#human centric education

[stimpunks]

Six Things Educators Must Know About Neurodivergent People

Six Things Educators Must Know About Neurodivergent People

Here are six things we think every educator must know about neurodivergent people. By understanding these, we make “all means all” more meaningful. Spiky Profiles Monotropism Double Empathy Problem Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria Exposure Anxiety Situational Mutism Table of ContentsSpiky ProfilesMonotropism & the Double Empathy ProblemExposure Anxiety, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, and…

[theadaptableeducator]

Navigating Paths to Harmony: Confucian Insights on Sustainability Beyond Colonialism, Nationalism, Imperialism, and Capitalism

Drawing on Confucian philosophies, we can analyze the interconnectivity and unsustainability of colonialism, nationalism, imperialism, and capitalism, and propose sustainable alternative systems. Interconnectivity and Unsustainability Colonialism: Colonialism involves the domination and exploitation of one nation by another. Confucianism emphasizes harmony and benevolent rule, which contrasts…

[llewelynpritch]

#MuskratFallsCivilRights PARTS I - II: 1 - 9 Human-centric, holistic, rights-based advocating regenerative culture, just transition to a regenerative society, educational approach about the root causes of our climate crisis, fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, fossil lies, stop ecocide, climate justice. Rapidly end fossil fuel finance by implementing climate justice valuation strategies rooted in human indigenous rights with moral compass as educational opportunities to better protect our life-sustaining systems in the cost of living climate crisis on planet Earth.

[semisolidmind]

How'd dogday & y/n meet in the slasher au? And what'd y/n do to have him so smitten in such a short time?

monsters, particularly monsters that possess claws and sharp teeth, are taught from a young age that humans find these qualities...unsettling. monster kids are taught to never bare their fangs at or around humans, and to never unsheathe their claws, unless it's for a good reason.

there are federal laws against "threatening displays of power" from monsters against humans. many monsters are considerably larger and much, much stronger than humans. these laws were and still are considered necessary by human (and some monster) authorities.

some humans take advantage of the laws against threat displays and knowingly antagonize or intimidate monsters. emboldened by the knowledge that a monster won't be able to retaliate (without serious repercussions if there's no evidence of human influence), some particularly scummy humans will tease, taunt, and physically harass monsters to try and get them to snarl or swipe.

dogday found himself the target of one such group on a trip back from a mixed race grocery store. he couldn't even raise his voice without fear of one of the humans accusing him of "threatening body language," so he could only quietly seethe and try to walk away when they threw insults (and some rocks) at him. even the bit of blood trickling down his arm from a hard throw didn't break his composure...but it got pretty close.

and then, y/n stepped in.

a bystander, with no reason to get involved. dogday had been sure that they, sitting on a bench and seemingly waiting for someone, would do as many humans would and simply watch. he was glad to be wrong.

while they aren't physically capable of standing up to the bullies, y/n did scare them off by threatening to call the cops. it really wouldn't look good if the aggressors were caught; a group of rough-looking humans against one obviously nervous, noncombatant monster? with y/n's testimony, they'd receive some jailtime and/or hefty fines. the group begrudgingly left, but not without a few last curses spit at the large dog monster.

dogday stood in surprised awe at his rescuer. they were mesmerizing; brave and confident, stepping up to help him, a stranger. there was something about the determined expression on their face, the look in their eyes, something about how the early morning sunlight hit them, giving them a gentle glow...

the thought sprung unbidden from the back of his mind.

"angel."

blinking, he was brought out of his stupor by their gentle voice.

y/n apologized on behalf of their fellow humans, lamenting that the gang sometimes hung around this part of town to take cheap shots at any monsters passing through. they introduced themselves then, reaching a hand out to shake (dogday noted how little hesitation there was in the action; most humans seemed reluctant to even speak to monsters, let alone touch them). their hand was so small in his own...he liked how it felt in his palm.

y/n offered to walk with dogday to his destination, or at least give him their number so they can buy him a coffee or lunch. he accepts the number (given the cold items in his grocery bags), and they part ways that day. they meet up at a mixed race-friendly cafe the very next morning.

the two find themselves in an easily flowing conversation. y/n had just transferred to the same college as dogday. they were in the education department as well, in many of the same classes. a junior, just like him. they were there on a scholarship; something about integrating more humans into a primarily monster-centric institution.

the canid monster felt excitement buzz in his core, and his tail wagged a bit behind him. he'd get to see them every day? he could show them around! he could introduce them to his friends, his brother, help them get to know the school and— he'd get to spend lots of time with such a kind, wonderful human! they have to be, to be accepted to his school, to stand up for him...they must be an angel.

he starts to call them as such the very next time he sees them, on campus. he likes the way they blush and stutter in response. his tail wags at the sight every time their face warms. he loves their smile, their laugh, how quickly they become friends with his friends...they even get his aloof feline brother to open up to them.

he soon finds himself in love with this wonderful human, devoted beyond reason.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

PSA

Hey y'all. Jack here, and I've got something important to say.

The first and only point of this blog has always been to share appreciation for the many wonderful animals we share our planet with. Outside of conservation, I keep posts free of politics or world events, because I figure most people get enough of that already, and I wanted to keep the focus on environmental education. However, I do need to make this post, because I am a human being and I can't pretend otherwise.

The genocide in Palestine cannot be ignored. The Israeli government is committing an unspeakable evil against Palestine, and the fact that they claim to be doing it on behalf of the Jewish people makes me ashamed to call myself a Jew. But that is all the more reason why I need to speak out, and why I encourage all of you to do so as well.

Educate yourselves: Decolonise Palestine is a good place to start. Take action: This is a US-centric document with plenty of ways to get involved. Reach out to your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers-- Palestinian and Jewish alike. Do not be silent.

Lastly, if you are Jewish and you need a place to vent/work through the shame, grief, and horror of what Israel is doing, my ask box is open. Now more than ever is a time for solidarity, and to fully support Palestine we need to be able to lean on each other. Hate will not be tolerated, and any anti-semetic, islamophobic, or anti-Palestinian replies, asks, or messages will be blocked.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We will now return to our regularly scheduled Uncharismatic Fauna.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[puc-puggy]

Uncensored Genital Photography

The Great Wall of Vulva (plaster casts) and their Labia Library (uncensored photos) Comfortable In My Skin — “Flip Through My Flaps” (vulva) and “Solicited Dick Pics” (penises) Large Labia Project Labia Library Breast Gallery- Nonsexualized Images of real, anonymously submitted breasts Critique My Dick Pic [tumbex archive]- real submitted dick centric nudes

Sex Ed-General

Our Bodies, Ourselves Scarleteen

Trans-General

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves TransBucket- account required, before and after pictures of gender confirmation procedures Trans Digital Archive- historical trans materials r/TransSurgeryWiki -surgery info & reddit-centric link drop DIY HRT Guide

Trans Men/Masc

r/GrowYourTDick (bottom growth) r/Transmascdicks (prosthetic penises) Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits by Loren Cameron, which includes images of genitalia in its "Genital Reconstruction" section, page 46. Portraits of clothed trans masculine people other than the author begin on page 34 in the "New Man Series." A Genitoplasty Diary by Lou Sullivan (1984-1987) (no images but fascinating)

Trans Women/Femme

Transfeminine Science r/TransBreastTimelines in-browser recreation of a 90s mac in order to run a 90s trans information CD-Rom

Intersex

InterAct's Intersex FAQ InterAct's collection of informative brochures & guides Intersex Human Rights Australia: Celebrating Intersex Firsts on TV JSTOR: Intersex Narratives: Shifts in the Representation of Intersex Lives in North American Literature and Popular Culture, by Viola Amato Human Rights Campaign: Understanding the Intersex Community GLAAD Media Reference Guide: Intersex People my post with appropriate disclaimers, includes instructions on navigating hostile spaces to view genitalia imagery

Genital Art

The Vulva Gallery for LOTS of educational content, community questions, and vulvas of all kinds, including queer and transmasc people The Body Diversity Gallery for genitals, penises, bellies, bums, bodies, breasts and chests of all kinds conscious_euphoria / Ocean Grove for more queer, nonbinary and transmasc centric content. Similar setup to the vulva gallery with lots of educational content too along with some occasional kink education content (linktree)

[verpineshatterrifle]

ok here's the thing though

mandalorian culture (legends) is real

i know that sounds like cringe nerd bullshit but no listen to me. i'm dead serious. mandalorian culture is set up in such a way, revolving around being able to adapt, to welcoming anyone who wants to be mandalorian, that it escaped fiction.

what do you have to do to be a mandalorian? easy. wear the armor, speak the language, invest in being able to defend yourself, educate the next generation, support your tribe, rally to your leader when called.

i just spent three days with a bunch of freakin nerds who banded together (two different tribes, under a leader) to wear armor, go on 'bounty hunts' (its a con game) to raise money for charity. there was an educational panel about mandalorian history and culture. all of them would know exactly what i was saying if i said 'vod,' 'kandosii,' or 'oya'.

we raised $1565 total over the weekend for a mental health charity by bounty hunting. and then we went and ate a ton of food and got drunk and told terrible jokes and did it all again the next day. my flight suit is currently washed and drying.

i just spent three days Being As Mandalorian As Possible

mandalorian culture is centered around Knowing and Remembering. if you remember the dead, they aren't fully gone from you. to love someone is to know them. mandalorian culture isn't tied to a biology, it's not necessarily inherited.

"Here's why you can't exterminate us, aruetii. We're not huddled in one place—we span the galaxy. We need no lords or leaders—so you can't destroy our command. We can live without technology—so we can fight with our bare hands. We have no species or bloodline—so we can rebuild our ranks with others who want to join us. We're more than just a people or an army, aruetii. We're a culture. We're an idea. And you can't kill ideas—but we certainly can kill you." ―Ranah Teh Naast (Mandalore the Destroyer)

'you can't kill me in a way that matters' ass motherfuckers

so when people bring up what the clone wars and disney in general have done to mandalorians, how they got retconned into a way lamer version that doesn't have any of the stuff that people LOVE about legends mandos, yeah, i hate it too!! it's worse and it sucks that there's this weirdly racist human-centric version of mandalorians with none of the best things about mandalore that the monopoly corporation is using now

but like. whatever.

legends is still real, still exists. you can still write fanfic as if its the 2000s, can still get a little too crazy about the culture. you can do art about characters disney doesn't recognize, what are they gonna do, stop you? make a wookie mando oc. it's good for your health. write poetry in mando'a. the mouse can't fuckin stop you.

i know it's important to not just ignore the nastier implications of the canon/legends split and retcons, but disney didn't Kill Legends.

we're a culture. we're an idea. and you can't kill ideas.

[recurring-polynya]

Hi! I want to start off with saying I love your blog and it was this blog that introduced me to a new side of the Bleach fandom, so I owe you a huge thanks for that. My question pretains to when you mentioned that you read a lot of fics where Byakuya was there when his father died in the lines of duty, and I was wondering if you could recommend those fics and any other byakuya centric ones.

You're very welcome! I am always excited see new people in the fandom, especially here on Tumblr.

I want to preface this with saying that I have kind of a complicated relationship with Byakuya. He is an interesting, complex character and I like to read fanfic about him, but I hesitate to call myself a fan. I'm mostly interested in his character as it stands in relation to Rukia and Renji. I like stories where he is shitty and causes problems. I like reading about the long, horrible history of the Kuchiki clan, and how much it screws a person up to be raised in that mess. I also just like stories that make fun of him a bit. He's a deeply strange person, and I love his weird, dry sense of humor. Byakuya-shipping usually falls flat for me: I think he's mostly ace, except for the time he fell in love with his wife, and even then, I only really like Byahisa stories where the author has done something creative with who she is and I also need her to drag his ass a little. I would swipe left on him. So, anyway, take these recommendations (and the absence of ones I have missed) with that grain of salt.

The fanfic I was specifically referring to regarding Soujun dying after a mission he and Byakuya were on together was the Rise & Ruin series by @afinepiece, specifically part 2, An Education. It's a...little-bit-AUish precanon fic where Hisana is a thief who ends up getting tangled up in the Kuchiki family after she attempts to steal a painting from them. If you're looking for Byakuya fanfic, AFP is always going to be my first recommendation, especially her Thin Red Line series. Her works are always sprawling and genre-defying, but beautifully crafted. They've got noble/family drama, intricate world-building detail, and great character writing. The Kuchiki family deserves epics, and that is what AFP is out here doing.

Funnily enough, my other favorite ByaHisa writer is all the way at the other end of the writing spectrum. @thegreenfaery. She works in the AU space, and if you enjoy Byakuya Going Thru It but also being in love with his beautiful wife. I'm biased, because she wrote it for me, but The Wedding Party is my fave of her works (80's/everyone's human AU where Hisana has to rent out part of Byakuya's house for her little sister's dirtbag wedding).

If you like Byakuya in his gothic horror era, please read dogviolet by @renjirukia. It's a closer examination of some canon between-scenes during Byakuya and Rukia's Bad Times period.

I think @lucymonster is one of the best Byakuya character writers out there, and Metaesthesia is one of the best fanfics I've ever read. It's a Byakuya - Renji bodyswap, but not in a fun way. You should really only read it if you're in the mood to have your heart kicked down the stairs. I also really like Sticks and Stones and Building Bridges. Note: Most of her works are ByaRen (these are not, at least not explicitly). That's not a ship I am normally fond of, but I get, like 3 weird days a year where I can read it.

Speaking of ByaRen, if you are into it, the other ByaRen writer I like a lot is @grizmelder, who is also a very nice person. I particularly enjoyed Heart Tangled, which is a historical AU set at the end of the samurai era, where Renji is Byakuya's bodyguard.

I was just talking about Lull the other day, but it's a lovely little fanfic by Branch about the relationship between Byakuya and Rukia and sometimes Renji. It's an older fanfic and breaks off from canon after the Soul Society arc, so you can think of it as sort of an alternate idea for how Soul Society rebuilds after Aizen's betrayal.

The Journal of Kuchiki Byakuya by @saranel is a great little fic in the form of young Byakuya writing diary entries about his life, in particular, his dealings with Yoruichi and Urahara. It's really cute in general, but in particular, I love the way it portrays Byakuya's interest in photography.

I also have a soft spot for Breaking to Bridle by Vivienne Grainger, which is about how Byakuya sees Renji, both as lieutenant and eventually as suitor for his sister.

I guess I would be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite crack Byakuya fic, which is Become a Ghost by @hardlyfatal. Orihime dies and goes to Soul Society and becomes a therapist and falls in love with Byakuya. It's pretty silly but also a lot of fun, and it's chock full of Byakuya being Byakuya.

I hope you find something you like in there! Like I said, I am not the world's best Byakuya fan (probably in the top ten worst Byakuya fans tbh) but these are some that I have enjoyed and have stuck with me!

[stimpunks]

Key Principles When Supporting Autistic People

Key Principles When Supporting Autistic People

The community at Spectrum Gaming released “Key Principles when supporting autistic people” at Barriers to Education. We believe in REAL coproduction, so have worked with our community to create ‘Our Key Principles When Supporting Autistic Young People’.We think they are really important, so have made them available for anyone to use/ read/ share.@Spectrum0Gaming We believe in REAL coproduction,…

[bonefall]

are amphibians like newts and frogs considered aquatic? i know crustaceans & mollusks would be

Yes they are! Generally, the more time it spends on land, the closer it will be to 5 calories than 4. The estimate was actually based on frogs and tadpoles, I had to make an educated guess.

My best source was a feeding chart from a reptile food website which sells whole small prey for consumption by snakes. It perfectly lists out the values of dozens of small animals, but no fish. So I took a note of the 4 calorie estimate, observed that an adult frog increases in calories compared to tadpoles (bucking the trend with the others on the list where younger animals are worth more caloric value) and went on to do more research

I couldn't find a source that broke down WHOLE prey caloric value like the chart, so I ended up comparing caloric value between rabbit fillets, chicken fillets, and fish fillets on human-centric nutrition websites. My hypothesis was mostly consistent, even with more species added. Fish (perch, flounder, pike) < Wild Mammal (rabbit, squirrel) < Poultry (chicken, turkey, quail). There was overlap between "classes", certain fish getting over the 100 hump, but generally there was a trend I boiled down into 4/5/6

This is consistent with how a lot of fish meat is actually water. In fact, cats quench a lot of their thirst from the food they eat. I also learned some very interesting stuff about the fat distribution in fish which is going to blow a bit of a hole in some of my Clan culture stuff lmaoooo, but I'll furiously swim across that obliterated bridge when I get there

But funfact! Fish oil is rendered fish fats and it is the form that unsaturated fat takes, whereas lard is what saturated fats become. I need to do more research into this topic to understand what kind of difference it would make in a wild cat's diet.

There was one big bucked trend though: salmonid meat was WAAAAY higher in fat and calories. Like, absurdly high. Like 150 cal trout fillet vs 110 cal of rabbit fillet vs 88 cal of perch fillet.

I do not know why that is. My guess is that maybe it's because they were taking the number from farmed salmonids? Maybe it's because they're particularly fatty fish? Perhaps this is just the raw power of salmon slammin'.

Anyway, at one point I was trying to estimate exact caloric value per popular prey species, but decided I didn't have the "backing" to get so exact with the numbers since I was doing estimates with the fish. I'll do the work if it comes down to it, but for now, 4/5/6 is a quick, easy guideline you can use for just about any WC project.

[otakusheep15]

Hey, sorry if your requests are full, and don't bother if you don't want to do it. But, I have four autoimmune conditions, and I'm wondering if you can make the Obey Me brothers (and any others you want) react to them. I have arthritis, which, for me, means the cartilage between my joints swells, causing pain, especially when it rains, snows, etc. I also have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is hyper flexibility (that with my arthritis means my joints pop out of place a lot), and I have localized scleroderma which means "hardening of the skin" and anywhere I get hurt has a chance of becoming a scleroderma spot which is where my immune system attacks the muscle underneath it, causing silvery bruised areas that dent in and i scar super easily. I have one big one right over my shoulder blade. And finally I have multi-connective-tissue-disease which means I have symptoms of other autoimmune conditions, the most noticeable one if occasionally my lungs try to fill with fluid (not bad enough that I can't breath, but enough that my lungs feel half the size). I got all of these diagnoses between the ages of 10 and 14. If you want to only do one or two of these, it'll be fine, but I haven't been able to find anything remotely close to this in someone else's posts. I do have a high pain tolerance, so I can still do almost anything others can do (except the monkey bars 🥲), and I walk with a cane on bad days. Stress does make my conditions worse. (Also, Mammon and Levi are my faves, and I like Asmo less.) Thanks a lot if you decide to do this! 😊

Of course, I can absolutely do this! I'm not the most familiar with autoimmune conditions, so a lot of what I mention is coming from google research and outside sources. If anything sounds incorrect, please let me know so I can fix it!

Also, so that this can relate to as many people as possible, I'm going to try and keep the specifics vague. I hope that's alright!

So, first things first: the Devildom is not exactly the most accommodating for you. It's unfortunate but it's true. If you need anything specific, you need to let someone (like Lucifer, Barbatos, or Diavolo) know so that they can better help you during your stay. Otherwise, you'll pretty much be on your own.

The first couple of weeks are a struggle. As you're getting to know everyone, not many of them are willing to help you immediately. As you make pacts and form bonds, they're more willing to understand your condition(s) and help you out, but it takes a while.

Getting around the Devildom is probably your biggest struggle, especially if you use any sort of mobility aid, or if you're less physically capable. Everything was built with demons in mind, and demons are already more advanced than the average human, so you can imagine how someone with your condition(s) might fare.

Luckily, you have all of the Devildom's most powerful demons on your side, and they're more than happy to help you once you've made connections. If there's a long set of stairs you can't get up, Mammon or Beel will absolutely carry you. If you need to take a break and catch your breath, Levi and Belphie will stick with you so you don't feel lonely. If someone is making fun of you or bullying you, Asmo, Lucifer, and Satan are all ready to throw hands on your behalf.

You also (somewhat accidentally) help bring about a lot of change to the Devildom. Diavolo sees how often you struggle to get around, what with all of the demon-centric architecture, and decides that it needs to change, especially if he wants to better relations with humans. He makes a lot of areas more accessible to those with mobility aids, and he also makes sure to place more rest stops (such as benches) around places that didn't previously have many places to rest. He also introduces more education on autoimmunity into RAD so that more demons can know about all the different types of conditions a human can have.

If you're having a bad pain day, your favorite brother is by your side the entire time, tending to your every need. Since the request mentioned Levi and Mammon, I'll use them as examples.

Mammon is lowkey worrying over you if you're having a bad pain day, but he's doing his best. Most of his day is spent grabbing things around the house for you. He brings you water, cooks you food, and finds sources of entertainment for you. If you have any sort of ointments or creams applied to your skin, he's very gentle with you as he helps you. He's also good at massages if you think it'll help you. If you desperately need to go somewhere, he is picking you up and carrying you there himself.

Levi is surprisingly good at taking care of you. He originally wanted to keep you in his room, but he realized his bathtub might not be comfortable to you while you're in pain, so he stays in your room. He brings plenty of snacks and drinks, as well as games and anime to keep you entertained. Most of your time is spent cuddling in bed while watching comfort anime. He does worry about accidentally making your pain worse somehow, but he does his best.

Overall, having any sort of autoimmune condition will definitely be a struggle during your time in the Devildom, but it gets better as you spend time there. You have a great support system of demons ready at your beck and call, all more than willing to take care of you.

[krynutsreal]

my hand slipped a bit

no freaking way.... ishimondo sky au real....

ummm this took an embarrassingly long amount of time (79 hours altogether </3) so u will. look at them!!!!! If u don't know what sky au is or want 2 learn more about these sillies then I will be rambling about them rn (with extra doodles) !! lucky you :]

Kry, what is sky au ??

To put it simply, it's a (mostly) ishimondo centric au where Mondo guards over the sun, while Taka guards over the moon. Together they keep Earth in balance. Other planets (excluding Earth for now) are guarded by a being similar to Mondo and taka (aka the hopes peak students are now guardians too). They all each have their own ways of making sure that their planet/moon/etc are rotating correctly and orbiting around the sun n such !! (It's a work in progress so pls bear with me </3)

The Earth, in this case is not guarded by anyone in particular. Which gives the beings an opportunity to basically go down there and explore or just go through shenanigans pretty much. So long as they don't burn the whole planet down and are able to blend in with humans down there they're able to do whatever they please 👍

now to get some sorta like. random facts about Mondo n taka (plus the piece itself) out of the way cause !!!! the post is about them SO

Mondo: Sun guardian ☀️

Does not have a specific routine when doing his job. Usually goes with his gut feeling and continues on from there.

With that in mind, he tends to travel to earth very often to mess around n' have fun. He doesn't doesn't go out of his way to cause destruction (at least not on purpose)

But, he is more feared than liked by most of the mortals there. That does not stop him from roaming around the Earth though!

His halo can emit the brightest light that could honestly blind a regular human, but for the space beings it does not have much of an effect on em.

MF TOOK THE LONGEST TIME (42 hrs) !!! BC OF HIS HAIR. and the halo. shakes him crumples him up

Kiyotaka: Moon guardian 🌙

Unlike Mondo, Taka actually does have a routine that he carefully and thoughtfully planned out to make sure that everything goes smoothly with things regarding the moon (phases, rotations, yk)

Only goes down to Earth for educational purposes, he wants to learn more about how the moon directly affects the Earth (as well as other things about mortals and nature in general)

Does come off as intimidating to mortals, but it is mostly unintentional and therefore he doesn't hang around them much.

Is able to make little star projections with his hands and uses this to make his plans/write down stuff (good example is making that flower projection in [this] comic.)

he was the one I drew first !!! [37 hrs] (hence why he took less time then mondo) I lov his cape. umm also crumples him up

AND THATS ALL I HAVE FOR NOW. IF UR READING THIS THEN THANK U FOR UMM READING THE RAMBLES. I GIFT U THESE.

BYEEE!!!!!! collapses onto the floor .

[don-dake]

On paper dictionaries & 那些年…

Was reminiscing recently with my cuz about old school days and Mandarin classes in particular, which led me to dig up and check out my old-school *Mandarin-Chinese dictionary again.

「字体大，方便阅读。」 ～ “large font, for easy reading.”

Not large enough now, sometimes, unfortunately! (囧)

The only major downside, now that I'm older and my eyesight has gotten even worse, is the inability to enlarge font size in a paper book. Otherwise, there's still much to love about my old-school paper dict.! ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

I actually had a much older and rattier one that got lost near the end of my official Mandarin education. So I had this as a replacement — that's why it still looks fairly new (笑), because I didn't have time to “season” it enough before I stopped studying Mandarin for a long time after.

In this Internet and App-centric age, physical dictionaries are probably near irrelevancy now. But with 漢字 (written Chinese — a system that relies heavily on knowing radicals and stroke order recall), I think it's still good/nice, every once in a while, to remember how to look up characters the old-fashioned way!

There's something so satisfying about going through the list of radicals, matching them with the stroke count, flipping pages determinedly and finally getting the page on which the (unknown-by-phonetics) character you're looking for is (assuming you're not pressed for time that is!), like you're some kind of code-breaker! (笑) I think using this method may even help with remembering characters better too!

Part of it may just be due to aging and having a poorer memory but, I strongly believe that getting too easy and quick access to info nowadays has actually affected my brain's ability to concentrate and retain new knowledge.

Where speed and ease is gained, somehow along the way, something vital to how the human brain's long-term memory used to function is lost in this age of Too. Much. (Quick) Info.

Does anyone else find this is so too? That easier and quicker may not necessarily be a good thing?

Who here (still) uses an old-school 漢字 paper dictionary (from time to time)? Or is the majority here too young to even remember/know how to use such things? (笑)

****************************************

* I use “Mandarin-Chinese” here to make a distinction because there are Cantonese-centric (and possibly other topolects too — though I've yet to see any) dictionaries around that don't use Pinyin Romanisation for indexing characters.

[bookwyrminspiration]

alright! just in case, quick housekeeping: this blog is vehemently queer, including pro-trans/ace/aro/neos/queer/fags/etc, pro-choice, sex-positive, black lives matter, anti-racist (which is systemic and connected to everything), anti-capitalist, free palestine, police should be defunded and the money reallocated to public resources, the land should be returned to the Indigenous Peoples it was stolen from, legal doesn't equal right, don't trust anyone telling you voting does nothing, everyone has something to unlearn, sex workers are valued and should be protected/respected, pleasure and kink are value neutral, media censorship is bad and cannot be reliably moderated ever, "fucked up" media should be allowed to exist, AI "art" as it exists currently is theft and so is the writing, drug use and addiction is value neutral and addicts should be supported, certain diagnosis/disorders aren't inherently evil or abusive, all mental health struggles deserve support/accommodations, food/water/housing is a basic human right, healthcare should be universally free, education including higher should be universally free, disabled people are invaluable to society, fatness is value neutral, car-centric city planning sucks, children are people, golf-courses suck, etc.

i've certainly missed several points but you get the gist. if you don't like it, leave

[hadesoftheladies]

one thing the barbie discourse really highlighted for me was how men equate having humanity as being dominant, hence, whenever women are dominant and men subordinate, men insist that men are being persecuted, hurt, or oppressed.

that's why they think that matriarchy would be violent. that's why they're so offended and vitriolic when women dare to assert themselves in any way (or denounce femininity and subjugation). to be a human man is to be dominant. there can be no other definition. so if a man isn't dominant then he is suffering and his humanity is under attack.

women cannot suffer in subordination because that's what being a woman is. so if women are beaten, raped, humiliated, barred from education, women cannot feel injustice because to be woman is to be inhuman. like animals, we do not recognize or feel things like suffering. we do not crave things like dignity. so men haven't done anything wrong by subjugating us. not really. they can't do anything wrong because we don't have a developed sense of morality, so their morality cannot be applied or meaningful to us.

but what men fear isn't women dominating them, they fear men dominating them. because they know what dominance does to a man. it may complete him, but it also makes him dangerous to his competitors. that, and their entire world is male-centric. so when they view women in power, they view them not as women, but as women becoming men.

that's why barbies ignoring kens is egregious and the idea of matriarchy frightening. they cannot imagine it outside patriarchal and masculinist culture. they cannot believe that a woman would not want to rape or kill or pillage once in power. human, after all, means male, so if a woman became human, it would have to mean she thought, acted, dressed and behaved as men did.

they are too afraid to admit to what that would mean about themselves. if the woman, the animal, can feel and have a moral sense, if they can understand and experience suffering, then the humanity of the man is in question because as someone with a supposed moral sense and enlightenment, he has been the one oppressing them, cruelly cutting them down without thought (that is mind). he is the inhuman one. now the man must question god, he must question his integrity and sense of innocence and identity, he must begin to wonder if he or any man is truly even redeemable.

and then they'd have to face guilt. and with that guilt torment. and with that torment, they would see that the only way to begin to live with themselves is rebel against the system, side with women, and that would mean marking himself as woman, as animal, to other men.

as viable for the slaughter

for if he is rejecting dominance, he is rejecting male humanity, divinity and authority, he is forfeiting his right to be treated as human by other men.

and not many men in history have ever been willing or brave enough to do that. so instead, they insist that animals are bloody and violent and mindless (despite the fact that there are no animal-created human farms) and that women would be just as bad, just as wicked, once they had power, once they became human.

in other words, once they became men.

[tobiasdrake]

The problem with Gohan ultimately isn't that Gohan is not suited to be the protagonist of Dragon Ball. It's that the way Dragon Ball stories are told are not suited to be the story of Gohan.

At its heart, Dragon Ball is about the journey of self-improvement. It's the story of one young boy's quest to understand martial arts, himself, and his place in the world and in the heavenly system of Buddhism. Its central mantra is about seeking to improve, to better one's self, purely for the sake of improvement and no other. It's rooted in the idea that even when you think you've made it to the top of the mountain, there is always another taller mountain just over the horizon.

For Goku, martial arts are the tool through which he improves himself. They're his passion. His drive. The center of his universe. Through martial arts, Goku builds relationships to others. Through martial arts, Goku refines himself not just physically but emotionally and spiritually. Through martial arts, Goku even achieves enlightenment.

But that's not Gohan's mountain. It's not his horizon. He's very strong. But martial arts aren't what matters to him.

This is what the start of the Buu arc seemed to grasp before it got cold feet and fell back on more familiar Goku-centric fare. To tell a story about Gohan that's true to the spirit of Dragon Ball, it would need to be about Gohan's journey into academia.

Education is, for Gohan, what martial arts are to Goku. A Gohan show wouldn't be about fighting. It'd be about learning. It'd be about Gohan discovering the world and building relationships through his pursuit of academia. Studying dinosaur biology and the Namekian ecosystem and trying to identify what ki really is from a scientific perspective. Interning at Capsule Corp to learn about shrinking tech.

And learning more about himself and his own curiosity in the process.

And it would be about romance. About learning how to have a stable and healthy relationship with another human being, despite a lack of positive role models in that area to draw from. It would be about Gohan having to surpass his flawed parents - As a boyfriend, as a husband, and ultimately as a father.

Those are Gohan's horizons. That is what his show would need to be about. But that's something that Dragon Ball, set in its ways and stubborn in its direction, simply isn't equipped to give him.

Which is a shame. Because it sounds like a very interesting story to me.