#capitalism culture is making you feel like you're never doing enough

[citrine-elephant]

leon s kennedy would definitely be the kind of guy to physically overexert himself and take on as much of the labor he can because he feels bad if he doesn't. even if it's fair share, he's gotta jump in and help out.

dead tired, exhausted. who cares if he's being taken advantage of and used because the other party(s) know he'll do whatever he's asked. he feels bad. he feels like he isn't doing enough.

[adragonsfriend]

There are no trash takes on Jedi philosophy, there is contextual analysis.

As may be obvious from the title (humorous--I have gone through several common misinterpretations myself), this is about that infamous scrap of poetry,

There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.

And the other version,

Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force.

I've seen quite a few interpretations of these along the lines of "the second version is reasonable but the first version is crazy and stupid," so here's why I think both versions are actually communicating the same idea, and the wording doesn't really change the meaning much at all.

So just like I did in my post about "do or do not there is not try," let's start by asking some questions to establish context before we look at the text itself.

Is it THE Jedi Code or just a mantra? Legends says it's the Code, canon says it's a mantra. The fact of the matter is that no matter what, it's really a scrap of poetry which couldn't encompass the entire philosophical basis of a culture even if it was trying, so we'll consider it a mantra.

Does the fact that it's a mantra rather than THE Jedi Code mean that we can't get anything deep or meaningful out of it? Of course not. Just because it's not the whole of or a full explanation of Jedi philosophy doesn't mean it's just a nice sounding string of words.

Who is saying this to who? This mantra is often used to focus a meditation, with the first phrasing used by adults in the culture, while the second phrasing is more often used by children.

What were George Lucas' inspirations for Jedi culture that relate to this mantra? (borrowing from this post) A combination of christianity, buddhism, and his interpretations. I'm not an expert in any religion, and definitely not in buddhism, but I know enough to know I'm about to make some sweeping generalizations, so take this with a grain of salt. Disclaimers aside, this mantra, and the way it is phrased, indicate it is being inspired more by buddhism. The way christian texts, specifically the Bible, are written typically goes "here is a story about people doing something, and here is how big G god and/or Jesus reacted." There are metaphors sprinkled in, but they are mainly there to clarify for readers. Buddhist texts on the other hand (and lots of other eastern belief systems as well, like daoism, hinduism, etc. It's an important note that these belief systems don't necessarily conform to the western idea of what a religion is, and often their original languages don't even have a word which is equivalent in meaning to "religion") use metaphor in often deliberately contradictory ways, to make the reader think about things which are difficult to express in words alone. The ongoing struggle to reconcile contradictory descriptions is the point. This doesn't mean those texts can be interpreted however a reader would like. There may be multiple right interpretations, but there can also be wrong interpretations.

What the mantra does NOT mean:

"There is no ___ …" =/= "The experience of ___ is fake news."

"There is no ___ …" =/= "___ is not a useful concept."

"There is no ___ …" =/= "We should totally ignore ___ and pretend we've never heard that word before."

The mantra is not realy a set of advice on how to act. It's a set of statements about Existance. And I do mean capital E, philosophical, epistemological, weird, deep, think-y, Existence.

Temperature Metaphor

You know the first time someone tells you as a kid that cold isn't real, it's just the absence of heat and you're like… "but I'm touching something right now and it feels cold???" It sounds wild the first time you hear it, but as you think about it more, maybe learn about it a second time in science class, get some more context about how molecules work, etc. it begins to make more sense. It gets easier to grasp, until eventually the knowledge feels intuitive--especially if you're a STEM person who thinks about it a lot. We still talk about cold as a concept, because it's useful to us as well--lack of heat can have damaging effects on our bodies after all, and a cold drink is great on a hot day--and it's more efficient to say "cold" than it is to say "lack of heat." But there are some situations, like developing refrigeration or air conditioning, where it is not just useful but essential to think of temperature as it really is--heat exists, cold doesn't--and thinking of it colloquially can only hold us back (if this isn't actually intuitive to you, that's fine, it's just a metaphor--you could also think about dark being the absence of light, vacuum being the absence of mass, any number of things mirror this).

Probably the easiest like to get one's head around, imo at least, is "there is no ignorance, there is knowledge."

Taken hyper-literally it would mean "why seek out knowledge ever when everyone already knows everything?" But if we say knowledge is to heat as ignorance is to cold, then we can understand the real meaning--knowledge is real, where ignorance is only the name of an experience.

The Whole Mantra

This is the way the Jedi are understanding of emotion, ignorance, passion, chaos, death, etc. They are introduced, as children, to the idea that whilst they may feel all of these things, what they are actually experiencing is the lack of the other things--peace, knowledge, serenity, harmony, the Force. That's why they start with the "___ yet ___" phrasing--it introduces them to the first steps of understanding:

They can feel emotions, yet peace is still real and out there to reach for no matter how overwhelming those emotions may be at the moment,

They can feel ignorant or unknowledgeable, yet knowledge is out there to find,

They can experience passion (meaning suffering or pain in this context), yet know that serenity will return to them,

They can find their surroundings chaotic, and yet look for the harmony in the noise,

They can understand that death happens, yet be comforted by the fact that the person dying is still as much a part of the Force as they ever were.

Eventually they move onto the full mantra:

They will always feel emotions, but if they always reckon with those emotions and pass through them they can always return to a place of peace,

If they feel ignorant, they must seek out knowledge, rather than acting rashly. Also, their own knowledge is not the limit--others may hold knowledge in places they consider clouded,

They may experience suffering and pain--it may even feel like a good thing--but there is no wisdom in pain, it is the distraction from serenity, which is where truth can be found,

No matter how chaotic the world appears, it is actually a part of an underlying harmony that makes up all the patterns and the beauty in the world,

Death is not an ending, no matter how much it may look like one. It is a natural transition back into the Force, the place all life comes from.

A Jedi youngling is someone for whom this understanding is an essential part of the culture they are being brought up in.

A Jedi Padawan is someone who is beginning to learn to apply this understanding outside the confines of the Jedi temple, in a world where not everyone shares it.

A Jedi Knight is someone who has learned to apply this understanding on their own, without supervision.

A Jedi Master is someone for whom this understanding has become intuitive and automatic, no matter their surroundings.

All this is to say,

[rust-official]

what are the benefits to your workflow/day to day that linux gives you? trying to figure out if it would be beneficial to me

This is such a deceptively simple question! It's taken me quite a while to arrange and corral my thoughts.

I look at it from two angles: hatred of Windows and love of Unix. The hatred of Windows is pretty obvious, I think: there are lots of posts going around on the site decrying the downright despicable things Windows does, how to work round them, how to neuter the user exploitation and hostility. There is no hostility to neuter with Linux; the software does what it says it does (modulo any bugs, of course) and doesn't spy on you (there was drama with audacity and, while the spyware code was removed, I don't trust it to stay that way, and sufficiently many other people believe that strongly enough that they hardforked the project). For Windows, you're buying a product (and in many ways, you are the product at the same time).

There's also my unique Microsoft curse. Every time I use a piece of Microsoft software, it breaks somehow. Every time. I've been keeping track over the past few years. It's genuinely remarkable. I don't have that with Linux. Do things break? Sure. That's what happens with software (commentary on that being a thing we accept of something that people are trying to position as an engineering discipline may be forthcoming in a separate post), but to a much lesser degree with Linux.

And on and on. All of these issues have one ultimate cause: capitalism. Microsoft and its products exist to make money; the communities that develop around them reflect this. Professionals, rarely hobbyists.

The other angle, of course, is loving Unix. I fell in love with Unix over 25 years ago, stating with the shell. I had accounts on various free shell account providers in the mid-late 90s which is how I got started. Everything that I understood immediately made sense, it was logical, in a way that Microsoft software never was. Pipes and job control and output redirection and small tools that do one thing well and vim and all the other tools I use all the time. The mindset of the Unix hacker fit my teenage brain and my teenage brain molded itself around the Unix way.

From the beginning I approached Linux with a curiosity for / interest in / hobby of programming, and of course that's stuck with me to today. The ability to look at anything on the system (assuming you're not an nvidia user) and see how it all works (down to the BIOS or other firmware on some systems) is unparalleled and provides a kind of flexibility that encourages tinkering and development of more software. A bazaar, indeed.

The culture is different, as well. Linux communities reflect the communal nature of its software projects: they're hobbyists first, professionals second. There's passion where Windows communities feel like they have resignation instead.

In short, I hate Microsoft and love Unix. Windows is obtuse and obdurate for me, Linux is obsequious in its flexibility and obliging in its openness.

Most concretely, the most important difference to me between Linux and Windows is the commandline. Microsoft only recently started investing in it with PowerShell, which is an utter mess from what I've seen, and even if it wasn't they'd still have 30-40 years of catching up to do with the wealth of tools available for Unix. Despite running a programming gimmick blog, I'm actually more of a sysadmin, and Linux rewards my comfort with the commandline a thousandfold more than Windows ever will.

I recognize this has been largely high-level and philosophical, but it's hard to answer such a generic question with specifics. Has this been helpful, anon?

[whereserpentswalk]

You've been on a generational ship your entire life. There's about a million people on the ship, the population doesn't grow or shrink at all. Your entire life is and will be defined by a limited amount of room, a small space, barely large enough for everyone there to fit, that has become your entire world.

The humans that exist on generational ships are very alien to the humans that exist on planets. Your job is to maintain the ship and carry the culture of humanity but you don't need a human lifestyle to do it. Because reproduction needs to be done through artificial wombs all humans are neutered, with sterile sexless bodies. Everyone's job is determined by ship authority, and very dark things happen to those not able to perform some sort of duty. People spend the first fifteen years of their lives in virtual reality, learning about humanity in a simulation until they're ready to live as adults. Everything is so alien from the earth that you read about in books.

It wouldn't be so hard if society wasn't meant to resemble earth, meant to resemble the most conservative and traditional of earth. The American flags hanging up on the walls, despite everyone alive on board having never known America. The way the pods you live in have astroterf lawns, and fake blue skies painted above them, and the facades of American suburban homes. The way resources a distributed from things meant to look like family run stores, despite the monolithic power behind the economy. Even as monolithic as station authority is it still must dress as democracy, and must preach capitalism in a world with no markets, and patriotism in a world with no nations.

Despite your sexless body you're not free of performing gender. You wear dresses over your breastless neutered body, are expected to act feminine, to carry gender rolls into the planet you're going to. Your husband is expected to do the same for maleness. You love him but your situation feels like a performance with no audience. Despite having neither the instinctual desire nor the physical apparatus to you try to be physically intimate with him, it's what everyone does with their spouse, it would be weird not to.

Space isn't as empty as earth thought it would be. There are things that lurk in the void between stars. Nobody fully knows what they are, where they come from, even if they all come from the same place. Sometimes they put the ship in danger, sometimes the authorities make deals with them. But nobody is allowed to know. You're just all told to be afraid of them but not understand why you have to be afraid. The nightmares between stars aren't delt with with knowledge but with ignorance, they do seem creepy from the little you've seen of them but everyone kind of knows their power is being used for something by the station. Patriotism is always helped by having monsters beyond your borders.

Your entire you've dreamed of blue skies and stars and fields and forests and oceans and all those pretty things you've never seen, that you never will see. People always dream of being so high ranking they'll have access to suspended animation and life extension technology, but so few ever reach that rank. You've read all the classics they allow, read Dante, and Milton, and Homer, tried to let poetry bring you to earth but that planet is alien to you now. Sometimes you wonder what it would be like if you weren't raised in a world that copied earth, if you were accepted as a member of a race that lives on a ship, that exists so liminally. Would there still be such a longing. Mabye you shouldn't have been expected to meet a standard from another world. Mabye you weren't born to long for anything. Does it scare you to think you wouldn't want earth if they didn't tell you to?

[amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet]

Gerudo language and Dirjaani culture! Also who are the Dirjaani?

Endonyms, Gerudo Language, & Dirjaani Culture w/ Saddiqah

Link: "Saddiqah, you grew up in the caravans, right?"

Saddiqah: "So I should answer the question?"

Link: "No- I mean- I thought-"

Saddiqah: "I'm messing with you, Sayre. Calm down. Yes, I grew up in the caravans. I could probably answer most of this. I don't know what an endonym is though."

Zelda: "An endonym is the name a population has for themself. Like Hyrulean for Hyrule or Faronan for Farona."

Saddiqah: "Ah, I see. In that case, Dirjaani is the word, generally, for someone from Rahaal, after the capital, Dirjaan. Some people get particular about it and it varies in Gerudo, but generally that's the word for it."

Zelda: "Briefly, I'll provide the rest. In Lyberic is the Laeryic, Holan is the Holanii, Kohno it's the Kohnoi, Teromac uses Tletactec, and in Naydrana they call themselves the Folk. But as Ms. El Amin pointed out, there are culture groups within each of these nations that may feel more strongly about a more regional title. For instances, many of the Dreeka will identify as Dreeka over their home country. Similarly, with the caravans. Though I will tread on your toes at that point, so I return the floor."

Saddiqah: "Don't you sound like you're ready for the Forum. In any case, that's a pretty broad question. Where do you want to start?"

Link: "How about how Gerudo names work?"

Saddiqah: "I guess that's as good a place as any. The Dirjaani typically have an inverted naming scheme to Hyruleans, being family name and then given name. Like Ayad Al I'Tidal or Dragmire Al Iber."

Link: "So it would be...Dragmire Al Gan-"

Saddiqah: "Don't go inviting the legends, Sayre. And I'd love to see you call him that. No, the connecting article denotes gender. Al would be feminine, Il would be masculine."

Link: "What does El indicate?"

Saddiqah: "It's one of the terms for someone who's neither. I use it because I like it more."

Link: "Wait, is Saddiqah your last name then?"

Saddiqah: "No. My last name is El Amin. I said typically, not everyone. Don't think about it too hard, Sayre, Wisdom's not your affinity. (L: "Thanks.") Don't you worry about it."

Zelda: "I would think you would take it as a compliment, Mr. Sayre. In my experience, the Dirjaani take social sparring as seriously as practical combat. Sharp wit, sharp mind and all that. And only consistently with people they consider close, or would like to be close with."

Link: "Huh. So you like me?"

Saddiqah: "Sayre, did you really think I would agree to help you through this nonsense if I didn't? You know you're not doing a whole lot to disprove my point. Alheri'Din, we're vahana. You should know that by now."

Link: "Vahana?"

Saddiqah: "Siblings."

Link: "Ah. You'd think that would mean sisters, since...you know."

Saddiqah: "You and thinking is dangerous. No, you wouldn't. There aren't only Gerudo women. I know you're aware of at least one exception. And besides, that's a limited way to think of it. We know people who have changed their minds from who they were born as. The Dirjaani are no different."

Link: "True. Oh, you said El was the article for someone who was neither. I know voe and vai, but I've never heard the Gerudo word for someone who was neither."

Saddiqah: "There are several, but the common term is vyu. And you wouldn't have. Hyruleans get very focused on the voe-vai distinction because of the legends, they don't ask questions about the rest. In Rahaal, regardless of whether you're from a settlement or a city, children are called vehvi. It doesn't denote any identity other than youth. When kids are old enough to develop an affinity, they'll typically be asked a preference then. But because most Hyruleans will only ever meet the Dragmire caravan Gerudo, they tend to assume the word means daughter. They'll make similar assumptions about things like Gerudo not having words for things like father or uncle."

Link: "Huh. Guess...hm."

Saddiqah: "You saw the Trap this time, proud of you."

Link: "Uh huh. What's the difference between caravan and settlement culture?'

Saddiqah: "A lot of things. The two are intertwined in Rahaal. I know it varies per caravan. Some of Gerudo who traveled to Kohno became wayfinders, for example, and I wouldn't know anything about that. The Dragmire caravan travels annually from Dirjaan to just beyond the border in Lyberic, near to Goron City. The journeys themself are important. Gerudo cultures worship Din chief of all because She blessed our people. And worship of Din calls for tests of strengths, proofs of Power, and all. Survival in the caravans was one of those challenges.

"I guess the differences aren't all that off from the two of us. Caravan cultures tend to focus on individual survival, on endurance and your own legacy. Where as settlement cultures began in attempts to prove that no matter the challenge, they could remain standing. It's why education is so important in Rahaal, adaptation is key to enduring."

Link: "You don't use Dirjaani and Gerudo interchangeable."

Saddiqah: "Notice that, did you? That's because there aren't only Gerudo in Rahaal. And some of the caravans feel more connected to Hyrule than to Rahaal too. Dirjaani is for anyone from Rahaal, Gerudo is a lineage, and they are distinct. They are very connected, I'll give you that, but they aren't the same thing."

Link: "Which one do you want me to use?"

Saddiqah: "Don't worry about it, Sayre. Let's focus on getting through this business for the princess."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mark of a Hero (Updates on Tuesdays & Fridays, 1 of 9)

Hyrule is at peace, or so the Royal Family would have its people believe. Something is afoot in the kingdom, and someone needs to do something about it. Least likely would be Marksmen Link Sayre- a mercenary and monster hunter doing his best to get by. Until a job goes wrong, and he gets roped into the secret plans of Hyrule's princess. Now Link must play the part of the Hero to dive deeper into the mystery, and maybe stumble into a legend of his own.

AO3 - Wattpad

[artemisbarnowl]

What is life like in Melbourne? I’m looking into moving there from the UK and would love some insights and whatever else from people who live and work there 💕

I've only visited the UK briefly as a tourist so I'm not sure how to compare them in a way that's going to give you useful info. But I'll give you info at least. Please sit comfortably and we'll begin.

Melbourne has 5 million people in it, but is also quite a large sprawling urban area, so it doesn't feel really packed and busy. It sits on a bay, so it doesn't get freezing but does have the '4 seasons in one day' jokes which are true. I never really got in the habit of checking the weather in the morn before I left for work until I moved away from melb where the forecast was such that I could dress appropriately without surprise.

When I talk about what I love about Melbourne I mean inner suburbs and CBD (which is a beautiful grid and shining example of urban planning for the now that is weighed down by no plans for the future). Public transport connectivity is decent (comparable to London imo) but wait times, delays, and travel times on trams and buses might be relatively crap depending on your experience. It's no Moscow metro (my beloved), but you can probably get to where you're going somehow. Also e scooters have popped off. Further out there's no trams and there's more big gaps between train stations (the train lines are arranged like spokes of a wheel around a central city circle. There will be another city loop slightly overlapping the current one in service next year). This is what I despairingly call The Suburbs. Where you probably need a car to get around and it's like at least 20 mins drive to Anywhere for dinner, groceries or fun activities. Mostly Melbourne is not overly hilly so bikes are an option but infrastructure such as bike lanes is really hit or miss depending on area. Especially good in the inner north. Melb inner suburbs are very walkable and I love love love that. I lived in the inner north and could walk into the CBD to do whatever.

In terms of culture things I think Melbourne is the most international of Aus's capitals in that it has a lot of different people but also that there's a lot open late. Sydney probably can and will make the same claim. But that's it. The rest of Aus is a country town. Major shops will probably close 5.30 or six mon to wed but there's plenty of stuff that's open later. You can always find a bar* or 8. There's plenty of different cuisines in gourmet or fast food dining. There's a cafe in the CBD that's open 24 hours where I can sit outside and have a pot of green tea WHENEVER I WANT. Bookstores open til 10pm. There are lots of events throughout the year and lots of cultural institutions to visit on a whim for free! Some are paid also obvi but I find it difficult to be bored when I can go to the museum to see taxidermy or the NGV for art for free whenever. I am a zoo member which means I get to hang out in a beautiful park/garden which creatures for free whenever I want. Again as you go out further this becomes less true. Fringe cities at the ends of train lines are likely to have what you need to live but less fun activities less often. Not nothing though!

Melbournians really do love wearing black. Especially in winter. They also love strategic Grey. I thought people were exaggerating until I left. A head to toe black outfit is uncommon enough to be remarkable where I live now. Even in a regular boring office where people wear very muted colours I'm the only one who does it. There is no functional difference between the a mourning outfit and one of a Melbournian. it's common wear sneakers with a lot of seemingly formal or corporate outfits, but not thongs with jeans. That's some weird Sydney nonsense.

Being around the bay there's plenty of places to swim in summer! Most of the bay is bordered by beach, most famous and reachable from the city is St Kilda beach. Which is excellent and beyond reproach if you're not Australian and 'fine' if you are. Traveling down towards Mornington Peninsula they get better. 5km makes a difference to the grain of the sand. Some are more fine, can get more coarse and shelly as well. Never stony. Only a little bit of seaweed here and there.

There are parks in the heart of the city (nothing huge like Hyde though) and little wildlife corridors or reserves in most suburbs but it's not an especially Nature city. It's only one hour by train and bus or by car to the Dandenongs (a low mountain range, not to be confused with hugely underated immigrant suburb of Dandenong in melb) though which have cool temperate rainforest national park, lots of gardens (huuuuuge rhododendron garden up there), little b&bs, english style cafes (miss Marples in Olinda is the most famous) and lots of walking and biking. I say one hour but Melbourne as an area reaches right to the base of the range, which is why you can get a bus from the shops. There are national parks that are native woodland or grasslands closer to the heart of the city but these are less special to me because that's the standard nature I see every day of my life. There's a pink lake in south melb which is fun. But I love tree ferns and fresh damp dirt and the tallest flowering trees in the world!!

If you have more specific Q's feel free to ask. I am a city gal at heart but did live rurally originally and frequently do short stays (2 weeks to a month) in rural or remote areas so I am used to comparing amenities and connectivity.

*Melbourne has regular bars but also is very big on rooftop bars. Sydney has some, but other cities hear rooftop bar and think 'bar inside but with views or on top floor of building. Probably formal'. Melbourne roof top bars are on the roof. In the open air (maybe some shade sail) and it's very much a casual thing. Jugs of beer or sangria, chips, feels like a good barbeque rather than a refined cocktail bar. Those are often in basements.

[ch4rryc0smos]

YOUR MOUTH IS VICIOUS AND YOU'RE PROUD OF THE SOUND YOU MAKE EVERY SECOND I'M AWAKE / EVERY SECOND I'M AROUND ! — NOW IT'S OVER | DOGPARK.

── . ✶ ❝ B L A I R E F L O R E N C E C A L L A H A N . ❞

☼ — xvii | cancer | infj | british-australian 🪐

appearance ; slightly tanned skin on exposed parts with freckles over shoulders and face, mole under the right corner of her bottom lip, forest green eyes, 5'10 [177 cm], athletic [or sleeper] build with thinner legs, barely noticeable scars over arms, thighs and back, scars over most of her body, dimples when she smiles hard. dimples on her lower back when she stretches. ombre [brown-blonde] hair, prefers her hair short [in a jellyfish cut], but isn't allowed.

beliefs ; materialistic wealth doesn't define anything but your worth in the eyes of capitalism. humans are made to express individuality, not succumb to capitalistic beliefs and submit to slave-like treatment.

⋆ ─ living isn't a linear experience, take it with grace, give it time, and maybe it'll learn to love you too. so, live. ⋆ ─ good and bad don't truly exist, the world is not black and white, it's grey, it's a canvas, and you're the artist.

personality ; gentle, intuitive, charismatic, vigilant, observant, meticulous, boisterous, collected, diligent, loving, realist, nurturing.

positive traits ; compassionate, selfless, empathetic, kind, accountable, notices other's emotions & fluctuations in behaviour[s].

negative traits ; anxious, bottles up her emotions, skeptic [has trust issues], struggles with boundaries, overworks, cares too hard, thinks she has to always be the one to rely on, can't accept her negative emotions, has unhealthy coping mechanisms.

quirks ; fidgets all the time | stutters when nervous | bounces from heel to heel when waiting in queues | gets louder and faster when talking about passions | has an oral fixation | tilts her head when she's focusing | taps her foot unconsciously when waiting for people.

likes ; nature, psychology, sociology, anthropology, freedom of speech, anarchy, deep conversations, late-night car rides, coffee, biology [many branches of it], museums, gardens, aquariums, deers, red pandas, art of living, knowledge, economics, connor murphy & evan hansen.

dislikes ; arthropods, heights, loud noises, narrow-mindedness, extreme temperatures, snobby people, arrogance, dishonesty, being under pressure, confrontation, disorganised places, normalising shitty behaviour and attributing it to mental illness.

deepest secrets ; wants to be seen for her true self, wishes her worth wasn't determined by productivity, wishes her parents would've seen her as more than a trophy daughter.

⋆ ─ she just wants actual connections, the one thing she somehow barely has. ⋆ ─ she doesn't want expectations to be placed on her, she doesn't want to be a prodigy, she wants peace, and calm, and people who actually care.

── . ✶ ❝ B A C K S T O R Y . ❞

ONE of australia's greatest kids, a prodigy made to wow the southern hemisphere, when blaire callahan moves to us, a whole world and hemisphere away, she doesn't know what to do, where to start. living in an esteemed society, high art culture surrounds her everywhere she goes. she's never truly known what friendship is because status is what determines who she is, what she is, even.

she hates how stuffy her life feels, how lonely she always feels, and how she lets her worth be decided on whether she performs well or not, what is this, a circus? she feels like the clown, that's for sure.

primary and middle school pass by as breezes, decent enough as long as she doesn't engage with anyone, ignores the one kid that goes to a nearby school and apparently threw a printer at his teacher in second grade. little blaire didn't know that mentioning that would just be the start of her meeting the murphy family.

one faithful day, she makes the mistake of mentioning this unknown kid to her ever nosy mother, and she somehow finds out it's connor murphy. some guy she'll have to meet now because his family is apparently rich! and oh, they're nice too, but it doesn't matter. and did she mention connor has a sister?

when she finally meets the family, the first time, it's awkward, zoe, connor's sister is a lively kid, she clings onto blaire the second they meet, and connor is, to say the least, out of it. he doesn't want to be there.

blaire resonates with it. and that's how they bond. the two run from the snobby dinner party, they sit outside, on the porch. they're awkward kids, don't speak, but they do know that they understand each other better than the adults ever could.

and that's how it started, few visits occasionally, until blaire moves to connor's school. it's the most public school-esque school she's ever done so much as seen. but connor is okay with it, well, as okay as he can be while hating it viscerally.

he gets bullied, blaire finds out. she hates it, she doesn't care who these people are, she doesn't like them. she spends a while defending connor, and then she meets evan. an anxious wreck, someone who doesn't want to be noticed, but of course she notices him.

so does connor, well, he notices before she does. but she's quick to follow. connor isn't big on befriending him, but she is. she wants him to feel seen, because she never has, not until him. she gives evan the best version of herself, and they form a friend group, a little trio, just them. and no one can hurt them, or can they?

── . ✶ ❝ C U R R E N T . ❞

LAST year of high school, on the path to be valedictorian, or whatever it is in american's high school, blaire callahan is looking to do what she was meant to do when she was younger, back at australia. she's friends with alana beck, a prodigy, but no one knows what these two go through. only connor and evan know blaire better than she seems to know herself.

but connor has been falling apart recently, and even if he acts "rad" and says it's just the usual, she knows. she always will, and evan does too. he's much more observant than he lets off. and blaire likes it. these two are scared for connor, they're worried, but blaire feels empathy. she's been here before, and it hurts.

it hurts bad to see him like this. it hurts so bad to see him like this, and have zoe be so angry. she's always been friends with zoe, and she doesn't like what connor has done to her, but now she's torn. and evan has to help her steer this ship away from this path, the one that'll lead them to their demise.

she's torn between two people, no, three, and three worlds that she'll have to navigate. and her parents too, and it's just so draining, so draining. she has to learn how to live, with herself, and with them, and with everything.

she hates high school, she says.

but she doesn't, she just hates how everyone she seems to care about is struggling, but she's ambitious, she will do anything to keep them afloat. and she will, no matter what, she doesn't care what happens to her, she's going to do it, for herself, for, connor, for evan.

she's been close with cynthia and heidi, connor and evan's mothers (respectively), but she doesn't know if she should tell them, maybe not yet, she thinks. the time will come.

and the universe will let her know, she believes in it. she believes in time, or does she? she hopes she does.

it doesn't matter though, she's going to figure out. this is blaire callahan the world is talking about. she's going to rock it.

── . ✶ appears in to be seen is to be loved [wip].

★ ; decided to make this post before actually putting the fic up (i haven't even finished the fic, i'm sick). i fell ill so i'm much slower, but it's okay, meet blaire everyone! another one of my girls <3 i've got some works with her in it in the plans, so!

ch4rryc0smos © 2024

[stackthedeck]

I fully recognize that being sad about losing my blorbos is not like a Real Problem, but I've decided that given the whole Sabra situation I can't in good conscience ever support Marvel again, and every day I remember another character that I'm never gonna get to see again and I get so sad. How are you dealing with it?

Okay fun answer that is like so deeply unserious but like i do think it is practical if you're like me and fandom has been your main hobby and identity for years. and then i'm putting the more political and upsetting answer under the cut because frankly they should be separate posts but I only got the one ask

I've been dealing with it but like forcing another hyper fixation lmao which you know doesn't work for everyone but like hey join me in booster gold and blue beetle brain rot!! It's super easy to not talk about marvel if all i want to talk about is other characters from dc and indie comics. I'm not buying marvel comics anymore because I've gotta save my money to buy the current blue beetle run. I can't post marvel fics right now, I'm working on boostle fics and I'm hoping that if I scream loud enough about them I'll have convinced enough people to read their comics and they'll have 1000 fics on ao3 by the end of the year

To some extent I still think about the characters in marvel that I hold dear, I'm still doing fandom for them through discord and continuing fics and i still reblog art on here. I do this because the cultural capital of those actions are negligible that the marvel brand and disney company really gaining nothing for it and i truly believe that all art needs to be discussed and thought about especially when the creator is problematic and like deeply involved in politics. I'm still thinking and talking about marvel because the space i gave it in my heart and brain never goes away and like quitting cold turkey this thing that's been in my life since i was 8 isn't super attainable. but I'm not doing these fandom behaviors on tiktok because it's a larger platform with no nuance, a younger demographic, and it's designed to sell you things. If I talk about marvel on that platform, aside from making people aware of the boycotts it is giving disney cultural capital and frankly it'll probably convince people to buy from the disney company. Still think deeply about these works because when we stop looking, we give ourselves permission to miss the actual messaging. when we say art has no value, we can't see it's values it portrays and we let too much shit slide.

I've found that the way i've distanced myself most from all my positive fandom feelings for marvel is through becoming more aware of the politics around comics. Getting really deep into the history of comics and the film making process of the mcu movies scratched a fandom itch in my brain, but most importantly I became so deeply and terribly aware of how the modern superhero genre has so deeply lost the plot. I gave a tedx speech about this on my campus and written a few papers about it but like Jack Kirby and Joe Simon made the character of Captain America to plead with their government to stop the oppression and genocide of their people in europe, they received death threats from nazis because they did that, despite the way people view the character as propaganda for the us military, steve rogers was first and foremost two men using fiction to beg for change and for their government to get involved to save lives. And now marvel studios is using the company they started to platform a character that represents the legitimacy of a settler state, marvel studios who is funded in part by the pentagon, who with every new movie results in increased enlistment in the military, is platforming a character that declares the right of israel to exist as it does now with the same tactics and symbols kirby and simon used to create a character that was made to stop genocide. It just makes me sick. It is a complete and total pervasion of who kirby and simon were and what they stood for. I respect their work too much to continue buying from marvel studios in any form and i can't stomach any of the new storylines the comics are telling because this isn't what comics are supposed to be

I think about this spider-man costume that was found in the rumble of a home in Gaza (link to original post) and i think about how these stories connect us, how there was a little boy who need to feel strong and powerful who wanted to be a hero and he was killed for the crime of being born Palestinian but he's no different than any other child i've loved in my life. and this multibillion dollar company funded his death, sanctioned the idea of it through the art they create, and my tax dollars fund every step of it. When I look at Spider-Man, a character who i grew up with, I can feel only grief and rage.

[apocalypse-gang]

What's your opinion of people outside of the West that don't know anything about JKR but still play Hogwarts Legacy?

This is just a strawman argument.

I don't know what you want me to say here. Idk if you're genuinely curious or if you want me to provoke me to prove trans people are irrational meanies so you can buy a video game guilt free, or you want someone giving you the greenlight to yell at someone who isn’t aware.

If they don't know, they don't know. There's not anything I can do but inform those who don’t know when I can.

Harry Potter is huge, with hundreds of thousands of products and a cultural phenomenon. I want to say they should know about Joanne's beliefs as she's gotten more and more vocal, and it has been reported on by across multiple platforms, but Harry Potter is so much bigger than we can possibly imagine and how's been a pop cultural phenomenon much longer than she's been open about her transphobia. 

But I’m finding a majority of people who are buying the game are online, and most people online are aware and

Are actively transphobic so they’re buying it out of spite.

B. Are casually transphobic, so they don’t care at all.

Feel guilty about buying the game and use donating or just feeling bad to get people to reassure them it’s okay they bought the game.

Care more about a video game than trans people, and use “death of the author” and “no ethical consumption under capitalism” (neither which they understand) and also “some trans people are harassing people so they’re the Real oppressors” (aka transphobic rhetoric used to justify stripping our right) as excused to justify why they don’t feel bad and aren’t transphobic.

Genuinely believe they did nothing wrong and can still be a trans ally despite knowing their money will be donated to transphobic causes. 

And for people who were able to purchase the game without knowing about Joanne’s transphobia or the antisemitic story, I'm not going to pretend I'm happy with it, or it makes where the money is going fine. 

And, for the people who are ignorant? I don’t hate them. I’m frustrated where their money is going and I'm sad they're ignorant of the reality of their situation and the game their playing. I'm sad they aren't aware of the harm their money will cause, and I wish I could inform these people and they would return the game. I wish they never bought the game in the first place. I wish JKR wasn’t a bigoted, I wish the game wasn’t bigoted, and I wish all the money this game made was put to helpful causes or better art.

But we don’t live in that world. Joanne is a bigot and likes being a bigot and likes pretending to be a feminist. All she cares about is getting money to fund her anti-trans causes. She doesn’t care if fans agree with her or not, or if they're aware of her beliefs, she’s just happy to be having money. She has stated she doesn’t care what her fans think, she sees them as people helping her.

I'm frustrated where their money is going, people are allowed to be upset by this. They're allowed to be angry that people are buying this game, whether or not the person knows it’s harmful. Because the harm is still there and is still harming people, whether they’re intended to hurt someone or not. Are people not allowed to cry when someone accidentally hurts them?

People are especially allowed to be pissed with others trying to act like they’re allies all while knowingly buying this game. Allyship isn’t something that depends on when you feel like it. Allyship shouldn’t be playing into what JKR wants, which is money. You are either an ally or not. 

Idk, anon, is this enough?

[separatist-apologist]

Totally agree that nonprofit work is not really all it’s cracked up to be. I’m currently working in a position that college me would have thought was my dream job, and despite fully believing in the mission, the office politics and sexism can really drain away all enthusiasm for the work.

Fully understand how hard it is to walk away but I’m so glad you found another exciting opportunity. You deserve all the best and I hope this new job is everything you want. Also hope you have some time to decompress before you have to start! ❤️

Working for non-profits is sold to passionate, bright-eyed grads as working for a cause. They don't mention that the cause is capitalism dressed up like social justice. I don't regret my time at one, but I wish I would have known what I was getting myself into. Not that for-profits are any better, but they're honest, at least. Non-profits operate on shoe-string budgets and are designed to suck as much out of underpaid people (often who need the job in order to gain licensure, which they take advantage of) and then spit them back out, burned out and disillusioned while they continue the cycle.

It used to frustrate me that we spoke so often about ending cycles of violence for the community, when the community made up the non-profits staff to begin with. We could start ending those cycles IN our organization and instead upper leadership (who makes over 6 figures) created the most abusive atmosphere. On paper we'll say we respect transfolks, in the office people are endlessly misgendered and there is no accountability because its the CFO/CEO who are constantly doing it.

I thought becoming a manager would make me a more effective advocate for my staff and instead I sat in meetings where our CEO would tell us that she wanted our staff members to be scared and feel like they were being watched 24/7. I sat in board meetings where our lowest paid staff member (who was not making a living wage even in the Midwest where cost of living is low) was told she was greedy for wanting more staff members to help her fulfill a grant that tripled her caseload.

I think I did good things during my time here- I negotiated pay raises for my part time staff who were making $13 an hour when I started when both the fastfood place across the street AND the gas station advertised paying their staff more for a job that was a lot less traumatizing.

I expanded our programming and brought us into the vastly underserved, rural parts of the state where I grew up. And I kept my department consistently fully staffed by creating a culture in which (I hope) people felt respected and valued.

I still believe in the mission. I still think the work is important, necessary, and worthwhile. And I would never advocate for anyone to work in these places unless they absolutely had to. My advice will always be to stay just as long as you have to, and prioritize yourself first. Don't answer the phone when you're off work, don't take it home, don't let them put their deficits on you because they'll take and take and take and it'll just never be enough.

[beardedmrbean]

i have at least two far left leaning acquaintances who, in wanting to up their oppression points, converted to judaism a few years back when 'jew' got you as many points as 'muslim' or 'disabled' did. (and i'm almost positive that these two are not unique, especially since these two are in spheres that do not touch and i know for a fact don't know each other) now, ordinarily, i'm not the kind of person who would make assumptions about people i'm only just acquainted with, but these are people who will make very sweeping generalizations about christians and will tell you in no uncertain terms that believing in a god is weak and you're weak for clinging to a fairy tale. so i guess you can probably see where i'm going when i say something tells me that they only converted to judaism for oppression points. (and what a lot of work it is, to have gone through all that just for oppression points. wouldn't it have been easier to throw a box of firecrackers in a bonfire and hope to lose an eye?) i have to admit, i do take a sort of schadenfreude in watching them hurriedly and ashamedly try and cover up what they've done now that it's not cool to be jewish anymore. it's a sick, gut-punch kind of schadenfreude that doesn't necessarily make me feel very good, but it's the kind you cling to when you've got nothing else good to hang onto, if that makes sense.

Ya, Judiasm isn't a faith that really does and proselytizing, used to have the whole 'turn you away 3 times before I take you seriously about conversion' various reasons I've heard for it.

I think connecting it to Ruth and Naomi is the one I want to believe the most, pops into Christianity too with Peter getting it from Jesus as a you sure about this after Peter had denied knowing him 3 times.

But ya it's not one that's known to be easy to integrate into, not just the language bit either, but if you're looking for one to step out of the mainstream but still be big enough to be known Judaism works, not gonna get bagged on for 'cultural appropriation' like you would if you went and looked into Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism...... things really drop off numbers wise once you get past Hinduism

That last one is bit over 100 years old, don't worry I've never heard of it before either.

i have to admit, i do take a sort of schadenfreude in watching them hurriedly and ashamedly try and cover up what they've done now that it's not cool to be jewish anymore. it's a sick, gut-punch kind of schadenfreude that doesn't necessarily make me feel very good, but it's the kind you cling to when you've got nothing else good to hang onto, if that makes sense.

If you're right about their motivations I'm going to be less concerned about them than I will the community they were part of, imagine on top of all the other shit that's been piled on you finding out that these people you invited in to your community only did it so they could capitalize on oppression points.

Not something most any Jewish person I've ever met does anyhow, the claiming oppression points that is, not much beyond 'I'm Jewish so I know what it's like to go through this' at least.

at least we have a nice cautionary tale to tell now I suppose, not worth the price but gotta find some bright spot somewhere

[indigosfindings]

can you elaborate more on the joyful/optimistic art vs cynical/sad art thing?

(re: this post)

sure, sorry in advance if this is messy.

the gist is that there's a slew of micro-discourses whose common thread is the inherent or automatic superiority of art and stories that are optimistic and centre 'joy', 'love', and other positive emotions over those that don't.

it manifests a million different ways: "x series is bad because it's pessimistic/cynical/dark", "x story is bad because it depicts SA/incest/abuse*", "horror is really about love/family", "love is a unilaterally healing and moral force", "dark/negative art is universally less authentic/earnest", "sad/disturbing art is easy to make while positive art is difficult," etc. (also seems to correlate w the internet's general attitude toward criticism--that even mild negative feedback toward any art is in essence insulting its author & audience)

one of the factors imo is that a lot of people are unwilling to interrogate their reactions to something. like the process is "i see disturbing art -> i feel disturbed -> 'disturbed' is a negative emotion -> this art has done something negative to me -> this art is bad" and then never question it further

as for why i feel frustrated: hmm where to start. it's an extremely flat heuristic that diminishes alll art with any aims other than to please or to be Fun. it denies that "to disturb", "to frighten", "to disquiet", "to sadden", "to critique", etc are worthwhile endeavours in art. it also just betrays a narrow view of what has the capacity to be Fun for someone! i'm especially frustrated because horror always gets the brunt of it. there's a sort of longstanding anxiety about the "value" of horror, about horror needing to "prove its worth", and i think a lot of people's answer to that is to say "it's not actually about Scary, it's about Happy :)"

one of the really popular takes that i still see today is "if you're writing a fantasy story where anything can happen, why incorporate homophobia, misogyny, etc?" and, i mean, it's a pretty straightforward answer--because those things exist in real life, and by incorporating them into a story you can reflect, comment on, and explore real issues that are pertinent to the audience! likewise re "love is virtuous and healing," it's just a simple fact that love is morally neutral. people do HORRIBLE things for love all the time. i used to be more idealistic about this, but now i honestly cant stand the idea that a saccharine, childlike stance on love is by default a better one

(there's a huge comparison to be made here with the reactionary pushback against modern art btw)

it also ties into a broader schema--"toxic positivity" is a popular line, but we can aim higher: there's a sort of cultural mandate toward positivity, where saying "x is bad" is worse than x being bad. think right and send thoughts and prayers. capitalism loves the idea of each person fending for themselves--you have the whole concept of "wellness" and "mindfulness", ie Positive Thinking as a vector for mental health (the corollary being that a person who is unwell is a person who is Not Trying Hard Enough To Be Positive), whereby to read a situation cynically (or pragmatically!) is the worst thing you can do. and well, by the same token, when we have a whole cavalcade of employers who LOVE seminars and videos about How To Manage Your Stress (and zero interest in inspecting what it is that makes employees excessively stressed to begin with!), im sure you can imagine why someone could get exhausted of positivity.

as i said in the previous post, the most insane part is the particular framing of this atittude as somehow counterculture, controversial, or against the grain. y'know, when we're discussing chipper upbeat art about how everything is good vs art that's grim, violent, negative, pessimistic--which of these is most likely, historically and today, to be censored, to be banned, or to arouse controversy?

*(obviously there are depictions of SA and other sensitive subjects that are callous, sexist, etc! but there are also plenty that are trenchant, edifying, powerful, evocative, etc!)

[that-one-girls-blog-posts]

girly/-girl🎀

because no matter what you like, you're never doing it right

I don't play about my girly girl things, I'm gonna reclaim all that shit! yes I am girl, I like my shallow hobbies I like my shallow thoughts and I'm gonna prove you wrong about them again and again

indulge or look down upon but girl beware to them I'm worth just as much as you are!

I'm sensitive, I have an eye for visuals and aesthetics, my makeup is art, I like my basic music, the lyrics get me, my impractical styling the fake, the fixed, the plastered and caked, all a calming ritual reminding me of beauty throughout the day

I let them dump all their "at least she can walk in them heals", "those nails probably make great weapons","she does have the body for that dress","I bet that hair and makeup took her hours"and"oh what an interesting outfit" 's on me!

let them go to bed with the satisfaction that they are better than me while I close my eyes and smile at all the stupidly girl things that make me happy

I let them feel satisfied with their wit when I uncomfortably smile at those backhanded compliments and I feel satisfied with my heart for not coming up with a single mean thing to come back with, because I can see beyond my interests!

your looks are cool, your words are cool, your thoughts are cool, and your girls so cool and important and not just accepted or tolerated but celebrated, not like those other girls, not like me, at least not right now, when we need them smart instead of sexy, because ofcourse both doesn't exist

but no! keep looking down at us with your normal life and mature behavior and proper ways, you with your artsy sporty smarty lifestyle, your games and books and fancy equipment, which "DONT TOUCH you're gonna break it, just go back to brushing your hair!" which "oh you're into that book? I bet the boys like that about you!" which "ugh just try harder princess and the pea!" and there will be pretty pink pop culture fashionista which "no makeup can fix this", "no glow up make you right", "you're not girly enough to be girl", "no letting you in until you've consumed all we did already so long ago"

be girly or be reasonable, madonna or whore, girls fight no more, be shallow or deep, Lilith or eve, it doesn't matter what you like because girl you're never doing it right, smart or dumb cause that's what that is

girls can't do make up and science fair CHOOSE

girls can't read romance and classics CHOOSE

girls can't like videogames and shopping CHOOSE

so you do and you do it wrong only girly girls like shopping, only sporty girls can run, only smart girls know history

if your hobby is skincare or reading or something else, it's valid, it's not a hobby, it's right, it's wrong and useless and helpful and beautiful and ridiculous and shallow and deep depending on the observer because it's girl!

but all our hobbies are ruined by machines you support capitalism and small peoples dreams, the products made by brands instead of innovative minds, you empower some and you hurt others, the books made of tropes instead of plots, the projects about honor instead of encouraging curiosity, the matches about money instead of skills and play

so there might never be no taking eachothers hand and showing them what girl is like, no loving eachother because we're all right, in this conversation, too different, not all the same but maybe someday aware that the problem was never girl and always system

they applaud intellect by calling others stupid, and drool at the overstyled you're not supposed to be like

my friend does math like no one else so quick and easy and always right but when she wears a dress they laugh all night, I do my math counting with nail polishes and stuffed animals but they see my dress and it's me they wanna dance with, now look at it from one side or the other, they deem both of us worthless none better than the other

by simply liking the things I like, I've been called silly, ditzy and shallow, girly all my life but hobbies are hobbies no matter if you disagree! coffee runs and hearts on my notes and trying new hairstyles, I wear my ribbons and glitter and "fakestuff" while impressing you with knowledge you thought "someone like me" couldn't posess, knowledge which you still explain slow and easy back to me not because I didn't get it but because you never will

girl isn't ditzy, girl isn't pointless, girl isn't too stupid to understand! it's misogyny not respecting women and tainting the term girl with their lack of taking me seriously

and one more word to be perfectly clear "girls" and "girly girls" and "non girly girls" and "girly not girls" if things are bad as they often are, and no one will accept you not even one of us, be confident, embrace and accept, only you have the power to truly validate yourself

[theniftycat]

My thoughts on cultural appropriation

I never liked the term due to its power dinamics. I guess a good way to put it into perspective is mirroring. You wouldn't tell me, a person from a small Asian nation of Sakha (Yakut) that I'm not allowed to wear cowboy boots. Especially, if I came to like the town of Tombstone and bought them there. I'd be supporting local economy.

Same thing is if you came to Yakutsk and bought Yakut clothes. It would be welcome. If you wore these clothes in Yakutsk, people would find you weird or funny, they would even maybe find you inspiring if you wore them well. Because seeing someone else do a local thing makes it seem bigger.

With these clothes being just clothes, hardly anyone would see it as truly disrespectful. This is what people do when they travel: they eat local food, they learn local words, they wear local clothes.

Whet about spiritual significance of Yakut clothes? What about spiritual significance of your t-shirt? If you don't wanna buy shaman clothes, don't buy shaman clothes. Somehow, you don't dress like a priest in normal life.

Now, when you leave Yakutsk, you probably won't be wearing these clothes anymore because it would be socially confusing. Unless the item of clothing looks cool, of course. I'd also wear good cowboy boots outside of the USA. You can also display them or show them to people like you do with fridge magnets.

What you did there is perfectly normal for people to do. You did cultural exchange and you supported Yakut economy. It's not cultural appropriation.

It would be cultural appropriation if you started manufacturing Yakut clothes on a mass scale and making money without admitting these are Yakut clothes. If you made a copy of them with your hands, it's not appropriation, it's just making clothes. You're not stealing a whole lot by just making one copy. If you manufacture Yakut clothes properly crediting them but without hiring Yakut people (not like it would help, trickle down economics don't work, especially if you just pay money to one person or they move out of Yakutia which many people would), you're an ass hole, but you're also spreading awareness of Yakut culture which is not evil. You'll probably get backlash, especially from white people.

You might get backlash from posting your pics in Yakut clothes from your trip to Yakutsk too. But only if you have a big enough online presence or are very unlucky. I think it's wrong because as a single person just buying things and enjoying them on your own, you don't do anything wrong except for participating in capitalism.

By the way, capitalism. Cultures have capital. The more likely a culture is to sell, the more capital it has. The more capital it has, the more likely it is to be exploited. How many souvenirs are made in China? Buy hey, guess what? They're sold in local places. To buy them you have to go there, eat local food, learn local words and maybe even buy local hand made clothes. If you do all these things locally, you're supporting local economy.

Cultural capital means that if you refuse to buy local things locally and refuse to talk about these things, that culture loses clout and becomes weaker. So, as long as you're saying that interaction is appropriation, you're taking away from smaller cultures and making dominant ones stronger.

Now, what if you wore Yakut clothes on Halloween? It's a dick move, but it's not like it's illegal. Neither is it cultural appropriation, more like cultural alienation. It's cringe and gross, but you do you.

What if you use it for sex stuff? Why do you want me to know? You don't harm anyone with it. If you tell people about it, they'll feel weird. Why do you think people should judge your personal behaviour that's unknown to anyone? Escape the panopticon of your own mind, jeesh. Grow op already and live with yourself.

Not everything you do should be subject to social capital. But buying things in small economies is generally good.

[narrativedisorder]

A rant copied from twitter, alas, I knew it well

I've never understood why sports teams have owners (I think I've ranted about this on here before but can't be bothered to crash-test the search function right now). If you've already got a (team of) coach(es) doing the actual sports stuff + a manager dealing with all else...what is the owner for? what do they do? why, when the team wins, do they get congratulated and go all back-slappy and smug as if they have something to be proud of?

Of course I do understand, really, why we have sports team owners: it's so that someone who's already rich can siphon off excess profit. But it's such an egregious, obvious example of the stupidity of today's form of capitalism - taking these revered, supposedly pure passion cultural artifacts and slapping on another layer of organization that both ekes more money out of the very affective affinity people have for the idea of fun AND reinforces the pyramidal social order AND makes the rich feel good about themselves and pretend some sort of acumen - that I'm always amazed they get away with it and people act like it's perfectly normal to have someone "own" a "team" which is also supposed to represent a "place" even though it no longer really does that.

and yes, I also get that there are financial issues that allow this to happen, and those are also 100% bullshit. You cannot look at the pro-sports model, with its frankly unbelievable salaries, its boondoggle/liability stadiums, its "concession stands"<-right in the fucking name, its obsessive policing of video reproduction, its extraordinary merchandising, not to mention the pipeline from the absolute exploitative morass of college sports, and claim that it has anything to do with free markets or invisible hands or even fairness or "sports values". The "financial constraints" are there to take something people enjoyed and built up residual, nostalgic affection for and make more money off of it, and the owners are there because otherwise, who would be making all that excess money besides the people doing the actual work?

And I'm going to really hammer on this point, but one reason there's excess profit here is because people have an emotional attachment to the idea of sports in general & their "own" team in particular and pro sports exploits the very shit out of that affective relationship*

*thinking here of some ideas inspired by the beginning of Ben Anderson's new piece on attachment, tho I sadly haven't finished it yet so I may be completely misusing it - all errors my own.

That's why so many sports ads play on ideas family, fun, leisure. They're trying to sell you something they don't have, because that's where their profit is. (Yes, you might have fun at a ball game - I often have! But they can't control that & do little, frankly, to encourage it)

Which brings me to the real point of this rant: another cultural artifact without obvious monetization angle, in which a subset of the population has invested enough time, affection, and personality to make it more than the sum of its parts: Twitter.

Or, more generally, virtual locations where people come together to do stuff. This is not the first site people cared about tanked by comemierdas trying to make a profit (yes, google, I meant TANKED, nice narrative you're pushing there)

Doesn't it feel weird that someone can BUY something like twitter? Like, different if it's someone come up through the ranks or hired on qualifications (suspect as that latter so often is), but to buy control over something that is in large part collectively created?

Yes, it's something that happens to non-tech companies too - and frankly that's weird and awful as well, especially when it's done in order to sell for parts. Once you see how silly "ownership" of sports teams is, it's very easy to extend that to CEOship in general. But there is still a distinction between an organization that vends, say, toys, like the notably gutted and destroyed toys 'r' us, and a site built around the idea of human interaction.

Yes, there are obviously a lot of expenses to keeping a place like Twitter going, from the physical infrastructure to the paychecks. But some rich comemierda paying those bills with his ill-gotten pseudo-wealth is not the only answer - and may not even be one of the answers, given how it's

NOT ACTUALLY WORKING THAT WELL IN PRACTICE

I'm not saying that every twitter decision should be collectively made by everyone whose ever tweeted a tweet. I believe in general that it's useful for organizations to have people in positions to take broad views over time and over the organization. What I am saying, as is my job as a science fiction writer and sociologist and my responsibility as an engaged participation in society, is: it doesn't have to be the way it is, and it shouldn't be.

The choice is not limited to a publicly owned Twitter vs takeover by rich comemierda. A public Twitter would probably be very different from the Twitter we know (let's stipulate that public ownership includes strong regulation protecting speech critical of govt, altho, again we now have a clear demonstration that ownership by a private citizen does not protect free speech or prevent use for propaganda!) But there are so many other possibilities. I advocate for #InformationAsAPublicGood and argue for public ownership of information infrastructure that would allow for a variety of different types of sites to be built on top of it with less outlay (and, again, look at what is happening to the $$, time, and skill involved in building twitter's hard infrastructure right now! is capitalism protecting that investment?? nah.)

But even today we have examples of other social media sites that are built differently, from mastodon to Ao3. And we could go in other directions. Why are hostile takeovers allowed? Why don't we have a sophisticated suite of protections for companies with positive externalities? What if we capped CEO pay, or (my preference) tied it to a (low) multiplier of the lowest salary at the company? What if we reformed the stock market? What if we had universal basic income and a social safety net and it was less expensive to pay extra expert/skill salary? Any of these changes in how we run our society would change how companies are run and led and what they produce and how we live. None of them are impossible.

Movie producers! *audible growl* another absolutely predatory & anti-everything we supposedly love about the endeavor in question class. Academia also rife w these positions. This rant, in case you haven't noticed, is not only about sports or even twitter.

One of the issues particular to cyberspace, though, is that it's new, and there's a reluctance to think of social media sites as *real* public spaces, even though they clearly are, and powerful ones.

Look at how social media gets slammed as an echo chamber by, oh, large newspapers and cable news channels, the very echo chambers and profit centers that whose dominance it threatens.

social media isn't perfect; twitter DEFINITELY isn't perfect and never was. But NEITHER IS ANYTHING ELSE. the goal is not to find perfect, it's to keep making what we have better - which sometimes means making more versions of it, for different people's versions of "better"

and sometimes it means protecting what we have from predatory, egotistical, incompetent comemierdas who don't care about community or art or intellect or research or friendship or humor or civic engagement except insofar as they can profit by them

and sometimes it means figuring out how to build our own, even - especially - if we have to rebuild some of the society around it to make it possible.

[shawnjacksonsbs]

Where is it we find peace? 2-3-24

"Buddha says "A child without courage is like a night without stars!" - Punjab

It's early.

Maybe 5:30 a.m. on this Friday morning and 4 am wake up calls . . .proves my age, I suppose.

On my mind . . .

A couple of the kids still out there in their struggles, trying their best to do it their way. And, although it isn't what I want for them, it is, in the end, on them.

Wanting to see successes from them regardless of how hard their head has to hit the wall, is something I'll carry with me always.

Love is unconditional.

Help and boundaries are not, or at least we try to hold tight, for everyone's benefit. Benefits not always seen in the short sight.

Umm, we are also going to have a few of the grands this weekend. Our youngest granddaughter had her first overnight here with her big sister, and when we take her home later her big sister will stay behind, as we wait for another granddaughter from a different family set to start a mini birthday party/sleepover celebration. Just the 2 of them. It's a little exciting, and it's always nice spending time with the grands.

Work is starting to pick up and get back on track. Starting the year with a couple of very decent jobs. Follow the Pride Fence Page for details and updates. Lol no lol

!~I had my 2 month old phone shoot craps at the beginning of the week. Usually, I imagine, most of us would start the nonstop adventure of replacing it asap. It's almost debilitating just accidentally leaving it behind or losing it. Am I right?

After printing map instructions to my job, like the Geico caveman, I had to head out because i had to be there no matter what.

I spent the day fighting all urges to call it quits and go get a new phone.

Feeling like a dopehead trying to not hit the pipe while still in the trap house, I made it through. At the end of the day, I went and got myself a new phone, new carrier, etc.

Other than just being beat out of about 2 months' worth of messages, pics, contacts, and overall data, I'm no worse for wear.

It did make me think about our way of life, though.

Like our, as in "OUR", big our, all of us here, at least in this country and culture.

Some of us older people might stand a bit better of a chance than the younger generation, but it would still be so devastating a collapse that recovery would feel impossible if we seriously lost all technology, or even just the internet.

Collapse.

Hard reset.

We depend so much on this stuff to maintain our way of life. Some may brag that they can live off the land etc, etc, but unless you're a backwood/mountain country person who only goes to town once or twice a year to trade, we would all be affected.

Obviously this happened the way it was supposed to, but man . . .I'm not looking forward to "suppose to" to be attached to the collapse of society.

I guess that empties my mind enough to restabilze my mental and emotional state for the week.

Thanx for taking time to hear me out.

As always, your thoughts are welcome.

And remember to share your love and your laughter with the world around, and be kind as always as possible.

We're all just a dead phone away from an uncomfortable day. Lol

Until next week;

"You love money and power and capitalism? You know they're never going to love you back" - Grace Farrell