—he won Sundance’s US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance.

Seo delivers a powerfully restrained performance, exploring the burden of hiding your true self from your family. Spa Night is more than a coming out story, it’s also about the broken American dream that so many immigrants experience. Ahn’s direction is finely tuned, honing in on the specificity of Koreatown. It is an acutely queer story of second-gen Asian Americans, where coming out is never really about just you, but also your family.

Streaming on Kanopy, and for rent on various VOD platforms.

Punching at the Sun (2006) Directed by Tanuj Chopra, written by Tanuj Chopra and Hart Eddy

Mameet is young, angry and has always lived in the shadow of his basketball-legend brother, Sanjay. When Sanjay is suddenly killed during a robbery at the family store, Mameet spirals and takes his anger out on anyone and everyone. Coping with loss at a young age is hard enough, but Punching at the Sun mixes in the specific anxieties of being a South-Asian man amidst the backdrop of post-9/11 America. In doing so, the film addresses the difficulty of juggling teenage angst and immigrant identity—Mameet is not afforded the option to express his anger and grief.

Cathartic and emotionally validating, this is a simple yet nuanced slice-of-life story that conveys the heaviness of growing up with the weight of the world on our shoulders. In Mameet’s case, thank goodness, he ultimately shares some of that burden with his comical friends and knit-tight family.

Available to rent on Vimeo.

Meet the Patels (2014) Directed by Ravi Patel and Geeta Patel, written by Ravi Patel, Matthew Hamachek, Billy McMillin, and Geeta Patel

In the romantic documentary Meet the Patels, Ravi Patel is a dutiful first-gen son whose parents are continually nagging him to marry a nice Indian girl. With Ravi's sister Geeta Patel co-directing and co-writing, and his parents in the frame, his film (and true-life story) are indeed a family affair. What starts as his journey to find a wife to make his family happy becomes an enlightening intro to Indian culture and modern love—think dating apps, weddings and a Patel Matrimonial Convention (gotta see it to believe).

Humorous as it is outrageously charming, Meet the Patels ultimately shows the struggles and cultural expectations most immigrant offspring face, on top of the million other obstacles of trying to find your one and only true love in this mad, mad world.

Streaming on various platforms.

Related content

Ten Underrated Asian American & Pacific Islander Films, a Letterboxd list

Best Asian American Films: So Yun Um’s list

Debbie Chang’s comprehensive Asian American film canon list (also features Asian-Canadian, Asian-British and other diaspora)

Bellamy’s list of feature-length films directed by Asian Americans

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[ask-crimson-weaver]

Dangerous Waters

Melly still wasn’t sure what exactly had happened. Well, perhaps some part of her did, but with the scattered state of her thoughts, it was nigh impossible for her to think back over and string things together in any meaningful order.

She remembered showing up to Fort Tilden with the Cobwebs, and she had sensed Oliver as they approached, along with four other sources of danger. They had moved in, and a fight had started, with her facing off against Oliver. But at some point… her memory lost focus. That crawling, writhing sensation had wormed its way back into her mind-- hadn’t they undone that spell?-- and her coordination had slipped. At the time, she had had enough sense to try and retreat, but with her steps unbalanced, he had caught up quickly, catching her and dragging her down into the dark of… wherever they were.

She could tell that she was in a small room now, dank and cold air filling the underground space. At this point, the name wasn’t important anymore, seeing as her mind’s focus was drawn to other things. Every dark corner had the potential to hide danger, and every crack and chip in the concrete walls was just another space for some twisted, unfathomable thing to stretch outwards from. The paranoia from before had been straining, though manageable, but this time she felt like it was completely overwhelming her. On top of that, her spider-sense kept going off at unknown things as she had been dragged past them, and now its scream of warning was focused on the figure of green energy and metal that had a clawed arm clamped around her.

“You still think you can get out of this?” Oliver said, a smirk on his face as he watched Melly kick at the air with her still-free legs. “It’s admirable, if not pointless. I mean… all that work, all that searching and fighting… and look where you are now. At my complete mercy. And my associate’s, I suppose. I’m looking forward to watching you as she… feeds you to her Patron or whatever. In any case, it will be one less little Spider that I have to deal with.”

Melly only really took in about half of what he had said, the induced fear and confusion driving most of her thoughts. She could feel it drawing out her spider instincts, which urged her to escape and hide, and for once, she was inclined to do just that exact thing, though the former would have to be done before the latter of the two. She stared back at Oliver with glowing red eyes-- her mask had come off early on, back when she had still been near the others-- and she began to grunt and hiss in her frantic, paranoia-fueled attempt to break free. Where she felt her own strength make headway against Oliver’s arms, more green-tinted metal crept up to mend and reinforce it.

“I suppose it’s sad, in a way,” Oliver continued. “You and your ‘friends’ always talked about all of the great things you had done with your Shard… and even with that, here you are, writhing like a child with a tantrum. Honestly, I could just-- oops!”

The claw of Oliver’s arm suddenly opened, and gravity jerked Melly downwards, causing her to smack into the floor. Not a moment later, though, she had scrambled up onto her hands and knees, making a break for the nearest wall in an attempt to scale it. She’d only made it a handhold or two upwards when Oliver’s tentacle darted out again, clamping down on her leg and pulling her back over. There was a loud crack as two fist-sized chunks of the wall were pulled along after her, dropping off of where they had stuck to her hands.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Oliver said, sarcastic and unapologetic. “I just get butterfingers sometimes, that’s all.”

He’d pulled Melly off the ground again at this point, though this time she hung upside-down by the leg Oliver had grabbed. He lifted her higher, so that her face was just about level with his.

“Now, where were we?” Oliver said. “Ah! I was just about to further emphasize the true depths of your--”

He found himself cut off as Melly’s hand swung up, launching a spray of webbing directly at Oliver’s face that soon solidified from its glowing state into an angry red color. Oliver stumbled back, growling as his eyes flashed green with a surge of rage. The arm holding Melly snapped to one side, releasing her and sending her flying through the air. The far wall cracked as she collided with it, knocking her breath out of her as she dropped to the ground-- it hadn’t been enough to hurt her significantly, with her energy welling up to help her take the blow, but it still hurt.

“You think that was funny, Spider?” Oliver hissed at her, bolts of metal from his assimilated mass curving up to cut the webbing away. “You think that you’re still able to--”

At that moment, Melly could feel a different arm wrap around her and yank her away off the ground. Even in her state of mind, this tendril that held her in the air was definitely not one that belonged to Oliver. It was far more slimy… with that distinctive energy of the Writhing One spiking all around her. She managed to catch a glimpse of Oliver’s associate: it was the exact same woman she saw in her mind. 

 “Juice Man, remember what we agreed on? I’d like our dear Weaver here to stay alive for the time being,” Odyssia sighed as her other tentacles undulated in the air, “I know she’s a Spider and all and she could probably take a lot more punishment than your average Joe, but I’d like to keep her just functional enough so I can properly study her.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I wasn’t intending to kill her before you had your chance to do your research, if that was your concern.” 

He re-oriented himself, lifting himself off the ground with his tentacles. 

“I suppose there will be more time to gloat later-- do what you want,” he added, waving one of his upper arms dismissively. “I wouldn’t dream of interrupting another Octavius’ studies without good reason.”

“Right,” she replied, before turning to face Melly with a fascinated smile, “While I may have learned a lot from information that I’ve kindly been given access to… there is nothing like being there to study something up close and personal.”

With that, she swiftly took Melly away with her into a new room somewhere deep in the bunker. From what Melly could barely make out, this room looked like a makeshift laboratory that didn’t look out of place in a horror movie. Strange organs and other loose body parts were compartmentalized in various containers. Tables covered in glassware and arcane books, drawers filled with various equipment, several aquarium tanks filled with unfamiliar sea life… coupled with the darkness, the debris that speckled the floor, and the cold, musty air, this place hardly looked sterile in any way. 

Odyssia brought her over to a stolen hospital gurney and laid her down onto it, using her tendrils to hold her down as her human hands began to strap her down with the restraints. 

“You know, you’re pretty lucky as far as my test subjects go,” Odyssia rattled off to her. “Between you and me, most people who get this treatment from me personally are looking at a new, monstrous form in their future. But, you… I’m having a feeling that you’re definitely not a lobbyist who tries to shut down environmental protections for their down lines… or some fuckwit politician who spews misinformation to spark irrational fear or hatred in people… or some idiot who doesn’t ‘believe’ in science and would much rather trust in some pseudoscientific homemade ‘remedies’.”

Odyssia snorted at the thought. 

“You know, Weaver, we never really spoke to each other in person, but I know you are brilliant in your own right,” she continued as she tightened the restraints, “It’s a real shame, though. Your Shard is an incredible source of power. And such power rightfully belongs in the hands of the Writhing One. Unlike Juice Man, this isn’t personal for me.”

Melly had kept up her kicking and fighting all down the hallway, and as Odyssia tightened the restraints of the gurney, she kept straining against them with as much force as she could muster. This room was full of danger-- spider-sense easily told her that-- but as the hallucinations made the dark corners deeper and the creatures and scattered parts more monstrous, a swarm of paranoid thoughts started to close in on her.

She’s going to hurt you. She’s going to make you writhe and bleed like all the others. She wants to take what is yours, and what is you.

Somewhere, deep in Melly’s mind, her coherent self managed to reach through, and she renewed her effort to fight the spell’s effects and push back against the mental flood of the Writhing One’s influence. Her brow furrowed, and her glowing eyes started to flicker to and from an even stronger crimson hue as she made her effort.

“Get… it… out…” she managed to mutter, voice strained through both panic and effort.

Odyssia adjusted her glasses, examining the glow of her eyes with increased interest. 

“Well, if I did that you’d fight back. Besides, seeing you manage to power through this from sheer force of willpower is something I’m far more invested in. If this is what one Shard is capable of… I wonder what an entire Prism could accomplish,” Odyssia mused, her demeanor going still to aid in her observations. “Not many people can just power through my spells like you’re doing right now. Not only does that require an insane amount of mental resilience but the magical prowess to accomplish this is just as an extraordinary feat.”

Odyssia, of course, already knew where such mental prowess and willpower had come from-- at least, it was easy to assume from the memories she had gleaned from Melly. Her soul torn out, fighting for control of a body that wasn’t hers. Both mind and soul shattered by a creature of dreams, pulled back together by both Shard and friends. Her fights against Brevi’s control, her mother’s attempt to change her memories again, even against the toxic shards that had leaked from Itzi’s blade, poisoning her all those months ago. She had fought hard to keep herself her, and she would certainly defend it with all of her strength.

Melly squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the twisting room around her as she pushed harder and harder to bring herself back, each push feeling like she was dragging her mind through thick ink. A few flickers of red light raced upwards along her neck, fading just as quickly as they had appeared.

“Get… out,” she repeated, voice a bit stronger. “Get. Out. Of. My. Head.”

Once again, as Odyssia allowed herself to dive deeper into her pursuit of knowledge, that one memory of Melly’s mother kept nagging at her. She furrowed her brow in frustration, this time having her tentacles come in to hold Melly down further. 

“I can’t! I-I won’t! This is my breakthrough! This is for the Writhing One,” Odyssia hissed at her. “Don’t make me make this have to hurt.”

“You’ll... hurt me. Either way,” Melly mumbled out. “Change my head. I can’t… I won’t… let her. You. Anyone. Break me again.”

Odyssia grimaced slightly as she stared down at her. 

Go on. Why aren’t you choking her or something? She’s not going down without a fight, Odyssia was starting to wrestle with herself. Prove her wrong. You’re smarter than her. Don’t let her win. 

Unconsciously, a tentacle began to entertain the idea of wrapping around Melly’s neck. Just as it was about to constrict her, Odyssia realized what was happening and quickly pulled it back from her neck. A sinking feeling in her stomach began to take hold as the internal debate within her mind set in. 

Why did I do that? I’m not supposed to kill her! 

“... T-This is my last warning, Weaver. You need to understand that I’m being far nicer than I could be. I could be breaking you right fucking now but guess what? I’m holding back on you! Want to know what breaking you could look like? I could’ve turned you a monster, make you feel what it’s like to be at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, or take you apart and dissect you but no, I’m giving you the chance to make this easy. Don’t throw it away,” 

Melly was quiet for a moment. Realistically, there wasn’t much she could do in her current condition to fight back against anything worse than what she was dealing with now… but to stop fighting would be to spit in the face of all her prior triumphs of self. Her thoughts were still jumbled, but if there was a way to get things to where they could talk.

Melly’s head turned towards Odyssia slightly, eyes opening to look directly at her.

“...all of that… is that really what you want to do?”

Odyssia froze, for the briefest of moments. She turned away from Melly, running her hand over her face. 

This is what you want to do. 

But why was she still fighting herself on this? She forcefully pounded her fist onto the gurney, cursing underneath her breath. 

“Of course it’s what I want to fucking do… Why would I continue to do this if I didn’t?” Odyssia mutters although her tone suggested that she was beginning to struggle. 

“Want...” Melly said, pausing for a moment as she tried to put a solid thought together. “We want… things. You want things from me. I want to stay me. There’s want… but there’s need too. All of the hurting… is that what you need to do?”

“You… Y-you’re just saying that to get out of this,” Odyssia replies as she shuts her eyes, still refusing to look at her, “Why would my needs matter to you?”

“Because if you need it… and you can choose it… you will. Would’ve.” Melly said. “I can’t make you do anything. Can’t make you…” Melly trailed off for a moment, shutting her eyes for a moment as she had to pull her focus back in. “But… I can fight. Or I can talk. And you… do you need… want to fight? Or do you want to talk? Which will get… what you need?”

“Alright, alright, stop right there. I… I cannot continue this if you're going to talk to me like that. I am barely getting by with following this conversation,” Odyssia groaned as she runs her hands in her messy hair. She turned to face Melly, making direct eye contact with her before continuing, much more quietly, “Tell you what: if I… lessen… the spell’s effects to at least let you speak coherently, you’re going to stay right there and not move. Then I’ll let you talk. If you try to pull the wool over my eyes, I will get mean. Got it?”

Well, though Melly certainly couldn’t make any guarantees that she wouldn’t eventually try to escape… for now, it was the only break she was probably gonna get, and her own mental resistance would only get her so far before exhaustion won out.

“...I understand.” she said.

Odyssia rubbed her forehead, already feeling a headache coming on from the tension in her body. Slowly releasing a deep breath, she closed her eyes to focus on something. 

As she did so, Melly began to feel that Eldritch presence dwindled… not enough to release her from paranoia or the sickness she had felt, it was just enough for her to at least think a bit more clearly. Melly let out the breath she’d been unconsciously holding as the strain on her mind lessened, and took a moment to recollect herself-- man, it was good to be able to think mostly clearly again. The observing Odyssia would be able to see the red glow in her eyes recede, and though it was still present it no longer burned with as much intensity as it had been.

“You wanted to talk? Then talk,” Odyssia said coldly, although there was a slight hint of wanting to know what Melly was going to tell her. 

“Look…” Melly began, “this whole thing with the Shards… What exactly is your end goal for all this? And you mentioned the Prism too… if you’ve been in my mind, you know that I’ve already done the rounds with someone who wanted to do the exact same thing you mentioned. And you know what happened to him when he tried it.”

Odyssia would indeed know who Melly was talking about-- Alexander Hobbs, aka the Beholder. She knew he had tried to control the Shards in a bid to access their combined energy… and she knew that it was what had ultimately killed him, the energy he sought burning him away to nothing.

“The Shards aren’t for me to use. I told you, this is for the Writhing One. I know those Shards are clearly not meant for a mere mortal to use. That’s why I’m giving it to my Patron. They don’t abide to human limitations,” Odyssia said, “I devote myself to the glorious Writhing One. Without it, I’d go back to being some repressed, pathetic shrinking violet who can’t fucking stand up for herself or the causes she cares about. So to show my gratitude, I must give back.”

Melly was taken a bit aback by some of what Odyssia had said-- it seemed that there was some baggage behind what course she had chosen to take. Even with it catching her notice, though, she wasn’t sure how Odyssia would react to having it be brought up here and now.

“How do you know if it can use them?” Melly asked. “With all due respect to the power and influence they do have in this world-- which, as you’re aware, I’m currently the subject of-- how do you know that they’ll be able to harness the energy of the Shards. Energy Weaver said they couldn’t alter or control it. The Being said it was out of their jurisdiction. The Palpitors-- they were willing to kill us when we encountered them. Wouldn’t it have been easier for them to just kill a wielder, take their Shard so that one of their Nobles would have access to an unlimited amount of energy? Why else would they have not done that, if not because they couldn’t claim it? Look, what I’m saying is that there’s things about the Shards and how they work that neither of us know. Would you take the risk of sending a Shard to your Patron without knowing what effect it might have? How would they react if what you gave it harmed them?”

“...To act like I know everything regarding my Patron’s full capabilities is to indulge in pointless hubris,” she scoffed, “And either way, you grossly misunderstand how Patrons operate. Patrons—unless some astronomically universal level apocalyptic circumstances occur—never leave their realm of magic. If they did, there wouldn’t be a need for them to bestow an incredibly tiny fraction of their power to mortals like me to do their bidding, right? If they want something, they’ll have people like me to accomplish what they need us to do. This is something they’ve been interested in for a while now. And who am I to object to the Writhing One’s wishes? While I can’t pretend to know how exactly they will deal with whatever a Shard brings… what I can tell you is that they’re approaching this with curiosity and they know the risk; after all, they know what I know.”

“And what you know is what I know-- I’m presuming that’s why you went rooting around in my mind in the first place,” Melly countered. She thought for a moment, deciding that pushing that point further wouldn’t do any good. “Okay… new question. If they never leave their realm of magic, how exactly are they planning on using my Shard? Are you intending to magically mail me to where they are so they can get at it or something?”

Odyssia chuckled at that, “That’s a very crass way of putting it but, essentially, you’re right. I am going to send the Shard directly to them.”

“‘The Shard’,” Melly repeated. “The way you say that has a very conspicuous lack of me included in it.”

“What? You want me to send you in there as well? I highly doubt that you’d be interested in being in the grand presence of the Writhing One. Honestly, I thought the way I planned was more humane, not subjecting you to such unspeakable terrors,” Odyssia laughed. 

“And your plan is… to kill me?” Melly asked. “Or try and remove it yourself? Because I have experience with that second option, and I’ve gotta say… hard pass.”

“It’s worth a try,” Odyssia sighed, coming down from her brief amusement, “And if I can’t remove it without killing you, well… I suppose that doesn’t leave many options for me, unfortunately..”

“Well, even if you do get it out without killing me... I’m still gonna get a one-on-one with the Writhing One,” Melly said. “The whole soul thing, remember? You pull out the Shard, and my soul comes with it. The whole point of sparing me is kind of moot there-- doubly so, considering that Ollie would have no problem killing me without the Shard there to do its thing. And obviously, you don’t seem inclined to kill me if you can help it… which I appreciate, even given my currently unfavorable circumstances. Other than that…”

Melly did think of a third option, but even thinking about it made her blood run cold. One of the Writhing One’s things was manipulating minds, right? If so… what was stopping them from just brainwashing her, or something similar, to try and control the Shard through her?

In a nervous gulp, she swallowed her words, glancing away from Odyssia as she hastily tried to think of any alternative thing to propose-- the more time an option gave her, the better.

“... Were you going to say something there?” Odyssia asked, “And before you do, I’d like to at least thank you for being appreciative. At least you’re more engaging to speak to than any of the previous people who once were strapped in here just like you. I generally hear the same boring, mundane things from people who end up here… In a strange way, I’m almost glad that I gave you the chance to talk,” 

Gee, I wonder why everyone else was less engaging, Melly thought to herself, not thinking further on that. Better to keep those mental images at bay.

“Have to appreciate the little victories, I suppose,” she said, words both sarcastic and sincere. “Punching and the like isn’t always the best way to solve things in the hero biz-- sometimes trying to talk through things first can go a long way. Never hurts to try, I suppose.”

Melly went quiet, debating whether to bring up what she had meant to say. Odyssia had clearly heard her odd pause, and she wasn’t fully sure whether or not she would be able to tell if she was lying or not.

“And… yeah, guess I thought I had something to say,” she said. “Wasn’t anything good, though.”

“... Yes,” Odyssia muttered. 

… Why did she sound so much like Amari just now? Nononono, I can’t let myself think like that. I can’t let myself see her in the Weaver or I’ll really be in shit, Odyssia thought to herself, now actually beginning to feel worried, Goddamnit, Odyssia, stop this right now. You can’t afford to do this. 

“... And what makes you think that?’ Odyssia said, trying to avoid thinking further on her realization. 

“Because it’s something I’ve had people try to do to me before, in one way or another,” Melly said. “And I doubt I’d be able to do much about it if it’s what you or your Patron decide to do to me, hence my aversion to bring it up.”

“...Let me take a wild guess,” Odyssia began, if a bit hesitant herself, “Are you trying to appeal to my humanity in some way? As if you knew anything about me? I mean, you’re welcome to try it. I will at least humor you.”

“Wasn’t really expecting it to be an appeal-- in the regard of me getting out of this, at least,” Melly said. “You don’t seem like the type to be easily convinced to change your mind when you commit to something-- Ollie was the same way. The point being-- seeing as I’d rather not go through something involving that again, I’m refraining from bringing it up as an option at all.”

Melly wasn’t sure how many of her non-Shard memories Odyssia had gleaned, or if she had come to the conclusion of what she was meaning by her words-- it was entirely possible that she’d be able to put the pieces together if she had all of them. For now, though, she sat tight and hoped that that would satisfy her.

“... Fair enough,” Odyssia replied, although something about the way she said this made her tone waver a bit. “I have been described as ‘ride or die’, I suppose. But make no mistake—and don’t tell Juice about this—I’ve come to understand that aside from tenacious tendencies… we don’t really have much in common. Consider this food for thought.”

“Juice?” Melly said, amused by the apparent nickname. “And… yeah, I think I’ve noticed that— and that’s coming from someone that knew him before all of this Shard business.”

“Long story,” Odyssia replied cheekily, “In the nicest way possible… did he always have a stick up his ass? Was he born with it? Because I’ve worked with many people and I have to be honest, he’s not the most fun person to be around.”

“Well…” Melly said, thinking of where to start. “He was always a bit stuck-up, but he knew his tech stuff— was in classes with someone I know. I think he’d been doing the Ock stuff behind the scenes for a while… not that I ever picked up on it. Kept that hidden up until I had already handed the Green Shard over for him to claim. Was originally hoping that he’d be a part of our team, but, well… you’ve seen where he’s ended up in that regard. In hindsight… it was pretty dumb of me to hand it over to anyone, whether or not I trust them. I was new to the hero stuff, and definitely more naive than I am now with a few more years under my belt. Sure, I may wield a Shard, but after that, I don’t think I’m qualified to be the one that decides who stuff like that gets handed out to.”

“Hmm. Sounds like someone I know,” Odyssia commented to herself before replying to Melly. “I suppose I could relate to you hoping someone you care about would join you.. but that’s besides the point. Probably wasn’t anything like what you went through anyhow, considering that the one I’m talking about is… a much different person from him, let’s say.”

“That’s fair,” Melly said. “Even with the similarities… there’s plenty of differences more often than not, especially between dimensions. I guess the whole mess— the Shards getting involved and all— sort of make ours a bit of a unique case, at any rate.”

Melly paused, thinking something over.

“You know… how did you and Oliver end up coming across one another anyway?”

Odyssia chuckled at that. “It is in my best interest not to be a snitch. I might be more amicable towards you than most people that find themselves on this gurney, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll spill everything about myself or my whereabouts. Nice try, though.”

“Eh, it was worth a shot,” Melly said, shrugging. “Guess you’ve got to be an Ock to get in on all the secret Ock meetings… or however else you two ended up meeting.”

“Well, I’m sure you can come up with your own conclusions, considering that you somehow managed to start working with Spider-Glass,” she sighed as a tentacle of her stretches out to reach a clipboard and a pen on her desk. 

“I suppose I can, yes,” Melly replied-- like Odyssia, it was probably in her or the other Spiders’ best interest not to go into detail on how that came about. Her eyes followed Odyssia’s tentacle as it reached over to the desk. Despite all of the pleasant conversation, she had to remind herself that she was on borrowed time. The Spiders would probably come after her eventually, but without a solid sense of how long it had been since was brought down here, she couldn’t be sure how much longer it would be before the others returned. The longer it took, the more time there would be for Odyssia to start trying things.

Odyssia, while not wanting to press further on how the two met, there was something on her mind in regards to her own spider. She took the clipboard and pen and began writing her observations on Melly down as she continues to speak. 

“Speaking of… what are your thoughts on her, exactly?” she sincerely asked with no trace of joking around or cheekiness to her tone. 

“What?” Melly said, admittedly caught a bit off-guard by the question. “She’s, uh… nice? Good teammate, good… all-around person?” She wasn’t exactly sure what Odyssia was trying to get at with that question, but knew it was better not to give specifics away freely.

Odyssia considered what Melly said for a moment. There was a gleam in her eye and a satisfied smile crossed her face as a subtle sense of pride exuded from her. 

“Yes, she always was… I don’t expect anything less from her…” she muttered to herself, “You’re not alone in that assessment, Weaver. Many will agree with you on that front.”

“As I’ve seen-- and met,” Melly said. The way Odyssia had said that… she knew a bit about Amari and Odyssia’s history. Whatever connection they had outside of the hero stuff, in some regard she could still say that it was a good one.

“Yes… I suppose that’s one thing that me and old Juice Man can’t really relate to each other on,” Odyssia sighed. 

Before either of them could say anything else, the tell-tale sound of metal stomping on concrete echoed down the corridor that Odyssia had brought Melly down. Feeling him approaching, Melly went still, keeping her head facing away from the door-- hopefully, she could avoid having Oliver know that she was more coherent than before. A moment later, Oliver entered the room, looking rather annoyed. His eyes scanned the room for a moment before locking on Odyssia.

Speak of the Devil, Odyssia thought to herself as she looked back at him. 

“So… What is it this time, Oliver?” she asked, putting the clipboard and pen down on the gurney’s surface. 

“Your… pet keeps bothering me,” he said with contempt. “I’m trying to review the notes on the Shards that you took from the Weaver, but I can’t focus with that thing constantly trying to pester me!”

Odyssia grimaced a bit, shifting her weight as she stepped closer to him. Upon doing so, she noticed Adorabilis, now clinging onto his leg with her tentacles. 

“I see,” she said, nodding tightly, “Let me get her off you.”

Oliver let out a huff in an expression of ‘finally’, holding out his leg and shaking it impatiently.

“Hold still, Juice Man,” she sighed, “You don’t need to shake her around like that.”

Odyssia gently coaxed Adorabilis with her tentacles, using them to remove her off of Oliver’s leg. Oliver could feel the sensation of suction cups being pulled off of him as she was taken away into Odyssia’s arms. 

“Alright, alright, you’re free now,” Odyssia said to Oliver as she heads over to one of the tanks. She opens it up to gently place the flapjack octopus inside. 

“It’s appreciated,” Oliver said, reaching up to straighten the collar of his shirt with a punchy tug. “While I’m here… I might as well ask. How has your research gone, thus far? Anything… interesting?”

“Sure thing,” she replies casually as she shuts the tank’s lid tight, “I suppose, but this was more me wanting a closer look at her and her Shard’s energy.”

“You ‘suppose’?” Oliver said, raising an eyebrow. “And have you been able to glean anything from that as of yet?”

“I will have to make some minor adjustments on my method of offering the Shard to the Writhing One but otherwise, I’m sure you already know enough extensive information from that mind retrieval that I did,” Odyssia replied coolly. 

“Indeed,” Oliver said, sounding mildly disappointed. “Speaking of which-- perhaps I should get back to reviewing that information. Perhaps she knows more about the pesky inhibiting devices that she’s used in our past few encounters. Quite fortunate that she had some spares on her this time around-- they usually burn out and damage themselves before I have the chance to inspect them more closely.”

“Sounds good to me,” Odyssia replied. “I will keep an eye on our guest here and make said adjustments to the plan.”

“And as I said before, I am quite looking forward to seeing the results,” Oliver said. Without another word, he turned, moving quickly out of the room back the way he had come.

As soon as he was gone, Odyssia groaned a little. 

“Man, if I didn’t know better, I would’ve believed he was an energy vampire or something,” she muttered underneath her breath. 

“Of the metaphorical sort, I’m assuming,” Melly said once she was sure Oliver was out of earshot. “I’ve met some actual energy vampires, and they tend to be a bit more direct with their energy-taking intentions.”

“Of course,” Odyssia chuckled, “A strange little man, he is.”

She picked up her clipboard and continues writing things down.

“... Now listen,” she muttered, recalling something, “I hate to admit it but I prefer you like this over when you could barely speak a coherent sentence. I… know that we really couldn’t be all that friendly after what I did to your mind and what I’m planning on doing. But even so, I feel like I should at least let you know this: Spider-Glass is… someone who is this very smart, very capable young lady. I know full well she’s going to show up eventually. Should she inevitably come to set you free just at the nick of time, promise me one thing: keep her safe. Her survival is… important to me.”

Melly stayed silent for a moment, taking in Odyssia’s words. It felt a bit strange, hearing that from someone with the intent to harm her… but she could tell that the Ock’s words were genuine.

“Us Spiders… we protect each other,” Melly said. “If she needs my help, if she ends up in danger… I’ll do what I can to make sure she’s safe at the end of things.”

There was a slight flicker of red in Melly’s eyes as she spoke-- a spark of determination and resolution, one could say. It was only there for a moment, though, before fading back to their usual crimson hue.

Odyssia smiled at that. Whether it was due to Melly’s promise, the brief glimmer of red, or a mixture of both, it was hard to say. 

Both knew it was only a matter of time until Spider-Glass would return. Until then, Odyssia resolved herself to scribbling down what she had learned from her talk from Melly that she had neglected to inform Oliver about. And Melly, biding her time until the others returned, resigned herself to wait.

[home-insulation-blog]

Shield Your House from Warmth

Roof insulation is intended to avert warmth move which a viable as a commotion protector that can at present go through the clamor from outside of the house is an issue and can find a way to lessen it like warmth and cold. The underground condition of storm cellars and crawlspaces has a dampness and the essential thought in building up a cellar divider and crawlspace of roof insulation procedure. Issues in ceiling and storm cellar dividers and crawlspaces have led specialists to prescribe against utilizing roof insulation in storm cellar dividers and crawlspaces on the grounds that the old standard ceiling establishment of hindrance over the studs is never again suggested yet fiberglass batt insulation between surrounded stud dividers on the cellar inside with a vapor. The inordinate issues with shape, buildup, rot and decay needs to keep up its adequacy, fiberglass must not be presented to high-dampness conditions, for example, a clammy storm cellar that will nullify the roof insulation estimation of fiberglass roof insulation and advance form and mold debases indoor air quality.

Nature of roof insulation on cellars and crawlspaces present one of difficulty in soil underneath three feet deep is quite often higher than the dampness substance of the air inside. The distinction in vapor weight makes dampness be driven from the dirt into the ceiling, storm cellar or crawlspace inside by dispersion. The measure of critical dampness from the dirt beneath the chunk will wick upward into the slither space of roof insulation on the grounds that the underground soil temperatures can be a lot colder outwardly air and furthermore the indoor air. Hotter air in the roof insulation storm cellar always extends and the air arrives at the cooler surface of a divider alongside the ground through buildup will happen on the inside of the divider. Any roof insulation in the slither space will be liable to possibly a lot of dampness driven from both the outside and the inside relying upon the climate and what season. There's a great deal to process and will outline the best roof insulation type will shield you from warmth, cold, stickiness, wind and water and the leading figure of the intelligent roof insulation industry meets the necessities.

Warmth waves can discover their route even through little splits yet introducing roof insulation through ceiling and windows needs to diminish warmth and cold levels significantly further. Sound waves travel in a straight line like clamor entering the home from a street or a neighboring property and may just need to roof insulation the ceiling straightforwardly confronting the wellspring of warmth or cold to certain ways you can do this by introducing roof insulation. Providers prescribe roof insulation items for your home with substantial draperies will help keep warmth and chilly climate from going through windows and with thick material hangings can help keep from going through. The center entryways do little to retain by introduce strong entryways or roof insulation with twofold coated windows can help assimilate on twofold coating need to supplant your windows. Retrofit the windows can be considerably more powerful than standard twofold.

[endenogatai]

Uber adds real-time public transport data for London

From today, Uber has added public transport to its app in London, incorporating real-time information on the city’s Underground, Overground, train and bus network, as well as other trams, shuttle, river boat and the DLR’s driverless trains.

Last summer the ride-hailing giant was granted a provisional 15-month license to operate in the U.K. capital — after appealing against the shock 2017 decision of transport regulator, TfL, to reject its application for a licence renewal.

But instead of the standard five-year license, a judge gave Uber 15 months grace to continue working to satisfy conditions that Transport for London had said it had failed to meet when it made the decision not to grant a license renewal — deeming Uber “not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence”.

The TfL decision focused mainly on concerns around passenger and driver safety. But Uber was also called out for a questionable approach to regulatory oversight, with TfL saying it had failed to adequately explain local use of software designed to thwart checks by regulatory and/or law enforcement officials. (Aka its controversial Greyball program.)

The wider theme here is Uber being called to heel to work with regulators, rather than seeking to hack their rulebooks and thumb its nose at city priorities — as was the case with its earlier expansionist playbook under founder Travis Kalanick.

TfL has been working on updating its regulatory framework for ride-hailing, and actively pushing for ride-hailing firms to share data with it.

While London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has made tackling London’s awful air quality, a policy priority — launching an ‘ultra-low emission zone’  in central London earlier this month which levies extra charges on motorists with more polluting vehicles if they drive into the zone.

Adding public transport options in London is an easy way for a rebooted Uber — under baggage-free CEO Dara Khosrowshahi — to get with this zeitgeist and project a more collaborative, civic-minded, environmentally aware aura atop a business that nonetheless still competes with public transit by encouraging people to pay to take a car ride home, rather than hop on the bus…

Had the chance to try our new Public Transport option, launching today in #London with live bus and tube times from @TfL in the @Uber app. All part of our goal to help people replace their car with their phone. More to come! pic.twitter.com/UVfgLbeLQ9

— dara khosrowshahi (@dkhos) April 29, 2019

To wit: Uber’s own S-1 Form lists public transportation as a direct competitor and thus one of the risk factors affecting future growth of its business: “Our Personal Mobility offering competes with personal vehicle ownership and usage, which accounts for the majority of passenger miles in the markets that we serve, and traditional transportation services, including taxicab companies and taxi-hailing services, livery services, and public transportation, which typically provides the lowest-cost transportation option in many cities.” [emphasis ours]

So the cold-eyed capitalist view says Uber gunning to become a ‘one-stop shop’ transport app by assimilating London’s public transit, and presenting it as a comparative option alongside its own hail-able rides, offers a route for the company to capture more users and upsell users who land in its app intending to get the bus/train/metro on calling an Uber instead.

You can see this strategy at work in the design of the public transit addition — with “public transport” only appearing as an option after riders enter a destination into the app, and then with results presented in a tab that sits alongside UberX and UberPool.

This means Uber is suggestively positioning publicly funded transport alongside rides that pour money its own tax shifting coffers — thereby eroding the taxpayer value distinction between what are actually very different options by inviting its users to think of getting an Uber as ‘equivalent’ to getting the train or bus, when it’s anything but.

So even when the company claims to be ‘working with cities’, the cold hard truth is its business demands that it competes and substitutes better value transport alternatives. Expect dark patterns.

The move into public transport also shifts Uber deeper into the territory of rival urban navigator app, Citymapper, which has been dabbling in tie-ups to push shared rides via its own app for a few years — and thus seeking to more directly squeeze Uber.

Commenting on the public transport addition to the London Uber app, David Reich, head of transit at Uber said: “With 3.5 million Londoners relying on Uber, we recognise the important responsibilities that come with being a good partner to this great global city. We share many of the same goals as the cities that we serve and are committed to addressing the same challenges: reducing individual car ownership, expanding transportation access and tackling air pollution.”

Reaching for a response to the update, a TfL spokesperson told us: “Our data is open to everyone, with more than 675 mobile phone and online apps already powered by our feeds. We provide up-to-the-minute information, making it easier for millions of people each day to move around our city by helping them plan their journeys.”

For the record Uber’s business was founded in 2009, but the London Underground has been ferrying people around the capital since 1863. While the first omnibus service got going in London in 1829.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8204425 https://tcrn.ch/2J46zzD via IFTTT

[gods-and-horses]

Genius cult book of black arts: The artist and his time, the staff.

"Unread phantasmagoric, nothing is spoken of waking in nexus the inexhaustible subtle dark matter assigned to the earthly role of the operating mercurial visionary. "

The eye is a oracle receptor is the symbol of infinity by intelligence fusions and imagination .Though the talent aim is not only to see but to perceive through things thus lies the hierophant artist, the transistors staff as an visual alchemist within the matrix of mind.  On this reproduction sub-level I do not just invoke mind fields fluently with art justice.To be known, I self rejuvenate as decomposed subject materials. I precipitate grown illuminated logic. I cultivate mind craft constituents, with distinction to alleviated new plateaus in experiences. In pedagogical fluidity I absorb the wild, nurturing alive my concepts as the dreamer alight , as the bilateral Mother Nature's lateral thinker and metaphorical gaze.

Ultimately if I didn't trust my intuition, I wouldn't have made half these work progresses I have surmounted. Typically a staff and the ridge we rarely inspire growth. We quick to give up on our self and selfs-self.Undiamondly I am bounded to dig dig deep descending into inner umbilical cords that unites us variously against each other as consciousness diversely differencing with one minds eye and know passionately the unsaid, shunned, tamed within me is as crucial in holistic development. In the light of simple artistic production and materiality the point of contact with the camera is the devising end. It perpetually questions it's form in serving functions. That's where field practice is identity construct is regeneration of meaning and object potentiality.The field extended defines the expanse of subject perception, entanglement ,engagement transforms authorship role. Genius becomes an 'art form' only when it has grown wise to the utter bleeding edge of contemporary productive processes.The unsetting horror of machine autonomy is that the machines don't need to sexually reproduce. They replicate. Although people are now capable of moments of genius, society has hardly lost the ability to generate their own black pyramid. Many individuals peak, then go downhill as courage of ingenuity stops. However Society has potential to keep going forever, augmenting all human capacities. Sign me off, here we torture derivatives dealing with the logic instrumentality of neural networks as footing and the vascular symmetric irrational mind as antipraxis disturbances. At the point i felt had reached the performance limit with self hypnosis interface the next correlative step of software development l pursued was to delve deeper into the rendering dreamscape matrix. With body management ,subliminal environment and layered experience taking to account to not only question space differentiation but reading the politics of the arti- factual mind by further probing into the unfolding synthetic information horizon of reconstructing telepowers. Art is hack, in singularity of heart one operates its underground geospatial magnetism by satellite subversion.The age of the reactionary hacker or generative artist in infra-red physiological conditions is an indispensable emancipation machine reconfigured in Africanism as a liberation accelerationism movements. In contemporary psychosis absolving overthrowing capitalist apartheid/ colonialists crisis reality with catastrophic systematic culture directionality, explores accordingly the implications velocity that art, & life is experimental activist reprogramming each one of us faced with unrest, undoing the aesthetically infected central finite body/mind extraterritoriality. My entire native, abstract weaving, secrete artificial Intelligent body of veritable prophecy and incantation has become a mask , of multi channel logic in ecological irrationality. I know its geopoetic surface by creating it. By behaving within this intersectionality interference, as a decentralized mirror inception that is bio-connected with public power, class politics of despair and freedom in assimilating society with its evils. It conjures in me a technology of an all-seeing visceral art that can capture parametric truths, even decipher darkness itself on a quasi autonomous democratic landscape. A revolutionary artists engine doesn’t care what limit it breaks as long as there is a creative lucrative limit to be broken, the humanoid cause has become the culture systems through which military-industrial orientation travels at the speed of complex corporate vectors becoming that link embodiment. Genius sees itself on and from a platform portal suspended outside this multiverse mediation in overthrowing a system. The civil snare in this ideological body of corporate protest in unlocking it and battling in this astral field life, with the stratified fundamental laws of black identity value in my age aimed. The significant role of explosive reality is a sparked desire, wakened curiosity.The jeopardy in this harness , my time contributions of sourcing in. Then it becomes dark and mystical shrouded shredded and thrown out at the shadowed depth of lunacy namely in danger.

[spacetribune]

Space system news

In latest achievements in space exploration case you are looking for the highest websites for house information then you have got numerous options to choose from. With a fast Google search, you'll get more than 1 million doable options. So how are you going to inform which of them are value your time? There are a selection of different things to contemplate, nevertheless two elements tend to stand out from the remaining. The information have to be current and constantly updated, and the website must be an authority on the topic. With that in thoughts, here are the four of the top web sites for area information that it is best to undoubtedly look astronaut newsround into.

1. Area.Com

It is smart. In order for you news about area, then Area.com ought to be capable of present the goods. Area.com was first launched in 1999 and is now considered to be the number one source of news for sky-watching, astronomy, area exploration, and commercial spaceflight. They have wonderful, in-depth articles, interviews, and videos that anybody can access. Additionally, Space.com is often featured by the most well-liked online information retailers embody Yahoo! Information and MSNBC. This website is maintained by the Tech Media Network, which also manages different extremely common websites like TopTenReviews, TechNewsDaily, LiveScience, and OurAmazingPlanet.

2. UniverseToday.com

While UniverseToday.com could have probably the most primary look, it's definitely an excellent source for every type of space related news. The content on the web site is certainly by no means in query. This can be very well timed and effectively researched. If you need a easy web site to offer you each day updates about information regarding area then is a superb site for you. The one noticeable downside is that it may be difficult to navigate at occasions, and some people think that it's a little heavy on the commercials. Nonetheless, the wonderful content simply overcomes these points.

3. SpaceRef.com

SpaceRef.com was created by SpaceRef Interactive out of Toronto, Ontario. This website offers numerous distinctive advantages by way of a space information web site. Not only is it a wonderful resource on its own, but it additionally connects you to other excellent space related web sites inside their family of websites. These sites embrace NASA Watch, OnOrbit, SpaceRef Canada, and Commercial Area. Plus, they have a wonderful e-newsletter that you could sign up for. It will deliver the highest area information tales to your inbox each day. That is particularly useful should you do not comply with RSS feeds, however still wish to get the top area associated news on a regular basis.

four. Science.NASA.Gov

If you're talking about the top web sites for space news, then you can't forget about the NASA web site. This web site is unique for a number of causes. The first is that along with offering you SpaceTribune with up to the minute news about house, it additionally options distinctive evaluation from NASA researchers and in addition has sections devoted to educators, college students, and children.

Do you know that of NASA's $20 Billion a 12 months finances, that $2 Billion or 10% of it's dedicated to Local weather Science. It's true. NASA has at all times spent a percentage of its finances on Earth Sciences, however that percentage had increased under Jim Hansen's path and he had mates in high what's going on in space tonight locations, like Al Gore. Underneath the Obama Administration Local weather Science became a precedence and focus. There was turmoil inside the ranks at NASA with directors, scientists, and even astronauts, as many famous that analysis knowledge was being manipulated for the global warming agenda.

Why is NASA involved within the agenda of Climate Change? Because the Obama Administration, Gore, Hansen wished them to be, taking a portion of NASA off its mission - we must astronauts names always have individuals on Mars by now, that's what was purported to happen once I was rising up. NASA became a bureaucracy, purchased into the area truck program - shuttle.

Is NASA's Earth Science analysis worthy? Effectively, the distribution of ice is a vital subject, yes, after all, however why is that NASA's job. NASA had a chance to check ice (each H20 and dry ice) on Mars, and indeed that might have been appropriate, especially if they wanted to search out life, however they keep touchdown rovers in the course of nowhere. Any life would not appear to be on the floor, it is underground, microbes, and many others. There are historic photos of enormous components of Antarctic with very little ice. NASA additionally spends too much time on the Greenland glacier soften, probably for the dramatic video impact, of huge water flows.

Can we trust the misuse of the NASA manipulated data on climate science? No, but we should save that information and carefully analyze its flaws. We all know the data is misused in the climate science fashions. The primary pc modeling had FL underwater by now, climate cliff, it was over, all downhill from here? That was nonsense, now it is claimed that they have reading plus level k what's going on in space many climate models and conform to the average or range, conveniently throwing out any that aren't in that vary as statistical anomalies, guess which of them? Making an attempt to quell scientific dissenters hitting them over the top with a fictitious hockey stick simply previous to an IPCC meeting did not help the trigger [cite: Richard Mueller paper].

So where are we at now? Well, the Republican run legislature wants NASA "to get again to house" and there was an attention-grabbing article lately titled;

"Republicans Intention to Prioritize NASA Space Exploration Efforts Over Environmental read more on wikipedia here Analysis," by Haley Byrd on 2-17-2017. The article famous:

"Republican lawmakers have begun working to fund space exploration projects over environmental analysis throughout the Nationwide Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Home Science, Area, and Technology Committee held a hearing on the way forward for NASA on Thursday morning. Two former astronauts and two other NASA consultants testified earlier than the committee.

Mercury Information reported in the San Mateo County News part December 2, 2010 "Arsenic is notoriously poisonous to virtually all forms of life. However an organism found in the mud of California's Mono Lake can stay and develop solely off this deadly chemical - elevating hope that similar creatures might exist in much more hostile environments, removed from planet Earth.

It's arduous to miss the time period "raising hope" in this piece as a result of that's what the invention is being milked for by NASA and other organizations. you can look here The outdated one small step for man clich? has emerged but as soon as again and is being adopted by one large leap of the imagination.

Regardless of the handful of alleged examples of lacking links between man and beast we're still waiting for some proof of say, a pair hundred or just a few thousand of the remainder of the lacking hyperlinks that should abound just about in every single place on earth. Low estimates would have the stays of all of the missing links stacked in a heap that may reach to the moon and back. You remember the moon the place the giant step for mankind took place?

However like the unique exaggeration the missing hyperlinks in the grand opera of evolution stay missing and the means by which to prove science's newest claim stays missing as nicely.

The dismal failure to account for the actual origins of life on earth is anything however one small step for mankind. Even with the jury still out on that grandiose pseudo scientific Space Tribune astronaut news bit of hyperbole we now dare to cast our imaginations to the heavens at the discovery of an arsenic utilizing microbe found in considered one of California's many lakes.

Fox News aired the announcement with most of the revered scientist paneled and able to attest to their new findings however needed to make an extended pause as the names of each scientist was appendaged with a very long list of letters, positions and educational backgrounds which after all was learn in full. Was NASA buying time to prep the rockets that would be sent to check it out in say, some planet about 50 million mild years from earth? Yeah, that is hopeful too.

There is little doubt that whereas NASA appears to the arsenic hungry creature of the lake each evening upwards of 60 % of the world's kids go to mattress without a lot as a morsel of bread. We can't advise them to eat cake and unlike the California microbes they can't assimilate arsenic. Will the discovered scientists forgive us if we seem detached to their latest rant?

The "blessed hope" of the bible's Titus 2:thirteen is still scoffed at by most empiricists but the believers remain undaunted. Greatest estimates for the return of the Lord among eschatologists' Space Tribune Social Profile Here are between 2 and 10 years from now. Setting aside my own bias for the eschatological view, the question of which group might be first to see proof of their beliefs is a no brainer.

Oddly, Bible thumpers have never denied that there is life past earth. They've for known causes concluded that it's further-celestial not extraterrestrial life. With over 70 % of People believing in the return of the Lord we'd as well just relax and never get too spooked about some poison eating microbes in a lake in California.

In case you're wondering the lake shouldn't be within the Hollywood space the place other species have been known to outlive on a food regimen or chemical input of poisonous and lethal poisons the place they not only survived the poisons but managed to spread them around profusely.

It has been recognized that there are numerous theories related to the 2012 doomsday that originated from the good Mayan calendar system. There's the polar shift. There's the idea of alien attacks. There's british astronaut bbc news the Holy Bible signs. There's an upcoming plague. There's this planetary alignment factor and other stuff. Add to that checklist is the existence of the so-known as Planet Niburu or Planet X 2012 NASA.

This Planet Niburu concept bought its roots from the Sumerian delusion whereby the Sumerians have stated to have discovered a planet that is heading in direction of the route of Earth. It is mainly going to hit our planet and this was predicted to occur final Could of 2003, however identical to the Y2K news back in 1999, nothing occurred. So impulsively, the new date is now December 21, 2012, therefore the name, Planet X 2012 NASA.

The Planet X and NASA half was derived from the usual process of naming newly-found planets and the default identify used by NASA is Planet X. However, some folks nonetheless seek advice from that planet as Niburu. When this Planet X collides and even simply passes the Earth at far, main catastrophic adjustments will happen in line with some.

In different versions, this Planet X 2012 NASA isn't actually a planet but simply an asteroid, although it's still aptly named so. The story is quite the identical wherein this asteroid/planet will go on a full affect with Earth wiping your entire page human race and other residing issues similar to how that asteroid made the dinosaurs extinct sixty five million years in the past. Nonetheless, scientists and astronomers especially those behind NASA consistently say that that is highly unlikely.

Furthermore, they have stated that they have deployed house equipments and tools that detect huge asteroids which may http://www.spacetribune.com/ be heading in the direction of our planet and so far, there is not any such citing and no evidence of its existence.

One other version states that it is a star or a brown dwarf which will set off harmful phenomena even by simply passing by. However, the potential for an impact continues to be there. Some say that this can be one other form of a solar that is actually orbiting past our photo voltaic system and that it is time to orbit previous us is on the upcoming yr 2012. When it does, it will affect most planets including ours, the Earth. As talked about, pure disasters of epic proportions will take place and smash every thing.

These are three hottest theories and variations regarding Planet Niburu or Planet X 2012 NASA and the way it links to our supposed 2012 deadline. As the year attracts nearer, increasingly stories have appeared and for some, it just gets actually confusing and arduous to believe something to begin with. Effectively, it is not likely what you consider but what you realize that matters. That is why lots of people still explore particulars, take a look at information, read info and collect info regarding 2012 though they do not believe on the concept that a lot. It's the only way they can be absolutely prepared in case - if they are that well-knowledgeable and skilled.

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Discover the international city UChicago gets in touch with property-- filled with motivation, advancement, and also numerous options to look into. You can easily receive in contact with one from our profession instructors at careercoachinghelpdesk @ if you have inquiries or require aid. Research study from social, social, emotional and also economical aspects of clothing. Underground Mathematics is actually the end result of a five-year venture moneyed by the Government's Department for Education and learning and also delivered by Cambridge's Faculty of Math. The component goes well with students' last year projects in Processing, Legislation, Biosciences, Electronic devices, Interactive media, as well as Drama and so on College students who registered in the UA's extra university tuition guarantee course in 2014 are going to stay at $10,975 for homeowners and $29,421 for nonresidents by means of the 2017-18 academic year. Backing assistance for EU trainees applying for university places in the 2017/18 school year has been affirmed due to the UK government. If you have any type of inquiries regarding where and how you can use try these guys, you can call us at our web site.

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As I have stressed in previous speeches on this date in the Us senate House, the Collegiate University need to appear beyond the perimeters of the UK. Our stamina is actually as an international establishment that supports and also interacts along with others worldwide by mutually handling some of the primary challenges we all encounter. Our team will look at unobservable forms from residential or commercial property, including trademark (eg licenses, copyright) and economic residential property (eg shares, allotments, government bonds), and will certainly explore the energetic, political and also positive job of law in making up home and also residential or commercial property civil liberties. And with nearly 1,000 student-run organizations, assume your calendar to become complete all year long. Whether that class is a welding store, dance workshop, opera house, or a game-design area, the lessons instructed there arised from impressive as well as professional advisers that bring about the well-regarded nationwide positions that most of the U's arts plans delight in. Sometimes, strong performance as a College Exclusive trainee will be actually considered as proof triggering desirable activity on an ask for admission. Based upon comparable federal government financed tram courses in the UNITED STATE (primarily Stumptown, Oregon) streetcars are seldom separated coming from other website traffic and are not offered traffic-signal concern over other lorries (like Public transportation ), apart from in a few conditions to permit the rail cars and trucks-- which can not switch as dramatically as most other motor vehicles-- to create some turns.

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Intercalating health care students taking a master's course are actually entitled to use. Fee constants as well as price formulas (consisting of assimilation). That was built from the bricks from the buildings which were ruined in the Civil Battle in addition to new bricks that were actually delivered in. Associate with others on school along with Hurricane Productions, the University from Miami's most extensive student-run association. Taking a student-centered method, Student as well as Academic Help is only some of several devices within the branch from Student and also Scholar Life focused on your personal and scholarly success. For UK pupils resident in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, our team understand that the devolved funding authorities are actually organizing to deliver their very own postgraduate lending deal for shown and study expert's pupils. The Capstone Education Society, and the Workplace of Development are likewise housed there. This module will examine just how public legislation has been the internet site of social, political, and lawful contestations concerning these problems. The College of Miami's Division from Intercollegiate Sports is devoted to building and assisting its own much more than 400 student-athletes in their attempts to achieve private, academic, and sports distinction. CSPC makes recommendations to the Educational institution Senate, which has key accountability for trainee conduct. Court Albritton is a 1960 graduate of Alabama Regulation and UNITED STATE Area Court Court for the Middle Area of Alabama, having been selected to the bench through President George H.W. Bush. Overview to interior decoration studies with emphasis on creating standard skill-sets as well as proficiencies required for household layout. Undoubtedly, you are actually counted on produce frequent use a personal digital assistant in the ultimate assessment as well as the term-time evaluation in order to obtain real amounts from historical sell cost data. The Scholar Facility covers 52,300 square shoes and possesses a 48-seat personal computer lab furnished with brand-new tools and also 25 notebook computer available for student-athletes to look into and make use of on crew journey.

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