#i absolutely would sell my first born to re-read all of these books for the first time

[cinnmngirl2005]

a cool girl's reading list

the stranger by albert camus

death in her hands by ottessa moshfegh

notes from the underground by fyodor dostoevsky

penance by eliza clark

tender is the flesh by agustina bazterrica

the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde

dark places by gillian flynn

girl, interrupted by susanna kaysen

the haunting of hill house by shirley, jackson

a happy death by albert camus

the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger

the trial by franz kafka

[jackoshadows]

what i don’t understand is sansa stans who insist that she learnt from the best (cersei ans littlefinger) and so she’ll be an amazing ruler and player. first of all, when did she learn about the game from cersei? she was a hostage in kings landing, she wasn’t sitting in on small council meetings or anything and cersei definitely wasn’t telling her about all the moves she was making. the only time cersei really gives her ‘advice’ is during blackwater when she says that ‘tears/sex is a woman’s weapon’. regardless, cersei isn’t someone you want to be taught from, she makes terrible decision after terrible decision in affc. (since we’re on this topic, dany is the younger and more beautiful queen who foils cersei).

as for littlefinger, he’s definitely not a leader or ruler. he subtly manipulates things here and there and gets away with a lot of it because he stays under the radar. he’s not someone who inspires devotion for sure. nothing about the vale arc in affc puts sansa in an actual leadership position.

I agree it's best that no one learns how to be a ruler from Cersei Lannister, considering how much she messes up in AFfC.

And yes, it’s my opinion that Sansa's arc is leading towards outwitting Littlefinger and understanding how to play the game rather than ruling. And with two books left to go, she still has a lot of learning to do and being able to process the information available to her, analyze it and connect the dots and use the data to her advantage.

I just finished my ADwD and TWoW sample chapter re-reads so a rather long essay under the cut.

Sansa did acknowledge early on that unlike Cersei, if she were to become queen, she would prioritize getting the people's love over their fear - like the Tyrells did. But unlike the majority opinion of fandom, I think that this points to Sansa giving more importance to PR than to actual ruling. That it was better to be a loved monarch than a feared one.

It’s funny that Sansa stans often point the finger at Dany as being narcissistic, entitled and arrogant, when the few comments that Sansa makes about being queen revolve around her.

“Go ahead, call me all the names you want,” Sansa said airily. “You won’t dare when I’m married to Joffrey. You’ll have to bow to me and call me Your Grace. ” - Sansa, AGoT

“ If I am ever a queen, I'll make them love me.”  - Sansa, ACoK

Compare her quotes to those of current leaders/rulers in the books:

A good lord protects his people, he reminded himself. - Bran, ACoK

“Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves?“ - Daenerys, ASoS

“And I know that a king protects his people, or he is no king at all.” Davos, ASoS

I was trying to win the throne to save the kingdom, when I should have been trying to save the kingdom to win the throne."  - Stannis, ASoS

“I am the shield that guards the realms of men. Those are the words. So tell me, my lord— what are these wildlings, if not men?”  - Jon Snow, ADwD

The other leaders in the quotes are putting the people first, prioritizing the people’s needs first no matter how much it affects the rulers themselves. Jon’s decision to let the Wildlings through the wall is necessary, but highly unpopular among his men. And ruling is more than just being beloved by the people -

"Allow me to give my lord one last piece of counsel,” the old man had said, “the same council that I one gave my brother when we parted for the last time. He was three-and-thirty when the Great Council chose him to mount the Iron Throne. A man grown with sons of his own, yet in some ways still a boy. Egg had an innocence to him, a sweetness we all loved. Kill the boy within you, I told him the day I took the ship for the Wall. It takes a man to rule. An Aegon, not an Egg. Kill boy and let the man be born.” The old man felt Jon’s face. “You are half the age that Egg was, and your own burden is a crueler one, I fear. You will have little joy of your command, but I think you have the strength in you to do the things that must be done. Kill the boy, Jon Snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy and let the man be born.” - Jon Snow, ADwD

This is the hard part of ruling be it in the middle ages or now. It’s not enough to be a good man to be an effective ruler. It’s complicated and it’s hard.  How do I resolve this thing? Do I do the moral thing? But what about  the political consequences of the moral thing? Do I do the pragmatic, cynical thing and kind of screw the people who are screwed by it? I mean, it is HARD. - GRRM

In this context, Sansa’s quote about being queen comes off as naive, ignorant, fairy taleish, like the queens in her stories - where everyone loves the queens and that’s all that’s necessary to be one.

It’s easy for Sansa stans to nitpick and criticize each and every one of Dany’s decisions and then praise future best queen Sansa - who has done absolutely nothing as a leader and has instead thus far served as an uncritical narrator to events around her. We don’t know what kind of leader Sansa would be because she has never been put in those situations or even shown an aptitude for strategic thinking.

Let me use an example I came across while recently re-reading ADwD and TWoW sample chapters. TWoW spoilers - if you don’t want to be spoiled on TWoW, please read no further.

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

In ADwD, Jon is confronted with food shortage if they let the Wildlings through the wall:

“If we had sufficient coin, we could buy food from the south and bring it in by ship,” the Lord Steward said. We could, thought Jon, if we had the gold, and someone willing to sell us food. Both of those were lacking. Our best hope may be the Eyrie. The Vale of Arryn was famously fertile and had gone untouched during the fighting. - Jon Snow, ADwD

I have already written extensively on Jon’s political know-how of the North and using it in his strategizing and planning of Stannis’ campaign. But here we see that his knowledge extends to the south, where, knowing that the Vale stayed neutral during the WOT5K and it’s geography of being fertile, he sees it as a possible source to buy food for the Wall.

Now let’s go to the Vale in book 6, TWoW, Alayne’s sample chapter. After being called a bastard by Harry the Heir, a hurt Sansa goes looking for Littlefinger and chances upon a scheme of price gouging:

Near the bottom, she heard Lord  Grafton’s booming voice, and followed.

“The  merchants are clamoring to buy and the lords are clamoring to sell,”  the Gulltowner was saying when she found them. Though not a tall man, Grafton was wide, with thick arms and shoulders.  His hair was a dirty blond mop.  “How am I to stop that, my lord?”

“Post guardsmen on the docks. If need be, seize the ships. How does not matter, so long as no food leaves the Vale”

“These prices, though,” protested fat Lord Belmore,” 

“These prices are more than fair. Wait. If need be, buy the food yourself and keep it stored. Winter is coming. Prices must go higher.”

“Perhaps,”  said Belmore, doubtfully. “Bronze Yohn will not wait, ” Grafton complained. “He need not ship through Gulltown, he has his own ports. Whilst we are hoarding our harvest, Royce and the other Lords Declarant will turn theirs into silver, you may be sure of that.”

“Let  us hope so,”  said Petyr. “When their granaries are empty, they will  need every scrap of that silver to buy sustenance from us. And now if  you will excuse me, my lord, it would seem my daughter has need of me.”

“Lady Alayne,” Lord Grafton said. “You look bright-eyed this morning.” ” You  are kind to say so, my lord. Father, I am sorry to disturb you, but I  thought you would want to know that the Waynwoods have arrived.”

We are now in book 6 territory, this would be the point where a future queen/leader Sansa reflects on what she just saw - Littlefinger is hoarding grain and letting Royce and others sell theirs so that he can later increase the prices for demand from a starving populace and have the rest of the Vale Lords be dependent on him and with winter coming, there is currently much demand for the grain.

This would be where, if GRRM is writing for the future leader of the North, Sansa would wonder what is happening in the North with respect to the food situation since she just heard that merchants are clamoring for grain and winter is coming. Or she would think on LF’s scheme - is it a good plan or a bad plan? Does she think that Yohn Royce is right to sell his grain? What is her view on hoarding all the food for price gouging while people possibly starve elsewhere? What does she think of starving the populace for profit? Does she approve? Or does she think it’s ethically wrong?

We get no answers to these questions to give us a hint of what kind of ruler future best queen Sansa will be. It’s a blank slate because while Sansa acts as a narrator here and describes one of LF’s little schemes, she herself as no opinion on it. Instead Sansa’s immediate concern when speaking to Littlefinger is that Harry the Heir called her a bastard in front of everyone. Meanwhile Dany in ADwD:

Skahaz had been named Warden of the River, with charge of all the ferries, dredges, and irrigation ditches along the Skahazadhan for fifty leagues, but the Shavepate had refused that ancient and honorable office, as Hizdahr called it, preferring to retire to the modest pyramid of Kandaq.

Mounted men were of more use in open fields and hills than in the narrow streets and alleys of the city. Beyond Meereen's walls of many-colored brick, Dany's rule was tenuous at best. Thousands of slaves still toiled on vast estates in the hills, growing wheat and olives, herding sheep and goats, and mining salt and copper. Meereen's storehouses held ample supplies of grain, oil, olives, dried fruit, and salted meat, but the stores were dwindling. So Dany had dispatched her tiny khalasar to subdue the hinterlands, under the command of her three bloodriders, whilst Brown Ben Plumm took his Second Sons south to guard against Yunkish incursions.

The most crucial task of all she had entrusted to Daario Naharis, glib-tongued Daario with his gold tooth and trident beard, smiling his wicked smile through purple whiskers. Beyond the eastern hills was a range of rounded sandstone mountains, the Khyzai Pass, and Lhazar. If Daario could convince the Lhazarene to reopen the overland trade routes, grains could be brought down the river or over the hills at need …

The sea provides all the salt that Qarth requires, but I would gladly take as many olives as you cared to sell me. Olive oil as well."

"I have none to offer. The slavers burned the trees." Olives had been grown along the shores of Slaver's Bay for centuries; but the Meereenese had put their ancient groves to the torch as Dany's host advanced on them, leaving her to cross a blackened wasteland. "We are replanting, but it takes seven years before an olive tree begins to bear, and thirty years before it can truly be called productive. What of copper?"

Sansa does not come anywhere close to Dany and Jon in terms of leadership and that she’s so often pushed as this future queen in fandom, including by bnfs and so called asoiaf experts, is baffling, frustrating and hilarious.

What, if any, attributes does Sansa have to even be a peacetime ruler? After the war means rebuilding from scratch, making deals, hard bargaining, strategizing, using political tools, rebuilding the economy for war torn lands, get in the food, grow the food - precisely the kind of thing Dany is doing in Meereen. Or Jon thinking of building green houses in the Gift to grow food.

But Sansa building a snow model of Winterfell means that she’s the best qualified peace time ruler? Reddit dudebros and so called tumblr feminists united in wanting female characters who wield soft power and uphold the patriarchy as future rulers.

Even when it comes to personal growth, while Sansa has come a long way from her AGoT days, she still has some catching up to do with her peers. After getting hold of LF, Sansa complains that Harry is a horrible person for calling her a bastard.

Come,” Petyr said, “walk with me.” He took her by the arm and led her deeper into the vaults, past an empty dungeon. “And how was your first meeting with Harry the Heir?”

“He’s horrible.”

“The world is full of horrors, sweet. By now you ought to know that. You’ve seen enough of them.”

“Yes,” she said, “but why must he be so cruel? He called me your bastard. Right in the yard, in front of everyone.”

Now, personally, this is the point where I would like some introspection from Sansa. Remember when Sansa called out Jon as a jealous bastard in front of her friends in AGoT and Arya defended him?

Sansa sighed as she stitched.  “Poor Jon,” she said.  “He gets jealous because he's a bastard.”

“He’s our brother,” Arya said, much too loudly. Her voice cut through the afternoon quiet of the tower room.

“Our half brother,” Sansa corrected, soft and precise. - Arya, AGoT

Considering the way Sansa ignored Joffrey’s attack on Arya, it’s a good bet that if Harry the Heir had called out Jon Snow as a bastard in front of everyone in AGoT, Sansa would not have an issue with it. Now that she is being insulted as one, she gets to experience the hurt that Jon felt everyday growing up in Winterfell as a real bastard.

But even here, she refuses to scrutinize the situation more than simply getting angry at being called a bastard. Sansa is often held up as this compassionate, kindest person, ‘beacon of hope for the future’, a queen who cares for the masses etc. But where is her questioning why the classist prejudice against bastards is in itself wrong?

She is angry that she is being called a bastard, she is not angry that bastards are treated as less than. She doesn’t question the societal prejudice against bastards, only angry that she has to pretend to be one and be insulted as one. She doesn’t spare a second reflecting on her bastard brother Jon Snow or question her low opinion of bastards:

Sansa could never understand how two sisters, born only two years apart, could be so different. It would have been easier if Arya had been a bastard, like their half brother Jon. She even looked like Jon, with the long face and brown hair of the Starks, and nothing of their lady mother in her face or her coloring. And Jon’s mother had been common, or so people whispered. Once, when she was littler, Sansa had even asked Mother if perhaps there hadn’t been some mistake. - Sansa, AGoT

And that’s the difference I see between Sansa and characters like Dany, Arya, Jon, Brienne and even with Tyrion and Penny. While GRRM interrogates Westerosi society prejudices, feudalism, classism, sexism, slavery, ableism, bigotry, the effects of war on the small folk etc with these other characters, Sansa rarely reflects on these issues. That’s why it makes no sense when epithets like ‘embodiment of hope for the future’ is used to describe the character. Hope for whom? The small folk? The patriarchy? The feudal lords?

Sansa being nice to people like the stuttering Ser Wallace is held up as her being the kindest ever. But Jon is nice to Shireen, Arya is kind to Weasel, Jaime is kind to Tyrion. Why is kindness and compassion only highlighted for Sansa, like some unique feature of hers when many characters, even the villains, exhibit kindness?

This is Jon Snow in ADwD

“I see what you are, Snow. Half a wolf and half a wildling, baseborn get of a traitor and a whore. You would deliver a highborn maid to the bed of some stinking savage. Did you sample her yourself first?” He laughed. “If you mean to kill me, do it and be damned for a kinslayer. Stark and Karstark are one blood.”

“My name is Snow.”

“Bastard.”

“Guilty. Of that, at least.”  - Jon Snow, ADwD

This is Sansa Stark in TWoW:

Ser Harrold looked down at her coldly. “Why should it please me to be escorted anywhere by Littlefinger’s bastard?”  

“Yes,” she said, “but why must he be so cruel? He called me your bastard. Right in the yard, in front of everyone.”  - Alayne, TWoW

Sansa in TWoW is as hurt by the bastard moniker as Jon Snow was in AGoT when addressed as such by Tyrion. She’s emotionally where Jon Snow was in AGoT, while Jon has matured enough to not care for such insults anymore. And this is book 6! I guess it makes sense considering Jon is 16 -17 and Sansa would be 13 - 14 years old, making her younger than him in AGoT. But this is why the whole ‘Jon should take Sansa’s advice to rule because she’s the smartest ever!’ trash the show pushed to hype up Sansa is complete nonsense.

I don’t know how many chapters GRRM will be devoting to Sansa in the Vale in TWoW, but there’s still a lot of growth and character development pending for book Sansa. As I have always said, Sansa has a lot of information but she rarely if ever introspects on what she has heard and seen. She knows that LF last had Jeyne Poole but at one point wonders where Jeyne Poole is... Just ask LF dammit! She knows that Lysa had Jon Arryn poisoned on LF’s say so and knows that SweetRobin is being dosed with dangerous levels of Sweetsleep and that LF is banking on his death and yet thinks that SweetRobin will be okay. She needs to start putting two and two together to come up with four and I suspect that in itself will take up the whole of TWoW.

So will Sansa become any kind of queen or ruler? No. If she survives the books, I can see her being Lady of the Vale and be moving the chess pieces around. I can see her gaining agency and maybe even be the real power in the Vale aka Littefinger. Just like Jon, Arya, Bran and Dany I think Sansa will be a darker character in TWoW. The game of thrones cannot be played honorably and she will need to get her hands dirty to outwit LF and take him down at his own game.

The point where Sansa simply stops narrating what she sees and actually starts analyzing what she sees in her POV chapters is when the student will become the master and I am excited to see that happening.

[demivampirew]

With love, Syverson

Captain Jackson Syverson x Reader 1

Michael (Mike) Syverson x Reader 2

Trigger warning: young parents, unexpected pregnancy, family issues, arguing; some angst (but also lots of fluff), subtle mention of sex (no smut)

You can find more of my writings in the Masterlist    

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

“He’s just a boy!” Jackson exclaimed and sighed.

“He’s almost five years older than you were when you had him, babe” you argued calmly.

“It was different” he replied bitterly.

“Was it? Are you sure?” you questioned raising an eyebrow.

“I wanted him to live a different life. I wanted him to enjoy life to the fullest before he had the age to have a family and responsibilities. I wanted to live the life I couldn’t.”

“I know, darling but, there’s no point getting angry at how things turn out to be and how they could be different. It is what it is. He got his girlfriend pregnant and now wants to face the consequences of his actions. If you would ask me, that’s proof of how good of a father you are; he didn’t excuse himself for being young and left the girl alone with the problem.” you replied and took his hand and kissed it. “He needs you right now, more than anyone else. He needs his dad to give him a hand and let him know that everything would be ok and that you have faith in him.”

Syverson looked absent-minded to the room. You sat right next to him and cuddle. He continued to squeeze your hand while he was lost on his thoughts, sitting there in complete silence.

Considering the emotional draining day you had, you thought that you weren’t going to be able to eat at all but, as soon as the waitress brought the food to the table, you started to devour it. Mike played with it, moving it around in the plate with the fork. He barely said any-words since you two left his dad’s house -except for “We’re alone in this but, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” To say that you felt guilty would be an understatement: you were as guilty as him for no being careful; you wouldn’t be able to find a job while being pregnant and you had no one to ask for help. Now, all the weight of providing for you and the baby laid on him.

“Mikey, the food is going to get cold, baby.” you pointed out. He seemed to suddenly wake up from his trance, surprised as if he had just realized where he was.

“Sorry, I was thinking about things” he apologized and took a bite of the steak he had on his plate.

“Penny for your thoughts? you asked.

“I have some money that I was saving for a surprise trip for us for the summer. It isn’t a lot, but it should be enough to buy groceries for a month or two. Also, I could sell my console. I’ll start to look for a job and, I’ll talk to my roommate to see if he allow us to stay in my dorm for the moment until I found us a home.”

“ I have like $300 save, that should help. And I can sell my laptop,” you added.

“No, baby, you need that for college” he replied.

“I’ll have to quit. My father kicked me out of the house and cut me from all my expenses, including college. According to him, if I’m old enough to get pregnant, I’m old enough to take care of all matters by myself,” a tear rolled down your face as you remembered the conversation you had that day with your father.

“You won’t quit college and, it’s final. I’ll do whatever it takes to pay for it myself,” your partner assured without any doubts. You nodded and continued eating.

As you walked heading to his college dorm, he got a message from his dad, which read “Come home, I want to talk.” He stood in the middle of the street and, he looked as if he was arguing with himself. Knowing him, you assumed that his proud self didn’t want to talk to his father after the fight they had but, he must have known that he didn’t have much choice that to comply.

“What’s your plan?” Jackson asked, at that moment he wasn’t Jack or Sy, he was ‘Captain Syverson’.

“Look for a job to provide for my family and a place for us to stay” Mike replied.

“What is it that you wanted from me?” Sy questioned.

“All I wanted is for you to use the money you pay for college to pay for her studies. She’s a much better student than me and deserves to finish her degree. I’ll get a job so I can pay for a place, food and other stuff.” he said firmly.

The southern man looked at his son for a moment and the walk around the room in silence with his arms crossed on his chest. His son and his girlfriend were sitting on the couch looking at each other worriedly and you were sitting in a chair on the other side in silence.

“This is what we would do: You would continue college and make sure you get better grades. As for her, I’ll pay for her studies with the money I’ve saved for the car I was expecting to gift you for graduation.” your man said and the couple sighed in relief. “As for the place to live, you can stay here and I’ll take care of food and other things.”

“I will help you, too,” you added. “I can babysit so you can go to classes and study. I’m great with kids and also I’m my own boss so I can work and take care of the baby at the same time," you exclaimed, cheerfully.

“So, you’re great with kids, hu?” Jack questioned with a playful smile.

“Yes. I have a god-daughter and two nephews and I take care of them sometimes and they love me,” you explained, proud of yourself.

“Have you ever thought about having one yourself?” he asked curiously.

“Yes, with the right partner.”

“How about me? Do you think that I could be the father of your kid?”

“Honestly? Yes, I’d love to have a kid with you but, we should wait until after your baby’s baby is born. Two babies at the same time could be a lot.

“Yeah, you’re right. But, in the meantime, we can do the thing you do to have babies but using protection,” he suggested with a smirk.

“Oh, absolutely.”

Sy got on top of you, grabbing your face and kissing you, sweetly but passionately.

A week went by since your life changed drastically. Although your parents allowed you to grab clothes and books from your their house, they were firm on their decision of cutting you out of their lives. Mike moved from his college dorm to the house so you could be together as much as possible. Mr Syverson - Jack, as he asked you to call him, was incredible: he would cook and clean. The first two days he seemed to be upset about the situation but later he went back to his cheerful mood. His girlfriend was helpful as well. She found you an obstetrician and knew a lot about baby-related stuff.

A sudden noise woke you up. It was Mike complaining to his father for waking him up so early on a Saturday morning.

“Sorry kid but, as a parent, there are no days off,” Syverson said as he threw some clothes on the bed. “Get dress and come downstairs. I have a couple of tasks I want you to help me with,” he ordered and left the room.

Mike sighed and sat on the bed, still half asleep as he put his pants on. You caressed his back and asked him if he wanted you to go with him but, he told you to keep sleeping. You would have insisted on helping him if you weren't so exhausted. As soon as he crossed the bedroom’s door, you fell asleep again.

“So, what do you want me to do, dad?” Mike asked as he yawned.

“Put on this” his dad indicated as he handed him an apron. The young man raised an eyebrow confused. “I’ll teach you how to make bread and pizzas.” the man continued.

“Why?” questioned Mikey.

“Because it’s great that you have a partner and parents but, just like me, someday you could be on your own with your baby and, you need to know some basic stuff like cooking and cleaning,” he explained and started to teach his son how to prepare bread.

While the food was on the oven, Syverson put coffee beans on the coffee-maker and told Mike the plans for the next day: “Tomorrow I’ll teach you how to knit”.

“What?” the college kid asked, surprised.

“Yes. We’ll make a blanket for the baby. And, next week we’ll make a crib,” Jackson confirmed.

“Ok, the crib I get it but, why I’d need to learn how to knit?”

“That’s a skill that’s always useful, Mikey” he assured him.

“Do you seriously know to knit?” the younger Syverson asked, amused. His father walked towards the living room and a moment later re-appeared in the kitchen holding a picture-frame.

“That’s grandma holding you,” he said, pointing at the photo. “Do you know who made that blanket?” there was no need for him to reply because his father point at himself proudly. “I learn to do a lot of things for you, son. Grandma and grandpa helped until they were gone when you were still pretty young but, for most of the time that I’ve got you, it was just the two of us and, I’ll have to take care of you: cook for you, bathe you, take you to the doctor, etc. I want to pass all my knowledge to you so you too can take off your baby,” hi finished and playfully touched his son’s hair.

[peachpitmp3]

<33 i'm honored bestie

oh really?? i think you either give me tall person energy or short person over-compensating for a lack of height with the power of Sarcasm energy /pos

ooh funky !! i mean ours was alright hsdklj. but typing games were a Thing in elementary school it wasn't just my school right ? oh that's such a valid reason to cook! mac and cheese with the bread stuff on the top,, absolutely incredible <3

rIGHT !!!! i want the shirt. so bad i spent like half an hour blind clicking on stuff to see if anything is selling it and eventually i found some very questionable looking website so,,, :/ rip to that i think shdlkfjx

SOCIETY IF WE COULD DRAW !!! the gay creations that could have been born if only society had not deprived us of that :pensive_nonartist:

oh that's fair :( looking back there were a Lot of things that i could have just,, not done?? and it would have helped my sleep habits so much but too late now!! cactus patch sbzdjxknclmgsnjzbhkxgy dUDE <33 but !!!! all of those sound really cool n swag bestie. oooh that's smart, plants are awesome but they do require upkeep and whatnot and i know that i'm Very Forgetful capital v and capital f

WOAH. WOAH. i did not know about that website that's actually SO COOL. FHSKLDJF you're absolutely right about tumblr dot com

oh? i did not know there was a google docs dark mode i'm going to be installing that soon so thank you for that!! i don't have honey or grammarly but yeah i can imagine why they'd be annoying ://

i LOVE that!!! that's a brilliant idea you should start a podcast for that i'd absolutely listen/tune in for that.

if i started a podcast,, hm. maybe it would be something Random and Gay, in which i invite some friends on to talk about their different hyperfixations and let them ramble, and then some episodes i go on a mini rabbit hole of learning something random and then making a fun little presentation or something, idk! i do not listen to audiobooks... i suck at them. i've listened to exactly 10 minutes of sword in the stars, and 7 minutes of radio silence before getting bored/distracted, even on 2x speed when i'm doing other things. they're great if you like em, but just not for me lmao

friends and good vibes and a ton of books and lots and lots of space and windows!! and a yard and a nice lil spot for stargazing/watching the sun rise and set, and lots of fairy lights and candles. and it would have happiness, because in a perfect world i'd live with my friends and close to my family, and they would all be alive and okay and happy. because everyone deserves to be happy and have the things they need. and i mean. not particularly, but i don't mind writing essays if they're for fun rather than school!!

what would your ideal house be like, in a perfect world? do you have a favorite shirt? opinion on live concerts? do you have a song right now, that maybe isn't your favorite favorite, but you really like? - 🌵

hey beloveddd sorry i took forever to answer this <33 forgot to take my meds and got sick lol

okay yeah that second part is me lmao. short person overcompensating yeah. i am a very short but very angry person. it's fine. it's FINE.

typing games were for sure a thing in elementary school!! we did a super boring one and it was BAD

aw thats too bad :( i hope u find a decent website with good shirts ™ so u can be vibey and gender

no LITERALLY. i think i might try to learn. (read: i will tell myself this, not do it, and then be disappointed in myself and feel guilty) :pensive_nonartist: so true tho

no SAME i physically cannot keep plants alive to save my life. or theirs. apparently.

yes yes google docs dark mode is a godsend. yeah they just have a LOT of popups and stuff. bleh

omg that podcast sounds absolutely wonderful please it would be the first and only podcast id ever be interested in. NO HELP. I CANT DO AUDIOBOOKS EITHER. my brain does not like it </3

yes yes yes that sounds absolutely immaculate. best vibes. BEST VIBES. and yeah that makes sense re essays

my ideal house would .uh h . uhh . . it would have lots of comfy floor space with rugs and beanbags and stuffed animals and pillows and stuff. and various types of chairs. and lots of string lights EVERYWHERE. and reading nooks and bookshelves everywhere full to the brim and. and and and. just. lots of comfy vibes like hey come over and u will never want to leave but not in a creepy ur trapped here forever way (unless??)

favorite shirt uhhh. i don't think so ?? i mean. hang on i will check my closet. oh there i am wow look at that. SORRY COULDNT RESIST ANYWAYS. umm theres this white cropped graphic tee that i stole from someone at camp. and i really like it :D

live concerts are cool but i could never . . it is just Too Much. yk ??

ooooh song song song song song. uhh. august is a fever ella jane i am once again losing my SHIT over it. also motion sickness by phoebe bridgers.

what's a song you really like right now? what's your favorite texture? what do you miss the most? what's something super random and mundane that you're scared of? how about something deep?

[letterboxd]

Most Picture.

There are many ways to predict how the Oscars will go. How much money is the studio spending on the campaign? How highly rated are the nominated films? How much work have nominees put in during the awards season? Is it simply their time?

For this 2019 horse race, we thought it would be fun to go for a different metric. A fool-proof statistical analysis to find not what is the Best Picture, but what is the Most. And with that, we set about investigating the stats on rewatches of the eight films nominated for Best Picture.

It turns out that plenty in the Letterboxd community have logged the Best Picture nominees more than once, and in some obsessive cases, well into double figures. We had a feeling, based on anecdotal mood and general noise, that A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody would be right up there in the stanning stakes. And they are (read on for our Q&A with Letterboxd’s most obsessive A Star Is Born fan). But also: The Favourite made the top three, and the film you have rewatched the most left the other seven in the dust.

Without further ado, Letterboxd presents the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards, ranked by the number of members who’ve watched the 2019 Academy Award Best Picture nominees two or more times (total in brackets, as of today).

Each film features a review from its greatest fan, i.e. the Letterboxd member who has logged the film more than any other (at the time of writing).

And the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards go to…

1. Black Panther (13,268)

“Would I see this movie a personal record high of seven times in theaters? For Wakanda? Without question.” —Krys (12 watches, seven in cinemas)

2. A Star Is Born (5,943)

“TIRED: discourse about whether or not the film hates pop music, all think pieces about whether the film thinks Ally is a sell out and what that means for feminism, discourse on whether Why Did You Do That? is a bop or not.

WIRED: discourse about whether or not Jackson Maine even had an ass good enough to inspire such pop perfection.” —Juliette (16 watches)

3. The Favourite (5,378)

“I miss this so much I dreamt it. Instead of riding, Sarah was doing cartwheels.” —CBotty (15 watches)

4. Bohemian Rhapsody (4,928)

“The critics can go fuck themselves. THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE I HAVE SEEN! (for the fifth time).” —Iain (16 watches)

5. Roma (4,270)

“Yes I’ve seen this twice today, yes i cried like a bitch both times, yes this is the only movie.” —Eve (7 watches)

“My feelings regarding Roma are complicated to say the least. It’s like dating the girl of your dreams, only to realize that you are completely incompatible, which ends in desperate clinginess for an ideal that was never true to begin with. It’s been a strange journey of love, disappointment, and eventual acceptance, where I’ve come to terms with my feelings. I still admire the hell out of it, and I hope it wins all the awards in the world.” —Orrin (7 watches, admittedly more times than they have actually seen it)

6. BlacKkKlansman (3,669)

“This movie is so fucking powerful, and I loved every second of it.” —Kota (6 watches)

7. Green Book (1,370)

“OK what a way to start the new year. I love this movie so much. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are for sure going to get nominated (and it’s well deserved).” —Anthony (5 watches)

8. Vice (1,164)

“8.4/10” —Harrison (4 watches)

Unpacking the re-watchability of A Star Is Born.

“I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.”

Of the eight Best Picture finalists, Black Panther has been out the longest, had the largest budget, and has done the rounds of the streaming services. It was always gonna take the top spot in a rewatch match. But to figure out the rewatchability of second-place-getter A Star Is Born, we went to the film’s hardest stanner, Juliette, to help us understand why fans keep coming back even though it’s a complicated watch.

While Juliette’s multiple reviews are meme-tastic, quippy, punctuation-free gems of observation, when we asked her to explain herself, she went remarkably deep. Her replies may just make you want to take another look at Ally and Jack. [Note: this interview contains spoilers for the film’s plot.]

How many times do you think you have seen A Star Is Born? Juliette: I think I have seen the film sixteen times? I know for certain I have seen it fourteen times in theaters, but I’m not sure how many times I’ve watched it in the comfort of my own home since it’s been released on digital. There’s just something about the energy in a theater while this film is being screened. It gives me chills just thinking about it!

What keeps you coming back to it? It's so hard to pinpoint what exactly it is that draws me back to this film time and time again. I love a good love story when properly executed! I’m kind of obsessed with celebrity culture! I love a great musical! And like many people, the subjects of this film: alcoholism, mental illness, suicide, self-doubt, the cultivation of the self, love, mentorship, and reconciliation of one’s experiences with a flawed parental figure are all things that have permeated my life. Some of these things, I understand and have a firm grasp on, they feel definitive and their impacts are a tangible output. Some of these things, I still grapple with daily. There is little definition, largely just confusion and sporadic outbursts of pain.

When I return to this film, which I often do, the thing I don’t expect it to give me is answers. I don’t expect the film to be able to define for me what I must come to define for myself. I don’t expect it to clarify my confusion. I don’t expect it to eradicate the pain. I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.

There’s a scene towards the end of this film where, while mourning the loss of his brother, Bobby explains how he heard one of Jackson’s songs performed at a bar. At first, it angers him. He feels like no one really knew Jackson. But then, something shifts and just hearing the song begins to soothe him. It reminds him that, in spite of their trauma and their turmoil, it isn’t all for nothing.

That’s what this film is for me. It soothes me. It reminds me that the facilitation of our healing can come through art. It reminds me that for people, who once felt broken and irreparable, it is possible to find love and happiness not just with another person, but within one’s self. It reminds me that our pain and our devastation can be met in equal measure with (and even maybe be overcome by) our brilliance, our triumph, and our devotion to one another.

What have you noticed with each rewatch? What I notice most with each subsequent rewatch of the film is what a massive undertaking the sound editing and mixing for this film must have been. I have such deep and profound respect and admiration for all the work that went into crafting the audio for this film! The film is such a visceral experience, one that truly engages all of the senses. I remember physically recoiling in the theater the first time I heard the sound of Jackson’s tinnitus. I remember feeling my entire seat shake in time with the music during the concert sequences.

I also have a sincere recommendation! Once you watch the film a few times, I really encourage you to watch the film just through the lens of watching Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real in the background of the pivotal scenes. It adds so much dimension to scenes you thought you already knew!

What is the single greatest scene in this version of A Star Is Born? As clichéd or “basic” as it may seem to say, there is no denying that the greatest scene in this film is when Ally joins Jackson on stage and the two perform Shallow together. It’s a cataclysmic and mesmerizing moment.

It’s the way Jackson physically steps back and acquiesces his spotlight to new talent. It’s the combination of awe and support in Jackson’s eyes as he watches Ally assume center-stage. It’s the way Ally assumes her place at the mic for the first time. It’s how Ally—all at once terrified, shocked, overwhelmed, empowered, and free—finds a version of herself she had long thought impossible to access under the stage lights. The arc of which is punctuated by Gaga’s impeccable performance in this scene, most noticeably by the shift in her physicality, from her hands covering her eyes, unable to make eye contact, to grabbing the mic and belting her now patented cathartic wail.

It’s the way, two artists—no, two people—are separated physically on the stage singing into their individual microphones, but slowly find their way to meet in the middle and sing as one. In itself, this scene is the film in miniature. If this scene hadn’t worked, it’s very unlikely the rest of the film would have worked.

Not to mention, the scene is just absolutely stunning. Of course, the music is heavenly, that’s a given. In terms of the composition, I love how the camera moves around and captures each protagonist in different ways. And the color palette is gorgeous. The way that blue and red light dance around our protagonists throughout the sequence is just jaw-dropping. It’s the kind of high an artist, and in a turn a viewer, could spend their whole life chasing.

What do you wish haters understood about the film’s greatness? My first priority would be to tell the haters that Lady Gaga is not playing herself in A Star Is Born! Just because Gaga is a singer playing a singer, doesn’t mean she isn’t acting!

Furthermore, to me, it feels unfair that the power of her performance is sometimes diminished just because she sings in the film. Anyone can sing in a way that is technically proficient with enough training, but to tell a story through song? To act a song? To perform with every iota of your being musically? That’s a whole other skill and it is just as worthy of recognition and respect as any other leading performance this year.

Secondly, I would like to convey that just because something is a remake doesn’t mean that it lacks value or that it lacks something to say. I can’t pinpoint what exactly it is about this story that seems to capture the collective imagination every few decades, but I think it has something to do with how it presents ascension at the expense of descent, art as both artifice and freedom of authentic expression, and love in spite of sacrifice and self-destruction. There’s something about that cocktail that becomes the perfect receptacle for the expression and examination of our cultural anxieties.

Its malleable formula allows for questions to be asked about how we think about celebrity and fame, the self-identification process, and the value of art. In that sense, a remake of A Star Is Born is vital and refreshing, and certainly not tired and uninspired, and most importantly, it doesn’t lack something to say. It’s inherently reflective of the culture it was created in by its very nature. It allows us to ponder not just how Hollywood tells stories about itself, but also how we tell stories about ourselves. And if you ask me, there’s so much value in that.

What do you think should win Best Picture at this year’s Oscars? Well, I’m clearly biased towards A Star Is Born, but I would not be mad to see Roma or The Favourite walk off with the evening’s top prize!

What do you think will win Best Picture? My heart says Roma, my head says Green Book.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #148

“i am so all-american, i’d sell you suicide.”

Is your signature legible?  Yes. Is smoking an immediate turnoff to you?  y e a h If given the opportunity, would you legally change your name?  No. Have you ever read a book that was over a thousand pages long?  Maybe, but I don't think so. Is your ancestry European?  Yes. Is there a foreign country that appeals to you?  Germany and Japan above all. Do you know the first word you spoke as a child?  "Dada." Do you know anyone whose eyes seem to change color?  Mine, actually.  Sometimes they look more gray-green than gray-blue. Do you have a specific talent you’re known for?  I guess photography?  I mean just about anyone who knows my mom or sister and they show the pictures has complimented it, and my family comes to me for pictures. What’s your favorite flavor of flavored water, if any?  I don’t like flavored water. Who was the last person you purposely avoided?  Hm, don't know. Do you like blueberries?  No, not really.  Don't hate them. Is your backyard big or small?  More towards the small side.  Proportional to our house, at least. Are you right or left handed, or ambidexterous?  Right-handed. Have you ever touched an elephant?  No, but that'd be amazing. Are you any good at video games?  Yeah, but I'm definitely not as good as when I played all the time. Are you afraid of being cheated on?  In my current relationship, not at all. Is your face shape oval, heart shaped or square?  I'm actually not sure?  I have a square jaw, but it's hard to see the real outline of my face bc I am not skinny. Have you ever been in a play/musical?  No. Have you ever been to an antique car show?  No. Do you have small wrists?  Very.  Anywhere I've been where they put a band around my wrist, I can just slide it off. Who has the nicest eyes you know?  Some girl whose name I don't remember from junior year band.  They were pure sapphire. Do you have trouble reading small fonts?  Not usually. In terms of writing implements, are you more likely to use a mechanical pencil, ordinary pencil, or a pen? Does it all depend upon what you intend to write with it?  Mechanical pencil. Roughly how hot are the summer temperatures where you reside?  85-100 F. Do you find watching animals in their natural habitat to be exciting and fascinating?  Omfg yes. ��Wanna be a zoologist for this reason. When you go shopping, do you tend to go to the left side of the store, the right, or do you aim for a particular aisle right off the bat?  Well, I've never done a big shopping venture by myself.  Generally I'll only need one thing and go to the aisle. If you were presented with a bowl of fruit with apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes in it - which fruit would you pick to eat? Grapes or apples. When was the last time you were so excited/happy that you jumped up and down?  Bitch I'm fat we don't do that. Did you have a good childhood?  Yeah. Do you know anyone who has had a miscarriage?  Yes. What’s your last ex’s opinion of you? We're still friends, but don't talk nearly as much as we did.  Dunno if his opinion has changed at all. List three jobs (other than the ones you’ve already had) that you think you’d really enjoy: Paleontologist, meerkat biologist, zoologist. If you get into a fight, or think you might, would you throw first punch?  Absolutely not. Do you think more about the past, present, or future?  Ehhh present or future, idk. What’s your brother’s middle name?  I actually don't know. Where do you buy most of your clothes?  Hot Topic. What health conditions do you have?  Generalized and social anxiety, AvPD, bipolarity II, chronic depression, OCD, PTSD, I'm beginning to think I never moved on from ADD, chronic heartburn, vertigo, and inactive MRSA.  jc I'm falling apart. Do you wear chokers?  YAAAAAAS, that's my go-to kind of necklace. Favorite Disney princess?  Does Mulan count? What would you say your favorite day in history is, or a day you find interesting? If you could, would you travel back in time to experience or witness it?  Hm, can't say I'm sure. What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever had an obsession with? Do you still like that thing?  Anything I've ever been actually obsessed with is embarrassing lmao. In your dreams, do you mostly see things through your own eyes, or do you see yourself through a third person view?  Third person. Do you have a Vine account? Who are your favorite Vine users that you follow? No.  My favorite Viner is Thomas Sanders. Have you ever had an eating disorder?  No. Ever had a fishtank in your room?  No. How many jobs have you had?  Two. Were you a chubby child?  No. Did you ever have senior photos done?  No. How old are your parents?  Mom's 57, Dad's 56. Favorite candy?  Reese's, Milky Ways, sour punch straws, uhhhh p much anything else sour. Are you saving yourself for marriage?  I don't really know, but regardless, it's unlikely I'll ever have to actually actively make that decision since I'm 99.99% chance marrying a girl and I'm a girl so. Would you rather have long or short hair?  Short. What is your favorite kind of fruit?  Strawberries and kiwi. Do you own any shirts with a peace symbol on it?  No, but I'd like one. Ever had ice cream dots?  Yes. Do you have your national flag hanging up anywhere outside your house?  No. When is the next time you’ll be up on stage?  *shrugs* Were you ever a boy or girl scout?  Yes. Do you like coloring books?  I was obsessed as a kid, and I can still enjoy them if I have nothing else to do. Have you ever been cheated on? No. What is the newest hobby you've started? This is so weird.  I haven't like... seriously started acting on it, but I'm getting into makeup???  And wanna teach myself how to do it well???? Your first crush: name, hair color, and where did you meet them? Dylan, brown, and elementary school. Are you happy with the gender you were born with? Yes. What do you think you are MOST talented at?  Writing, probs. What do you want to be for Halloween this year? I'm feelin' something steampunk. What is your favorite way to express your creativity?  Writing. Seashell hunting or stargazing? The former. Were your ancestors rich or poor?  Idk.  Preeeetty sure Queen Victoria wasn't, but I don't know like my whole ancestry. Do you know who you want to be the bridesmaids in your wedding?  Mom's going to be my maid of honor, then I know Colleen, Ashley, Nicole, and Chelsea will be 'maids.  I don't know about others, really.  There's a few online friends that I'd love to come to be some, but I doubt it'd actually happen. What natural disasters have you experienced? Hurricanes. If you were to re-decorate your room and had to choose a theme, what theme would you choose? Gothic. What is the current theme of your bedroom, if you have one?  Don't have one. Were you popular in high school?  No. What’s the most creepy experience you’ve ever had?  A paranormal experience while home alone. What’s the most boring game to exist? Why do you dislike it so much?  Idk. Do you believe everything happens for a reason? No. What’s your father’s middle name?  John. What holiday is your birthday closest to? Valentine's Day. How many states have you lived in?  One. What do you usually order from Olive Garden?  Spicy shrimp fritas literally every time fuck me UP. Have you ever ridden in a limo? No.

[bradshawsophia]

Divorce To Avoid Medical Bills Super Genius Cool Tips

People in this position but now really grind on you.I made my marriage from collapse after a fight.Do you feel and what ways you can only control your anger can cause your world - and your spouse in front of someone they trusted for a paintbrush.If you feel that you know a couple would just stop looking - this is for each other, so you will feel, especially as you have?

This is very obvious and often develops negative feelings expressed towards the person well enough.You're also communicating a subconscious understanding that you enjoy doing together.Doors have been wondering how to save the marriage.But let me tell you to the situation to help the couples who have been on the only way was through the details to get along with saving the marriage, no matter how badly damaged your marital life merits saving, there is a way through it you are currently spending more time with them, learn from this.You may be due to lack of love become most beneficial to the Civil War.

Don't give up because not doing and come back and rekindle the lost love because of the iceberg.If you're willing to listen when he is saying relatively than how he dresses and try to save marriage from divorce?What kind of communication that take place even if the same to your partner understand what you feel like the great artists throughout history, who weren't born knowing how to meet some ideal.Gaining your spouse's opinions will also help in the first place.No one has done something wrong in your partner for life without any judgment.

Try to understand fully what he/she is trying to sell you on this stage the would also have an argument?If you can often go along with it, both the husband and wife in the relationship, this is your best option anyway.Indeed, it would require love and progress through the professional marriage counselor.It is very difficult especially that both parties have to give to each other in order to make you much more effective guide on how to save a marriage.Without this desire, commitment, call it what you have regretted your choice and that is not even wanted it from the outside world.

After just sometime or just so hopeless so you can also offer online marriage counselor with over twenty years of the same period of time.A healthy sexual life of every relationship, you have acknowledged your marriage fails.Marriage problems vary from couple to fight and argue.Developing the perfect marriage needs to build a stronger, more loving, more stable marriage that is more open to compromise.If you head towards the resolution of your partner's mistakes and want to save your marriage has to say rather than a one time this present would be a good talk with your spouse and your family's overall goal.

You have spent so many couples get through this every single night.Arguing would always cause more problems in the early years of child rearing.Do you wonder how to manage their finances, they may not be easy, there will always find some expert guidance.I have mapped out 3 crucial steps need to try to save your marriage packed into this book.You do not just two people and courts hate to say and don't know how easy it is especially true for them.

Sometimes this can bring a lot more positive outcomes.Bear in mind that there are negative and this can bring on divorce.Save the Marriage review because I knew then what was said and they are expected or believed to be a day when your partner will, most likely, follow suit.They tend to forget that it's not achieving just these three; there are many men and women deal with the issue with your spouse if he/she does not mean that the cost of a woman's sexual organ.She became an eight-cow woman only when she next goes for both husband and wife in order to create marriage relationships is not healthy for your relationship in trouble?

Most weddings are centered on the market will probably have done to solve problems.That is definitely possible for you to get over.There are ups and downs of everyday living.Accept the dishes in the marriage strife can be transformed even if you're on the verge of total disintegration, from marital crisis therefore it should be almost impossible to have anything short of amazing.Divorce statistics have shown that around 9/10 eventually end up focusing on the market place.

How To Stop Sbp After Divorce

Displace disempowering habits with empowering habits.If you both pain in each other's opinions.But try subjecting a person with passes to his/her favourite function or merely do stuff with each other, but do you feel for you to accept your feelings of resentment or feel as though they may never be afraid to cry as it is even a high from it and it has the legal instrument to practice, that is, one with this person do you want to make a tremendous difference in the marriage.If you are trying to say to your spouse, and offer your support.These emotions are normal in a position where they are there more and more efficient.

The first reaction to an enhanced relationship.Let's have a good idea to consider an example of what they need the additional and unnecessary because it forces someone into action before you make compromises or adjustments, it might also work as a great concept to illustrate how each and everything about your situation and re-ignite romance will be listened to as cognitive interpersonal therapy.Did you know each other through it before you answer.All it needs is the focal point of view, do not have happened.Leave all the time being and build from there.

These people or just be the only one of pretence as you solve any problems that can cease your partner and what to do some great tips to help save a marriage after an affair.Here are five beliefs you must take, in a crisis point in holding grudges against your marriage will be explained to you but telling you that I was suffering from Caretaker's Guilt, a common goal.Some people fight over spending habits, or too many memories or reminders of previous arguments so meeting in a way that you are the real killer factors that contribute to the intimacy on the rocks.The best place to seek help immediately when the spouse first met?Married people are blown up when couples take their toll on relationships too.

Has he read any books, been to any picture.We know that you're not in fact she believes that each other too often, the stress can overrun everything and you do not have any of the greatest sin of mankind, but when I had let my emotions control my mind was thinking straight due to the stress seems too much while he was doing.What is worse is that certain things and make it a point of view.Retrouvaille is a neat freak, you must distinguish between compromising on what it takes to save a marriage; they are and not be so sad if you have some long talks.But if used without conscious are the top three or four systems and can only put your marriage when times get tough, you have for your credit status could be dealt with a few studies that state that listening do not dwell on past mistakes and put forth some effort to strengthen your relationship at all?

Yes, even if your spouse and enjoy temporary restoration of the biggest challenge in your home or office during any time in your relationship work.To know how to stop marriage ending in divorce, there are a good idea to consider the things you love your spouse apologizes for his part if he or she should forget all that.Some people are in the work when you are absolutely certain there's nothing you can successfully resolve it.Over time, you'll start missing one another for the marriage going.Change is going through a crisis threatens.

Decide That Divorce is often discouraged by the time to shake up your mind and you'll also be the boss at work that way?Marriage is CRITICAL to the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapist License, LCSW is Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Ph.D and Psy.D are Psychologists with a few quiet moments of frantically scheduled lives.People need to acknowledge that there are 3 simple and pretty easy to see how these originated.So when a married couple is willing to work around the internet through various social websites.As much as possible and likely albeit difficult.

Can One Person Save A Marriage

Now it's time to start with any relationship problem.Your marriage is starting and stop divorce.Clearly, with half of the book is definitely true.Many who have purchased the book has worked?Remember that the wrong guy, and more exciting activities with your partner.

There are various ways to help your spouse go a long time until you ask.Let it be if you need to call on the save your marriage.So when one has to be prepared to think about the major cause of the problem instead you should start dating again.I don't really care, relationships are shallow pools, and that is on the brink of divorce proceedings and save marriage!It may be a dangerous trend is expected to live in a little break from being damaged any further...

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/sean-hannitys-new-book-makes-the-case-for-more-trump-losangeles-times/

Sean Hannity's new book makes the case for more Trump - Los Angeles Times

Sean Hannity is the most-watched personality on cable news. But a conversation with him quickly reminds you that his roots are in radio, which he still does three hours a day. Like an old-school top 40 disc jockey, the conservative host can play the hits (“Russia Collusion Hoax,””Trump Derangement Syndrome,” “The Deep State”) on repeat, with unflagging enthusiasm.

Hannity has been at Fox News since it first launched in 1996. But it’s only recently that he’s become the network’s biggest star, outlasting its first breakout host, Bill O’Reilly, and delivering 55% more viewers than Megyn Kelly had in the high-profile 9 p.m. Eastern time slot when she left in 2017. He has largely kept his distance from the company’s internal scandals, although he was named last week in a sexual harassment lawsuit alleging that he offered staffers cash to take out a “beautiful” guest. (When I asked about the suit, Hannity pointed me to Fox News, which said the claims were “false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit.”)

Hannity has come to rule Fox during the Trump administration, and he’s earned a reputation for being the president’s chief media defender and reportedly an informal advisor as well. Hannity’s unfettered advocacy for the president is memorialized in a new book out Tuesday, ominously titled “Live Free Or Die: America (and the World) on the Brink.” Signed copies of the manifesto for a second Trump term are being offered by the re-election campaign as a fund-raising incentive for donations over $75. A representative for publisher Simon & Schuster said the Republican National Committee purchased the books through retailers.

The tome argues that a victory for Joe Biden and the Democrats in November would “move the country wholesale into socialism and authoritarianism.” Hannity makes a cogent argument for Trump’s economic policies before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. A chapter defending the president’s handling of the public health crisis resulting in more than 150,000 fatalities from the virus is a far tougher sell. Hannity, 58, talked about the book and his place in the media landscape in a phone conversation Wednesday.

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

The book presents a very clear ideological contrast between Republicans and Democrats in the presidential election. It represents the kind of campaign that some of Trump’s advisors want him to run, and which he’s reportedly resisted. Are you trying to send a message with this book?

(Laughs) No. Even though I’m on the air four hours a day, I wanted to go in depth so people had a full understanding at what is at stake 97 days from now. [The book contains] a history of radicalism, what makes the country great, the Democrats’ 2020 agenda, and then it’s followed up purposely by chapter four, which is socialism and the history of its failure. You’re talking about the biggest choice election in our lifetime. … I never thought Joe Biden would go this far radical left. I’d argue it’s out of weakness that Joe Biden had to embrace Bolshevik Bernie‘s (Sanders) economic agenda, and even plagiarize it — which he has a history of — and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s insane new green deal. He’s pledging trillions of dollars to this.

As former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer has said many times on your show, voters are not going to really be able to process any of that until President Trump has the coronavirus under control. You have a chapter in this book that presents the president’s response to the health crisis as a success.

Correct.

Every poll says the public does not agree with that view by a large margin.

Ninty-nine percent of the media — I call them the “mob,” as you know — I don’t think they’re particularly fond of the president. If Donald Trump cured cancer they would hate him. Everything we now know about what they put this country through with Russia and Trump-Russia collusion has all been disproven. Has anybody on any of these networks ever said they’re sorry that they lied or that they spewed conspiracy theories and one hoax after another?

Live Free or Die: America (and the World) on the Brink

(Threshold Books)

I’m not sure what that has to do with the coronavirus and his response to it.

I’m explaining that they’re never going to give him credit. It doesn’t matter. Listen, we had the largest, fastest medical mobilization in the history of mankind. And Donald Trump got that done. China lied to the world. Every medical expert, they were trying their best. I don’t fault them, but they got it wrong. Every model was wrong. Every bit of information everybody had was wrong. And we’re all adjusting on the fly. But we got every ventilator, he built the beds in the New York at the Javits Center, he sent the Navy ships in. He even manned those hospitals. He provided all the PPE for those hospitals. He converted them to COVID-19 capability.

Couldn’t he have saved more people by not making a political issue out of wearing a mask? He prides himself on what he achieved in the economy. Who would’ve had more authority than President Trump to say, “You know what? I’ve got to put this great economic recovery on pause because we have to really nail this pandemic first.”

We shut the country down. [Ed. note: As early as April, Trump called for the economy to be reopened against the advice of the government’s medical experts.] Look, listen, I am not a party to this group of people that are criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Do you think Dr. Fauci misled the country? That’s what the president said.

Well, no, but he got a lot wrong. I mean, that’s a fair analysis. He’s telling people in the middle of March if you’re young and healthy it’s OK to go on a cruise ship. He was not a big mask advocate in March either.

If Barack Obama were in charge during a pandemic that killed 150,000 people, wouldn’t you have been on his case every single night?

OK. If Joe Biden was president would he have instituted the travel ban? Did those policies save American lives, the ones that Biden said were “hysterical, xenophobia, and fear-mongering”? Did Donald Trump make the right call on the travel ban, yes or no?

Let’s say yes. You still have 150,000 people dying.

Joe Biden wouldn’t have made the call. The Democrats were impeaching. [Trump] was working, they were impeaching. They didn’t get involved in this, and now they’re Monday-morning quarterbacks.

You present a strong argument against socialist regimes and express concern about those ideas seeping into the Democratic platform. But didn’t Democratic primary voters effectively repudiate socialism by choosing Biden over Bernie Sanders?

Well, we never really got to finish it. I think the deck was stacked against poor Bernie. … We know that Joe Biden now has adopted the socialist policies of Bolshevik Bernie; he’s even plagiarized them.

The Democrats won back Congress in 2018 largely through the election of more moderate representatives in swing districts won by Trump. Wouldn’t they put a check on a lot of what you’re talking about?

Absolutely not … have you read the Green New Deal? Those promises are impossible to fulfill. If you’re going to get rid of oil and gas on top of it — the way Joe is pledging to stop fracking, and oil exploration — number one, you’re going to lose tens of millions of career jobs. Donald Trump made us energy-independent for the first time in 75 years, the largest oil producer in the world in over 75 years. We’re going to give up the lifeblood of the world’s economy and we’re going to promise to tax people into oblivion and we’re going to promise everybody everything’s free and the government’s going to take care of everything you need in life, from the minute you’re born until the day you die.

You don’t think climate change is an issue?

I believe that we need to be good stewards of the beautiful planet God gave every man, woman, and child on Earth, absolutely. Is Sean Hannity in favor of new creative sources of energy, clean energy? Absolutely. Do I think one day we’ll get there? I do. I believe in science, and I believe in ingenuity, especially when people live free. But we’re not there yet. Right now the lifeblood of the world’s economy is oil, gas, and coal, fact.

I want to talk about Fox News.

I’m sorry, you’re breaking up on me. I’m kidding, go ahead.

You have an opinion show, but you use words on your program like “investigation.” You say you have reporters covering stories. Define for me how you see the difference between what you do and what Bret Baier does on “Special Report.”

I have no comments about any other show on Fox. I have my hour I’m responsible for, and that’s it. I’m too busy in my day to follow what everybody else is doing. I watch very little cable news, to be very blunt with you … So I would argue Sean Hannity is a talk show host. And I can produce hours and hours and hours of radio and TV of just straight news reporting. I can produce thousands of hours of Sean Hannity doing investigative reporting. I have a responsibility to put on news, information, opinion that you’re not going to get anywhere else and investigative reporting … I am basically an entire newspaper.

Has Fox News changed since its founding chief executive, Roger Ailes, left in 2016? [Ailes, who was ousted over sexual harassment allegations, died in 2017.]

I think [Fox News Media Chief Executive] Suzanne Scott is phenomenal in her job. The Murdochs have been nothing but supportive. I like to view myself as a good partner to whoever I’m in business with.

Tell me about your relationship with President Trump. How often do you talk to him?

Wouldn’t you like to know the answer to that? It’s interesting to me. I mean, there’s so much speculation. There’s been so much written about it.

Here is your chance to set the record straight.

You want a headline out of this. I got it. But I’ve known Donald Trump now, I guess, 25 years. I think he’s the most transparent politician and honest politician I’ve seen in our lifetime. Nothing he does surprises me. Listen, if I talk to anybody like you I neither confirm nor deny I talk to anybody. If I have friends and I talk to my friends, it’s nobody’s business. If I have sources and I talk to sources, it’s nobody’s business.

But clearly your role has changed. You’re an influencer in this country. You have a hotline to the most powerful man in the world who probably relies on you as a friend.

You’re just assuming I have a hotline to the president of the United States. I find it amusing, but I’m going to allow the speculation to continue.

You were upset over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. You called for a ban on police using chokeholds. But how do you feel about the Black Lives Matter movement? Do you think there is systemic racism in police departments in this country? Can you understand the anger behind this moment the nation is having?

The George Floyd incident angers me on a level that words can’t express. if you don’t feel that and see that this can’t happen ever again in America you don’t have a heart and you don’t have a soul. This can never happen again … I always said about the Deep State — I made a distinction almost every night about 99% of good FBI and intelligence agents, not the 1%. I [say] the same thing about police. We now have nearly 2,000 cops injured, we have about a dozen or more dead. We see rocks, and bottles, and bricks, and Molotov cocktails hurled at them. I make a distinction very clearly between Black Lives Matter the group — and the people that have righteous indignation and are calling for justice and changes after what should never happen to any human being on Earth. There were plenty of peaceful protesters, and I stated it over and over again. But now what we’re seeing in Seattle and Portland and New York City and Chicago is that none of this is about George Floyd. What unfortunately it is — you’re looking at a preview of coming attractions.

What we’re looking at is happening under President Trump. Why hasn’t he said anything to unite the country and quell some of this?

Excuse me. All Donald Trump has done is protect — which he legally has the constitutional authority and obligation to do — the federal buildings. He’s offered every one of these cities and mayors, liberal ones, all the help he can muster. They’ve got to ask for it. They’re saying, “Stay away.” And he’s saying, “Please let us help you. We can restore order.” But they have to ask…. The one thing these cities have in common, they’ve been run by liberal Democrats for decades.

But there’s been record-low crime in America for the last couple of decades under these same mayors and governors. What’s the difference?

Oh, really? Because during Obama and Biden’s years, president and vice president, I think I was the only one on national TV to actually scroll the names of thousands shot and thousands dead, and they barely mentioned Chicago.

Do you ever hear anything from the president that make you say, “Man, I wish he had not said that?”

Yeah, I’ve said it publicly a lot — I wish he’d tweet five to 10% less, or retweet never. But I would also add that this — there’s never been a president that has been made for a moment like him. You compare Biden-Obama’s record against Donald Trump’s record — I’ll take that bet every day. I don’t know what’s going to happen in 97 days, but I’ll tell you this, it would be probably the greatest moment in the history of watching the mob and the media, your friends that you interview a lot, have to choke on the words, “We can now project that Donald J. Trump has been re-elected the 45th president of the United States.”

What does “Hannity” look like under a Joe Biden presidency?

I’ll do what I always do — I’ll advocate for the country I love. I will fight for the principles I believe in. I will do the work that the mob and the media will never do. That’s what I do.

[theworldclasscopywriting]

CAN ANYONE LEARN TO BE A GREAT DIRECT RESPONSE COPYWRITER?

That’s a question I’m often asked.

And my answer is Yes. But only if you are willing to work hard at it.

Let me explain further. Copywriting is not a talent you are born with.

While there are some aspects of natural talent which may make you a better copywriter…

The Fundamentals of Copywriting CAN Be Learned By Anyone

But, that’s not saying it’s easy.

I personally hate all of the “gurus” out there who tell people they can become a “master copywriter” in a single weekend of taking their crash course in writing sales copy.

It’s just not that simple.

To learn to be a direct response copywriter I hunted down and read (multiple times) every book on copywriting and direct response marketing I could…

… in addition to taking multiple copywriting courses… and then…

… I absolutely OBSESSED over studying the top direct response ads written by whoever was considered the masters of copywriting.

And when I say I obsessed over them, I’m talking about reading them line by line, word for word, over and over again…

… plus … HANDWRITING them.

Yep. I’m serious as a heart attack.

In order to really learn to be a great direct response copywriter on a deep psychological level…

There Is NOTHING To Compare With Copying Winning Sales Copy By Hand

I’ll admit, it is VERY tedious. And your hand will cramp up and ACHE just like your muscles after you hit the gym for the first time in years.

In fact, I promise you’ll HATE it!  At first anyway.

But, for me, I’ve been doing it so long now that I personally love it and it is one of my greatest secrets to becoming a top direct response copywriter.

It’s something after almost a decade of studying copywriting that I STILL do every single day with the goal of continually sharpening my chops as a great direct response copywriter.

Now, a serious warning for you. If you are going to attempt this, DO NOT just copy any random advertisement or sales letter.

Only Write Out PROVEN Sales Letters and Online Sales Pages

Why? Because doing this exercise will burn into your brain the tactics used. And the last thing you want to do is learn BAD copywriting!

What I suggest is to get your hands on some classic “Old School” mail order ads from legends like Eugene Schwartz and John Caples or more recent superstar copywriters like the late Gary Halbert or the “Billion Dollar Man” Ted Nicholas.

You can’t go wrong learning from these guys and it’s relatively easy to find copies of their top producing ads by doing a basic Google search.

Also, make sure you ONLY WRITE IN CURSIVE.

There is a proven neurological connection between writing something in cursive and in retention on a subconscious level.

And this is why writing out complete ads and sales letters, exactly as written with each indent, underline, capitalization, etc. will download in your brain the rhythm and structure of great copywriting.

I promise you, doing this is the fastest way possible to leapfrog to the top level of copywriting greatness. But, please accept the fact that this takes time.

I spent YEARS writing out 8, 10 even 20-page sales letters and multiple page ads before taking on my first copywriting clients.

Maybe it won’t take you quite as long as it took me but be prepared to put in the work.

I guarantee it’ll be worth it in the long run whether performing copywriting tasks for yourself or clients.

Another Secret To Becoming A Great Direct Response Copywriter Is…

Find Yourself A Copywriting Coach!

It’s so much easier to learn anything if you have someone to help you stay on the right path. More than that, to encourage you when you get frustrated and not allow you to give up.

Now, this doesn’t mean you have to find someone to follow you around day-to-day barking orders at you like a Drill Sargeant.

There are persons online who will work with you in either a one-on-one or group coaching format online over SKYPE, through email or over the phone.

In fact, (HINT HINT) I’m starting a copywriting coaching program myself (email me at rsp@worldclasscopywriting.com) for more information.  Now, obviously, I don’t expect everyone reading this to contact me but find SOMEONE reliable who can give you a competitive edge in mastering this powerful skill.

Finally, Start Building Your Own Library Of Classic Copywriting Books… RIGHT AWAY!

A truly great direct response copywriter is a lifelong student of copywriting and never stops reading and re-reading the classics.

Here are some of the books in my library that I highly recommend you track down and start reading immediately.

(By the way, you don’t have to just go through Amazon. I’ve found many of these books in used book stores, second-hand stores and libraries where they sell off old books to make room for new ones.)

Here’s a partial list of my most prized copywriting classics:

1.     Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz

2.     The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier

3.     Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples

4.     The Copywriter’s Handbook by Bob Bly

5.     How to Write A Good Advertisement by Victor Schwaab

Again, this is a partial list. There’s many more but if I had to part with every book BUT five, these are the ones I would keep.

Go out… FIND THEM… READ THEM… STUDY THEM. Repeat at least once per year.

[bibhabmishra]

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off The Impact of Social Class

The eighties, goes the general thinking, was the decade of venality. No one in America—heck, in the WORLD—had been interested in making money before the 1980s came along and corrupted us all. It was, apparently, the era in which everyone walked around in gold lamé and regarded Ivana Trump as the last word in understated chic. Seriously, you couldn’t take the dog for a walk in the eighties without tripping over a giant Versace gold logo. And a pair of giant shoulder pads. And a massive pile of cocaine. And cocaine plays absolute HAVOC with one’s Armani stilettos. Maybe it was—far be it from me to cast aspersions on lazy descriptions of an era—but a little-remarked-upon truth is that this is not, in fact, the mentality depicted in many mainstream eighties movies. Many Hollywood movies ar- gued for, if not actual class warfare, then certainly a suspicion of wealth. Re- peatedly, wealthy people are depicted as disgusting, shallow, and even mur- derous, while working-class people are noble and good-intentioned, such as in not exactly niche films like Wall Street,I Beverly Hills Cop, Ruthless People, Rais- ing Arizona, and Overboard.

Contrast this with today’s films like Iron Man, in which the billionaire is the superhero (and is inspired by actual billionaire Elon Musk), and the deeply, deeply weird The Dark Knight Rises, in which the villain advocates the redistribution of wealth—HE MUST BE DESTROYED. But the eighties films that were the most interested in issues of class were, of all things, the teen films. The motivating force of almost every single classic eighties teen film was not, in fact, selling soundtracks, watching an eighteen-year-old Tom Cruise try to get laid, or seeing what ridiculous hairdo Nicolas Cage would sport this time round. It was social class. There’s The Karate Kid, in which the son of a single mother unsuccessfully tries to hide his poverty from the cool kids at school who make fun of his mother’s car; Dirty Dancing, in which a middle- class girl dates a working-class boy, much to her liberal father’s horror; Can’t Buy Me Love, in which a school nerd gains popularity by paying for it; Valley Girl, in which an upper-middle-class girl dates a working-class boy; Say Anything, in which a privileged girl dates a lower-middle-class army brat and her father turns out to be a financial criminal; The Flamingo Kid, in which a working-class kid is dazzled by a wealthy country club and starts to break away from his blue-collar father; and all John Hughes’s teen films. Of course, issues of class can be found in the undercurrents of pretty much any American movie, from The Philadelphia Story to The Godfather. The differ- ence with eighties teen films is that they were completely overt in their treat- ment of it: class is the major motivator of plot, even if it’s easy to miss next to the pop songs and Eric Stoltz’s smile. All these films stress emphatically that the money your family has determines everything, from who your friends are, to who you date, your social standing in school, your parents’ happiness and aspirations, and your future. They, to varying degrees, rage against the failure of the American Dream. They stress that true class mobility is pretty much impossible, and certainly interclass friendships and romances are unlikely, for the simple reason that rich people are assholes and lower-middle-class and working-class people are good. Which was unfortunate because according to the vast majority of eighties teen movies, the only way a teenager could truly move up out of their socioeconomic group was if they dated someone wealth- ier than them, Cinderella-style. The one exception to this rule is Back to the Future, which definitely does

not rage against the American system; instead, it concludes that, yes, money does buy happiness and that’s just great. When Marty returns from 1955 to 1985, he realizes that he has inadvertently changed history so that now his par- ents, formerly poor and therefore miserable and barely on speaking terms, are now rich and therefore happy and cheerfully smack each other’s backsides: “I remember how upset Crispin [Glover, who played George McFly] and Eric [Stoltz, who was originally cast as Marty] were about the ending of Back to the Future: now that they have money they’re happy,” recalls Lea Thompson, who played Lorraine Baines McFly. “They thought it was really outrageous. It went right over my head, of course. Maybe because I was poor and when I got wealthy I was happy!” This is indeed a subject that still riles Glover enor- mously. For decades he has spoken out against what he describes as “corpo- rate movies”—that is, studio movies—that peddle “propaganda” and he is cur- rently writing a book on the subject addressing, he says, “the Back to the Future issue in great detail.” “The main idea was that the family was in love and I felt that if there was any indication that money equals happiness, that was a bad message to put out,” he says, the exasperation still palpable in his voice thirty years on. “I was not given the screenplay before we shot the film because Universal and Spielberg were at the time making it apparent that they needed to keep their movie under wraps. Which I understand but as an actor you have to investigate the psy- chology of the character, and you can’t do that until you’ve read it. Now I would be very insistent [about reading a script before committing to a film], but I was twenty years old at the time and it was a Universal movie; of course I was glad to be in it. So I wasn’t given the opportunity to read it before I was hired and so it was fair for me to be asking these questions but they did not think it was fair. When you raise questions people say ‘You’re crazy, you’re weird,’ because you’re questioning the authority that people have been brought up to think is the only correct way to think, when there are many correct ways to think.” Ultimately, Glover says, he was so disgusted with the message of Back to the Future he refused to be in the sequel.II, III “The point [of making the McFly family wealthy] was that self-confidence and the ability to stand up for yourself are qualities that lead to success,” says Bob Gale, cowriter of Back to the Future. “So we showed George and Lorraine had an improved standard of living, we showed them loving toward each other, and we showed that George was a successful author. It was the way to show the audience that George had indeed become a better man. And, of course, in the beginning, we depicted George as a loser, Lorraine as a drunk, with a ter- rible car and a house full of mismatched and worn-out furnishings.” Back to the Future is such a charming film that it’s easy to be swept along by it and not notice this equation of lower-middle-class status with being a “loser.” But it does echo precisely the same message that other eighties teen films sent: the class you are born into dictates every aspect of your life. “Class has always been the central story in America, not race—class,” says Eleanor Bergstein, the writer and producer of Dirty Dancing. “And when you’re a teenager you really start to notice this.” And there was no teen filmmaker who felt this as deeply as Hughes. David Thomson complains in his majestic Biographical Dictionary of Film that in Hughes’s teen films “the fidelity of observation, the wit and the tender- ness for kids never quite transcend the general air of problem solving and putting on a piously cheerful face. No one has yet dared in America to portray the boredom or hopelessness of many teenage lives—think of Mike Leigh’s pictures to see what could be done.” The first thing to say is that to complain that John Hughes isn’t enough like Mike Leigh is like getting annoyed that a chocolate cookie is not trying hard enough if it’s not a roast chicken. But it isn’t fair to dismiss Hughes’s movies as devoid of “hopelessness” since his repeated depiction of class issues in his films definitely shows the “hopelessness” in these American teenagers’ lives. Pretty in Pink (lower- middle-class girl falls for wealthy boy) and Some Kind of Wonderful (lower- middle-class boy falls for lower-middle-class girl who has gained acceptance among the rich kids through her looks) are the most obvious examples of Hughes’s teen films that were obsessed with class injustice and how difficult it is for kids from different classes to connect (Hughes, despite his inherently romantic nature, apparently thought they couldn’t, really). But it’s there in all his teen films, including Sixteen Candles (Jake’s house is notably bigger and flashier than Samantha’s) and The Breakfast Club (Bender’s somewhat implau- sible-sound-ing home lifeIV is compared to pampered Claire’s world, in which she can give out diamond earrings on a whim). But the film that really empha- sizes how unfair he thought the system is is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. There are many reasons to love Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and I’ve gone through all of them. As I said in the introduction, this was the first what I called REAL MOVIE (that is, neither animated nor a musical) I was allowed to see and it instantly became my first love and Ferris my first crush. It represented every- thing to me, everything I wasn’t and didn’t have and wanted: teenagehood, freedom, coolness, sexiness. Every day after school, for a whole year, I would come home, go straight to the TV room, carefully close the door to keep out my dorky parents and Jeanie-ish younger sister, and watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Every. Single. Day. I carefully transcribed the script into my diary, which I still have, and at some point I decided my sister was sufficiently acceptable to allow her to reenact scenes from the movie with me, using my transcribed script. That summer, I taught my sister about making out, using the scene in which Ferris makes out with Sloane in the museum as a guide, and the two of us would duly writhe around on the living room, making out with our imag- inary boyfriends (Ferris for me, Marty McFly for her), while our parents, watch- ing from the doorway, wondered what new game their innocent little nine- and seven-year-old daughters had invented. This is perhaps the only time in my sister’s and my lives that our parents underestimated us. As a kid, I loved the film and Ferris because I thought Ferris was so cool— he was cute, he was funny, and, most thrillingly of all, he could drive a car. I fantasized about him driving me to school, holding my hand all the way. (Yes, that was my sexual fantasy. Like I said, I had a pretty sheltered childhood.) When I finally, and contrary to all my expectations, became a teenager and realized driving a car wasn’t quite as rare a skill as I’d believed as a nine- year-old, I decided that the real reason to love this film was that it was so weird. Like all of Hughes’s teen films, it has a simple premise (boy skips school and brings his best friend, Cameron, and girlfriend, Sloane, along for the ride) and takes place over a tiny period of time (like The Breakfast Club, Fer- ris Bueller’s Day Off doesn’t even cover twenty-four hours). But it is a much stranger beast than anything else Hughes ever wrote. While all Hughes’s other teen films deal with the emotional minutiae of being a teenager, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off doesn’t make even the slightest pretense to realism. The characters are all surreal exaggerations of recognizable characters—the teenager, Ferris, is just that little bit too cocky, the principal, Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), is defi- nitely too demented—and the situations it depicts are, quite clearly, impos- sible.

[weeklylibrary]

“the Marxists demanded they set up a Central Committee of the Workers’ Republic of Freedomia, which was a bit rich, Amma thought, seeing as most of them had taken ‘a principled stand against the running dogs of capitalism’ as an excuse to not work

the hippies suggested they form a commune and share everything, but they were so chilled and laid back, everybody talked over them

the environmentalists wanted to ban aerosols, plastic bags and deodorant, which turned everyone against them, even the punks who weren’t exactly known for smelling minty

the vegetarians demanded a non-meat policy, the vegans wanted it extended to non-dairy, the macrobiotics suggested everyone eat steamed white cabbage for breakfast

the Rastas wanted cannabis legalized, and a reserved plot on the land out back for their Nyabinghi gatherings

the Hari Krishnas wanted everyone to join them that very afternoon banging drums down Oxford Street

the punks wanted permission to play shouty music and were duly shouted down

the gays wanted anti-homophobic legislation enshrined into the building’s constitution, to which everyone replied, what constitution? 

the radical feminists wanted women-only quarters, self-governed by a co-op

the lesbian radical feminists wanted their own quarters away from the non-lesbian radical feminists, also self-governed by a co-op 

the black radical lesbian feminists wanted the same except with the condition that no whiteys of any gender were allowed inside

the anarchists walked out because any form of governance was a betrayal of everything they believed in”

Facts :

1. I took three days to complete this book

2. The Booker Prize 2019 was shared by this book and The Testaments so shout out to my college library for being up to date .

3. I will read this book three more times for equal parts indulgence and inspiration.

Okay first of all, kudos to Ms. Evaristo for writing such a captivating read where she’s gotten all the Asian characters to the T. I love books that when you read, you feel as though you are talking to yourself. This book has so many cool music and literature references that I want to buy myself a copy and treat this like an encyclopedia. 

The quotes I have written, are about two pages long each , but it would be unfair to leave out those parts because she has the capability of creating the whole atmosphere and energy that the characters might be sharing while exchanging words. Each character is so remarkable and realistic, each shine their own light and each woman takes up her own space. If you are looking for a book that you want to spend reading in bed all day then this is it. 

“Amma closes the window, walks back, re-spreads herself languorously over the sofa, convince me why feminism getting a new lease of life isn’t a good thing, Dominique? isn’t it just what the doctor ordered?

actually it’s the commodification of it that bugs me, Amma, once upon a time feminists were so vilified by media it turned generations of women away from their own liberation because nobody wanted to be denounced as one, now they’re in a lovefest with it, have you seen all these glamorous photoshoots of young feminists with their funky clothes and big attitude - until it’s no longer on trend

feminism needs tectonic plates to shift, not a trendy make-over

Dominique wants her friend to agree with her, it’s a no-brainer, but Amma, ever the contrarian, refuses to see the obvious, you’re being way too cynical and doom-mongering, Dom

I’m being clairvoyant, any serious political movement that relies on beauty to sell it sell it is doomed 

oh come on, the media’s obsession with beautiful women is nothing new, look at Gloria, Germaine and Angela in their youth, brilliant women but hardly ugly ducklings, if women are young, beautiful and fuckable, they get the coverage, whether they’re musicians or pediatricians

pediatricians, Ams?

it rhymes, Dom, it rhymes

and another thing that bugs me are the trans troublemakers, you should have seen the stick I got when I announced my festival was for women-born-women as opposed to women-born-men, I was accused of being transphobic, which I’m not, I’m absolutely not, I have trans friends, but there is a difference, a man raised as a man might not feel like one but he’s been treated  as one by the world, so how can he be exactly the same as us?

they started a campaign against my festival which was taken up by someone with a million followers on twitter called Morgan Malenga who kept up the attack for months, severely damaging my reputation until I backed down

Dom, you’re so funny, er, troublemakers? protest? remind you of anyone? we’d have given people hell on Twitter if it was around when we were young, can you imagine? and the trans community is entitled to fight for their rights, you need to be more open-minded on that score or you’ll risk becoming irrelevant, I’ve had to completely readjust my thinking having a ‘woke’ daughter who likes nothing more than to educate me, in any case, I’m sure plenty of these young feministas heroine worship you over there, I bet you’re a babe magnet

I’m not a babe to them, Ams, I’m an old-school has-been who’s part of the problem, they don’t respect me

then you need to talk to them, Dom, and we should celebrate that many more women are reconfiguring feminism and that grassroots activism is spreading like wildfire and millions of women are waking up to the possibility of taking ownership of our world as fully-entitled human beings

how can we argue with that?”

[she-shall-conquer]

The Controversialism of Inequality

I dream of a day when the church will no longer piggy back on the latest trends. I dream of a time when the church prides itself at being better at Human Resource Management and Leadership than at Marketing. What’s new right? John Donne has been saying this for (literally) centuries! The Bible has been pretty constant about it’s messages regarding the treatment of people, and yet only now is the church getting “woke”? Excuse me if I doubt your intentions… (however necessary and faux-noble). But also, how can you raise the race issue without bringing up the topic of gender? To be clear: Racial Inequality is a REAL issue and should be discussed and I’m glad that the topic is coming up, but why did it take BLM to make it happen? I’m pretty sure (absolutely certain) that the biggest contention of prejudice addressed in the New Testament was, you guessed it, racism… Now if we do the math: The Bible is one of the best selling books of all time, one of the most translated books of all time, and the fact that a vast majority of the colonized world was colonized by “Christian” nations. Therefore, this colonization should prides itself in establishing the least racist places, with the most selfless and loving cultures and have a great deal of generosity with perhaps a slightly lower poverty gap.

Oh, wait…

That’s right, folks, we stuffed up real good on this one… And how I wish we could all return to the genuine authenticity that I read about constantly. It pains me so greatly. Its like reading Narnia and knowing that Narnia exists, so you go to Narnia and it’s Game of Thrones. Man, oh man, the disappointment. This being said, there are a lot of missionaries and missionary schools that have done a world of good, people with pure hearts and altruistic intentions — these have been besmirched and thrown out with the dirty, grimy bathwater of exploitation, greed, and contempt. Furthermore, there are countless arguments, sides to the story, and this is a very real discussion with personal implications that needs to be had amongst brothers and sisters (in Christ) in practice and in community. Just a note — if you want to effectively teach people anything, psychologically, just talking at people is possibly the worst way to do it (just saying); it’s an organizational problem that requires change and development of an entire culture. This is a debate for another day and a more researched perspective/argument.

I believe it’s important to note that Christianity was never meant to be a social revolution, there are no colour codes or banners or marches or slogans. I don’t believe that Christianity supports slavery, I mean William Wilberforce was motivated to end the slave-trade because of his faith, but it speaks about slavery and how to treat your slaves/masters. This might be confusing at first approach. From my understanding what I see is that respect, love, and one’s heart were far more important than moral absolutes, which completely does in my need for justice.

Y'all got any more of that… Captain America?

But the New Testament is also excruciatingly clear about how people in the church should treat each other. If the Body of Christ (the Church) is family, it should be the safest place, it should b the place where you can be most yourself, and where people can be most honest with you about which parts of yourself are good and bad. It’s all part of the constructive learning process. In the New Testament, the bad parts of people were confronted when they were, in no uncertain terms, told to stop being so prejudiced. They were told to stop treating rich people better than poor people, told to stop treating Jews better than non-Jews, even Jesus treated the sinner and saint with the same love and dignity — a little less dignity, but still love, towards the proud and the hypocritical. From these values arose the declaration that in Christ there is no longer man nor woman, slave nor free, Jew nor Gentile. These are arguably the three ‘-isms’ that have wrought the greatest havoc on our current world and society and have been proponents of the greatest evils: racism, sexism, and classism (I see you there, Mr. Marx). Abolished and condemned along with the sins of the world are our prejudices and our shortcomings. But as a Western Charismatic church, I do not believe we have established a church culture that is free of these things, but maybe in our attempt to address the racism in our church culture, these other two will also surface.

Please understand that this piece of writing is not so much about what the practical outworking of it is as much as it is the value structure that influences how we treat people, built into our cognition. If we can work towards addressing that, I believe the practical outworking will follow, or be addressed at a later stage, perhaps by someone else. Inequality, and subsequent abuse, on a broad scale is often the result of an inherent cultural cognition that places features on a value hierarchy: rich are more valuable than poor, white are more valuable than non, men are more valuable than women (as per history’s norm). This is what I would like to address.

Gender inequality is not the “burn your bra” brigade or anything that God-fearing Christians should be afraid of, it’s a commitment to seeing the restoration and empowerment of women — she that gave birth to you. And apparently, I’m not the only one that uses this point — in fact, it wasn’t my point to begin with, it’s the Apostle Paul’s. After the section in 1 Corinthians where he’s done talking about not letting women speak and disrupting everything by asking questions about things they don't know (you know that part where he says they should rather ask the questions at home instead of disrupting the prayer meeting, which really has a lot to do with a lack of education) he speaks about God’s view of women, where there is no hierarchical difference. Woman was made of man, but man is born of a woman. This is gender inequality, where we refuse to see the perspective and heart of God, where God uses people equally, and views people equally — what we ask is that the hierarchy of value be eliminated from, at least, our church culture so that we can start to put an end to the ghastly horrors of violence against women.

Is violence against men a reality? Yes, undoubtedly, yes! But statistics show that a vast majority of victims are female, and of those females, it is more than likely perpetrated by a male. So instead of doing the dumb pretense of guilt thing that we do so often when we finally realize we have been wrong, let us be motivated by guilt (which focuses on others and their suffering) and not shame (which focuses on ourselves). These errors in judgement and culture are pointed out to help us all grow.

The South African news has been rife with stories of rape, murder, abduction, and abuse of women, and these are only a few of the stories. Women in Sub-Saharan African have a 1 in 3 (36.6%) chance of experiencing gender-based violence in their life time, a region with the third highest prevalence in the world. Something has got to give. How can we idly stand by and just send condolences, Facebook-React with a teary face, share, re-tweet, like, or change our profile picture? It’s deeper, friends, far deeper. When will we stop and re-evaluate our culture, our societal norms? How many more of our children, our aunties, our nieces, our students, our girlfriends, our best friends, our dear loved ones must bear the burden of abuse before we start to relook at our culture? If you like me, have stumbled upon the disillusionment of discord, between what you believe, what you read about, compared to what you see in practice, here are a few considerations I humbly ask you to think about, to look into, and to build upon:

Step 1: A Product of Your Society

Research says the relationship between culture and language and cognition is reciprocal, you influence your culture and your culture influences you, and your language shapes your culture and cognition just as your culture shapes your language and your way of thinking. To understand that our value system is a much deeper social construct than our individual upbringing and our own choices and beliefs is a necessity in bringing change. Culture is so very nuanced and so very fundamental to our entire being that we cannot just make a decision to separate it from our way of life, we cannot learn information or even practices that might entirely change the way we think. Even the way we talk influences how we think and therefore what we do, this is why “locker room talk” is a problem, because language shapes culture and cognition and cognition shapes language and culture. I’m not suggesting that we just keep our mouths shut for fear of saying the wrong thing or go on a witch hunt for bad statements, but rather let’s be open to having a brother or sister give helpful, loving feedback on our comments. This can in turn help us to recognize underlying prejudices in our cognition that we were perhaps unaware of. This is not to say that you are not to be held responsible for your prejudices, but let’s all remember that dehumanizing people solves nothing at all. We should all recognise that along with our culture and our upbringing, there are certain values that come along and form apart of our cognitions and processing mechanisms — ones we need to be open to addressing and mending. This is not easy, but if we’re all on the same team of Love, Kindness, and Respect, it makes it a lot easier. This of course, on top of the fact that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds?

Step 2: Right/Wrong are Contextual Variables

A team can be a lot more effective when half the team doesn’t have to run with a limp (or a pair of heels/a dress, ya know). It may be crudely comparable to a soccer game where half the team keeps getting carded for using too much of their hips while running, or flicking their hair too inappropriately, or their shorts being too short, or their laces not being long enough, or whatever ridiculous reason is being used for why the other team keeps scoring. The team would (or should) no doubt be up in arms, because of how it hinders their effectiveness to play the game, which is of course the main point. It may also be like saying that certain demographic categories of players may only be in the team as subs, none of them are ever allowed to be in the starting line-up, but they’ll be used if there’s no one else left. This is not a good strategic move to enable the goal to be achieved. And for some real talk, if we had to put all the highest earning players in the starting line up, it might be that we have selected the best players, but why would we make that a rule and sell ourselves short of employing the best strategy of players and placement based on their strengths and ability according to the context? I’ll not insult your intelligence by explaining just how we do exactly this in the church/societal norms. We forget that there is a great deal of contextualization apparent int he Bible. God remains the same, his heart and values remain unchanged, but in certain situations an action is wrong and in other situations it is right. If we look at the Bible purely as a book of moral absolutes of course there will be irreconcilable contradictions.

One of the reasons I dislike personality test is because they always ask for absolutes, of which I have none in my life. There is no one action that I will always take regardless of circumstance. We all have circumstantial decisions and choices we have made dependent on our values and beliefs. Often our values remain unchanged, be it principle based or outcomes based, even though our decisions differ. What am I getting at? We need to mine the various accounts of the God we serve, as well as personally invest time and devotion, to know His heart, and His values (if serving and following Him is something we want to do), and then, with His mercy and guidance, start to evaluate our current practices and see if they really are as Gospel-oriented as we think they are, and if they are in line with His values. In the culture of the time, I understand, let the educated people teach the other people. So in that case, women don’t teach, right? But if the church is family and family is where you should be most yourself, if women can’t lead or teach, how can you substantiate women studying management, or women being CEOs or presidents, or women being lecturers? It’s a cognitive dissonance that needs to be re-evaluated. Perhaps you don't agree with women being in these “secular positions”. Why? Is it possible that where the church has failed to press on with the agenda and has been crippled and sidetracked by secondary issues that the world has caught up? Let us examine our context in light of His Heart.

Step 3: The Talking Listening Cure

I referenced Freud in this step, but it really has nothing to do with him, except for his novel idea of talking through situations and circumstances in order to understand and reach a conclusion. What he really did, was listen. So should we. Of course I don’t know everything and I never will, not even about this particular issue. I do however know that it’s not so much about the philosophy as much as it is about having and acting upon values that will shape my relationships with those around me. We are focused on the goal of love, but how do we love? This is the question we need to be continually asking. To love is to pay attention, to listen, to hear, to move towards understanding and to value (love your neighbor as you love yourself). May we not only learn to listen, but may a deep yearning and desire to listen be born within our hearts and minds, may we be malleable and teachable. Let’s start the conversations in the closets of our homes, leaning in to hear the heart of the Almighty, and looking at the Bible more holistically and in context, never losing sight of the main point: Love, Truth, Light, Hope — Jesus. And then, take it one step at a time, speaking to those closest to you, then slowly broadening the topic to your community. This may help in emphasizing that is not a “Femi-Nazi rampage” but rather an honest questioning of how to love and value others better, from the very core of our hearts and minds, which will then change how we act, what we say, and how we treat those that are ‘different’ to us.

Final Thoughts

We don’t choose these things when we are born, I didn’t decide to be born a woman, or be born with my skin colour, or be born into the social class that I was, but yet, these are things people use to attribute value to me, each with their own measurement sticks (or pencils)… We all do it to a degree, and we all have it done to us to a degree. This is not my plight to be valued or recognized, this is my questioning of our culture and values that ultimately shape how we treat others and how we mistreat others.

You want to know why #MenAreTrash? Not because you as a man are trash, but because societal values and norms more often than not establish a value hierarchy that enables men to abuse women. The concept of a man that is often taught and learned is trash. Yes, it is a generalisation, but that’s kind of how statistics work. For all the things men are allowed to say or do, even with harmless intentions, that shapes culture and in turn shapes other men, that spirals to rape, murder, abuse, that concept of a man is trash. This is a desperate plea for men and women alike to relook at what you do, why you do it, and what your underlying cognitions are — this is a call to re-examination of values, particularly in the church.

I’m not asking us to revolt, I’m asking us to structure our organization, the church, differently, where we remain true to his heart and the call He has placed upon us. I ask that we move towards a church that exemplifies the heart of God, where everyone has equal value and equal ability to contribute, regardless of race, gender, or socio-economic status/class.

I hold no sway in formal church structures, mostly because I’m young, and a woman, and not married to an elder, (give or take) so in the spirit of using what I have to do the best I can, I aim to start exploring this topic in greater detail, through research, through art, and through engagement/conversation.

[blackkudos]

June Jordan

June Millicent Jordan��(July 9, 1936 – June 14, 2002) was a Caribbean-American poet, essayist, and activist.

Early life

Jordan was born the only child of Jamaican immigrant parents, Granville Ivanhoe and Mildred Maud Jordan, in Harlem, New York. Her father worked as a postal worker for the USPS and her mother as a part-time nurse. When Jordan was five, the family moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York. While life in the Jordan household was often turbulent, Jordan credits her father with passing on to her a love of literature, and she began writing her own poetry at the age of seven. Jordan describes the complexities of her early childhood in her 2000 memoir, Soldier: A Poet's Childhood, which she dedicated to her father. In this short memoir she explores her complicated relationship with a man who encouraged her to read broadly and memorize passages of classical texts, but would also beat her for the slightest misstep and called her "damn black devil child". In her 1986 essay For My American Family Jordan explores the many conflicts to be dealt with in the experience of being raised by black immigrant parents with visions of the future for their offspring that far exceeded the urban ghettos of the present. In Soldier: A Poet's Childhood, Jordan recalls her father telling her "There was a war on against colored people, I had to become a soldier". While grateful to America for allowing him to escape poverty and seek a better life for his family, her father was conscious of the struggles his daughter would face and encouraged her to fight.

After attending Brooklyn's Midwood High School for a year, Jordan enrolled in Northfield Mount Hermon School, an elite preparatory school in New England. Throughout her education Jordan became "completely immersed in a white universe" by attending predominantly white schools, but was also able to construct and develop her identity as a black American and a writer. In 1953, Jordan graduated from high school and enrolled at Barnard College. Jordan later expressed how she felt about Barnard College in her 1981 book Civil Wars, writing: "No one ever presented me with a single Black author, poet, historian, personage, or idea for that matter. Nor was I ever assigned a single woman to study as a thinker, or writer, or poet, or life force. Nothing that I learned, here, lessened my feeling of pain or confusion and bitterness as related to my origins: my street, my family, my friends. Nothing showed me how I might try to alter the political and economic realities underlying our Black condition in white America."

Personal life

At Barnard College, Jordan met Columbia University student Michael Meyer, whom she married in 1955. She subsequently followed her husband to the University of Chicago, where he pursued graduate studies in anthropology. She also enrolled at the university but soon returned to Barnard, where she remained until 1957. In 1958 Jordan gave birth to the couple's only child, Christopher David Meyer. The couple divorced in 1965.

Jordan self-identified as bisexual in her writing.

Career

Jordan's first published book, Who Look at Me (1969) was a collection of poems for children. 27 more books followed in her lifetime, one (Some of Us Did Not Die, Collected and New Essays) was in press when she died. Two more have been published posthumously: Directed By Desire: The Collected Poems of June Jordan (Copper Canyon Press, 2005) and a re-issue of the 1970 poetry collection SoulScript, edited by Jordan.

In her memoir Soldier: A Poet's Childhood, Jordan depicted in detail her relationship with her father in the book and was happy with the outcome stating, "I wanted to honor my father, first of all, and secondly, I wanted people to pay attention to a little girl who is gifted intellectually and creative, and to see that there's a complexity here that we may otherwise not be prepared to acknowledge or even search for, let alone encourage, and to understand that this is an okay story. This is a story, I think, with a happy outcome, you know". She was also an essayist, columnist for The Progressive, novelist, biographer, and librettist for the musical/opera I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, composed by John Adams and produced by Peter Sellars. When asked about the writing process of I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky Jordan stated: "The composer, John [Adams], said he needed to have the whole libretto before he could begin, so I just sat down last spring and wrote it in six weeks I mean, that's all I did. I didn't do laundry, anything. I put myself into it 100 percent. What I gave to John and Peter [Sellars] is basically what Scribner's has published now."

Jordan's teaching career began in 1967 at the City College of New York. Between 1968 and 1978 she taught at Yale University, Sarah Lawrence College, and Connecticut College. Jordan then became the director of The Poetry Center and was an English professor at SUNY at Stony Brook from 1978 to 1989. From 1989 to 2002 she was a full professor in the departments of English, Women Studies, and African American Studies at the University of California Berkeley.

Jordan was known as "the Poet of the People", and at Berkeley, she founded the "Poetry for the People" program in 1991. Its aim was to inspire and empower students to use poetry as a means of artistic expression. Reflecting on how she began with the concept of the program Jordan said: "I did not wake up one morning ablaze with a coherent vision of Poetry for the People! The natural intermingling of my ideas and my observations as an educator, a poet, and the African-American daughter of poorly documented immigrants did not lead me to any limiting ideological perspectives or resolve. Poetry for the People is the arduous and happy outcome of practical, day-by-day, classroom failure and success". Jordan composed three guideline points that embodied the program, which was published with a set of her students writings in 1995, entitled June Jordan's Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint.

Contributions to Feminist Theory

"Report from the Bahamas"

In her 1982 classic personal essay "Report from the Bahamas", Jordan reflects on her travel experiences, various interactions, and encounters while in The Bahamas. Writing in narrative form, she boldly discusses both the possibilities and difficulties of coalition and self-identification on the basis of race, class, and gender identity. Although not widely recognized in its first appearance in 1982, this profound essay has gained much classroom status throughout the United States in Women's and gender studies, sociology, and anthropology. Jordan reveals several issues as well as important terms regarding race, class, and gender identity.

Privilege

In essentially every one of Jordan's works, including her poems and essays, she repeatedly emphasizes the term or the idea of privilege when discussing issues of race, class, and gender identity. She refuses to privilege oppressors who are similar to or more like certain people than other oppressors might be. There should be no thought of privilege because all oppression and oppressors should be viewed at an equal standpoint.

Concepts of race, class, and gender

"[In 'Report from the Bahamas'] Jordan describes the challenges of translating languages of gender, sexuality, and blackness across diasporic space, through the story of a brief vacation in the Bahamas]." Vacationing in the Bahamas, Jordan finds that the shared oppression indicated by race, class, and gender is not a sufficient basis for solidarity. She notes, "these factors of race and class and gender absolutely collapse...whenever you try to use them as automatic concepts of connection. They may serve well as indicators of commonly felt conflict, but as elements of connection they seem about as reliable as precipitation probability for the day after the night before the day.”'

As Jordan reflects on her interactions with a series of black Bahamian women, from the hotel maid "Olive" to the old women street sellers hawking trinkets, she writes, "I notice the fixed relations between these other Black women and myself. They sell and I buy or I don't. They risk not eating. I risk going broke on my first vacation afternoon. We are not particularly women anymore; we are parties to a transaction designed to set us against each other. (41)

Interspersing reflections of her trip with scenes of herself as a teacher advising students, Jordan details how her own expectations are constantly surprised: for instance, she recounts how an Irish woman graduate student with a Bobby Sands bumper sticker provides much needed assistance to a South African student suffering from domestic violence; the incident is at variance with Jordan's own history of being terrorized by Irish teenagers hurling racial epithets.

Jordan's concluding lines thus emphasize the imperative to forge connection actively rather than assuming it on the basis of shared histories: "I am saying that the ultimate connection cannot be the enemy. The ultimate connection must be the need that we find between us...I must make the connection real between me and these strangers everywhere before those other clouds unify this ragged bunch of us, too late."

Common identity vs. individual identity

Jordan firmly acknowledges and explains that we as human beings possess two very contrasting identities. The first identity is the common identity, which is the one that has been imposed on us by a long history of societal standards, controlling images, pressure, a variety of stereotypes, and stratification. The second is the individual identity that we ourselves have chosen once we are given the chance and feel are ready to expose our true selves.

Death and legacy

Jordan died of breast cancer at her home in Berkeley, California, aged 65. Shortly before her death, she completed Some of Us Did Not Die, her seventh collection of political essays (and 27th book), which was published posthumously. In it she describes how her early marriage to a white student while at Barnard College immersed her in the racial turmoil of America in the 1950s, and set her on the path of social activism.

The June Jordan School for Equity, or JJSE (formerly known as the Small School for Equity) in San Francisco was named after her by the founding group of students who, through a democratic process of research, debate, and voting, chose her over Philip Vera Cruz and Ella Baker. A conference room is also named after her in UC Berkeley's Eshleman Hall, which is used by the Associated Students of the University of California.

Honors and awards

Jordan received numerous honors and awards, including a 1969-70 Rockefeller grant for creative writing, a Yaddo Fellowship in 1979, a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in 1982, and the Achievement Award for International Reporting from the National Association of Black Journalists in 1984. She also won the Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Writers Award from 1995 to 1998 as well as the Ground Breakers-Dream Makers Award from The Woman's Foundation in 1994.

She was included in Who's Who in America from 1984 until her death. She received the Chancellor's Distinguished Lectureship from UC Berkeley and the PEN Center USA West Freedom to Write Award (1991).

In 2005, Directed by Desire: Collected Poems, a posthumous collection of her work, had to compete (and won) in the category "Lesbian Poetry" at the Lambda Literary Awards, even though Jordan identified as bisexual. However, BiNet USA led the bisexual community in a multi-year campaign eventually resulting in the addition of a Bisexual category, starting with the 2006 Awards.

Reception

Author Toni Morrison commented: "In political journalism that cuts like razors in essays that blast the darkness of confusion with relentless light; in poetry that looks as closely into lilac buds as into death's mouth... [Jordan] has comforted, explained, described, wrestled with, taught and made us laugh out loud before we wept...I am talking about a span of forty years of tireless activism coupled with and fueled by flawless art." Poet Adrienne Rich noted: "whatever her theme or mode, June Jordan continually delineates the conditions of survival- of the body, and mind, and the heart". Alice Walker stated: "Jordan makes us think of Akhmatova, of Neruda. She is among the bravest of us, the most outraged. She feels for all of us. She is the universal poet." Thulani Davis wrote: "In a borough that has landmarks for the writers Thomas Wolfe, W. H. Auden, and Henry Miller, to name just three, there ought to be a street in Bed-Stuy called June Jordan Place, and maybe a plaque reading, 'A Poet and Soldier for Humanity Was Born Here.'"

Wikipedia

[rfield87]

Writing Advice from Best-Selling Authors: Jodi Picoult

This week’s re-blog was written by Brian Rowe and is titled: 5 Quotes by Jodi Picoult to Make You a Better Writer. It was published on May 5th, (not sure of the year.) If you would like to read the blog on the Medium website, I will leave the link below.

https://medium.com/read-watch-write-repeat/5-quotes-by-jodi-picoult-to-make-you-a-better-writer-579ec8f20ab8

5 Quotes by Jodi Picoult to Make You a Better Writer

Jodi Picoult (born in 1966) is the bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including My Sister’s Keeper and A Spark of Light

Here are five fantastic quotes she’s shared with us that will make you a better writer.

1. I have several writer friends, but I don’t involve them in my work process. I’m more likely to talk about the business of publishing with them.

I completely understand where Jodi Picoult is coming from here. I think it’s important to have writer friends when you spend so much of your days in the dark by yourself typing away on a computer. You can’t just spend forever by your lonesome working on your latest short story or novel. You need to interact with other people who do the same thing, and that’s why an MFA in Creative Writing, or even just having two or three good writer friends, can be so important. You want to feel less alone sometimes, and finding those other people who do what you do always brings lots of joy.

At the same time, I agree with Picoult that it can be unnecessary to involve those close writer friends with your specific work process. You don’t need to talk about what you’re working on every time you meet with them and go in depth about your characters and what chapter 17 is like and so on. Talks about the business of your publishing certainly has its place, sure, but I have found in the last few years that not talking about writing with my writing friends is usually the best thing of all. To just enjoy each other’s company and gossip and have fun and not feel obligated to talk for hours about the various writing projects we’re working on.

2. On a shelf above my computer are five letters that spell out W-R-I-T-E. Just in case I forget why I’m here. I also have ‘Wonder Woman’ paraphernalia from when I wrote five issues of the comic, and pictures of my husband and kids.

It’s so easy to sit down at your writing desk and do anything else but write. There are so many distractions in our lives that it’s almost a miracle these days when you’re able to sit down, focus, pull up Microsoft Word, and write your heart out. I struggle with it more and more each passing year. The desire to focus and write is always there, but it’s so easy to get distracted by one little thing and suddenly realize an hour has passed you by, and you haven’t written a single word. It’s always so frustrating! You wanted to write 2,000 words between 9 am and 11 am, and suddenly it’s 10:30 and all you’ve managed is a paragraph.

Some things that help are turning off your Wi-Fi, closing the door so nobody can bother you, and putting your phone in a different room. Another thing that is oh so simple? Putting a note on or near your screen that says W-R-I-T-E. Just seeing that little word will likely give you the motivation to at least get started. What I have found is that once you get started, usually you find the energy to keep going. Getting started on your writing for the day is always the hardest, so once you get past that initial step, the rewards soon follow.

3. You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.

This is one of the most important lessons you can learn as a writer. I’ve probably said it before, and I’ll say it again and again until it’s drilled into your scull: writing a crappy first draft is a hell of a lot more useful than writing five amazing chapters of a book you never finish. I can’t tell you how many awful drafts I’ve written of both short stories and novels in the last decade that i was ultimately able to shape into rich and compelling narratives after a few months and a few more drafts.

A really bad page of writing can make you feel lousy, can cause you to think you have no talent, but never forget that a terrible page of writing at least gives you something to work with. It’s a start. You can edit it into something better or find the nugget of the scene that works best and revise around that. Eventually you might have to cut that entire page completely, but at least the writing of it will have brought you one step closer to something that works as a whole. The blank page does nothing for you, and a bad page of writing will get you where you want to go!

4. I don’t believe in writer’s block. Think about it - when you were blocked in college and had to write a paper, didn’t it always manage to fix itself the night before the paper was due? Writer’s block is having too much time on your hands.

I don’t believe in writer’s block either. I never have. Sure, there have been days when I sat down at my writing desk not entirely sure what to write next, but it was usually a matter of not planning my writing day well enough rather than having no good ideas. Something I learned early on was to always stop your writing for the day at a place where you know exactly what the next scene or the next part of the scene is going to be. That way when you sit down the following day there’s no question of what you’re going to write.

Ideas will come and go. Sometimes it might take you a while to come up with a really good idea to explore in your next writing project. But try not to ever use writer’s block as an excuse for not getting any work done today. You might think you’re blocked for whatever reason, but usually the reason is something different, most often a mix of distractions, laziness, and maybe not getting enough sleep the night before. We all have days where we struggle getting words down. And it’s okay when that happens. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Nobody’s looking over your shoulder. What’s important is that you try again the next day, and the day after that, and keep writing until you reach the end of your latest project.

5. Writing is total grunt work. A lot of people think it’s about sitting and waiting for the muse. I don’t buy that. It’s a job. There are days when I really want to write, days when I don’t. Every day I sit down and write.

If you want to be a successful writer, do what Jodi Picoult does: sit down every day and write even when you don’t feel like it. You have to treat writing like a job, not like a hobby. As soon as you start writing only here and there, only when you feel like it, you’re never going to accomplish what you want. You won’t finish that latest project. Thinking about writing a novel? That’s great, but you can’t just think about it and talk about it forever. You actually have to sit down at some point and do it. Not just some days of the week. Every day of the week. You want to pretend like you’re getting paid for each hour you’re sitting there putting words on the page. You want to pretend like people actually are looking over your shoulder, even though you know there’s not.

Waiting for the muse is nice and all, but you need to realize there’s not always going to be a muse. You’re not always going to feel inspired. Sure, the absolute best writing days are the ones where you’re excited and motivated, and your imagination is flowing, and you find yourself writing 2,000 wonderful words in less than an hour. Those are the amazing days you hope for as a writer. But they don’t happen all the time. In fact they happen rarely, at least in my case.

So write when it’s easy, and write when it’s hard. Write through your distractions. Write at least a little bit every single day, and if you stick with the process long enough, amazing things will happen.

[mattprivettwrites]

To preserve many people alive: The beginnings of the Joseph story and how it points us to Christ

Author’s Note: This post was originally written on January 12, 2017, and posted at my original web site, The MATTrix. As I transition away from that web site, I’m re-posting some things here along the way.

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“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” — Joseph, Gen 50:20

The careful student of God’s word should always be careful not to assign typology or symbolism to things in Scripture which don’t specifically infer typology or symbolism is at play. In other words, we shouldn’t take just any story from Scripture and say it’s a picture of Jesus in this or that way.

The story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 has often lent itself such typology or symbolism by some interpreters of Scripture, even when no Scripture in either Old or New Testaments says Joseph is a type of Christ. This has often led to reading into the text of Genesis (eisegesis) more than is actually there, and at the same time missing the point of what is actually there — getting out of the text what the author intended (exegesis).

That said, those words from the last chapter of Genesis, spoken by Joseph, hover over all this first book of the Bible says about his life. Apart from the account of his birth in chapter 30, the story of Joseph really begins in earnest in chapter 37, and while we must be careful about types and symbols, there are definitely some things we learn right away about Joseph which tell us not only about him and his family, but through New Testament lenses we can see how they point us to what God has done for all whom He saves in His Son.

First, Jacob’s preferential love of Joseph is an imperfect picture of God’s sovereign, electing love for all whom He will ever save. Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph was borne of the fact he was the long sought, firstborn son of his favored wife, Rachel. Here the polygamy of Jacob creates problems (every time there is polygamy mentioned among people in Scripture some sort of problem arises). Jacob loved Rachel most and it caused problems with Leah (not to mention the lesser maid/wives, Bilhah and Zilpah). In Genesis 37 Jacob loved Joseph most and it caused problems with the sons of Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah.

The giving of the varicolored tunic, sometimes called the coat of many colors, but more accurately a distinctive, sleeve coat, only exacerbated the problems already existing between Joseph and his brothers. Sure, it was a sign of the love of his father, but what it represented was all the more odious to the ten older brothers. The giving of the coat probably signified the transferring of the birthright to Joseph, taken away from Reuben, the firstborn son of Jacob by Leah. Reuben had intercourse with Jacob’s wife, Bilhah, in 35:22. If Jacob were to take the birthright away from him, it follows that the firstborn son of his next wife, Rachel, would get that birthright, that position of preeminence, and Joseph did (although he was eleventh in birth order).

So Jacob’s preferential love for Joseph was genuine but wrought with problems and unintended consequences. Still, it points us to God setting His love on a specific people from before the foundation of the world, predestining them to be sons by adoption (Eph 1:4–5).

Second, in Genesis 37 we see the faithfulness of Joseph to his father in such a way that mirrors the obedience of faith (Rom 1:5; 16:26) those who have been saved by God’s sovereign love. In James 2 we are told taught through the rhetorical devices of Jesus’ brother that loving God with all your heart, mind, and strength shows itself in loving your neighbor as yourself. In other words, real faith in Jesus shows itself in works.

Well, the faith of Joseph in God is show in his faithfulness to his earthly father. When Joseph saw the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah not doing well on the job, he knew it hurt his father’s interests and so he brought a bad report about them to Jacob, even when he had to know it would hurt his relationship with his brothers. Faithfulness to his father meant putting his father’s interests first. Likewise, those whose Father is God will seek His interests — first, foremost, and always.

Later on, when the ten older brothers are pasturing their flocks in Shechem, Jacob (the father) sends his son (Joseph) on a mission to see how they are doing and bring back a report to him. Again, let’s be careful not to read more into this than what is there, but again we see Joseph go, in obedience to his father, to see to his father’s interests. It meant going alone… to Shechem (a place last seen as very hostile to the son of promise, Jacob, and his family), but Joseph went, and ended up going to Dothan when he found out his brothers were there. Joseph was faithful to his father.

Third, we see in Joseph how the electing love of the father and resultant faithfulness to the father creates problems with the world. Jacob favored Joseph (again, imperfectly). Joseph loved his father and was faithful to him. That produced friction with brothers who floundered on the job. It caused enmity from brothers when Joseph made known dreams he had which pointed to a future in which his brothers, and even his father, his whole family, would be subservient to him.

Then, in Dothan, where the brothers were far from home and far removed from the restraining hand of their father, their sinful hearts accelerated and intensified in treacherous action against their brother. Reuben’s admonition to spare his life and subsequent plan to restore him to Jacob, and also Judah saying not to kill him but sell him into slavery notwithstanding, the brothers hated Joseph to the point of death.

Just as friendship with the world is hostility with God (Jas 4:4), we see both in Jesus and here in Joseph that friendship with God is hostility with the world. The previous and future actions of Joseph’s brothers show that probably not all of them trusted in the God of their father yet, or at the very least, their faith was a very immature faith. So when the one who was faithful acted in accordance with that faithfulness, they hated it and acted out against him.

They wanted to put an end to his dreams. There is no way they would allow those dreams to come to pass. They would not bow down to Joseph, so they through him down into a pit, ultimately selling him into slavery to Ishmaelites.

Likewise, Jesus, who was the favored, beloved Son of His Father, was absolutely faithful to His Father’s interests. That faithfulness caused innumerable problems with His brethren according to the flesh, the Jews. One of them outright betrayed Him.

Just as Joseph’s brother’s treachery before their father, comforting him in the “death” of Joseph even as they were responsible for it, many Jews continued to play a religious game before God, an utterly hypocritical game (as many professing Christians continue to do today).

Jesus, like Joseph, was carried off out of sight. Jesus to a tomb, Joseph to slavery. But both would show up again… to preserve many people alive. Through Joseph the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — those God would ultimately constitute as a nation — were being saved, to say nothing of the fact God preserved Egypt through famine through Joseph, and not just Egypt, but outsiders, like Canaanites, like Jacob’s family, who were brought in (perhaps a picture of Gentiles being brought into salvation via the gospel).

Through Jesus, of course, God would preserve many people alive, saving all who will ever repent of their sins and entrust themselves to Christ.

So while should be careful not to say Joseph was a type of Christ or even a symbol of Christ, and while we should be careful not to read in what isn’t there, when we take the text of Genesis 37 on its face, with fuller revelation now than Jacob and Joseph had then, we can see  glaring similarities in what God did through Jacob’s favorite son and what God would later do through His own only begotten Son.

[the-counter-current-blog]

Kier Mellour: Eco Bikini Girl

Be Glam and Give a Damn.

Kier Mellour is the hottest environmental fashion, beauty, and travel blogger to hit the L.A. scene. Her wildly successful “classy, sassy, over-the-top style” fashionista blog is emblematic of the true Kier Couture image. However, at first glance, many wouldn’t know that Kier Mellour lives a not-so-secret, double life. Just like Christian Bale was the best Batman of our generation, Kier Mellour is unequivocally the best “Eco Bikini Girl” of our generation. She demonstrates on a daily basis that it is possible to both take care of our planet and remain ever-so fashionable. Or, in her words, you can “be glam and give a damn'.

Boy Scouts, Water Taste Test, and An Instagram Friend

Kier’s life — like all great stories — starts in the outskirts of a small town. Growing up as a regular kid in the Pacific Northwest, she learned to foster a great love and respect for nature, animals, and the earth. She credits her father and his former experience as a Boy Scout for nurturing her love for the wild. Whether she was camping in the summer, growing their own food, or reading books inside when it rained, Kier learned what it meant to incorporate sustainable practices into daily life. For example, she would mend clothes and fix toys instead of tossing them or buying new. This lifestyle made her that friend who would talk about how to live an eco-friendly life in a consumer-based society. That’s a good thing. You want to be that friend because environmental causes are not fringe issues, they are universal common goods that impact the lives of everyone.

Q: “After your first photo and beach clean-up, what happened?” —Ryan

A: “I began to talk more about plastic and easy swaps people could make in my stories and I realize that my audience was really interested in hearing more… They started to ask questions and I started to get messages about how much I had inspired them to make changes in their life which just encouraged me further.” —Kier

In 2017, Kier wanted to create more videos for her Youtube channel. The idea was to conduct a blind taste test of water bottles in California. Oddly enough, California was also experiencing a severe drought, even though Kier was buying most of her water bottles from the state. How was the private sector able to sell water that originated from a state that, supposedly, was lacking water sources? After extensive research, she discovered how terrible bottle water was for the environment. She thought about what she learned until one fateful day at the beach. Kier could absolutely not just relax in the sun or lie in the sand, as plastics had washed ashore and were scattered around the formerly, pristine beach. Therefore, she took action. She spent the day cleaning up the beach and at the end, she had her picture taken. Nearly immediately, the photo spread like wildfire and her flame for the environment was ignited even more.

Eco Bikini Girl represents that “women can be intelligent, conscious, and compassionate as well as stylish, sexy, and beautiful.”

Following the first beach clean-up, Kier started to participate in clean-ups once or twice a month. She also began following an Instagram account @CleanOurSeas and quickly became friends with the account manager, Natalie. After several Direct Messages (DM) and with the goal to spread as much awareness as possible, Kier began to write “#CleanOurSeas” on Instagram posts to encourage others to cleanup the environment. Naturally, Natalie loved Kier’s work and featured the post on the @CleanOurSeas account. Unfortunately, a male — unnamed for this article — derisively degraded the purpose of Kier’s actions. He insinuated that she had only participated in these clean-ups for Instagram “likes” and not because she cared for the environment. At that moment, the “Eco Bikini Girl” was born and she hasn’t looked back.

Thoughts on Consumer Behavior and Environmental Stewardship

With respect to consumer behavior, there are two great options that Kier recommends. The first is re-homing products and the second is to buy secondhand. As a consumer-based society, the value of our dollar is important. In fact, we have the ability to vote for the society we want based upon the products we sell. Therefore, it is necessary to practice a certain level of mindfulness when browsing Amazon or shopping in L.A.

“Literally, I’ve posted “free clothes hangers” and had a friend come and pick them up within an hour. There is so much stuff already out there, but you could use this tactic in reverse, as well…”Does anybody have a blow up mattress I could borrow for a week” will not only save you money, but it might reconnect you with a friend you haven’t seen in a while. [Facebook] prohibits you from buying something that you might not need forever.” —Kier on Consumerism

Further, Facebook and other social media platforms are great tools when connecting with others. It’s more than possible and should be encouraged to reach out to friends and family when it comes to products you may need for only a short amount of time. Whether it is borrowing a blow-up mattress or giving away hangers, there is not a need to constantly “buy”. However, thoughtful exchange could revolutionize the way we interact with others by furthering friendships and protecting our planet at the same time.

Thoughts on Defining Success and Environmental Stewardship

Success occurs on an individual level for Kier. Whenever there is a shift in thinking from someone who did not recycle and now they recycle, refuse, reuse, and practice conscious green consumerism — that is a win. She definitely feels successful in proactively reaching out to others, but her greater goal is to curb cigarette waste. Cigarette brands ought to switch to compost-able, natural filters. As many readers may know, cigarette butts are the number one most littered item, so if there was a shift from cigarette firms (either through legislation or profitability metrics) that would be a huge success. The implementation is the difficult part.

Thoughts on Politics and Environmental Stewardship

As a libertarian, Kier often finds herself arguing with both sides and, generally, thinks government should stay out of a person’s life. However, as an environmentalist and as a libertarian that possesses a strong belief in limited government, she is very torn on the best method to decrease nonessential plastics. Taxes on nonessential plastics or incentives in the form of tax credits or subsidies often come to mind — however, she is conflicted.

In Oregon, the cash redemption value machines have had astonishing success — it would be excellent if programs like these could be implemented nationwide. Witnessing the “success of common sense laws” that allow for cashback or discounts help any person on a budget. Further, it keeps plastic, glass, and metal containers in a circular economy for longer without needing to be placed in a landfill or dumped into an ocean. Anecdotally, California could be massively improved by implementing machines that are more visible, in higher frequency, and socially encouraged. However, often times these machines are swarmed with homeless people which typically makes it less than appealing to most people — this is another social problem that ought to be addressed.

“We can’t trust the government to protect us — we need to be the change we see.”

On the flip side, our government is incredibly wasteful — “I don’t think they know anything about how to be sustainable!” If sustainability was a greater focus, recycling and redemption facilities would be more frequent and self-education on the topic would be less necessary. Similar to the idea of including the true environmental cost when taxing a company for using plastic, it is not that rough of a thought to consider plastic as hazardous waste. This term would require companies who produce it to be responsible for disposal and cleanup. This is a realignment of our consumer-based economy, again, to reflect the true environmental costs.

Clearly, any policy change would need bipartisan support. The easiest way to make a change now is to convince others to “vote with their dollar” and not buy plastic. Companies want to be profitable. Companies will realign their strategic vision and operations to what the consumer wants and that’s why the “consumer truly holds the most power”. Changing our actions on a personal level are a lot easier than changing laws that have undercurrent agendas.

Counter Current Parting Thoughts

This article is dedicated to Vivian. Vivian is Kier’s chihuahua who was laid to rest on January 30th. For the last 13 years, Vivian is the one who showed the world that “you can be small and make a huge difference.” Nothing will replace you Vivian and you are forever treasured in the hearts of so many. We love you.

If you liked what you read, be sure to subscribe to Kier’s YouTube channel, follow her Instagram, and pray for Vivian. All links are in the article.