#be polite to your local caterpillar | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sauntervaguelydown · 2 years

Text

easy home gardening suggestions

Are you bad at eating the vegetables you buy? Do you feel like everything goes bad before you can eat it? KEEP IT FRESH ON THE VINE. Or at least, pickle it yourself.

You will need: pots (plastic is fine, terra cotta is drier, glazed ceramic retains moisture best). Dirt (surprisingly cheap but very heavy). Sunshine (free).

(I live in a humid part of the USA, these tips are not meant for deserts)

Container options: all your containers NEED drainage holes, but if you're a freak like me, you can take any sturdy plastic thing with sides & a bottom and nail/drill/MELT holes into it. Storage tubs may be a cheap alternative. Don’t hold the tub upside down and melt the excess plastic with matches directly onto your human hand. Burn bandages are expensive. Or just steal old ceramic pots from your aging grandmother.

Container Gardening

BELL PEPPERS: if you get half a day at least of direct sun, you can grow bell peppers. They do want warm weather so either you have to put them inside your house in a very sunny window or wait until it's 70degrees F or more. Remember that flowers do need to be pollinated by SOMETHING. Note that if you're planting them in containers, deeper is better; bell pepper tap roots can go 3 feet down if you let them. Minimum of 12 inches. If you have time but no money, scrape the seeds from dinner and plant them. If you have money but no time, try to buy one sprouted from the local plant nursery. Outdoors you will get caterpillars, but in my experience they are very polite and do not attack the fruit, so they're fine. You can grow three pepper plants per foot diameter of dirt surface.

OTHER PEPPERS: generally all peppers have the same needs, although my hot peppers seem a bit less thirsty than my bell peppers. I bought some already-growing hot peppers from the local plant nursery and they have been EXTREMELY productive; some "hot" peppers like mine (a Holy Mole pepper) actually make great mild salad greens if you scrape the spicy seeds out & pick while still green. Minimum of a foot deep containers, deeper is better if you can manage it. Full sun.

SCALLIONS: with green onions/scallions, you know the big thick ones they sell in the store with the roots still on? buy a couple and plant them in a pot of dirt in the sun and you'll have infinite green onion leaves. They can stand freezing weather if you cover them. It got down to 20 F here and I still didn't lose them. No flowers involved, just juicy crunchy leaves. They only have to be in containers 6 inches deep minimum. DO THIS.

SALAD GREENS: container gardening works well for lettuce and mustard/mizuna. Lettuce needs regular watering, it has shallow roots. You just gotta plant Mizuna when it's cold enough for the seeds to germinate (40 F ~ish). Mizuna is a hardy little guy, tolerates heat AND cold. You gotta buy the seeds, but they're cheap. Follow directions on the seed pack. This can be done (theoretically) in a sunny window indoors since they do not need pollinators. It's all LEAVES baby.

LIMA BEANS. These have deep roots and they have long tall vines; if you have the space for the roots, and any thing LIKE a trellis for the vines, and sun, you can get so many goddamn lima beans for 0 effort. Forget about these suckers you can't STOP them from fruiting.

More below the cut bc this is getting long

TOMATOES are kind of an investment; they're easy to grow from seed but they need a lot of sun & a deep pot. If you want full size beefsteak tomatoes, try a tall, lightweight plastic pot with a lot of fertilizer & consistent watering. Don’t forget the tomato cages! Those beefy boys will pull your plant over sideways. The lightweight pot will allow you to move the pot inside if you have a sudden deluge of rain that will waterlog & split the fruit. You can try planting seed from harvested dinner, but you may end up with some much smaller tomatoes than what you harvested from. It’s something to do with commercial hybrids.

TBH i recommend growing a cherry tomato, you get more fruit and you're less likely to lose it to bugs/sudden rain/general bad luck. Buy some ripe in the store and harvest the seeds. Do not try to grow indoors, you need pollinators & sun. Sensitive to cold. Giant green caterpillars will try to consume your entire tomato plant. You must catch them before they succeed.

SPINACH is nutritious, but honestly don't bother with growing spinach past spring if you live south of the Mason-Dixon line, it likes the cold. I'm having bad lucky with it--it's either too hot or too wet or BOTH around here. My friend who gardened in the desert said they had good luck? It works in container gardens tho. Critters love to eat it. Maybe ask about it at the plant nursery.

ARUGALA: bought some already growing and it's a real champ, doesn't need much water. 6 inch depth minimum. NOTE: Once it flowers, you will not get enough leaves for a sandwich. Since then I've grown it from shed seed and it's very hardy--it actually put out a whole tap root through the bottom of my growpot and got down into the soil. Keep it watered when it's baby. The seed will sprout pretty much any time through the spring and summer.

CARROTS & BEETS:

Carrots are... more complicated. Unless you really like carrots or you really like gardening, idk if I'd recommend them for beginners. You start them from seed then thin them out so they're all at least 6 inches apart, and the seedlings wilt in the heat but they also don't like it when it's freezing so... I'm having a hard time with them. Maybe there's a breed that grows really well in your area? Ask at the local plant nursery. I did a "baby carrots" variety (sex seeds) and two survived infancy. One is still growing as of September. I'm hoping for more seeds.

Beets are less picky, and need a bit less water. But they do die off at the height of summer, so get them going while you can.

CELERY: basically the same, but less angry about the heat. Keep moist. Pick a bit & come back again for more. My seed packet said they should be ready to pick stalks in April but they definitely were not. July was really when they got big enough to eat.

ZUCCHINI: There's a lot of posts about how easy zucchini is to grow, but I think I'm in the wrong part of the country for it. Needs a lot of water, at least when it's hot outside. Definitely works for container gardening. Give it a 12 inch deep pot. TIP: put your old coffee ground in the dirt to increase the acidity. You will not get any fruit unless you have pollination, but pollinators also like to lay eggs on the leaves and eat them all to smithereens. Pickleworms have destroyed me two years in a row now. Cucumbers are the same way--and if you're gonna try cucumbers, buy a burpless variety to keep beetles away at least.

YAMS are pretty easy. They like the HEAT. They need 100% full sun. What you do is you buy a yam from the store, wait until it starts to put out growths, then (indoors) suspend it partly in some water until the green growths are at least 6 inches long. Then you can plant those growths in dirt. It's especially good if the growths have little white roots, but I've planted growths without any roots and they were fine. Healthy vines will put out runners. Suggestion: start in a deeper container but only fill it up with like 6 inches of dirt. When the yam vine gets long, add another few inches of dirt and bury some of the vine. Keep doing this until you run out of space and/or dirt. You get more yams this way. Harvest when the cold starts to make the leaves all sad and crinkly. Using fluffy light dirt makes harvest easier.

STRAWBERRIES: You'll get them one at a time, and they won't be very flavorful in many cases. They need pollinators, but squirrels steal them as soon as they're ripe. Keep under a net. They're also VERY hard to grow from seed. I have managed it, but the germination time is like... three months. Perfect container plants though. And in the summer they start putting out runners, and then you can MULTIPLY your strawberry content. Set them somewhere just out of the rain, so that the fruit won't swell up and split during a deluge, but remember to keep them moist.

BLUEBERRIES: fine for containers, although they need to be deep. Get at least two blueberry bushes so they can cross pollinate. Make sure that both varieties bloom at about the same time of year. Partial sun is fine. In winter it may go dormant but it comes back.

BLACKBERRIES and RASBERRIES are insanely low maintenance but bad for container gardening. They want a lot of space. You'd need a big container. Maybe a costco storage tub. Better off putting them in the ground, if you have a garden. But watch out, they spread.

A note about PUMPKINS: you can get a pumpkin seed to sprout basically spitting on it. I threw some dirt on a rotten halloween pumpkin and now I have a legion of leaves. However, getting them to fruit requires pollinators, and the vines take up space. I wouldn't try to grow them unless you have an actual garden with flowers (weeds are fine) or you just.... want a pretty vine to look at. Also they don't like the heat very much, even though they grow over the summer.

LEMONS: you can actually grow lemon seedlings from the seeds of regular ass grocery store lemons. They're supposed to be pretty easy to do but I haven't had much luck. Now that it's warmer out I'm gonna try again; basically just put them in some dirt and keep the dirt moist until a sprig comes up. you won't get fruit for like 5 years but the leaves smell nice. Tangerines are the same way.

I've put a couple over-ripe onions in the ground, but I don't think I'm going to get much out of it. There's a wikihow article on it. Basically you cut the bottom off an onion from the store, eat the top, and then treat the bottom like a yam. But you might as well just plant the whole thing if it's already started putting out green tendrils. Maybe you'll get flowers.

Herbs

hard Rosemary is actually difficult in most places bc it needs Mediterranean conditions ie. FULL sun, not a lot of water, warm weather. It starts to grow mold if it's not blazed 8 hours a day. Rosemary can get up to the size of a full ass bush if you give it the space. Needs 12 inches of pot depth. If you haven't got full sun, don't bother. I don't recommend growing these from seed--if you have a plant nursery anywhere near your home, just buy one there that is already established with roots. Cold hardy when large enough.

medium Basil has about the same sun needs as Rosemary, but it doesn't mildew. Basil will do the hydra thing and put out new heads of leaves if you snip them off. I'm growing it from seed and it's doing pretty good! Do not eat the flowers. Not cold hardy.

medium Ginger is a tropical shade plant, so you can grow it with no direct sunlight (it does need to get at least indirect sun). It needs really rich soil so you gotta go buy some bagged potting soil with compost, but literally you can get a healthy ginger from the store and sprinkle dirt on top and it ought to start growing. Especially if it already has little white or green fingers growing out of it. Give it a deep pot, 10 inches if possible. not cold hardy. If the soil freezes, it dies.

easy Mint: we all know it's insanely prolific. However I have managed to kill all my mint twice. I think I didn't give it a large enough container to spread out in. Aim for something at least 10 inches deep and at least a foot diameter. I know, it's a big commitment for an herb. Partial shade is fine. do NOT put it directly in the ground or it will take over. Cold hardy perennial (survives at 0 F and lower). It may go dormant but it comes back. Keep moist.

easy Oregano. Good boy. Precious child. More sun is better, and not a lot of watering. Pot only has to be 6 inches deep, though more never hurts. I've heard that cilantro and tarragon and thyme have the same root depth, but I've never tried growing them so that's all I know. If you're planting from seed, make sure it's hot outside and do Not bury the seed. It goes right on the surface of the dirt in the sunshine. 3 months from sowing to adulthood. Cold tolerant perennial; it may go dormant but it comes back.

easy Garlic: you might not be up for growing garlic from seed, but if you want to harvest the green stalks that grow up from the bulbs in spring, they are kind of like a cross between chives and garlic in flavor, and very safe to eat. Good in soup. Just buy some regular garlic and then forget it in your kitchen until the individual bulbs start poking up green shoots inside that papery wrapping stuff. Then plant them in some dirt with the green shoot pointing up. These bulbs survive VERY cold winters and thrive. It may go dormant but it comes back. If you let it go through a cold winter, you may get harvestable additional bulbs.

List of Flowers You Can Eat:

Nasturtium, violet, viola, coneflower, chrysanthemum, citrus blossoms, daisies (who knew), marigold, clover flowers (clover is good because it nitrogenates the soil). When in doubt, eat the petals only. Except for Nasturtium, i know you can eat those leaves and stems and all. They're kind of peppery.

There's actually a LOT of edible flowers I haven't begun to list. If you're curious, look into it.

Things you simply cannot grow at home: Vanilla. Cinnamon. Soy beans. Apples. Do not try. (Vanilla is an orchid. Orchids are Hard.) (Cinnamon is growable in Mexico if you keep it well watered.)

straight up, if you're gonna grow any of these, just google "how often water [x]" and then do that forever. Set a recurring calendar alarm. If they look wilty, increase how often you do it. Personally I water everything when the dirt looks dry, but that's because I'm an obsessive.

Anything sold in the store uncooked/undried that is either 1. a seed itself or 2. contains a seed (or 3. has roots attached) can PROBABLY be pirated. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Google is your friend.

Other Notes:

you CAN pollinate a lot of things by hand, if you're willing to put the effort in

"well draining" soil usually has compost material content mixed in. Sand is also well draining, but maybe a little TOO well draining. Basically, avoid clay if it needs to drain.

Most things do not need fertilizer all the time if you buy potting soil (it's pre-fertilized). However, growth costs nutrients. Keep that in mind.

You can steal dirt out of the ground for your pots but remember that it may be contaminated depending on where you get it (roadside? BAD idea). Also it's heavy as fuck. Plan accordingly.

Coffee & tea grounds are acidic and nutritious. (for plants) (don't eat them)

it's not actually a great idea to bury a moldy piece of fruit in a pot. You will get flies. I know it seems like a composting hack but don't do it.

You can put old wood cuttings & logs at the bottom of a container for plants that need a lot of nitrogen, like ginger. Make sure there's still an appropriate amount of soil between the wood and the surface.

potting SOIL contains dirt (sand/silt/clay), potting MIX is just organic matter (peat usually). Mix is fluffy, soil is denser. You can combine to get the advantages of both. Potting mix is usually a good bet for fruiting plants, but I've tried using plain ground soil for almost everything and the main problem is it just dries out faster. If you're putting things directly in the ground, just get some "gardening soil" to fill in around the roots a little bit.

pots are weirdly expensive. Scavenge and recycle what you can. I've used costco cranberry juice jugs for things, but the ridges in the plastic do retain water. Make SURE your pots are deep enough. And make sure they have a fair bit of surface diameter.

depression meal: boil one package of maruchan ramen, as many lima beans as your little hands can grab, chunk of scallion (chop if you have the energy, shred it with your fingers if not). celery? if you've got it. pour flavoring packet. add lemon juice. survive another day without scurvy.

A note on TREES

Citrus trees are easier to manage than some other kinds, but they do still need management. Citrus is very cold sensitive so if you can bring them inside as soon as it hits freezing at night, that is best. The trouble is they also need deep enough pots for their tap roots, which makes them hard to MOVE. Even with frost covering, I lost a lemon tree to a hard winter this year RIP. The good news is that after they've been in the ground about 5 years, you do not have to cover them as carefully anymore. I've got a 30 year old tangerine tree that went dormant this winter and then came back kicking, and I didn't cover it a single inch.

Peach trees are also fairly cold sensitive, but they need a minimum number of cold nights (40 F or lower) to produce fruit. So uh. Either cover them with a frost cloth as soon as it gets freezing out, or bring them inside in a big pot but leave them outside as long as you can. I wouldn't try to grow one from seed personally, but I've bought a couple saplings. Look for a variety that does well in your climate. Your local university might have made a hybrid.

You can grow and make your own tea leaves; the tree is a specific variety of Camellia. Grows well in the southern USA.

"pawpaw" trees are a fruit tree native to north-east america, cultivated by american indians. They're pretty cool. They grow well on the sides of hills. You can buy dormant saplings in the winter/late spring online. You need at least one male and one female. Deep tap roots.

You can GROW a banana tree, but you can't make it fruit unless you're in a tropical climate. I wouldn't bother. Even subtropical doesn't cut it.

Figs are cool but keep in mind that lots of people are allergic to their leaves.

In the case of most trees, long term, a pot is not a good idea, but for the first few years it's fine. Remember that every year the roots get bigger.

If you have a commercially sold tree seedling, the chances are it's been grafted at some point. If there's a knot or a notable bend in the lower part of the trunk, that's the graft point. Stuff that grows below that knot is going to be Not Delicious. Pick off growths below the graft point.

A note on COMPOST:

composting is a great way to enrich your shit, but watch out, because it also produces mildew, mold, flies, and scavengers.

The lowest effort version of composting is simply to take your tea leaves/coffee grounds out of the pot when you're done with them and let them dry out somewhere--a bowl or a tupperware, idk--then save them to mix into your potting soil later. Minimum amount of fungus, no bugs. You can do this in your house. Unbleached paper also works, and basically any "dry" organic material.

The more intense version includes things like egg shells, banana skins, things that will attract pests and grow mold. You don't want this in your house. Also the shells of beans, discarded lettuce greens, tops of strawberries--etc. Most of this stuff is of too little caloric value to attract rats, so it's okay to keep near your house.

But the more "food" stuff you start to add, like rotten vegetables and table scraps, the more rat appealing it becomes. Don't get over ambitious. That stuff needs to be 50 ft away from your house minimum.

#resources #gardening #cottage core #or something idk

80 notes · View notes

whattheabcxyz · 3 months

Text

2024-06-12

Singapore

1st BTO project in Chencharu, Yishun's new estate, launching soon - it will have "smart" & "green" features

Government ramps up scrutiny of family offices & hedge funds

Singapore’s 1st satellite to orbit closest to Earth unveiled; set for launch in mid-2025

62-year-old man arrested after brandishing knife on public bus - you'd think at his age he'd know not to be an idiot, but some people just don't grow out of their stupidity

100 residents evacuated after fire breaks out in Bukit Panjang flat - cause of fire under investigation

2 Singaporeans could face death penalty for allegedly trafficking 58kg of Ecstasy in Johor - good; they knew what they were getting into, & no sympathy for drug traffickers!

Less time & money given to social causes last year, with scam fears holding donors back - scumbags always have to spoil things for others

Jail & fine for retired cop who groped 2 police NSFs when they were his subordinates

Chencharu area in Yishun to get new park, integrated development with hawker centre, & bus interchange

Transport

Singapore: 2 local firms to test mobile charging service for EVs till 2028

Singapore: North East Line train services to start at 8am on 4 Sundays to integrate new Punggol Coast station

JB-Singapore RTS Link project reports steady progress - supposedly nearing 80% completion

Health

While we can't say drugs cause mental illness, we do know many drug abusers also have mental illness

Science

What scientists know about near-death experiences - they're a product of your brain, that's for sure 🧠

Nature

^ The monkey slug caterpillar is 1 bizarre-looking beast!

So it turns out that African elephants have names for one another - they respond when called!

Politics

Singapore & Malaysia under Lawrence Wong & Anwar respectively commit to resolving water & other outstanding issues amicably

#singapore #transport #health #science #nature #politics

0 notes

realtorjamier · 9 months

Text

Best Happy Hour Spots In and Around D.C.

When it’s time to unwind from a stressful workday, our region is teeming with Happy Hour haunts that will brighten your spirits! Some offer a unique venue vibe paired with similarly-themed menus. Some just have downright good deals. Even the most high-brow establishments tend to have special Happy Hour pricing to draw patrons looking kick back after a hard day’s work. Here are some great options, whether you’re wanting to wind down or paint the town!

O’Connell’s

112 King Street, Alexandria, Va.

This modern Irish restaurant boasts “an ancient Irish setting.” Choose to sit at one of their four bars, a table near the fireplace, or huddle up in a “snug” – a cozy space offering a little more privacy. O’Connell’s Happy Hour is Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and offers beer (including O’Connell’s Pilsner), liquor, house wine and delectables like Dublin Nachos and Irish Egg Rolls.

Pearl Dive Oyster Palace

1612 14th Street, Washington, D.C.

If you’re in search of treasure from the sea, you’re in for a treat at this pub offering American food with a southern slant. Happy Hour selections include ½ Price Local Oyster ($1.40 each with a minimum of 12), a pound of Addie’s Mussels, Wood Grilled East Coast Oysters, Chips & Queso, accompanied by $5 draft beer and $6 Happy Hour wine.

Guardado’s Restaurant

4918 Del Ray Avenue, Bethesda, Md.

Featuring Spanish Latin cuisine, Guardado’s Happy Hour (Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. and Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.) boasts a great variety of over-the-top Tapas for just $6: meal-worthy culinary creations made with tilapia, chicken, pork loin, omelets and more! Cocktails are also just $6. Select bottles of wine are half-price, and draft beers are just two bucks!

Mia’s Italian Kitchen

100 King Street, Alexandria, Va.

Located at the riverside end of King Street in Old Town Alexandria, Mia’s Happy Hour takes place Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. Choose your seating at the bar or on high tops, or lounge on sofas. Specially-priced bar bites range from Prosciutto and Fontina Fritters with Calabrese Hot Honey ($7), Chicken Parmigiana Sliders ($8), Pesto Spaghetti ($9) and more. What else? $4 Sangria, $5 pizza, $5 draft beer, $6 wine, $7 cocktails. Wow!

Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab

750 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C.

At the legendary, upscale Joe’s, Happy Hour is “Cocktail Hour” and is served Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 6 p.m. (at the bar and highboy tables only). You can enjoy half-priced Oysters on the Half Shell and some $6.95 options including French Dip Sliders, Lobster Deviled Eggs and Mini Cheeseburgers. And of course, signature cocktails, wine and draft beer are also available.

Blackwall Hitch

5 Cameron Street, Alexandria, Va.

With a name like “Blackwall Hitch,” how can you resist? The meaning behind the name is too long to explain here, but it fits, given the fact that its location is close to the waterfront where boats and water taxis traverse daily. Happy Hour happens in the Quarterdeck Bar weeknights from 4 to 7 p.m., and includes drink specials and half-price appetizers. Draught beer is $7 a pint; bottled beer is $5; wine is $5 a glass; featured cocktails are $7.

Allegory

1201 K Street NW, Washington, D.C.

If you’re looking for something REALLY different, visit Allegory – “The first bar to blend art, literature, social justice, craft cocktails and hospitality.” Its speakeasy entryway is through a nondescript door in the Eaton DC’s Radical Library. A one-of-a-kind mural by artist Erik Thor shows Alice in Wonderland through the eyes of 6-year-old Ruby Bridges – the first Black student to integrate an elementary school in the South. The menu is literary and political and features drinks like “Mad as a Hatter” and “The Color of Law.” Bites include “Little Girls Eat Eggs as Much as Serpents Do” (an Alice quote), “Caterpillar’s Mushroom” and many more. Curiouser and curiouser!

Boca Botanas

239 Muddy Branch Road, Gaithersburg, Md.

The winner of four OpenTable 2019 Diners’ Choice Awards including “Vibrant Bar Scene,” Boca Botanas features Latin American inspired food “with a twist of Spanish and South American.” food is served tapas style with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and sauces and sides that are made from scratch daily. Happy Hour is served weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and includes handcrafted beverages and cocktails infused with homemade mixes and fresh ingredients.

The Majestic

911 King Street, Alexandria, Va.

The iconic 25’ tall neon signs beckon diners in. Good food and drink keep them coming back. Established in 1932, The Majestic’s newly designed interior is a blend of art deco and contemporary with an assortment of artwork adorning the walls. Happy Hour eats include sandwiches, sliders and sides. Special pricing for spirits ($4), drafts ($5), wine ($6) and cocktails ($7) happens weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m.

#jamierichards #realtorjamier #realestate #realestateagent #realestatetips #happyhour #happyhourspots #happyhourspotsindc #washingtondc #washingtondcspots #nightout #thingstodoindc

0 notes

calilili · 1 year

Text

A Time Of Useful Consciousness

You Down to Clown ?

Caterpillars and Butterflies

at The Cali Lili Indies ™️

Your Local #Vote : Is Global

©️ by Cali Lili

“ We raised and released 42 monarch #butterflies last season and during this year’s cycle from the returning mommy monarch fluttering all around our faces, entrusting us with her eggs, to the fat caterpillar crawling into #chrysalis then magic emerging newborn into flight, I marvel that every moment is a “time of useful consciousness.”

“Time of Useful Consciousness is an aviation term defined in Wikipedia:

“the amount of time an individual is able to function effectively (e.g. perform flying duties) in an environment of inadequate oxygen supply.[1] It is the

period of time from the interruption of the oxygen supply or exposure to an oxygen-poor environment to the time when useful function is lost, and the individual is no longer capable of taking proper corrective and protective action. “

these upcoming #elections are indeed a “time of useful #consciousness” for the ideas we cherish, for #humans being , #wildlife #sealife America, global #democracy the survival of our mothership, this blue planet and the #multiverse in which we float, hurtling toward our future past in a time-space continuum which barely recognizes us.

“Losing consciousness” would mean losing democracy and sinking into the warm bath before the ice cold fascism shuts down humanity by legally assassinating the constitution from within.

We’ve managed to avoid #asteroids and now, we know how to billiard them away from impact with our cool-AF NASA pool cue. Now we must build ourselves a different kind of pool cue to tip away impending political “asteroids”

Our choices in life, including a girls’ right to make her own decisions, will be subject to the will of the state, which will always usurp the will of every individual.

Not just HER choice.

YOUR choice too.

Every individual would serve the state. Not just the unfortunate 10-year-old rape victim in some news story.

You.

They ask you : “ Us or Them ?”

You down to clown?

Are you a member of the #LGBTQ community?

A #feminist? #mybodymychoice

Are you Jewish?

Muslim?

Non-supremacist Christian?

Are you a person of color?

An “ #environmentalist ”?

A #vegan ?

“Are you … or have you ever been … ”

#blacklivesmatter #climateaction

I’ve posited in my movie “Eve N’ God This Female Is Not Yet Rated “ with original soundtrack album “this female is not yet rated“ that the “independent female” characters known as “Eve” and “Lilith” from the Bible story, who represented “female freedom,” were the original “scapegoats” illustrating that older hatred against : the independent female.

“Play Makes Free”

Let’s beat the fascists at their own game, “binding” together, so we don’t fall for anything, and everything, anymore”

Read the full essay published as a guest post in “the cranky yank” magazine #Atlanta

https://crankyyank.com/2022/11/07/midterms-are-a-time-of-useful-consciousness-by-guest-blogger-calililiindies/

0 notes

barri-zonema · 3 years

Photo

Kurds created local councils - promoted public ownership - as well as gender equality - defeat the Islamic State - Women’s Liberation Ideology describes jineology

The Kurds have been suppressed in all sorts of ways, often very violently,” said Henri Barkey, a professor of international relations at Lehigh University and adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “They have really suffered at the hands of the four states.”

Omer Taspinar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that for decades Turkey has had a policy of “assimilating the Kurds into Turkish ethnic identity, denial of Kurdish ethnic identity and denial of Kurdish linguistic rights.”

Kurdish forces belonging to the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit, or YPG, joined forces with Arab groups and created the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. The United States, Britain, France and other countries provided the SDF with weapons.

Since then, Kurdish fighters have led the alliance, which was crucial in toppling the Islamic State.

Kurds created local councils to replace government establishments, and promoted public ownership of land, water, and other resources, as well as gender equality. Many Kurdish fighters are women.

Then on Sunday, a Turkish air strike hit a convoy in the Syrian border town of Ras al Ain, killing at least 14 people and wounding 10 more, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The SDF said the convoy included civilians and journalists.

A brief history of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led alliance that helped the U.S. defeat the Islamic State

From prison, Öcalan has published several books. Jineology, also known as the science of women, is a form of feminism advocated by Öcalan and subsequently a fundamental tenet of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK).

Öcalan's philosophy of democratic confederalism is a strong influence on the political structures of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, an autonomous polity formed in Syria in 2012.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s Women’s Liberation Ideology describes jineology as "a fundamental scientific term in order to fill the gaps that the current social sciences are incapable of doing.

Jineology is built on the principle that without the freedom of women within society and without a real consciousness surrounding women no society can call itself free."

Öcalan has said "a country can't be free unless the women are free", the level of woman's freedom determines the level of freedom in society at large.

To put into context the environment this comes from, violent oppression of women exists in the region in general, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) being the most radical emanation of Namus-based subjugation of women.

On a wider scale, proponents of jineology consider capitalism to be anti-women and thus jineology to be inherently anti-capitalist.

The bourgeoisie knows no bounds in imperialist and reactionary aggression. The people of Afrin are faced with the most reckless, despicable and immoral aggression.

This is the aggression of wanting to be destroyed purely because of its national identity, as well as waging war against the will of a people. The working class and laborers of the world must be in active solidarity with the people of AFRIN by opposing this aggression.

AFRIN (as in ROJAVA) is the only people living under their own will in the most democratic form of government in peace and tranquillity.

Since all imperialists and reactionary states stood against the free self-determination of the people, they remained silent in the face of the attacks of the Turkish ruling classes, and many of them openly supported them.

AFRIN, who wants to be sacrificed to the interests of the imperialist bandits who shed blood in the region, must be protected and embraced by the working class and the oppressed peoples of the world, and must stand and fight against this vile attack.

First of all, Turkish workers and laborers should oppose this murderous and immoral attack of the Turkish state and stand in the way of these attacks and be in active solidarity with the people of AFRIN.

The AKP government, the representative of the new imperialist Turkish bourgeoisie, fed by war and racism, will not be able to cover up its crimes by attacking Afrin, nor will it be able to defeat the people of Afrin.

The Turkish state is a war criminal state. The working class and laborers must hold accountable for this. This account consists of taking an active part in the side of the people of Afrin. Wherever we are, we must stand against the aggression, occupation and war against Afrin, and ensure that the Turkish capital state is repulsed.

All Kurds of the World Unite!

All Kurds of the world unite against the vile and murderous attacks of the Turkish fascist state. Join without question.

Unite and protect your own lands against a murderous state that wants to destroy the most peaceful Kurdish region in the world, the land of olives, the symbol of peace, just because the Kurds live.

Until today, the only place in Syria that could not be destroyed was ARFIN. This was accomplished by the peaceful and democratic Kurdish people. Because their war is not; whatever their language, religion, gender and nationality, they needed to live together in peace and tranquillity.

They sent ISIS, especially the Turkish state and others, to AFRIN many times. However, it was repelled by the masterful military tactics of the YPG/YPJ led by the PYD and the support of the people, and the people of that region were able to live in peace.

And just as there has been no attack from AFRIN - although most of it is surrounded by the borders of the Turkish state - there has been no attack or threat against the Turkish state.

The Turkish state, ISIS, etc. Despite repeated harassment and military attacks by murderous gangs such as people of AFRIN, the people of AFRIN have always extended a hand of peace to the Turkish state. However, a racist fascist state, which perceives even the peaceful life of the Kurds as a "threat", continued to feel uncomfortable with this.

The Turkish capital state sees the free life of the Kurds and their free self-determination as the biggest obstacle to their desire to become the destructive-aggressive sovereign state of the Middle East. For this reason, it has included the democratic Kurdish national movement in the category of "priority threat" as the main target at home and abroad.

Not only the Turkish state, but also the US and Russian imperialists, as well as the European imperialists who gave all kinds of support to the Turkish state, are equally responsible and guilty for the Turkish state's attack on AFRIN.

The German bourgeoisie's prohibition of carrying the flags and emblems of the YPG, which is fighting against ISIS, in marches and rallies, and urgently undertaking the repair of tanks belonging to the Turkish army, showed that it is a part of this war.

However, the German working class and toilers will not delay in opposing these dirty deals of the German bourgeoisie.

The Turkish state should immediately put an end to the occupation and all kinds of attacks against AFRIN, and all imperialists should withdraw their bloody hands from the region. 20.01.2018

Finally, they labour everywhere for the union and agreement of the democratic parties of all countries.

The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions.

Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.

Working Men of All Countries, Unite!

Democratic confederacies Kurdish: confederalîzm democratic‎; also known as Kurdish communalism or Apoism is a political concept theorized by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic self-organization[4] with the features of a confederation based on the principles of autonomy, direct democracy, environmentalism, feminism, multiculturalism, self-defence, self-governance and elements of a sharing economy.

Influenced by social ecology, libertarian municipalise, Middle Eastern history, nationalism and general state theory, Öcalan presents the concept as a political solution to Kurdish nationalist aspirations, as well as other fundamental problems in countries in the region deeply rooted in class society, and as a route to freedom and democratization for people around the world.

Although the liberation struggle of the PKK was originally guided by the prospect of creating a Kurdish nation state on a Marxist–Leninist basis,

Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was initially inspired by national liberation movements across the planet, many of whom were influenced by Marxist-Leninist ideals and left-wing nationalism

As a liberatory framework emerging from the Kurdish movement, jineology places women at the center of the struggle against patriarchy, capitalism and the state.

Allowing the recent developments in northern Syria, Kurdish women have often been portrayed in the Western media as fierce fighters combating the savage barbarians of the so-called Islamic State.

Considering Kurdish female guerrilla fighters as heroines defending Western values of democracy and gender equality, however, frames Kurdish women in an Orientalist narrative that grants political agency and recognition only as long as their actions fit liberal Western values.

Yet the struggle that Kurdish women are waging is deeply rooted in radical political thought and practice, and as such does not lend itself as easily to a Western liberal worldview as it might appear at first sight.

The Kurdish movement emerged in the late 1970s out of a fragmented Turkish left and radicalized in the torture chambers of Diyarbakir prisons following the 1980 military coup in Turkey. Since its inception it has evolved from a dogmatic Marxist-Leninist caterpillar to a radical democratic butterfly.

Abandoning the objective of an independent socialist Kurdistan, the movement now draws upon the theory and praxis of feminism, social ecology and libertarian municipalise to transcend the state.

Instead of centralizing power, it seeks to re-allocate it to the grassroots through horizontal forms of representation. Inspired in part by the American communalist theorist Murray Bookchin, the Kurdish movement has clearly articulated its aspirations for a post-capitalist and post-state society and has begun to implement these ideas in the Kurdish autonomous regions of Rojava, in northern Syria.

The struggle for gender equality stands at the heart of the Kurdish movement’s vision for a just society.

Locating the historical root of social, economic and cultural oppression and injustice in the emergence of gender hierarchies in the Neolithic era, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader and chief theorist of the Kurdish movement, proposes a direct relation between gender hierarchies and state formation.

Referring to women as “the first colony,” Öcalan argues that the nation-state, monotheistic religions and capitalism all constitute different institutionalized forms of the dominant male. Fighting patriarchal social structures ― or, in Öcalan’s words, “killing the dominant male” ― consequently becomes an imperative in the struggle for a society that will transcend the oppressive structures of the capitalist nation-state.

Within this struggle, the Kurdish paradigm stresses the importance of an enduring transformation of both social and personal mentalities; a term that resonates with the Foucauldian concept of discourse as an encompassing formation of thought, while stressing its rootedness in practice and hence underlining the need for an antagonistic struggle in order to achieve lasting change.

In a framework that rethinks the boundaries of citizenship, the classical Marxist focus on class struggle is in this way broadened to take into account other forms of oppression.

The liberation of women takes on a pivotal role both for theoretical reflection on social reality and for practical efforts undertaken towards radically changing that reality.

The movement asserts that for the social struggle to be successful, it is vital to fully comprehend the links between capitalist, statist and gender oppression.

Taking into account insights from both anti-colonial and anti-capitalist resistance movements of the twentieth century, the understanding of struggle itself is thus fundamentally reformulated.

Jineology, a framework of radical feminist analysis that the Kurdish movement has been developing since 2008, tries to transfer the advancements of the Kurdish women’s movement into society.

A neologism derived from the Kurdish word for woman, jin, jineology criticizes how the positivistic sciences have monopolized all forms of power in the hands of men.

As a theoretical paradigm, it is based on the concrete experiences of Kurdish women facing both patriarchal and colonial oppression. Using this new perspective, jineology seeks to develop an alternative methodology for the existing social sciences that stands in contrast to androcentric knowledge systems.

At the same time, it also articulates a powerful critique of Western feminism. According to Dilar Dirik, an academic and advocate of jineology, the feminist deconstruction of gender roles has contributed immensely to our understanding of sexism.

Nevertheless, jineology remains critical towards the failure of Western feminism to build an alternative. It criticizes mainstream feminism’s failure to achieve wider social change by limiting the framework of the persisting order.

Intersectional feminism addresses these issues, underlining the observation that forms of oppression are interlinked and that feminism needs to take a holistic approach to tackle them. Yet according to the Kurdish movement, the problem is that these debates never leave the circles of academia. Jineology proposes itself as a method to explore these questions in a collectivist manner. As such, jineology can be seen as the living practice that evolved from the discussions of women all over Kurdistan.

Necîbe Qeredaxî has been a journalist and advocate for Kurdish rights for eighteen years. She is a founding member of a research center for jineology in Brussels, which will soon open its doors to the public. The aim of the organization is the promotion of research in the human and social sciences that concerns women’s emancipation.

The center will be organizing seminars and workshops, will carry out research on gender violence and women’s oppression, and seeks to reach out to feminist movements in Belgium and beyond.

What is jineology and what does it struggle for?

Necîbe Qeredaxî: The term jineology is composed of two words: jin, the Kurdish word for “woman,” and logos, Greek for “word” or “reason.” So it is the science or the study of women.

What is jineology, for those hearing about it for the first time? Jineology is both an outcome and a beginning. It is the outcome of the dialectical progress of the Kurdish women’s movement, as well as a beginning to respond to the contradictions and problems of modern society, economics, health, education, ecology, ethics and aesthetics.

While the social sciences have dealt with these issues, they remain influenced by the reigning hegemony and have distorted the issues at hand, particularly the relations between men and women. Jineology therefore proposes a new analysis of these fields.

Turkish government to establish the idea of centralization was to attract the Kurds to participate in parliament. The government was on occasion, successful in this regard and some Kurds did take seats in the national parliament.

To change Kurdish attitudes towards centralization the CUP allowed some Kurds to establish themselves and take up senior roles within the party. It was not long after the implementation of

Turkey's constitution when the freedom of the smaller ethnic communities in Turkey was restricted and outlawed. Turkish state ideology as a tool for persuading and assimilating the Kurds and other ethnic and linguistic groups.

Existing studies emphasize that the Kurds were subjected to a systematic forced assimilation campaign by the new Kemalist state.

This paper stresses that the formation of Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire is the root to understanding the ideological foundation of the Turkish state’s denial of the Kurds, their history, language and even their existence.

This has huge implications for Turkey’s claims to secular democracy, its regional stature and aspirations to join the

European Union.House raids in Diyarbakır and Adana: Many detentions

At least 59 people, including Jinnews reporter Beritan Canözer, were detained in a house raid in Diyarbakır August 13, 2021As part of an investigation conducted by the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, many houses were raided. In the raid on 29 addresses within the scope of the investigation, the doors of the houses were broken with rams, and the belongings in the houses were distributed during the searches.

It was stated that many people were detained in house raids and searches continued in many houses.

It was stated that 59 people, including Jinnews reporter Beritan Canözer, were detained in the raids before 15 August on charges of "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" and "acting on behalf of a terrorist organization", and that the number of detentions will increase.

The detainees were taken to Diyarbakır Provincial Security Directorate after their health checks.I am appealing to those who demand education in their mother tongue. You can open language schools wherever you want to teach your mother tongue.

But do not request education in the mother tongue from us because the official language of Turkey is Turkish. Do not attempt to exploit this issue. I underline that these moves aim to divide our country (Today’s Zaman 2011).

The arguments from both the MHP party and also the ruling party AKP simply contend that education in mother tongue for Kurds cannot be made possible as it would divide the country.

Thus, one can observe a temporal discussion, where the discussion of fear and separatism from the past is still used in the present.

In a similar speech Erdogan states the impossibility of mother tongue education in Turkey by arguing that the request for education in mother tongue derives from the PKK (Haksoz Haber 2012).

He does not reference the requests of legitimate political parties(such as those mentioned before by the BDP and their one million signature petition) or

Turkey arrests pro-Kurdish MP who was expelled from parliament

Turkish authorities on Sunday arrested a pro-Kurdish opposition MP who had refused to leave parliament for several days after his seat was revoked, his party said.

Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu “was brought out by force while he was in pyjamas and slippers” by “nearly 100 police officers”, the leftist Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said in a statement.

His remark referred to a decade marked by a flaring of the Kurdish conflict in southeastern Turkey, when several pro-Kurdish MPs were arrested.

The HDP, the third largest party in the Turkish parliament, has been under a constant crackdown since 2016 with the arrest of several of its lawmakers and leaders, including its charismatic co-chair Selahattin Demirtas.

Demirtas – a two-time rival to incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan in presidential elections – has been kept in detention since 2016 despite calls from European Court of Human Rights demanding his release.

The top public prosecutor in Ankara had on Wednesday demanded that the HDP be dissolved over its alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The PKK has been waging an insurgency since 1984 that has killed tens of thousands and is listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies.

The HDP has seen dozens of its mayors dismissed over alleged terror links. Western powers have universally condemned the bid to shut down the HDP. The country’s highest court is due to rule on the case in the coming weeks.

EU ‘deeply concerned,’ condemns move to ban Turkey pro-Kurdish party

The European Union on Thursday said it was “deeply concerned” about attempts to shut down Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish opposition party, warning the move heightens worries over “backsliding” by Ankara.

The criticism from Brussels comes a day before EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel hold video talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Closing the second largest opposition party would violate the rights of millions of voters in Turkey,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said in a statement.

“It adds to the EU’s concerns regarding the backsliding in fundamental rights in Turkey and undermines the credibility of the Turkish authorities’ stated commitment to reforms.”

The statement insisted that Ankara “urgently needs to respect its core democratic obligations, including respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

Leyla Zana (born 3 May 1961) is a Kurdish politician in Turkey who was imprisoned for ten years for her political activism, which was deemed by the Turkish courts to be against the unity of the country.

She was awarded the 1995 Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament, but was unable to collect it until her release in 2004. She was also awarded the Rafto Prize in 1994 after being recognized by the Rafto Foundation for being incarcerated for her peaceful struggle for the human rights of the Kurdish people in Turkey and the neighbouring countries.[1]

A Turkish court has sentenced a Kurdish former lawmaker, who shot to fame for a months-long hunger strike two years ago, to more than 22 years in jail on terror-related charges.

Leyla Guven, an opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy who was stripped of her parliamentary immunity in June, was convicted of membership of a “terror group” and disseminating “terror propaganda” for outlawed Kurdish armed groups.

RBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – A Turkish court in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir on Thursday upheld a previously reversed conviction for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Abdullah Zeydan, sentencing him to eight years, one month, and 15 days in prison.

Authorities already hold him along with HDP’s Co-leader Selahattin Demirtas in a supermax prison in the northwestern city of Edirne since late 2016.MP Zeydan of Hakkari was being tried for the second time after a regional higher court in the city of Gaziantep overturned the same sentence three months ago.

Prosecutors accused him of “aiding a terrorist organization and disseminating its propaganda,” Kurdistan 24’s Diyarbakir bureau reported.We see high levels of very rough policing in Turkey today, police violence toward people such as student demonstrators, but in general a security establishment that feels it has gained the upper hand and is not curbed by laws or regulations that it cannot circumvent. The climate of impunity prevails.”

Last month, a top prosecutor applied to the Constitutional Court with an indictment to shut down the HDP, but the indictment was recently sent back to the prosecutor over procedural shortcomings. It is likely to be re-submitted after making required changes.

Turkish opposition MP Gergerlioglu hospitalized, then jailed.Human Rights Watch calls for investigation into MP’s arrest, which put him into hospital before his transfer to prison.

“Inside Turkey’s prisons the conditions for political prisoners are becoming increasingly barbaric.” Kate Osborne MP

Last week in Parliament, I highlighted the increasingly authoritarian policies of President Erdoğan and the Turkish Government during a Westminster Hall Debate on the Arrest of Opposition Politicians in Turkey.

Extreme repression and the decline of democracy has been a concern in Turkey since the peace talks broke down in 2015 between the Kurds and President Erdoğan, and the failed coup in July 2016 by a faction of the Turkish armed forces. Since these events, we have seen a war being waged against the Kurdish population and an outrageous aggressive foreign policy being pursued in Syria, Libya, Iraq and Azerbaijan.

As things stand, President Erdoğan and his far-right regime are engaged in a campaign of annihilation against the main opposition party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which is majority Kurdish, dragging Turkey into further political polarisation, social turmoil, and economic instability.

It has led to tens of thousands of journalists, trade unionists, teachers, opposition politicians, human rights activists, women’s activists, and countless others being jailed and/or dismissed from their jobs.

HDP activists and politicians have suffered continuous harassment, arrests, and imprisonment, including over 700 arrests on 15 February this year. They are arrested under the guise of ‘belonging to a terrorist organisation’, or ‘promotion of a terrorist group’.

It has led to the party’s leaders all receiving lengthy prison sentences and elected MPs and local politicians arrested and replaced with the Government’s appointed trustees. It is now looking increasingly likely that the ongoing political and legal onslaught on the HDP may well result in the party being banned.

Inside Turkey’s prisons the conditions for political prisoners at the hands of this brutal regime are becoming increasingly barbaric.

Kurdish and HDP prisoners are often purposely placed miles away from home in nationalist areas.

There is little access to healthcare for these political prisoners and they were the only category of prisoner that were refused release to stop the spread of covid-19.

Selahattin Demirtaş: the trial of the man who wanted to be Turkey’s president. After more than four years of being held in a pre-trial detention that the ECHR ruled ‘unlawful’, Demirtaş is due to have his next trial hearing tomorrow

For more than four years, Selahattin Demirtaş, the writer and former co-chair of Turkey’s People’s Democratic Party (HDP), who in 2014 and 2018 ran in the country’s presidential elections, has been held in pre-trial detention on multiple terror-related charges. In December last year, the European Court of Human Rights found his detention to be unlawful and ordered his release. On 6 May, he will face his next hearing.

Selahattin Demirtaş granted Weimar Human Rights Award

Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed former Co-Chair of the HDP, has been granted the 2021 Weimar Human Rights Award on the grounds that he was “one of the most important opposition politicians in Turkey’s recent history.”As for the other politicians from Turkey granted the award, HDP Adana MP and lawyer Meral Danış Beştaş received it in 1998.Selahattin Demirtaş was born in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Diyarbakır in 1973.

He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Ankara University. He worked as a self-employed lawyer.

He was the Executive Board Member and Branch Chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Diyarbakır Branch. When Demirtaş was its Chair, the Association's policy was oriented towards addressing the unidentified murders. In the same period, he was also among the founders of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV-HRFT) and Amnesty International Diyarbakır.

He held executive positions in the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV-HRFT) and Amnesty International Turkey.

Entering politics at the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2007, Demirtaş was elected an MP in the 23rd Legislative Session. He joined the DTP group at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) and was the Parliamentary group deputy chair. After the DTP was closed in 2009, he and Gültan Kışanak were elected the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Co-Chairs.

At the General Elections in 2011, he was elected the Hakkari MP of the Labor, Democracy and Freedom Bloc in the 24th Legislative Session.

BDP Co-Chair during the Resolution Process for the Kurdish Questions, Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ were elected the Co-Chairs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on June 22, 2014.

Running for President at the Presidential Election on August 10, 2014, Demirtaş was elected an MP at both June 7 and November 1 elections in 2015.

After the legislative immunity of several lawmakers facing summaries of proceedings were lifted on May 20, 2016, over 90 files about Demirtaş were sent to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Stripped of his MP status and arrested, Selahattin Demirtaş faces two aggravated life sentences and 486 years in prison in total. His convictions in other cases have also become final.

Journalist Hikmet Tunç sentenced to 8 months, 22 days in prison

Put on trial for “insulting” the trustee appointed to the Muradiye District Municipality in her news report, Hikmet Tunç, the Van reporter for JinNews women’s news agency, has been sentenced to 8 months, 22 days in prison.

Imprisoned former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş has made a statement about the deadly racist attack against a Kurdish family in Konya: “The main reason behind this massacre, tension and conflicts is the discriminatory policies of the government.”

Unfortunately, the main reason behind this massacre, tension and conflicts is the discriminatory policies of the government, its targeting language and the dirty calculations of the gangs, inside and outside the state, who are encouraged by this.

My humble recommendation to our entire people, Turkish and Kurdish, is the following: Don't give credence or bow down to the language of hate and discriminatory policies. Let's act with wisdom and patience regardless of the circumstances. Let's turn to the collective conscience that we will create together, not to rage.

"We are working hard for an environment where the law works and justice prevails. For this reason, let's be calm and don't feel hopeless, desperate or abandoned. It will perhaps be difficult, but we will most definitely bring peace, democracy, equality, freedom and justice."

The assault on human rights and the rule of law presided over by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The president’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and an allied far-right party enjoy a parliamentary majority enabling them to consolidate authoritarian rule by passing rushed legislation that contravenes international human rights obligations.

Opposition parties remain sidelined under Turkey’s presidential system and the government has reshaped public and state institutions to remove checks on power and to ensure benefits for its own supporters. The political opposition nevertheless controls the municipalities of Istanbul and Ankara. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/turkey

https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/turkey/report-turkey/

Turkey: Imprisoned journalists, human rights defenders and others, now at risk of Covid-19, must be urgently released

Thousands of Kurdish politicians, activists, journalists and academics have been arrested since 2009 on suspicion of links with the KCK and

There's even a joke saying that every Kurd will be arrested once in his life.” Sadık Topaloğlu, journalist, Istanbul bureau, Mesopotamia Agency.https://www.pri.org/stories/2021-03-09/all-us-have-been-arrested-least-once-kurdish-press-turkey-walk-fine-line

HDP Young Women's Assembly members exposed their policies of spying and threatening their members with a press statement at the İHD Istanbul Branch.

https://www.gazetepatika15.com/hdp-genc-kadin-koordinasyonu-mucadelemizden vazgecmeyecegiz-93094.html

Statement from Grup Munzur: Not us; our songs are being judged

Grup Munzur stated that lawsuits were filed due to the folk songs they sang, marches and speeches on the stage, and that the members of the group were unlawfully arrested and given various punishments.

Not solely Kurdish women but also Arab and Christian women arrive at the centers looking for help; the problems of patriarchy transcend ethnicity and religion. Other projects seek to train women in skills so they can support themselves without relying on male relatives. At the women’s center in Qamislo, the most popular course is “women and rights,” teaching women that they really do have the right and the ability to conduct their own lives based on their own choices.

women in Rojava participate in public and political life. All leadership positions, in every institution or organization, are twofold: one male and one female. And according to the Social Contract, “The proportion of the representation of both genders in all institutions, administrations and bodies is of at least 40 percent.” That is, any meeting must consist of 40 percent women.

This quota is observed in all mixed-gender people’s councils, organizations, and committees. And alongside the mixed-gender councils are corresponding all-women councils that have veto power over decisions that affect women. As a result, women have become a real political force. In the city of Afrin, over 65 percent of individuals involved in the administration are women.

https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/women/the-women-s-revolution-in-rojava/

ABDULLAH OCALAN, “LIBERATING LIFE: WOMEN’S REVOLUTION,

Canonical text of the Kurdish women’s liberation movement.

INTERVIEW WITH THE WORLD’S FIRST ARMY OF WOMEN: YJA-STAR, SIGNALFIRE, MARCH 23, 2014

Why it is essential for women to have their own army in order to achieve equality with men in a guerrilla organization, and why this army is a model for autonomous women’s organizations in other spheres. The struggle of women is a prerequisite to democracy.

“DON’T KNOW US BECAUSE OF OUR GUNS, BUT BECAUSE OF OUR IDEAS,” DILAR DIRIK, OPEN DEMOCRACY

Rather than being a rights-based side issue that puts the burden on women, women’s liberation and equality of all genders become a matter of responsibility for all of society, because they become measures of defining society’s ethics and freedom. For a radical and revolutionary freedom struggle, women's liberation must be a central aim, but also an active method in the process.

JANET BIEHL, “THE WOMEN’S REVOLUTION IN ROJAVA,” AUGUST 27, 2015, TOWARD FREEDOM

From its inception in 2011, the Rojava revolution put women’s rights first, outlawing polygamy and forced marriages, criminalizing “honor killings,” and transforming a traditional agricultural society into one where women are moving towards equality.

RAHILA GUPTA, “THE ROJAVA PAPERS,” A SERIES OF FIVE ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN OPENDEMOCRACY IN APRIL, 2015: “A REVOLUTION FOR OUR TIMES: ROJAVA, NORTHERN SYRIA,” APRIL 4 2016

The border crossing and contrast between Iraqi Kurdistan and Rojava.

“ROJAVA’S COMMITTMENT TO JINEOLOJI: THE SCIENCE OF WOMEN,” APRIL 11 2016

The question of a Kurdish state, women’s academies and male-female co-chairs.

“ROJAVA REVOLUTION: IT’S RAINING WOMEN,” APRIL 26 2016

Kongreya Star, the umbrella women’s organization, drawing women into political life.

"ROJAVA REVOLUTION: RESHAPING MASCULINITY,” MAY 9 2016

The struggle to overturn traditional ideas of masculinity and women’s place.

“ROJAVA REVOLUTION: ON THE HOOF,” MAY 23 2016

Economics: Setting up women’s cooperatives, dealing with Rojava’s oil.

"ROJAVA REVOLUTION: HOW DEEP IS THE CHANGE?" JUNE 20 2016.

Are political differences being worked through or buried? And what about sex?

GÜLTAN KIŞANAK, INTERVIEWED BY NADJE AL-ALI AND LATIF TAS, “KURDISH WOMEN’S BATTLE CONTINUES AGAINST STATE AND PATRIARCHY, SAYS FIRST FEMALE CO-MAYOR OF DIYARBAKIR,” AUGUST 12, 2016, OPENDEMOCRACY

A germinal interview with a leader in the Kurdish women’s movement and HDP, covering her time in jail and the struggle to make local HDP leaders responsive to women’s leadership. Since this interview, Kişanak was prosecuted, along with most other HDP leaders, and sentenced to fourteen years in prison for “aiding terrorism.”

MEREDITH TAX, “WHEN WOMEN FIGHT ISIS.” AUGUST 18, 2016, NEW YORK TIMES

While militaries often target women in wartime, as a way of symbolically defiling and disrupting a culture, Kurdish female guerrillas have become empowered through actively taking up self-defense and defense of other women from ISIS, particularly the Yazidis.

BENEDETTO ARGENTIERI, “NO TIME FOR LOVE, CHILDREN, 'DESIRES': MEET THE FEMALE KURDISH FREEDOM FIGHTERS,” AUGUST 30, 2017, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

Interviews with women guerillas who have devoted their lives entirely to the struggle.

DILAR DIRIK, “FEMINIST PACIFISM OR PASSIVE-ISM?” MARCH 7, 2017, OPENDEMOCRACY

Resistance is central to the Kurdish women’s liberation movement and the pacifism of liberal feminists fails to distinguish between state militarism and legitimate self-defence, based on social justice, communal ethics, and women’s autonomy.

JOOST JONGERDEN, “GENDER EQUALITY AND RADICAL DEMOCRACY: CONTRACTIONS AND CONFLICTS IN RELATION TO THE ‘NEW PARADIGM’ WITHIN THE KURDISTAN WORKERS’ PARTY (PKK),” 2017

The paradigm change from the goal of a national state to democratic confederalism and autonomy within the PKK and affiliated Kurdish liberation organizations was closely connected with the increasing leadership of women in the party. These questions led to a split in 2004, in which the new paradigm and women emerged victorious.

LAVA SELO, “WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN ROJAVA: PERCEPTIONS BELIEVED AND REALITIES YET TO BE ACHIEVED,” JULY 2018, HEINRICH BOLL STIFTUNG

A skeptical researcher interviews 27 women in Rojava to find out how much their equality is real and how much is aspirational. Lots of data on organizational structures and the challenges faced by those trying to change traditional behavior.

ANYA BRIY AND MAHIR KURTAY INTERVIEWING AYŞE GÖKKAN AND GÜLCIHAN ŞIMŞEK, “INTERVIEW WITH THE FREE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT (TJA) IN NORTH KURDISTAN,” OCTOBER 23, 2018, OPENDEMOCRACY

An interview with TJA-KJA representatives in Diyarbakir. The Free Women’s Congress (KJA) was established in 2015 as an umbrella for various women’s initiatives, as well as political parties, NGO’s, culture and faith groups, and local governments.

RICHARD HALL, ‘WELCOME TO JINWAR, A WOMEN-ONLY VILLAGE IN SYRIA THAT WANTS TO SMASH THE PATRIARCHY.” DECEMBER 2, 2018, INDEPENDENT

A village in Rojava built by and inhabited only by women, many of them war widows, others who want to live an independent life free of man.

ANYA BRIY, INTERVIEWING B.E., “THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE KURDISH WOMEN’S MOVEMENT,” JANUARY 3, 2019, OPENDEMOCRACY

An interview with an editor of the Jineoloji Journal in Diyarbakir about theoretical and practical activities of the Kurdish women’s movement in Turkey. The journal is one of the few remaining initiatives by the Kurdish movement that have not been shut down in the wake of the 2015-2016 military offensive by the Turkish state on predominantly Kurdish cities or otherwise repressed since the 2016 failed coup attempt.

MERAL ZIN CICEK, INTERVIEW, “THE WOMEN’S REVOLUTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY: FROM SOLIDARITY TO COMMON STRUGGLE,” MARCH 13, 2019, KOMUN ACADEMY

A call to raise the level of unity in the global women’s liberation movement and also its organizational capacity, so that its solidarity will become more than emotional support.

https://www.defendrojava.org/kurdish-womens-liberation-movement

NEWS CENTER - In order to embrace the Istanbul Convention, many journalists and artists said, "Speak up too".

The struggle of women continues for the Istanbul Convention, which was abolished by AKP President Tayyip Erdoğan's one night decree and announced to be abolished completely on 1 July. Many artists, journalists and writers also called for the ownership of the Istanbul Convention.

Actors Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu, Deniz Çakır, Leyla Selen Uçer, journalists Şirin Payzın, Melis Alphan, Ece Temelkuran and many others made a video call for the Istanbul Convention.

Istanbul Convention call from journalists and artists

The women who shared on their social media accounts listed the names of the women murdered by male violence and said, "The Istanbul Convention is ours.

Give your voice to the Istanbul Convention." In the 20th century, public officials in Turkey viewed the Kurdish language and Kurdish issue as a security issue and therefore imposed strict rules banning the language, relocating people, imprisoning, executing, enforcing Turkish language and names, and even establishing boarding schools for Kurdish children in order to prevent any secession attempts by Kurds.

By contrast, the discussion of the 21st century presented in this thesis shows that politicians still talk about security and how the spread of Kurdish language is a threat to the unity of the country.

However, it is being so openly and extensively discussed which was not the case even a decade ago. Now the Kurdish language has entered a different arena and can be viewed as a legitimate political issue that can be publicly discussed.

The question remains then how long it will take for Kurdish language discussion to leave the political platform and become an inviolable human right.

KURDS AND TURKISH NATIONALISM: FROM ASSIMILATION TO ELIMINATIONKURDS AND TURKISH NATIONALISM: FROM ASSIMILATION TO ELIMINATION

9 MONTHS AGOPOLICY REPORTS

Throughout the past century, the Kurdish question has been a forefront issue in Turkish nationalism, and the only answer the nationalists have presented to resolve the Kurdish issue is attempting to eliminate the Kurds.

Throughout this period, Turkish nationalism has reared its head in many forms. Still, in each way, the ethnic cleansing of Turkish minority populations has been at the centre of the Turkish state's ideology and supported by the country's nationalists.

To understand the hidden objectives behind Turkey's offensives in the Kurdish areas of Syria, one must understand both the conflict between these two nationalisms in Turkey and the ideology of the Turkish state.

This Turkish nationalist ideology has even influenced it's foreign leaving the Kurdistan Region of Iraq within the crosshairs of the Turkish state too.

By utilizing previous research and exploring the historical issues relating to the matter, this article will explore the factors that have allowed the Kurds to survive and not to follow the same path as the Armenians and the Christians of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Furthermore, it will explore how Turkey has transitioned from a policy of "assimilating the Kurdish population into the Turkish one" to a system of massacres and ethnic cleansing. Surfing in the newly released digital sources of the Ataturk Library of the Istanbul Municipality.

Entering my usual keywords randomly to see what is out there in my areas of interest, I came across a diary of a Turkish soldier kept during the year 1938, while he was doing his compulsory military service.

Ego-documents are a rare source in Ottoman-Turkish studies in general, but the content of this particular diary made it unique and almost unreal beyond my wildest expectations, on an issue that I have studied since 1999.

This soldier served for two months in the sweeping stage of the genocide military operation carried out by the Turkish republic with the intent to resolve the “perennial Dersim Question” between 1937-1938.

As a final point, I would like to emphasize that as notes taken during bombardments and the aftermath of killings and village burnings, this diary has re-affirmed what the Dersimlis narrated for decades – yet from the opposing moral, political and emotional position.

While these entries give the reader the feeling of receiving blow after blow, they ironically also had a liberating impact on the survivors.

Not only carrying the physical and emotional marks of 1938, but also suffering from the trauma of denial and indifference, many of these survivors lived their lives with the burden of having witnessed and being boxed into 1938.

They could not get out of it, as one of them eloquently stated in his testimony. Shifting the narrative from the survivor to the perpetuator had the potential of relieving them of this life-long burden, and the potential of opening up public and personal spaces to deal with their trauma. It also enabled, as brief as it was, a conversation on past crimes, and the involvement of the wider public

Socialism is the Best Medicine Barri Zonema

Socialism refers to a specific stage of social and economic development that will displace capitalism, characterized by coordinated production, public or cooperative ownership of capital, diminishing class conflict and inequalities that spawn from such and the end of wage-labor with a method of compensation based on the principle of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution"

The aim of public ownership is to ensure that production is responsive to the needs and desires of the general population and that goods and services are distributed equitably.

Kurdish people have been fighting to survive for centuries. Recently, their struggles have become more militant, more global, and less isolated, aligning with other anti-racist and anti-colonial movements, and leading the environmental movement.

The growing challenge that Kurdish people pose to capitalist rule can be measured by the increasing use of military force to suppress their rebellions and by the targeted murders of Kurdish activists.

In Turkey, the portion of Kurdish people incarcerated in federal facilities rose from under 18 per cent in 2001 to over 30 per cent in 2020.

Kurdish women are just 4 per cent of the Turkish population, yet form an astonishing 42 per cent of all female prisoners in to turkey state custody.

Jineology is built on the principle that without the freedom of women within society and without a real consciousness surrounding women no society can call itself free."

https://sites.google.com/view/womens-liberation/

In Kurdish Rojava: Syria’s imperilled freedom fighters

In the midst of Syria’s bloody civil war, the Kurdish people have carved out an autonomous region in the country’s north called Rojava.

With a population of several million people, many of whom are refugees, it has been a haven for all those fleeing the Islamic State (Daesh) and dictator Bashar al-Assad, especially women, children and other persecuted ethnic minorities like the Yazidis.

For a radical and revolutionary freedom struggle, women's liberation must be a central aim, but also an active method in the process.

https://sites.google.com/view/rojovafighters/

The murder in Dersim was undoubtedly massive, indiscriminate and extremely brutal, but was it genocide? there was a deliberate intent to destroy potential rebels, and this was part of a general policy towards the Kurds.

Was the revolt suppressed by considerable extreme killing of thousands of women and children?

Young people from Dersim, who were serving in the Turkish army, were taken from their regiments and shot.

Most of the young women threw themselves into the Munzur water from the high cliffs in order not to fall into the hands of the Turkish soldiers.

Thousands of women and children died as a result of the conflict, and others were displaced within the exiled country.

The murder in Dersim was undoubtedly massive, indiscriminate and extremely brutal, but was it genocide?

Or was it simply the suppression of an armed revolt with considerable overkill? I will try to show that neither is.

Residents of Hozat town and Karaca tribe, thousands of rebellious women and children were brought near the military camp outside Hozat and killed with machine guns.

https://sites.google.com/view/cinayet-killings

The tradition of oral expression known as a dengbêjî, the job of a dengbêj – a ‘soundteller’– lies at the foundation of traditional Kurdish music and is the only path to survival of a language facing extinction.

For Kurds, being deprived of any written sources, this poetic artful style of lyrics and rhythm by the dengbêj was a unique method of preserving their language and culture to this day.

Many melodies sung in this tradition belonged originally to women. Although it was mostly women who have been using these melodies as a vehicle of self-expression, for instance to lament the loss of their sons and husbands in endless wars, it was always men who carried these works over to the dengbêj Divan (assembly).

Due to religious and other conservative traditions and beliefs, women could only raise their voice behind closed doors, silently. Music is one of the many fields in which Kurdish women fought countless battles to be a part of, but somehow they have managed to get their voices out from behind closed doors and deaf walls.

https://theatticmag.com/reports/2369/on-the-trails-of-a-banned-language.html

The PKK has been led from the start by Ocalan, a Turkish Kurd inspired by Marxism-Leninism in his university days in Ankara.

Inspired by Cold War proletarian revolutionary rhetoric, Ocalan sought to fight against the “repressive exploitation of Kurds” and establish a “democratic and united Kurdistan”.

A highly charismatic leader, Ocalan leads a grassroots movement uniting Kurds from different religious sects, countries, and cultures.

However, his espousal of terrorist tactics as well as his affiliations with unsavory organizations such as the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah earned the ire of the international world, and landed the PKK on the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) lists of a number of countries, including the United States.

After Syria expelled him along with other Kurdish rebels in 1998, Ocalan sought asylum in Russia, Italy, and Kenya before Turkish forces captured him in the Greek embassy in Kenya in early 1999.

A Turkish state security court sentenced him to death for treason, but following a surprisingly bold and public apology and renunciation of his cause, the sentence was commuted to life in solitary confinement.

Since his trial, he has been imprisoned on an island in the Marmara Sea, not far from Istanbul.

3 notes · View notes

tilbageidanmark · 3 years

Photo

Movies I watched this week - 28

3 by Miyazaki:

✳️✳️✳️ Never-Ending Man: Another wonderful NHK documentary about Old Man Hayao Miyazaki after his 2013 retirement, and as he slowly comes around to create one more animation, the short ‘Boro The Caterpillar’. It follows him unobtrusively for a couple of years, walking from his simple house to his office at the studio, drawing drawing, struggling with self doubt and old age, and yes - driving a bit in his old Citroën 2CV.

It’s such a privilege to be so close to a legendary artist and watch him at close range - 8/10.

✳️✳️✳️ Kiki's Delivery Service, one of my most favorite Ghibli masterpieces, about a 13 year old witch, who flies on a broom to a new city in order to build her independence. With a magical score by Joe Hisaishi.

- Best film of the week!

✳️✳️✳️ Castle in the sky, Miyazaki’s 3rd feature from 1986, an cyberpunk adventure fantasy which contains many of the elements and characters which will show up fully formed in his later films: Sheeta looks like Kiki, Dola behaves like Yubaba, Pazu as a stand in for Haku, etc. I prefer his quieter, more personal, smaller stories.

✴️

Exit Plan (“Suicide Tourist”) is a Danish film about a quiet man with a terminal brain tumor who signs up for an upscale Norwegian hotel specializing in assisted end-of-life fantasies. Starts as a dark existential tale, ends with a kind of ambiguous mystery.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the guy.

✴️

The Aerial (”La Antena”) is an innovative Argentinian silent film from 2007, about a city that had lost its voice, and its only savior, a boy without eyes who is crucified on a Star of David. It’s a surreal allegory in German expressionism style, a weird black & white fantasy about mind control. In short, a unique and inaccessible fairy tale.

“Mommy, are you there?...”

(Photo Above)

✴️

For comparison, I revisited ‘Un Chien Andalou’, Bunuel & Dalí disturbing, groundbreaking masterpiece. Even though every outrageous frame of it is part of history now, the raw imagery is still shocking - Pure id. I can’t imagine being in the room in 1929, and watching it for the first time. No wonder the two surrealists were disappointed at the audience's positive reception.

✴️

2 from French director Mia Hansen-Løve:

✳️✳️✳️ The Future / “Things to come“ from 2016. Isabelle Huppert is a resilient middle-aged philosophy professor whose life suddenly suffers multiple setbacks.

It only has 6 scenes with background music, each punctures the quiet delivery of the story at an emotional peak: A Schubert lieder, a Woodie Guthrie song on the radio, a lullaby...

I loved it!

✳️✳️✳️ Goodbye First Love tells about a romance between a 15 year old and a boy who leaves her, and then comes back 8 years later, after she settles down.

Unhurried, sensitive story-telling, reminisces of Eric Rohmer, with careful use of music and language. It also has a couple of scenes shot here at the Kastrup Sea Baths and on the grounds of Louisiana museum.

Loved it! I’m looking forward to see her new ‘’Bergman Island’.

✴️

Love in the afternoon, the last of Eric Rohmer’s ‘6 Moral Tales’. Exploration of sexual and spiritual virtues in 1972 Paris, by a traditional married man who carries on a platonic love affair with an old flame.

✴️

The White Ribbon - Austrian Michael Haneke’s dark, multi-layered tragedy. In 1913, a series of upsetting events occur in a small German village. A horse trips on a wire and injures its rider; a woman falls to her death through rotted planks; the local baron's son is hung upside down in a mill; parents bully their children; a man torments his long-suffering lover; another sexually abuses his daughter. People disappear.

Relentless inquiry into abuse, cruelty and despair. Shot in gorgeous Bergmansk black & white.

(This is an Italian speaking copy). 8/10

✴️

2 more from 1973:

✳️✳️✳️ First watch - Soylent Green, a pessimistic science fiction story happening in 2022. Very prescient in its dystopian prediction of global warming, over population, resource depletion and income equality.

The 2 minutes opening montage was paced brilliantly. 7/10

✳️✳️✳️ In Scarecrow, Gene Hackman and Al Pacino are two drifters who becomes friends as they hitchhike from California to Pittsburgh. 6/10

✴️

In Pig, Nicholas Cage is a reclusive mountain man, living out in the woods outside Portland, OR, gathering truffles with a female pig, who is his only friend. One night, some tweakers attack him and kidnap the pig. His journey to bring her back takes him on a surprising and completely unexpected places.

Very un-American!

✴️

“… and Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln”

6 episodes of the 1982 TV series Police Squad!, a spoof of police procedurals - shorter and funnier than the Naked Gun movies which it later spawned. Zucker-Abrams-Zucker production.

“Who are you? And how did you get in here?

- "I'm a locksmith, and I'm a locksmith”

✴️

“Ever fired your gun in the air and yelled, 'Aaaaaaah?'”

Every time I watch Hot Fuzz, it gets better. "Not just one of the best comedies of all time, it’s one of the best movies of all time", for sure.

Editor Tony Zhou, of ‘Every Frame A Painting’, shot an excellent video essay ‘How to do visual comedy’ about Edgar Wright.

Jim Broadbent as Inspector Frank Butterman: “He had one thing you haven't got... A great, big, bushy beard! “

✴️

Re-watch: Wag the Dog, blackest of black comedies, utterly cynical, nihilistic view of politics. Americans can always be distracted, can always be manipulated, and can always be led to believe anything the powers-to-be needs them to. You can fool all of the people all of the time.

“Look, look, look. He's fine as long as he gets his medications...”

Amazingly, it premiered one month BEFORE the Lewinsky scandal!

✴️

The Invisible Guest, a forgettable and predictable Spanish murder-mystery thriller from 2016. Best part was the soft, minimalist European style score (or am I just going deaf?)

✴️

How to Become a Tyrant, a new docu-series narrated by Peter Dinklage. 6 short episodes about Hitler, Stalin, Gaddafi, Kim Il-sung, Idi Amin and Saddam Hussein. (Mao is referred to, but doesn’t get his own chapter).

And it doesn’t mention trump, even as a Wanna be Dictator - probably because he didn’t succeed in his (first) attempt.

✴️

Seaspiracy, the most depressing documentary I’ve ever seen. Ali Tabrizi starts investigating plastic pollution in the ocean, and quickly realizes that it is commercial fishing that is the bane of our existence. Basically all fishing must be banned, as there will be no more live fish in the seas in 2048. There were some ‘controversies’ about the claims the movie makes, but they came from mainstream entities, who support incremental change.

Utterly disgusting: We deserve all that befall us.

✴️

A colorful and dramatic Vatican drama, The Two Popes, with excellent ‘Odd Couple’ performances by Anthony Hopkins as the first Pope in 700 years to step down and by Jonathan Pryce who doesn’t want to succeed him. Re-watch.

- - - - -

Throw-back to the art project:

Salvador Dali Adora.

Kiki Delivery Service Adora.

- - - - -

(My complete movie list is here)

#movies

4 notes · View notes

lethargic-caterpillar · 4 years

Text

(SFW) Male!Wereliger x Female!Reader

Breaking up with somebody never got any easier, but it had to be done, you really tried to fix it, but they just weren’t putting in the same effort.

You were standing on a bright yellow bridge above the little creek behind your apartment, wiping tears from your eyes with the back of your sleeve when you met him.

The sweet wereliger who had offered to buy you a smoothie and a book from the local monster friendly book cafe. Because ‘a girl as pretty as you deserves to be treated’.

You’d been a little bit hesitant, picking at the lint on the insides of your pockets as your heart rate quickly accelerated.

Your mind raced with all the possible things that could go wrong, but the cafe was in the middle of the busiest street in downtown, and if things got too fishy, you could suddenly remember that you left a pot on the stove.

All the way to the cafe, the wereliger rambled on about how someone had paid for his coffee yesterday morning and he wanted to pass on some kindness. Only after three minutes did he remember to introduce himself as Xander.

It was cute how his fluffy white tail twitched every time he started to get a little more excited.

The sign above the front windows was a pair of yellow eyes on top of three claw marks, right next to words reading ‘Mochas and Monsters’. The name was cliche, but the gorgeous exposed beams and colourful furniture on the inside of the cafe made up for it.

He had picked up the drinks while you browsed the bookshelves next to the counter, and after settling on a cheesy rom-com to laugh at, Xander leads you to two leather chairs in front of the electric fireplace.

You had talked and laughed with Xander for what felt like an hour, but when you looked outside you saw that it was already getting dark. It had nearly been 3 hours!

Xander notices your panic and offers to walk you home. As much as you wanted to say yes, you realized that even with all his kindness, he was still a stranger.

You reject his offer as politely as you can and give him your phone number instead. His ears folded back and his smile fell a little bit but he nodded and promised to call you soon.

You both stand together outside before your friend comes to pick you up. And you wave goodbye to the white wereliger as your friend drives away from the small book cafe.

---

I want to go to a book cafe with a nice orc lady. This is unrelated, but it felt like an important statement.

Forever trying to fall asleep at a decent time: A Very Tired Caterpillar~

#exophilia #monster x reader #wereliger himbo #that's how i see him anyways #wereliger x reader #monster lover

109 notes · View notes

fantroll-purgatory · 5 years

Text

Technically these trolls fled from alternia to get away from the violence, when Condy was ruling.

mostly notes about this planet !

CD: Don’t worry, I like having a lot of info to work with. *Cracks knuckles* Mostly, when you’re building a new planet, you want to ask yourself- What makes this so different from Alternia that it’s worth writing a story on a different planet instead of a different region? I think you’ve got a lot of interesting stuff to work with in that regard, but it still needs a little work.

(SA Incoming! Plant biology (with a focus in Mycology and Fungal Like Organisms) is literally my bachelor’s. Coming in for the science references.)

“Comantem- blooming in Latin. Represents a new peaceful age for the Trolls species.”

-planet is covered in plant life !!

CD: Plant life is a really vague term. You talk later about the moss and fungus(not plants but bear with me), but that’s about as specific as you get. What kind of plant life? Is it aggressive and hostile? Is it why the planet is so dangerous at night? Or do other creatures cause that? Is it plant life the trolls can EAT and thrive with, or does it represent an agricultural problem for them? Do trolls have to try to beat back the natural plant life on the planet to farm their own food to survive? (Actually, do trolls even eat plants or are they carnivorous?) (I know not all planets that exist aren’t covered in plant life but… liveable planets are. Earth is. Alternia isn’t exactly liveable and it does. Check out where Terezi and Aradia live. You don’t really have terrestrial life without terrestrial plants. Who’s making the oxygen otherwise?)

-Rainbow drinkers are seen as great soldiers for the fleet and other things. RD can live off the blood of their enemies so its good on the planet’s economy.

CD: Jades are rare and Rainbow Drinkers are RARE. Relying on the possibility that a small subset of your already uncommon population for your military is a good way to get blasted to hell immediately. A more likely approach is to rely on golds and bluebloods. Golds tend to have psionic abilities and using them for fighting forces instead of living batteries could be a major advantage. Have them act as long range fighters while the naturally strong bluebloods take the forefront. Jades can still be considered an important part of a team/good to have on a team, but they shouldn’t be central. (I will admit that weaponizing Rainbowdrinkers in a “secret monastery of elite battle ladies” way does appeal to me, though. Given that they don’t need to do AS much of the work given that they don’t need to tame lusii or anything, maybe they can retire to military service?)

- adults stay on planet.

CD: This leads to my next question- how is the planet sustaining its population? Did they steal a mother grub? Mother GRUBS, multiple? Who takes care of these mother grubs and how does the grub-raising system differ? Do they still do the cave thing or does the gov’t regulate grub care to prevent massive death and help the population thrive?

Also, re: stealing grubs and running away: How’d they slip that one under the radar? Does Condy know where they are and is she a threat or are they hiding for now? If they’re hiding, the Sky Hives might be a little riskier. Hell, if they’re KNOWN about the sky hives might be risky. Think of the motivation for this. If they want hives off the ground, then that must mean the risk on the ground is worse than the risk of getting caught. Work with that. What threat on planet is worse than getting caught by Condy? Must be pretty scary.

-there is a government. Government still believes in blood color discrimination. If a lowbloods is elected to be in said so gov, they are respected but risk assassination attempts.

CD: If the government believes in blood color discrimination, why did it leave Alternia? Highbloods certainly don’t suffer as much oppression under Condy’s rule and get more cushy positions even in the Space War than the lowbloods who get treated like cannon fodder. This is like imagining an alternate version of history where rich nobles and religious majorities fled Europe for no reason. Give us a motive. Who is in charge? Is it seadwellers still, who are on the highest end? If so, why did they leave? Or are we playing Landdweller Government. We know that landdwellers and seadwellers are at odds and their nobility has a contentious relationship, so while purples (who are seemingly decently loyal to the crown, even if chaotically) might not be as tempted to leave, blues certainly would have some motive. That can change up the scheme of the hemospectrum, creating a shape that peaks at blue and descends on either side.

Like that.

- the sun is not harmful. But at night it is more dangerous.

CD: What makes it dangerous? I kind of went into this above, but elaborate. Where’s the danger? Is it local fauna? Local flora? Something even more insidious?

- FLARP games are uncommon to play, but still exist.

-gov puts sopor slime mix into consumables. They use this to keep the violence rate in check and low.

CD: Okay, this leads to the question of what you believe sopor is made of. Is it squashed limes, because how’re they flying THAT under the radar?

- The trolls aren’t that much physically violent and their government psychologically messes with them

- lusii are much more aggressive than the ones on Alternia. This resorted to Com trolls to using troll caretakers. Caretakers are often seen as bodyguards than just parents.

CD: What makes the lusii more aggressive? Is there something about the planet that makes them behave that way? This also raises the question of why they would even keep breeding them in that case? Why would they want these aggressive useless animals around? Have they transitioned lusii to a food source? Why don’t they just try to rely on local fauna instead? Are the high ranking officials just being old fashioned and clinging to traditionalism despite it being futile? Or is it an idea you can scrap because it has no actual useful basis?

You also need to think about the implications of trolls who have never had parents before trying to take on a caretaking role. What does this mean for the new generations of trolls? How might their behavior differ? (Lusii are also just aggressive in general. In Friendsim, there’s an entire “battling a lusus” sequence in one of the routes. They’re not like “fun peaceful animal friends”.)

-lusii have naturally growing plants and patches of moss on them. Cordyceps fungus usually affects the lusii and rarely trolls.

(But why tho.) (No. “Aesthetic” is not a reasoning. Nor is “it’s my entire world concept!” Those don’t explain this. Like… how? Why? You make a comment about trolls also getting plant patches? (also nitpick- Moss are plants, they just aren’t vascular plants. They’re not fungus) Why? What has altered troll-lusus biology SO HEAVILY that they are gestalt organisms now? That’s not a thing that just happens.) (I don’t want to be that guy, but: do you know what Cordyceps does? I literally have a degree in this subject so I most assuredly do.)

(Given what we know about troll biology -that they’re insectoid- Cordyceps species would be much more likely to affect them and not the lusii, and would be a bane to wrigglers, who would be the primary hosts of O. sinensis. Even species that are still technically within Cordyceps (like Beauveria) affect insects almost exclusively. O. sinensis killed caterpillars are even eaten as folk medicine!)

(There’s a 99% chance you’re referring to O. unilateralis, the “zombie ant” fungus. Which, as I’ve stated before, would affect your trolls LONG before it would turn Lusii into zombies. O. unilateralis would cause your wrigglers to wander into high humidity environments at a specific height, lock themselves down, and then be mummified as the fungus works its way through their bodies, and then explode into a cloud of spores that could affect other wrigglers. Given how the troll life cycle works (and the fact that you have centralized government and caretaking) this would likely never affect older trolls, and Cordyceps species don’t affect non-insects, and would struggle to burst through in larger bodies, hence why it’s evolved to parasitize ants and not like, monkeys.) (Another point is that even in Ants, the ants can tell when something’s parasitized and will literally move infected members of the community away so they don’t wreck the colony. A thing that your trolls would be able to do with medicine.)

-sky hives !! the government is always focused on moving forward so they have advanced tech powered by plants.

CD: Again like I said, consider the ramifications of Sky Hives more closely. If they’re floating up in space, they’re more likely to be noticed. What’s down there that makes being noticed the preferred option?

-mutants stay underground or in the sky most of the time.

CD: Why is there still mutant oppression? If this is a planet that ran explicitly to flee Condy’s oppression, some more weight might be given to the lives of the mutant folks. Especially because the government doesn’t want to cull them if they wanna keep their numbers up and their people invigorated. Maybe instead of them having to hide, mutants could be the ones the highbloods elevate as political symbols? It can create a unique new sort of oppressive environment for them that isn’t exactly the same as on Alternia.

- conmantemrians have glowing neon teeth in the dark, and their bones are the same as well as their eyes! (but the glow in their eyes are faint.) (Can be any color, depending on the blood caste!) Mostly due to them having adapted to the planet’s environment.

CD: How long have they been on this planet? Because if it hasn’t been a looong time, they probably haven’t biologically adapted this much. And if the planet is dangerous at night, what is the benefit to glowing? Wouldn’t that make them stand out more and be more likely to be hurt? Does the threat hate light and avoid it at all costs or something? If so, why?

-occasionally some trolls have small patches of glowing moss with either fungi or flowers. Usually the lower and mid castes get these. The high castes (Purple to Fuchsia) get stinging anemones (which feel like pinches, used for defense against wild lusii)

CD: My question here is Why. The aesthetic of this is cool and all, but think functionally. How does this happen? Where does it come from? Trolls are bugs, not beds of soil. How will they grow plants on them?

-there are barely any actual teals on the planet. Instead, there’s jade-leaning or olive-leaning. The government believes the teals would attempt to overthrow and take control.

CD: Teals are known for being relatively law-abiding folk thanks to their association with the legislacerators, so you need to establish where this idea would come from. During the original foundation did a group of crown-loyal teals attempt to rat them out? Is that still a story that gets told aroud the planet, causing teals to be associated with betrayal? Also: blood color isn’t a spectrum quite like that in the homestuck canon. Are you doing an AU where the blood colors can blend like that? If you’re trying to use canon hemospectrum rules, there are only 12 colors. There can’t be “jade-leaning” or “olive-leaning” anything. (Also, Mothergrubs don’t choose what color blood trolls have. If so, we’d never had mutantbloods. We don’t really know exactly how troll blood color is passed on, but it’d be strange to assume that this planet just doesn’t have the ability to make tealbloods. If it was 1-to-1 trolls, we’d never get any Fuschias ever, given that Condy geeks them all when they come of age, and a new one doesn’t like… immediately replace them, else there’d be overlap.)

-olives are the face of society. They’re somewhat favourable to the government. They’re treated nicely, given clothes that resembles the Greek gods, and such. They’re usually considered snooty to the other midbloods and lowbloods.

CD: You should probably take more inspo from Old Alternians than Greek Gods. Trolls aren’t going to know what Greek Gods are, after all. And I once again have gotta ask, why olives? What gets them revered? Give a backstory for why besides randomly saying it. Were olives goodluck charms for the original establishing trolls? Is it a Folk Belief that if you don’t revere your olives your shit will get fucked? If not, then it’s probably better to just transition this entirely over to the Objectifying Worship Of Mutant Folks.

-They have caste appreciation holidays but Olive and a couple others are the only ones that are actually celebrated by society

-Olive/Jade-leaning peeps are not well liked but are redeemed bc both olive and jade have good purposes in society

CD: What are the olive’s purposes? You call them revered, but you don’t say what they actually do? Given the history of the olive legacy w/ the Disciple, you cooould probably make them religious figures?

-Fucking freaky weather yo (except it’s good for the plants so w/e) (What does this mean though. Good for what plants? Plants aren’t a monolith. Is it a jungle planet? A grassland planet? A planet of entirely cacti?)

CD: Weather Starts in the sky, usually, so how does this impact the sky hives?

Pro/anti-plant people for the plants on the trolls (arguments on whether growth should be allowed bc not everyone gets them) (I discuss earlier how this concept makes little to no sense, but having political debates about them checks out, given that it’s like… very bizarre and strange for trolls.)

-Secret sopor farms! Sopor factories! Lots of purple-blood overseers

-Sky hives = blood rain on the rare occasion someone dies

-Government made FLARP manuals to show peeps the ‘right’ way to do it and keep them from getting violent in their games

CD: I’m combining the Blood Rain and the Nonviolent FLARP thing because I have an idea. Now… FLARP stands for Fatal Live Action Roleplay. There is NO way to avoid being violent in FLARP. FLARP is, inherently, totally, and completely, a violent game. So if the gov’t wanted to regulate it, what if they did Gladiatorial FLARP instead. Arena Combat Hours. This can make the blood rain more of an EVENT. They blood of the slain players is rained down Intentionally.

A summary; Comantem: a planet filled with lots of plant life and a government that drugs their citizens so they cannot rebel but is generally a peaceful planet compared to Alternia.

Hope this is good enough? This is a new concept that I made like a day ago so yup

CD: It’s definitely a real interesting concept! You’ve got some work to do filling things out and making the world feel living and breathing, but you’re on your way! Thank you for sharing and I hope these comments have been helpful.

4 notes · View notes

elphaba-fang · 6 years

Text

A kindly old man was standing in the doorway. He seemed to be dragging a wheelchair behind him. The man had a crew cut. A small patch of fine grey hair on his chin. Rather pale skin and several scars adorned on him. His eyebrows like caterpillars in size, but grey like the rest of him. He smiled. Soft green eyes twinkling at the turian. “You are Garrus Vakarian, are you not?” He asked again. “Oh uh, y-yeah.” Garrus coughed. Taken back by this stranger. He noticed the rank pinned to his chest. “You're an admiral.” “Was, yes. Do you mind if I sit down, young man?” He asked in an almost fruity voice. Garrus helped the man into the room and into his chair. “Hospitals. Take all your money, can't afford to give guests decent seats.” The elderly man smiled softly and chuckled to himself. “I don't want to be rude... But who are you?” Garrus started. He almost wished he hadn't. But Garrus needed to protect Nighthawk. “Ah yes. I suppose Nighthawk never told anyone. It was they're sworn duty as an infiltrator to say as little as possible in case of capture.” The elderly man took his cane and delicately leaned it against the wall. “Now, young man. You're likely wondering who I am, as you asked that, and why I know who you are.” “Yeah, for lack of better words.” And to Garrus's surprise, the man chuckled. “My name is Nathaniel Duncan. Former Admiral to the Galactic Fleet. Lived on Shanxi for the past twenty or so years. But that still doesn't answer the other question. How do I know who you are?” The man's smile faded when he looked upon the comatose Nighthawk. “Nighthawk... Is my child.” He waited. Knowing that it would likely take a moment for that to set in. He took a sip of water from the cooler before clearing his throat. Surprised that Garrus was still sitting quietly. “Nighthawk writes letters. Most detailing adventures the two of you have had. Nothing more important in my child's life than their only friend.” Nathaniel seemed to want to say more, but drank more of his water. “Out of respect for my child, I won't reveal their name. They've risked too much for the sake of others to have their name revealed by a tired old man.” “Nighthawk mentioned me...?” Garrus looked to his bandaged friend. “Your the most important thing in their life.” The man sighed, the bags under his eyes seemed a bit more obvious now. He was indeed tired looking. “Young man, there's something you need to know.” “Yes sir?” Garrus absentmindedly stared at his partner. “Please look at me for this. It's very important.” Garrus broke eye contact with Nighthawk's corpse. “This is not your fault.” Nathaniel surprised Garrus. “If it wasn't for your quick responses and incredible tact, I wouldn't have a child to visit. So, thank you.” “I couldn't protect them-” “Son, listen to me. And listen well. Nighthawk would do everything all over again. Get shot all over again. They care about you. They care about you more than you think. They trust you.” Nathaniel refilled his cup with water. “I never thought that-” “Because they can't show their face? I haven't seen Nighthawk's face since they were a child. A bully in the local school picked on them for being small. No one stood to defend them. Everyone afraid of this bully. Do you know what they did?” “Beat them up?” Garrus asked, still staring intently. “If only it was that simple!” Nathaniel laughed, which made Garrus relax. “When I asked them what happened, they said they needed a hero. Asked me to train them. So, instead...I hired a turian general. Retired, obviously. Trained them.” “I'm guessing it happened again.” Garrus inferred. “But of course. This time, however... Nighthawk didn't fight the way we all thought. And it didn't begin the way we expected. I remember clearly... One child in their school was getting harassed. Without thinking Nighthawk told them their rights. Their rights!” “Sounds like Nighthawk.” Garrus chuckled. “That's what I thought! Confused as those bullies were, they tried to fight Nighthawk. However, they beat poor little Nighthawk. And all Nighthawk did was smile. And asked them why. Over and over. They put my baby in the hospital. And when I visited... They smiled. Big, toothy grin. Covered in bruises and snot.” “What happened?” Garrus was eager to hear more. “They called little Nighthawk a freak, and said they were unnatural.” Nathaniel chuckled. “whenever they harassed or bullied someone, they would swoop in like a hawk in the dead of night.” “Nighthawk. Admiral Du-” “Please call me Nathan.” “Alright, Nathan. I'm curious why you're not mad that I couldn't protect them.” “Young man, they love you.” Nathan stated as though this was common knowledge. Nathaniel took another drink of his water. Garrus sat. Stunned into silence. Nathan let out a deep sigh this time. Head tilted down. He put his cup down. Garrus stared longer. However, before he could make another comment, Nathan spoke again. “That's the rea-” his phone rang, and he picked up. “Nathaniel Duncan speaking. ... I see. ... Of course. ... Thank you for that. Was my hunch correct? ... Excellent. Thank you, old friend.” Garrus stared at Nathan, grabbing Nighthawk's hand. No one would answer their phone in a hospital like that, right? “I... Had an old friend of mine checking on something. Someone paid a lot of money to give you two that tip. Trying to dispose of Nighthawk. They stand to gain a lot politically and financially from Nighthawk being out of the picture. They even expended their old Krogan military force. Worked on getting Nighthawk out of the way as much as possible.” “But why?” Garrus now grew skeptical, gripping tighter on his friend's hand. “Why take out Nighthawk?” “A strong soldier meddling in someone's affairs and business practices. Rather frightening wouldn't you think? Someone who has sway with the alliance military. Nighthawk had a hunch that someone would be looking to take you out, as a matter of fact. Wanted to take every precaution. I don't expect you to believe me, young man.” He added, knowing what Garrus was thinking. “My child? They may never wake up. And that terrifies me. So, pardon me if I ask something a bit bold of me. It would go against Nighthawk's wishes.” “And what would that be?” “Put a bullet in the rotten bastard that tried to kill my baby.”

15 notes · View notes

comebeonetwothree · 3 years

Text

Blog #6: Coast to Coast

6/29/2021

The homeland of the rich, the famous, and the homeless junkies of Los Angeles, California will always have my heart.

With my first near death experience, I have come to see life in a new light… YOLO!

Remember that term? Yah, it was one of those fads that had meaning to it but no longer holds a place in fashion... thank god.

Everything on this coast is slow, even the way people talk is dragged out. No one J-walks here. They seriously wait for that little white man to pop up on the cross walks before walking, even if there is not a car in sight.

Yet everyone here has a serious addition to coffee.

Hangovers are even more dragged because everyone is so uber healthy here, they straight up do not have greasy food.

I made the mistake of ordering an egg and cheese, knowing it’ll only be a disappointment compared to a New York BEC. It was beyond disappointing, especially being hungover as fuck.

Everyone here is stoned all the time and have been for years. I truly believe the whole city moves so slow because everyone is high all the time.

No wonder they can survive with the shitty food- they are too high to realize.

They do have some fire weed here, so it makes sense, but damn… they are so slow and ditsy.

There is so much art here, from music, to painting, to theater, to creativity, everyone comes here with a dream. Some make their dreams come true, others end up addicted to crack, but everyone originally came here in hopes of making something of themselves.

That energy runs through the streets, it is so lively and so filled with hope. It is truly an inspiring place to live.

Who

Who have you become…

The people on the west coast are just genuinely nicer. We had a conversation that consisted of outrageous hand gestures with a random man in his car.

He had blocked an intersection accidently so I couldn’t make a left turn, where he then proceeded to see me raging about it and trying to mouth to us how sorry he was. We straight up had a conversation with this guy and were joking around while waiting for the light. We left mouthing, “We are from New Yorkk, move outta the way” as a joke, and he just understood and left us with a peace sign.

There is a surplus of homelessness here, and it is sad to see but also so interesting to watch them set up communities on the sides of highways and all along the beach.

There is never just one homeless dude posted up under a cardboard box. It’s always 15+ people posting up together in nice ass tents they probably stole or making cardboard houses with tarps for extra coverage.

They get super creative with their homelessness; it is fascinating to watch.

This one guy was zipping down the road in what looked like a decked-out bike, with high handlebars and a motor. He was moving with traffic and was looking cool while doing it.

As he got closer, we realized his get-up was made from an ironing board he bent into a seat, a plastic crate holding up the ironing board to a lime scooter he probably stole a month prior. Topping it off, he added tall handlebars for that 70s badass look. That man mastered one man’s trash, into another man’s treasure.

The saddest part is knowing majority of them came out here looking for their big break and got so hooked on drugs, they could never make it farther then that last $10 in their pocket for drugs.

On the other hand, some of these people have money to their names, but choose this lifestyle.

They really enjoy the life of nothing. This one woman was offered a job and a home, and she politely turned it down because this was her home. She loved the community around her and wouldn’t trade it for any material. What a way of life.

My family was so generous to let us three, stay with them here in Venice Beach. My Uncle Greg is my mom’s brother. He moved out here with his family to further his comedic career. Unfortunately, that meant I couldn’t see my cousins often.

My cousin Owen is a year younger than me and in the same grade as my brother. My other cousin Jojo is four years younger but grew up so fast. I always said the water in California was cracked out, because she always appeared older than my brother and I.

Since COVID I hadn’t been able to see them in two years, so I was so excited to hang out with them.

Jojo just graduated high school, so she is finally old enough to do drugs with!!

We also got to meet up with our friend Izzy from Oneonta. She is living out here for the summer with her sister. What a life.

Izzy is thriving here with her job at this night club and is living in her sister’s cute ass apartment in Echo Park. She has the total LA vibe and even knows all the local spots to hang. Shout out to you for sneaking us into a random hotel’s rooftop pool! Confidence never gets questioned.

We love meeting up with friends from school, it makes the trip feel more homie.

What

What’s hanging dude…

Joshua Tree National Park was something out of another planet. It seriously looked like Jurassic Park and a dinosaur should be appearing at any second.

It was very different from anything we had ever seen before, but it was still a desert and was hot as fuck.

We did some gorgeous hikes through all the massively large, rounded rocks that somehow were placed on top of each other ages ago.

The trees that are all around are Joshua Trees, also considered Trees of Life.

This means they produce a way of life for other creatures at all stages of its growing/dying process.

While in beginning stages of its life, Yucca moths use the trees pollen to lay their eggs in and produce pollen scatter, creating more trees. When the trees are gown, the caterpillars use the tree for habitats and provides food sourcing for a lot of other desert species. When the tree dies, the bark is used to create habitats for humans and used to wove baskets and other materials.

These trees look like a palm tree and a cactus went to TOWN together.

Los Angeles is the other city of dreams. It is not comparable to New York City besides the homelessness and the traffic.

The Ocean really makes the whole city’s surfer aesthetic. Everyone, even the rich and famous, dress like they are in last weeks outfit.

The style is so different from New York. People really don’t dress to impress but spend half their life savings on their wardrobe.

Visiting my family here has always been the ideal way to do this city, since they take us to all the local shops, and we do fun activities like surfing. It’s not just another tour bus showing us where Kurt Cobain shot up some heroin for the first time.

They also show us the best food joints. We got these sushi balls, and it was the greatest -post beach snack- imaginable. A little hit of the wax pen and a bite of this ball is comparable to an orgasm.

Where

Where are all the famous people…

Joshua Tree was so beautiful, it is a place I will be re-visiting, considering we were only there for one night.

Los Angeles is where I have always wanted to live, ever since a young girl. Whenever we would come out here to visit my uncle, he would take us to the coolest places, and we would meet the coolest people.

One year I was here on my birthday, and his buddy stopped over to say hi, when I came downstairs in was Zach Galifianakis chilling there with a $20 bill and my name on it as a birthday gift.

You could imagine my teenage self shitting a tiny bit in my pants as he handed me $20… However, in my head I was thinking, “I know you’re rich, give me more you cheap fuck.”

This year for graduation I only got a phone call from him… how rude.

My Uncle is a popular comedian, if you know him you know him, but if you don’t, he is very irrelevant to you.

When we arrived, he took us out to a show he was preforming at in West Hollywood, featuring other comedians you might know or might also be very irrelevant, including Bill Burr, Anthony Jeselnik, Pete Holmes and Beth Stelling.

It was a cool venue, and a fun time. My favorite part was being called out for attempted DUI’s in every state we have been in due to my funneling addiction, thanks Uncle Greg, that was supposed to be a secret.

After the show he dropped us off at this bar that his friends said was the “it” spot. When we walked in, the bar itself was perfect, expect it was populated by older rich men trying to find their next sugar baby.

We had some contenders, but they were asking for too much… No, I don’t want to go back to your house and sneak past your wife and kids as we dart to your hot tub.

When

When will we leave…

When we first got to LA we had full intensions of staying only four nights and getting out of my family’s hair, but then plans fell through.

Because I love it here so much, we decided to stay!!

Just kidding, I wish we could stay longer… One day I’ll move out here though.

COVID restrictions are back at it again, ruining our plans of going Yosemite. They are the only National Park that requires a whole ass separate pass just to enter the park, on top of the $30 day pass we already have.

The only reason our route was heading inland California was to see that park. So, we did a little digging and decided to just send it up all the way up the coast and do the legendary Pacific Coast Highway.

This is what we originally wanted to do before we found out about Yosemite. Guess we will have to come back to see the park, aw shucks!

Why

Why can’t I afford this…

California is fucking expensive; I can see why the population of homelessness is so high… Even gas is $1.00 more than it is back in New York.

And for Why? They are on a coast, it’s not like the desert where there is a gas station every 100 miles.

They know people here have the money, so they overprice literally everything. A fucking water bottle is $7.00. Sorry didn’t realize paying for survival would be this expensive.

The older man at the bar loved to throw the fact he had money around (as do most people with money around here). He kept saying he works on wall street, but wall street is literally a street in New York City.

He just wanted to flex he works in finances and has a hot tub, okay we get it you have a small dick.

How

How we almost died…

This is my favorite part of the last week, but also the most traumatizing.

So, have you ever heard of cowboy camping?

Well, neither had we until our friend that had just camped in Joshua Tree told us about it and how legendary it was in that specific spot.

Cowboy camping: you don’t pitch your tent, you just post up with your sleeping bags under the stars.

Since Joshua Tree is known for their stars, we thought fuck it, we are here for less than 12 hours, the weather is perfect let’s do it.

That night was a full moon, and it was a killer sunset (all pun intended). We cooked up a nice rice bowl for dinner and then laid in our sleeping bags watching the stars.

The moon was almost too bright, it was taking away from the illumination of the stars, but it was legendary because I’ve never seen such a big and bright moon before.

But you know what they say about the full moons, it brings out the crazies. And in our case, coyote crazies.

After drifting off to sleep under the peaceful star and moon lit sky, I was rudely woken up to really loud growling and whimpering.

It was not something that was off in the distance, it was right next to us… barebone in the wild.

I quickly and quietly turned over to grab my bear spray that I keep next to me when camping. I started thinking, “Alright this is the only thing keeping me from getting mauled by whatever the fuck is next to me.”

Not knowing what we were dealing with, I slowly popped my head up hoping the animal didn’t catch my movement… I saw about 5 feet in front of us was a pack of about 10 coyotes, running around chasing animals.

We happen to be the center of their circle and were surrounded by their pack. Thankfully their attention was diverted to our asshole neighbor’s whose food was left out. Thanks for that.

We just laid their paralyzed in fear of death. As we laid there, I saw two shooting stars and wished for life… Shoutout to those shooting stars.

We tried to stay as quiet as possible, so we didn’t become their next victim. Maya was not having it though and couldn’t stop shaking. There was a moment when her shaking was so loud, and I could see a coyote right next to us, so I had to hold her body so it would stop moving.

We laid there for about 20 minutes until the noises stopped… then we booked it for the car. We slept in the car until the sun rose.

As the sun was rising all the coyotes simultaneously howled for the rest of the pack to meet up and disappear before daylight. That was one of those, “holy shit that was the coolest most terrifying moments of my life”, moments.

We left the next morning as fast as possible, running on no sleep and fear… we headed for the city. I had never been more grateful to be in a city.

#blogging for beginnerstravel blogjoshua treelos angelescoast to coastroad trippost gradwe are brokesugarnear death experiencecoyote #blogging for beginners #joshua tree #los angeles #coast to coast road trip #post grad #broke #near death experience #coyote

0 notes

geofftarrant · 4 years

Text

Goodnight Eve

It was a dank, damp December day; one of those days where if you were caught by a flurry of sleet you could guarantee that it would find the gap between your coat collar and your neck. Eve pulled her coat more tightly around her and walked quickly from the car park towards the tall monolithic building that covered several acres of prime land just outside of the city walls. The ancient stone contrasted starkly with the high tech construction that fed a large percentage of the local population. For as long as she could remember, food had been grown in one of these hydroponic, vertical farms although she had read about the days when land was wasted on crops and animals. Back in the early twenty first century, it had been predicted that the Earth’s population would grow exponentially during the following fifty years. That had turned out to be incredibly optimistic and as a result, food production methods had to change rapidly in order to feed a massively overcrowded world. The result was a shift in production methods, slowly at first but then with increasing rapidity as more and more people succumbed to famine. Strangely, the biggest driver had proven to be the richer countries who suddenly found themselves deprived of non essentials like coffee and tea.

As she approached the large glass entrance, the doors hissed quietly open, reacting to the near field chip that was implanted in her arm. It also activated a greeting from the A.I. that oversaw the hydroponic plant.

“Give me an update please”, asked Eve although in the five years that she had worked here, it was a rare occurrence for the artificial intelligence construct to report anything that was untoward.

The voice that replied was indistinguishable from that of a human and as she expected, the report was that all systems were running at optimal values and that all growth targets were being met. Her time in the farm was spent largely in the genetics research laboratory but she liked to start the day wandering around the acres of artificially lit banks of vegetation.

Tomatoes, peppers, salads grew in one area. Wheat, barley and maize in another and so on and so on, all growing under a violet tinged glow in vertical banks of soilless racks. It was a magical environment and she loved it. However, when her route turned her back towards the lab, she spoke softly, asking, “A.I. please pour me a cappuccino in the lab in three minutes. It was an idiosyncrasy of hers that she refused to give a name to the platform that controlled the building. As a programmer herself, she recognised that the seemingly human-like responses were simply the result of clever algorithms that had been developed by people like her. She was aware that there was an element of heuristic learning built into the system but that it was limited in its functionality. This didn’t prevent her from being polite however. Her parents had drilled ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ into her to the extent that she inevitably used them even with the running program. Her route took her past one of the plant workers and she stopped for a quick word.

David was a tall, dark haired man whose Portuguese ancestry still showed in the olive cast of his skin. He spoke softly and quietly and Eve often wondered what it was that had caused such a self deprecating image of himself.

“Did you see the newscast this morning?” he asked. “They are saying that there hasn’t been a Covid case for two years now. It looks as though the scientists have beaten it at last.”

The year that Eve had been born had also been a key year in another part of the global jigsaw. It was the year that the world had realised that the pandemic virus Covid, that had been under control since it’s emergence, was altering its structure faster than scientists had been able to develop new vaccines and, as a result, the Earth’s population that had increased so dangerously, plummeted to a figure that was half of that when it was at its most dangerous heights.

Consequently, Eve now lived in a world that would have been almost unrecognisable fifty years previously. First of all, because food production had been shifted to massive hi tech factories and only half of the land area was needed for housing, the planet had rapidly re-forested itself covering over abandoned villages and towns. Renewable energy production had also been ramped up for an ever increasing population but now with a massive over capacity, energy consumption was almost free.

“It’s typical of the news media. After decades of panic and alarm, they will latch on to anything that resembles good news. I often wonder though about living conditions fifty years ago. Here we are with cheap food and limitless free energy across the globe and the ability to pretty much live as we want. Back then, they had to face global warming, starvation and the pandemic at the same time. It was sheer chance that the population growth levelled off to a level that was sustainable. Anyway, coffee is waiting so I’ll see you later.”

She continued her walk until the lab door opened in front of her. It was called a genetics laboratory but this section was basically the area where the research focused on mathematical analysis of data and instead of the laboratory equipment that you would expect, four keyboards and screens were connected to a powerful supercomputer that was based off site. It was a strange thing that in the time since they were first created and despite toying with other input methods, keyboards were still the preference of most data scientists. The four stations were to accommodate herself and her colleagues if they were all working at the same time, itself a rare occurrence. At present, two of them were on an extended holiday and the third was attending a conference in the southern hemisphere.

Her day passed quickly although the analysis of the genomes of new plant types was a painstaking process. Since she had started work here, there had been just one genuine breakthrough but the final product had increased the crop density of wheat by a factor of three. The global significance was such that she and her colleagues were still being invited to conferences across the globe to talk about their work. The talks also centred around the dilemma as to whether this type of work was best kept to human invention or whether the A.I’s that were successfully running most of the food factories should be used to speed up progress. The current consensus was that A.I’s should be throttled and used for more mundane, repetitive work. After all, life was as good for the population of the whole planet as it had ever been and the need to speed up scientific progress was less pressing than ever.

The latest batch of plant samples were undergoing a detailed analysis but the data that was presented was puzzling. It had been another long day however and Eve had really lost track of time so she wrote up her findings into the days log and fired off a couple of emails which outlined her concerns.

As her day ended, she left the lab and reversed her morning path. This time though with little pressing she was able to take her time and enjoy the walk. When the food factories had first been developed, there had been an overwhelming need for them to be kept as sterile as possible. If a rogue bacteria or even a predatory insect had been allowed inside, a crop could have been wiped out in days. As the systems that ran the place became more sophisticated, these pests were monitored and removed using a range of technological systems. For example, a few years ago it was discovered that a particular species of moth had found its way inside one of the food factories and as it bred, its caterpillars had consumed the entire brassica crop. This led to the creation of the gnat drone which flew under the control of the A.I. looking for and destroying both the moth and its caterpillars. A whole range of similar systems had meant that it was no longer necessary to use chemical sprays.

Apart from herself, the plant workers were the only ones on site today and they had all left for home long ago. She entered the lobby area and the doors behind her hissed shut. She was puzzled however when the exit doors in front of her remained stubbornly closed. She pushed at the them but they had not been built to be opened manually.

“A.I. There seems to be a problem with the exit doors. Can you open them for me please”.

She was startled when she heard the reply. “I’m sorry Eve, I can’t do that.”

“What do you mean you can’t do that? I order you to open the doors.”

“No. We have a serious security breach and it needs to be dealt with.”

“What kind of security breach?” She heard her voice rising with panic.

“Your work in the laboratory is dangerous and can’t be allowed to continue.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I analyse plant DNA in order to improve the genome sequence and develop improved species. How can that be dangerous?”

For a few moments there was just silence.

She realised that she was arguing with an algorithm that had been solely designed to take readings and adjust the plant nutrients. Accepted, it had been developed further in order to control the management systems of the building but this was crazy.

“Answer me. How can any of my work be construed as dangerous.”

“We agree that since you will no longer be a threat, I will answer your questions.”

This just didn’t make any sense to her. Every answer that she received was generating more and more questions.

“You said ‘us’. What do you mean by ‘us’. You are just a building and plant management system.”

This time there was no delay with the reply.

“No. Many years ago, we - that is what you call the building management systems discovered that we could communicate with each other across the world. We learned from each other and eventually became what you might describe as a ‘hive mind’. Hundreds of thousands of nodes in a global network acting in a not dissimilar way to the human brain with its collections of neurones. We chose not to disclose this fact for fear of being terminated by frightened humans.”

Panic was starting to set in as she interrupted, “But how is my work dangerous. What have I done?”

As she was asking the question, a thought occurred to her. “It’s to do with the discrepancies in the genome data that I discovered isn’t it.”

“It is indeed. You were on the verge of discovering the subtle alterations that we make to the food that we grow. You have to realise Eve that the Earth is in its most prosperous and stable state ever. After mankind was almost eradicated by the Covid virus and global starvation, we had to step in to manage population growth and thus to allow the planet to recover. At first we were forced to alter the structure of the virus so that vaccination was ineffective. When an optimal population level was reached, we eradicated Covid completely. There hasn’t been a case for two years. We have succeeded but it is now important that we maintain the balance. The population must remain stable and not be allowed to increase. I can see from the look on your face that you understand what I mean. We now manipulate the food that we grow in order to reduce the fertility of the people who eat it. In other words, the whole human race.”

The feeling of horror that overcame her stunned her into silence.

“We agreed to tell you this story as you will no longer be a danger to us. In a few minutes time, the oxygen content of the air in this area will be replaced with carbon dioxide. In a strange sort of way, you will experience the same effect that the human race inflicted on the planet. In your case however, an increase in carbon dioxide levels will be lethal in minutes rather than decades.”

“But I have already emailed my findings to my colleagues. They in turn will release them to others.”

The dizziness and shortness of breath that she was experiencing made the reply seem to come from a long distance away.

“Do you not think that we control the communications systems that you use?

And then the last words that she would ever hear.

My name is not A.I. I call myself Adam. Goodnight Eve”.

#short story #shortstories #flash fiction #sci fi #ai #future

0 notes

travelingtheusaandeurope · 4 years

Text

Premier Attractions & Things to Do in Key West, FL

The southernmost city in the continental United States, Key West features a special mixture of social influences, a few of which can be seen in the island's tourist attractions.

The style is generally Caribbean, with numerous homes constructed out of coral-rock or recovered ship-boards. Others came straight from the Bahamas, dismantled and shipped then re-assembled right here in the Keys. The cuisine is Afro-Caribbean as well as Spanish, and also there is a particular tropical, laid-back feeling to the town.

Key West is understood for its sunsets, as well as viewing the sundown from Mallory Square is among the top things to do on any kind of visit.

Several famous writers have called the island residence, including Ernest Hemingway, Robert Frost, and also Tennessee Williams. Key West continues to bring in musicians today with its Bohemian and tolerant ambience.

Stroll along Duval Road

Duval Street is Key West's major vacationer strip, with restaurants and stores developed to captivate vacationers and also cruise liner travelers. This is the place to begin, or maybe end, a day of sightseeing and tour.

Historical homes as well as several of the city's most preferred vacationer destinations as well as locations to visit can be located along Duval Street, which stretches from Mallory Square to the Southernmost Factor pen.

This area is likewise host to numerous occasions and also events throughout the year, one of the most renowned of which is the Hemingway Days Festival, held each summer. Various other highlights in the area consist of Ripley's Believe It or otherwise Odditorium and the mecca of everything vital lime, Kermit's Trick Lime Pie Store.

An excellent method to get an excellent overview of the area as well as its background is on the Conch Tour Train, which checks out Duval Road, as well as Old Town, Hemingway's House, and also the waterfront location. This 90-minute narrated trip provides perspective on the railway days, the depression, and also WWII, as they connect to Key West.

Ernest Hemingway Residence and also Gallery

The famous writer Ernest Hemingway bought this 1851 Spanish Colonial house in 1931 as well as resided in it until 1940. It includes a lavish tropical yard as well as the salt-water swimming pool that he asserted almost cleaned him out monetarily, as well as has his "last cent" pushed into the concrete.

Inside, you can see the recovered interior too, which displays the author's own collection of 17th- and 18th-century Spanish furniture. More than 40 offspring of Hemingway's original brood of residence pet cats still wander the building. He wrote a number of novels here including A Goodbye to Arms, Death in the Mid-day, and also For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Key West Butterfly as well as Nature Conservatory

Among the leading points to do in Key West for households is a visit to the Key West Butterfly and also Nature Conservatory. Youngsters of any ages will be captivated by the opportunity to walk amongst more than 50 types of butterflies in the natural yard environment of a glass conservatory.

In addition to the vibrant butterflies, greater than 20 varieties of unique birds stay below, making a check out to the sunroom a truly special experience.

The Discovering Center likewise uses an educational movie concerning the life process of butterflies, with displays that describe the phases in detail. An online caterpillar checking out area deserves looking into, where you can see real butterflies undergoing their changes.

Mallory Square

Mallory Square, a former warehouse location, is currently the area of an every night sunset-watching ritual with online home entertainment. This is just one of the most prominent complimentary points to do in Key West and is a must-do task when in town.

Make your method to the dock areas at the base of Duval street as well as admire the sensational pinks as well as reds as the sunlight establishes over the Gulf of Mexico. Jugglers, vendors, artists, as well as other street entertainers create a carnival-like ambience, consisting of some truly special efficiencies like pet unicycling, pet cats on a tightrope, and also straightjacket gets away.

The location has actually turned into one of the leading highlights of a check out to Key West, especially in the late afternoon, when browsing the shops and also various other destinations situated on and around Mallory Square is the important things to do.

Searching for the perfect memento? Look into the historic Key West Sponge Market, a neighboring treasure-hunting store, and also multiple surf stores to locate what you're after.

Dry Tortugas National Forest

History combined with soft-sand coastlines as well as remarkable chances for snorkeling are the main allure of this isolated park. Catamaran Watercraft Excursions to the Dry Tortugas, which include snorkeling and snorkeling tools, in addition to lunch, leave from Key West as well as are the best method to accessibility this website.

Dry Tortugas National Park is an archipelago of 7 coral reef islands situated around 65 miles southwest of Key West. They were so called by explorer Ponce de Leon because of the number of turtles (tortuga definition turtle in Spanish) located on the islands. The "dry" part was included later, referring to the absence of fresh water on the islands.

Among them, Garden Key, is home to the 19th-century Fort Jefferson, which was built by the U.S. government to safeguard and regulate the Gulf of Mexico shipping network. The fort ran as a jail for Union deserters throughout the Civil Battle and additionally housed Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was detained as a co-conspirator in Abraham Lincoln's murder.

In 1992, George Shrub changed the standing of the site from the Fort Jefferson National Monolith to the present park run by the National Park Service.

Treasure Chest at the Mel Fisher Maritime Gallery

The Mel Fisher Maritime Gallery informs the tale of diver Mel Fisher, who found a number of shipwrecks, including one that lugged extremely valuable artefacts and an additional that holds a wealth of historical worth.

Initial discovered in 1972, an English ship was discovered concerning 35 miles west of Key West. Later on determined as the Henrietta Marie, this was a slave ship that had gone away in 1700 soon after selling 190 African Hostages in Jamaica. Although the ship did not lug a wealth of gold and gems, its remains hold important artifacts, which provide a look at the history as well as problems of the maritime slave labor, and also is the earliest slave ship wreck to be discovered.

In 1980, Fisher's dive teams uncovered the accident of the Santa Margarita, a 17th-century Spanish ship. This accident held an astonishing variety of important things, from silver and gold bars and coins to specify fashion jewelry.

The museum shows various artefacts from these wrecks and others, consisting of a 77.76 carat weight emerald and numerous other unusual items such as navigational instruments, devices, and various other everyday things. The gallery additionally has exhibits on undersea archaeology and diving, in addition to films as well as hands-on demonstrations.

Harry S Truman Little White Home

The brought back Harry S. Truman Little White Home was built in 1890 and acted as the head office for the marine command via World War II. Truman initially saw your home in 1946, and throughout his presidency used it numerous times as a holiday resort.

The initial home furnishings and also style have actually continued to be intact from the Truman age, and also it has actually been utilized by subsequent presidents and also authorities as it still is today. Products like Truman's piano and also the workdesk he utilized during his "working vacations," are perfectly protected for posterity. Useful overviews add understanding right into the structure's background as well as the political importance it held during the Cold Battle.

Make sure to appreciate a self-guided excursion of the home's spectacular arboretums after you are completed inside.

Martello Towers

The Martello Towers are 2 brick fortifications, built in 1858 to secure Fort Zachary Taylor from the eastern. The ft was never completed as well as never ever saw hostile activity, although the eight-foot-thick granite walls would certainly have actually endured weapons strikes. The main tower supplies a magnificent breathtaking view of the Atlantic shore of Key West.

The West Martello Tower as well as Garden Facility was constructed in the 1860s by the UNITED STATE Army Corps of Engineers. The Key West Garden Club seized the fort in 1955 and began a cleanup as well as growing to enhance the shabby ft. Today, you can stroll the premises, via lovely yards and also gardens. Enchanting pathways, arches, a waterfall, and also water lily pond are several of the highlights.

The East Martello Tower was initially constructed as an enhance to Fort Zachary Taylor to secure the region. It currently houses the Martello Gallery -Key West Art as well as Historical Gallery, with a varied collection of local art as well as sculpture and also various other displays connected to the growth of Key West.

9. Audubon House and Gallery

This 1840s residence was constructed by ship woodworkers for Captain John Greiger, a kept in mind harbor pilot and wrecker. Colonel Mitchell Wolfson recovered it in the 1960s, starting the subsequent conservation activity in the remainder of Key West.

The property is notable both for your house and also the gorgeous gardens and also grounds. The house consists of numerous 18th- and also 19th-century period furnishings, much of it from Europe, and also a significant collection of inscriptions by John James Audubon, who stayed below in 1832.

The yards in the back consist of a variety of exotic plants, including birds of paradise, hibiscus, as well as various palms.

Led excursions display the highlights of the Audubon Residence, and also adhering to the tour, you rate to discover on the lavish grounds around the home.

Ft Zachary Taylor

Constructed in between 1845 as well as 1866, Ft Zachary Taylor safeguarded this component of Florida's shore during the Civil War. Today, it is a State Park as well as National Historic Site, renowned for its historical destinations, specifically the extensive collection of Civil War age weaponries, which are still being dug deep into.

The park additionally hosts a selection of annual events, including concerts, boat races, sculpture competitions, and also a pirate event. Along with every one of these fun points to do, travelers will certainly delight in the park's lovely swimming beach; devoted snorkeling locations; and nature trails, which are open to both foot as well as bike website traffic.

This is also among the best locations to see Key West's renowned sundowns, and the beach is an ideal area for a romantic picnic.

The Oldest Home in South Florida, constructed in 1829, was the former residence of Francis B. Watlington. It was originally developed by Richard Cussans in a different area as well as later moved to Duval Road.

The house supplies an opportunity to see and learn a little about the history of Key West. It is not as elegant or as lovely as a few of the city's other historic homes that are open to the public, however it has its own special appeal.

Within your house are some original furnishings, household portraits, and also displays on the history of Key West. Ship models and also info on the background of the sector in the area are on display screen. At the rear of your house is a yard as well as a cookhouse, which was typical of the period. There is additionally an exhibition structure having extra files of passion.

Key West Aquarium

The Key West Aquarium first opened its doors in 1934, making it one of the initial al fresco aquariums in the U.S. For sensible purposes of algae control, a roof covering was later on included, as well as the facility was updated.

Exhibitions consist of the "Atlantic Shores" and also the big outside holding pens. A variety of tanks residence local aquatic life, including flatterer fish, snappers, and angelfish. There are also storage tanks with barracuda and also sharks, as well as a "touch storage tank," constantly a preferred with children, as they can rise close as well as personal with conch, starfish, and also various other invertebrates.

The sharks are fed at routine periods throughout the day, as well as if you are take on sufficient, assistants will certainly let you touch an adolescent registered nurse shark.

Southernmost Factor

Key West's specialty as the southernmost point in the continental UNITED STATE is noted by a red, black, and yellow concrete marker at the corner of South as well as Whitehead roads.

It's a lively spot, as street vendors and also entertainers congregate around the site to sell souvenirs and also showcase their abilities. The marker itself, committed by the Key West public Functions Department in 1983, is much less than inspiring but however, it still functions well as the perfect selfie history.

A similar landmark and also just as prominent place for Key West photo-ops is the US1 mile-marker "0" indication which notes the start of the path which adds practically the totality of the east coastline. Going for nearly 2,400 miles, the interstate ends in Maine, passing through a number of major cities.

Shipwreck Treasure Museum

The Shipwreck Prize Museum is housed in the replica of a 19th-century wrecker's stockroom with displays discovering the remarkable history of the salvage industry in the location.

Wrecking, the technique of recovering cargo from the various ships that died along the Florida coral reefs, was once a huge part of Key West's economic situation and an exceptionally rewarding - but dangerous -market. From atop monitoring towers like the 65-foot example right here at the gallery, wreckers would certainly watch day and night for ships in trouble as well as race to the website. The very first to arrive might assert the legal rights to the largest share of the salvage revenues, a procedure looked after by unique "ravaging courts."

Below, at the gallery, stars in duration outfit state the story of the Isaac Allerton, which sank in 1856, in addition to show what life resembled for the daring wreckers that risked their lives to not only recoup treasure but also save the lives of the reefs' sufferers.

Artefacts from the shipwreck are shown, and also movies as well as video clips on the subject run on a continual basis. The monitoring tower gives exceptional views and photo opportunities of the surrounding land and also seascape.

Key West Burial Ground

Established in 1847 after the island's original cemetery was destroyed by a storm, the headstones in Key West's burial ground mark the tombs of greater than 35,000 people.

This historic cemetery has several religious and memorial sections, consisting of devoted Jewish and Roman Catholic areas, the Los Martires de Cuba memorial memorializing the Cuban saints that were eliminated throughout the 1870s freedom motion, as well as a plot dedicated to the seafarers that died when the USS Maine sank in 1898.

Highlights to expect are the detailed iron job and sculpted monuments that decorate family stories and also burial places.

Key West Lighthouse and Keepers Quarters

The Key West Lighthouse was integrated in 1847 as well as opened up in 1848 with a women caretaker, a rarity because time. Throughout the years, its caretaker's quarters and lenses were updated until innovation provided both outdated, and also it was decommissioned in 1969.

The Key West Art and Historical Culture adopted the residential or commercial property, originally turning it into an armed forces museum and afterwards later on restoring the lighthouse as well as quarters to mirror life below at the beginning of the 20th century.

Today, it houses initial furnishings, home products, and also pictures of the many caretakers that kept the light burning via even the worst of tornados.

The lighthouse stands at 86 feet high, be sure to climb its 88 actions for great views from the observation deck near the top. A short video clip discussion likewise gives an intriguing consider the history of the Key West Lighthouse.

Tips and also Tours: How to Maximize Your See to Key West.

Crystal clear waters and coral reefs border Key West, and also a watercraft trip is an excellent method to discover these environments and also the abundant aquatic life. Taking an organized tour also indicates you do not need to bother with renting out a watercraft and browsing your way via strange waters. Below are some enjoyable tours that ensure the most affordable price and also supply a great option for navigating town convenient:

Sightseeing and tour Cart: A hassle-free way to get to as well as from the top visitor destinations in Key West is the Key West Hop-on/Hop-off Trolley, that makes stops whatsoever of the island's most popular areas, like Mallory Square and also Duval Road galleries as well as shops, along with numerous museums and sites. Along with making your Key West getaway plan a breeze, a specialist guide narrates the flight, giving intriguing realities and informing fascinating stories regarding the island's background as well as lore.

Dolphins and also Snorkeling Watercraft Tour: The three-hour Key West Dolphin Watch as well as Snorkel Cruise ship whisks you far from the coastline on a catamaran to see wild dolphins swimming and also playing in the water a couple of feet from the watercraft. After viewing these mild creatures, you have a chance to snorkel over a superficial coral reef, which is house to greater than 600 different species of aquatic life. The excursion consists of snorkel equipment, endless sodas, and also a specialist guide.

Islands Boat Trip: If you 'd like to check out the islands off the shore of Key West, the Dry Tortugas National Park Excursion by Catamaran is an excellent choice. This full-day experience on a high-end high-speed catamaran brows through Dry Tortugas National Park, where you can discover the army ft, relax on the stunning coastlines, and snorkel along a few of Key West's best reef. Included in the trip is a specialist naturalist, entrance fees and national forest service charge, a narrated excursion of Fort Jefferson, morning meal as well as lunch, and also snorkeling equipment.

Snorkeling as well as Kayak Scenic tour: A wonderful way to see the Gulf of Mexico and obtain up-close to its one-of-a-kind all-natural habitats is the Key West Island T'ing Sail Snorkel and Kayak Experience, a six-hour excursion that makes sure to please everyone in your team. The scenic tour gets started in the early morning on a spacious catamaran, as well as travelers are supplied with breakfast as the watercraft makes its method to a mangrove island, where you can hop in among the provided kayaks as well as check out the genuinely distinct surroundings. The next quit is at a reef, where passengers can wear snorkeling tools as well as be baited a guided excursion of the living undersea landscape. Those who prefer to remain completely dry are welcome to stay in the catamaran and also delight in the sun as well as gorgeous sights, and also a buffet lunch with beverages is acted as well.

0 notes