#i can understand how an elementary school american kid

[crios31]

Chapter 3: Childhood friends

Story building and fluff

Length 2068 words

“Sana, I think you can release him, others also want to say hello.” says her father looking at the two girls waiting in the room.

“No! It’s been too long since the last time we saw each other!”

“You’re not the only one who misses him, Sana.” retorts one of the girls before pointing to the other, “Look, even Mina hurried to see him.”

“Alright, sorry Momoring.” She ends the hug and takes a step to the side to let the two other girls pass. You notice her cheeks are puffed, it seems she is sulking.

Momo is the first to approach, giving you a strong hug, “Three years, smartass.”

“Yeah, it’s been too long, airhead.” You both stay like this for a minute before letting Mina have her turn, she lightly hugs you and you just have enough time to put your arms around her that she steps back.

“Shy as always.” You pat her head making Mina look down but you can see a small smile while her cheeks get a pinkish hue. “So girls, this is Wendy, she is working for me. Wendy, those are Momo, Sana and Mina, my childhood friends.”

“Pleasure to meet all of you.” says Wendy in English.

The three of them greet her back with Mina asking, “If you are following him as he moves, do you speak Korean?”

“Yes, I was born there.”

Mina smiles and to your surprise switches to Korean. “Good, then it will be easier to communicate with each other.”

“We won’t have to bother Mina to do the translation because the three of us learned Korean” Rejoices Sana as she hugs Mina from the back.

“I knew you wanted to learn it before I left Japan but I didn’t expect both of you to do it too.” You say looking at Momo and Mina.

“Sana convinced me to learn Korean with her and Mina joined us saying it was interesting.”

The presentations now done, everyone follows Sana’s father to the patio where the family of the Japanese trio is waiting.

You greet everyone, starting with Sana’s mother, then Momo’s and Mina’s parents finishing with their siblings. The girls start talking with each other as Kai gets beside you.

“Do you want one?” Asks Kai bottles of beer in his hands.

“Yeah, thanks.” You take a sip. “How is medical school going?”

“It’s going well, I’m finishing general study so the real deal will begin next year.”

“Do you have a specialty in perspective?”

“I may follow dad’s footstep in orthopedics but I still have time to make a decision.”

“Still playing American Football?”

“Yes, I joined my university’s team and it’s a lot of fun. Play something on your side? I see you have a good build now.”

“I mostly played rugby and some basketball. Also started weightlifting recently, and I intend to continue in Korea.”

You continue talking with Kai until you hear Sana's voice. “Guys come here, Wendy has a question and you're both involved in it.”

You join them. “So what’s it about?”

“I wanted to know how all of you became friends? Because from what I understand your families don’t live in the same city.”

“The first ones I met were Momo and Hana. When I was in elementary school, we moved to Japan for my dad's work. Momo's family was my neighbor and the three of us were going to the same school.”

“For the first year he was in my class so we were going and returning from school with him. Furthermore, we played a lot together outside of school so we became fast friends. Then he began to skip some grades, and he ended up in the same class as nee-chan for some time. They got along well before but really became close following this.” Momo says. “ Wendy, I have some funny photos of him as a kid, do you want to see them?”

“Oh yes! I would love too.”

“Careful Momo, I also have some of you.”

“Really you take your photo album with you? I don’t think so, aunty most likely keeps it.” She then sticks her tongue out at you. You can only grumble in response because she is right about that.

“My turn now! So Dad worked under his father and they got along really fast.” speaks Sana. “We regularly meet each other when our parents invite the others for meals or during company events. Thanks to this, when his mother was working to open her first school in Japan, my mom joined the project because she is a teacher. Now Mom is the Headmistress of the private school of Osaka. Also, she got to meet and work alongside Mina's mother. I’ll let you explain this part Mina.”

“Alright, Mom is a lawyer, she was hired by his parents for all of their matters in Japan, for example, she is involved with his mother’s schools from the start. So Mom befriended his mother and later Sana’s, therefore we all got to see each other regularly.”

“At first, Mina was mainly close to Sana and Kai to me. As for Momo and Hana, they met the others when my parents organized a party with their friends and their families. So that's the story of how our little group was formed.”

With Wendy's question being answered, the group continues to chat during the afternoon. The parents join you for a time retelling stories about their kids, some were funny, others somewhat shameful depending on your role in it. When the sun began to set, they went into the house asking you to follow them.

Arriving in the living room, everyone takes a seat with Momo’s parents on your left, Mina’s on your right and Sana’s in front of you.

Mina’s mother begins to talk, “Seeing that this girl, Wendy is following you, should be the one your parents personally handpicked for you. Finally, they decided to explain the hidden side of the scholarship program?”

“Yes, they explained the basics when I met her and I learned the rest from a file Mom gave me before I left. But it lacked information on a specific point, the people running the program for her. I was expecting aunty to be involved with the program because she is in charge of one of the schools.” You say turning briefly toward Sana’s mother. “In your case, your firm treats every legal related topic for my parents in this country, so I was not entirely sure if you would have been in it or if it would have been someone working for you. So are you the only ones related to the program here?”

“Yes, the other only knows about it, nothing more.”

“Then, could you both explain your role in it, please?”

“My role in the program? Well my main task is to write the contract for each recipient of the scholarship when they join but only for those in Japan. I am also involved in the background check of candidates for the scholarship and sometimes to resolve some legal issues that come up.” Answers Mina’s mom.

“In my case, I became the head of the program in Japan when your family moved out. More specifically, I oversee the people in charge of different areas of Japan and the area of Osaka and Kyoto is under my direct supervision. Finally, I am part of the evaluation council in Japan and sometimes the one in Korea.” Explains Sana’s mother. “Do you want to know something?”

“Thanks for the explanation. I’m wondering if any of your kids are aware of this side of the program?”

“Well my daughter knows about it. One day, she read some of the documents I took with me at home. She was very interested in it, in particular the fact that it’s for you.” Sana’s mom gives you an amused smile before continuing. “I decided it was better to explain everything to her. Sana was still interested in my work and the program, so I decided to sometimes include her in my work. Well it’s only limited to asking for her opinion concerning girls of the program because she has a similar age as them, the goal being to avoid or resolve issues for them. And for the other kids…”, she strokes her chin in ponder. “If one of them knows, it would most likely be Mina.”

Hearing that you agree, Mina is the smartest of the group and she has always been very curious since childhood. From this combination results that whenever she wants to know about something, she will always find a way to get the information. Concerning Kai, he is very considerate of his parents' works and the privacy that comes with them. In Hana's case, she is unlikely to know anything because her parents, while aware of the program, are not involved in it. As for Momo, you're not sure because with Sana and Mina they share everything together, so she could have learned about it from them. 

“Alright if one of them learns about it, we’ll just explain it like in Sana’s case. Aunty, do you intend to involve more Sana in your work?”

“I’ll continue as it is for now considering the program. But for the rest of my work, yes it will give more practical experience as she’ll enter university to begin her teaching degree next spring.”

You continue to talk with everyone's parents about the running of the program in Japan, they then ask about how your student life was since the last time you talked to them. You answer their questions until someone puts its hand on your shoulders and rests its head on top of yours from behind the couch.

“So are you done with him? Can we have him back?” Asks Hina.

“Yes, yes. Take him with you, we'll have time to talk during the upcoming days.” Answers her father.

You stand just as you arrive before Hana grabs your arm and begins to drag you outside of the living room under the laughter of the parents watching a familiar scene. In the hallway Hina turns to you.

“It was easier to drag you before you got heavier.” She complains

“I build more muscle following my growth spurts.”

“Well yeah you’ve become quite big.” She traces the muscles along your arm up to your chest while looking in your eyes. “And very nice to look at.”

“Thanks, but I’m not the only one who got bigger and nice to look at.” You reply as you lower your eyes to glance at her ample breasts.

“Oh them, they may be bigger than you think.” She says, lifting up one of her boobs with her hand. “You’d like to find out, aren’t you?” She takes a step toward you.

“I would love that and more.” You also get closer to her making you feel each other breath with your noses almost touching.

“Is that so?” She puts a hand on your cheeks and pushes your head to the side. “Too bad it won’t happen and stay as a dream for you.” She then turns and walks toward the end of the hallway. “Let’s return to the other, now.”

“A dream? I like challenges Hina! We’ll see if it’ll stay as a dream or not

She chuckles,“Well if you want to lose your time, suit yourself!”

You both join back the group enjoying your evening. You only return to your hotel  far in the night.

For the rest of your stay in Japan, you go out multiple times with your friends. Doing sports with Kai or Momo with their friends, some that you already know. Visiting places you used to frequent in Osaka and Kyoto after a long time, like your old school. You also make the mistake of following the girls for shopping, well it was mostly carrying their bags but at least they were happy. You get to have dinner with the Hirai, the Minatozaki and the Myoui on multiple occasions where you had time to discuss with your aunties and uncles.

But every good thing has to end at some point because it was time for Wendy and you to leave Japan for Korea. Everyone took time to accompany you to the train station in the morning. And hours later, the plane lands at Incheon airport and both of you finally set foot in Korea.

[plaidbooks]

When I was in high school--waaay back in 2010--I did a presentation on the song Handlebars but Flobots. It was supposed to be a 10 minute presentation on how the song related to society, then we listen to the song with lyrics available to read along with it.

My argument was that the song demonstrates how someone goes from being an innocent (but smart) kid to a power hungry politician--

"I can tie a knot in a cherry stem / I can tell you about Leif Ericson / I know all the words to 'De Colores' and 'I'm Proud to be an American'"

This verse alone invokes memories of attending public school in America; I know personally, I was taught both these songs in elementary school, as well as who Leif Ericson is.

So, going from an innocent (but smart) kid to a teen/young adult, but their innocence and work ethic is still there--

"I can make money, open up a thrift store I can make a livin' off a magazine"

The singer is getting older. And then they get into politics. And they notice the sway they have over people--

"Me and my friends understand the future I see the strings that control the system I can do anything with no resistance

'Cause I can lead a nation with a microphone"

This is where the narrative turns--if you couldn't tell by the lyrics alone, the music also changes. It has a more intense, almost melancholy sound.

And then, as the singer's voice is more intense/faster/louder, the lyrics become more and more unhinged--

"And it feels so good to be alive and on top My reach is global My tower secure My cause is noble My power is pure

I can hand out a million vaccinations Or let 'em all die of exasperation Have 'em all healed of their lacerations Have 'em all killed by assassination I can make anybody go to prison Just because I don't like 'em And I can do anything with no permission I have it all under my command because

I can guide a missile by satellite"

He's becoming way more unhinged, way more intense and power hungry--you can hear it in his voice. He's excited to have this power! He can save everyone with a vaccine or let them all die! He can imprison anyone he personally doesn't like!

And then! We hit the crescendo at the end!

"And I can end the planet in a holocaust!"

This is repeated several times, while people chant with him in the background!!!

The music video shows now that the man is horrified as people are being gunned down (remember, this was 2010 (song debuted in 2005, then was rerecorded and re-released in 2007)! And it ends with the hook being whispered, as if the man remembers his innocent past.

~~~~~~~

All of this is to say that the people in my class were shocked when they heard the song after my explanation.

"I just don't understand how something like that could happen?"

Said in awe--not disbelief or skepticism. Just awe that no one my age--including me!--imagined someone like this could be ever in power again. For us, we only know of the Holocaust/Hitler, and everyone knew he was evil, right?

I've been thinking about this song and my presentation all over again. Why? Maybe because of the next sitting President. Maybe I'm worried that people will be rallied behind this corrupt fascist with his microphone.

But then I remember that most of Flobots' music is about resisting. And I know that we will not be silenced.

[sixty-silver-wishes]

ranking every hyperfixation I can remember having

Fish: Since I was two years old up until like, middle school, I was obsessed with fish and sea life in general. I wanted to be a marine biologist for years. I still cry when I go to aquariums because seeing all the kids watching the fish reminds me of myself at that age. 8/10. Basic hyperfixation, but fish are still pretty cool

The American Flag: For some reason, I remember having an American flag phase in preschool. Not even having to do with America or American history or some other reason; I just thought the flag itself went hard. I can't tell you why. 2/10 because my patriotism levels are at an all time low as of now

Spin the Globe: Spin the Globe was the animated host of National Geographic's "Really Wild Animals," a series of wildlife documentaries for children. For some reason, I latched onto this guy HARD when I was in kindergarten.

I watched the ocean one every day, to the point where I memorized it and spent the whole class day writing down the script from memory (I don't understand how I didn't get my ADHD diagnosis until I was an adult). I rewatched the ocean documentary last year for some nostalgia, and I found out that Spin was REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING. I don't know what 5 year old me was thinking. 1/10.

The Wonder Pets: This was my favorite show when I was in, like, first grade. Unfortunately, that's right about the age where kids think it's cool to joke about brutally murdering children's show characters to prove how mature they are, so really liking a children's show was social suicide. The animation in Wonder Pets did slap tho. 4/10

Power Lab VBS Bible Buddies: Like I said, my hyperfixations were weird as a kid. I was raised Baptist Christian, and every year, my church held a VBS (Vacation Bible School), which for those who don't know, is basically a five-day Christian summer camp. Each day, they would hand out these figurines called "Bible Buddies," which each were supposed to represent a different lesson about the Bible. One year (I think I was in second grade?) the theme was "Power Lab," which had a science laboratory theme. These were the "Buddies" for that year:

I used to play with the figurines of these guys all the time. I can't tell you why, but I thought they were so cool. I also think I was enamored with the lightning bolt lady for some reason? Anyway I'm giving these guys a 4/10. Low score for lameness, but points for originality.

Word Girl: I was raised with PBS as a kid because I didn't have cable until maybe second grade, and I LOVED Word Girl. And I majored in English, so I think that explains a lot. The humor of that show still holds up, and I was so happy to see it made a comeback with fans last year. 8/10; would watch Word Girl again

The Future is Wild: When we finally got cable, my sister and I watched a lot of Discovery Kids. Our favorite show was The Future is Wild, which was a sort of speculative evolution sci-fi for children. These characters would go on adventures in the future and learn things about the animals that lived in environments that had been altered due to global events, and I really liked all the creatures, especially the "Ocean Phantom." Also looking back I think I may have had a crush on CG? Her annoying-ass voice and drama trying to balance working for her father vs. being loyal to her friends had me in a chokehold

6/10. Batshit insane show (I mean. it is in the title), but we love women in STEM

A Series of Unfortunate Events: This is the mother of all my more recent hyperfixations. Something was set in motion here that could not be reversed. 10/10 hyperfixation. this book series made me who I am

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: Along with Unfortunate Events, I was also into the ridiculously violent middle-grade animal xenofiction series in elementary school. I loved these books, and I was so disappointed when the movie came out because of all the ways it diverged from the plot. 8/10 for antifascism and owls, but points docked off because I could never get far in the DS game

Pokemon: So, my mom was pretty sheltering when I was really little, so there was no Pokemon or Harry Potter in the house until I was in 4th grade and she loosened up some. I'd wanted to get into Pokemon for a long time because everyone brought the cards to recess, and one of my friends gave me a holographic Mew card that she said was "really special." My mom threw it away, along with the rest of the cards my friend gave me, because she didn't like the words "psychic" or "evolution" on there lol. But once I was allowed to play my first Pokemon game (Heartgold), I got really into it. If my old Deviantart can be found somewhere in the dark, dark corners of the internet, it was filled with awful Pokemon MS paint drawings. Sometimes I still think about them. 7/10, because I still like Pokemon a lot, but docking points off because my Pokemon hyperfixation introduced me to the more unsavory parts of the internet at a young age.

Harry Potter: This one goes hand-in-hand with the Pokemon thing. Because Harry Potter was forbidden fruit in my household until my mom eventually decided it wasn't that bad, I got really into it when I was a kid. It was less about Harry Potter itself, but more about the fact that I could finally experience something that everyone else had been enjoying for so long. Obviously now that JK Rowling is, well, JK Rowling, I've distanced myself from Harry Potter, and have begun to think about it more critically, but just like everyone else that used to be into it, it did give me some fond memories. 1/10, with the 1 point going solely to Neil Cicierega.

My Little Pony: Got into it in fifth grade and watched it up until freshman year of high school. Not a lot to say about it to be honest; I liked some of the fan works well enough, and I don't have any strong feelings on it now. 5/10

Doctor Who: Oh god; who didn't have a Doctor Who phase in middle school? This was me at my most obnoxious. I constantly wore my 10th Doctor "Allons-y" shirt everywhere I could, and even insisted on wearing 3D glasses at times (I still have them). I quoted the damn show in every conversation (I used to be able to recite the "wibbly wobbly timey wimey" monologue word for word). I'm just glad I didn't get the Hot Topic TARDIS dress that I wanted for so long. I keep finding Doctor Who merch in my room, long after I thought I'd cleared it all out. To be clear, I don't hate Doctor Who, but it just brings up a lot of memories of the annoying kid I used to be in the past. 6.5/10

Celtic Woman: Celtic Woman was the first band I actually got really into. I'd been introduced to their music through Endless Ocean 2, and I would spend hours listening to them and watching their concert videos. Unfortunately, being a middle schooler and listening primarily to Celtic folk music and inspirational songs is not a very good combination, but it is satisfying to see all the people who probably would have bullied me back then dancing to "Teir Abhaile Riu" on TikTok. "Dulaman" was my favorite song, and I was tragically determined to sing it for a good while, despite not knowing any Irish Gaelic. I miss the original band, but their new stuff is all right. 7/10

The Legend of Zelda: More specifically, Skull Kid. My first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, but Majora's Mask was really the peak of my hyperfixation. Skull Kid was easily my favorite character, and I once dressed up as him to school during Spirit Week. I also really liked Fierce Deity Link, and would roleplay both him and Skull Kid on DeviantArt. But the biggest impact my Zelda hyperfixation had on me was kickstarting my love of playing music. I took piano lessons for a short while and started out playing Zelda songs, and I was always listening to video game soundtracks. I switched over to violin later and also took up the ocarina (which I did get pretty serious about for a while. You won't see me playing video game songs anymore, but I still love to play.) 8/10 for the impact, with points taken off because I kept starting games but never finishing them

Lord of the Rings: Got really into Tolkien in high school. My best friend and I bonded over the books, and I also ended up reading the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. I didn't really get into the fandom because I was sort of "outgrowing" fandom culture at this time, but even though it's been a while, I still really like Tolkien. 9/10

The Aztec Empire: Did a report on the Aztec Empire in high school and was really interested it for a while, especially Aztec mythology and sacrificial rituals. 7/10 because I feel like the sacrifice stuff held my attention a lot more than it should have, and I feel like I absorbed a lot of misinformation about it

Medieval Europe: I have an on-and-off Medieval European history phase that comes and goes. Mainly, I'm interested in literature; I read Beowulf and the Canterbury Tales for fun in high school, and I was unfortunately very obnoxious about that. I did study Medieval history and Arthurian legends in college though, so that was neat. 7/10 because saying you're interested in Medieval history sometimes has to come with a disclaimer

Sweeney Todd: My favorite musical, and a big hyperfixation for a while. My best friend played Judge Turpin in high school, and we were both really into "Sweeney" to the point of permanently adopting lines from it into our regular conversations, even today. We even went to see it on Broadway together, which was awesome. 9/10, with one point off because I hate explaining to people why the Tim Burton version Sucks

Classical Music History: Specifically Shostakovich. I like a lot of other composers too, but this was a BIG phase. We're talking three years of research, writing long essays, Russian language and Soviet history classes, working for a Shostakovich journal, learning music, etc. I wasn't even doing this for a career; I just really, really liked Shostakovich a lot in college. I started getting into classical music in high school, but college was when I stopped being an idiot about it. 9/10, with a point taken off because I used to be an idiot about it

Sea Shanties: This falls into my wider love of folk music, but shanties and sea songs got me through college and working a minimum-wage job during the pandemic. 9/10; very fun to sing while in the car with friends

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: Currently hyperfixated on classic films, but this one in general. You've seen my blog. 8/10, because it's a great movie with a lot to hyperfixate on, but points off because it's so hard to want to discuss this with people in public.

Tom Waits: Another current one. I listen to at least two full albums every day, usually "The Black Rider" (which could have its own spot on this list). Meeting a fellow Tom Waits fan in public is the best feeling ever, but telling someone that you like Tom Waits to someone who doesn't know who Tom Waits is sometimes means weird results. Like, someone asked me once if he was a new indie musician. I just want to know what they thought his music was like. 10/10 hyperfixation. no notes

Honorable mentions for smaller hyperfixations I've had over the years, in no particular chronological order:

Gila Monsters (9/10)

Klaus Nomi (9/10)

Hamilton (3/10)

Victorian literature (7/10)

Current events (0/10)

Japan's Torii Gate (5/10. I just thought it looked really cool when I was a kid)

Deaths on Mt. Everest (8/10)

The Oceangate disaster (3/10)

Parakeets (7/10)

House of Leaves (10/10)

Encanto (7.5/10)

My best friend (9/10. Great friend but unfortunately I misidentified it as a crush for many years)

My first ex (0/10)

W.I.T.C.H. (4/10)

This thing:

(Its name is Mathra and it's from an educational kids' game called ClueFinders. I pretended it was my friend when I was little and I drew it all the time, then got embarrassed when people asked what I was drawing)

Lord of the Flies (7/10)

Finding Nemo (6/10)

The Russian language (7/10)

Edgar Allan Poe (8/10)

Ivan Ivanovich Sollertinsky (8.5/10)

Nikolai Gogol (8/10)

In conclusion. it's weird to me that I think my most niche and bizarre hyperfixations were from when I was a really little kid lol

[quinnprkhq]

[ seo jisoo, female, she/her ] — whoa! QUINN PARK just stole my cab! not cool, but maybe they needed it more. they have lived in the city for THREE MONTHS, working as a/an BARTENDER AT PUZZLES. that can’t be easy, especially at only 30 YEARS OLD. some people say they can be a little bit STUBBORN and HARDHEADED , but I know them to be FRIENDLY and OUTGOING. whatever. I guess I’ll catch the next cab. hope they like the ride back to QUEENS!

born to park shownu and park naeun as park hyewon in seoul south korea, with a family of eight and the oldest of five siblings, she was raised to a very close-nit family. when their father landed a job in the states, they had moved to california when it was just her and her younger sister at the time, a sweet family of four. hyewon was just five years old when her family had moved out to california. living in the states and before hyewon started kindergarten, her father decided to give his kids english names therefore going from hwang hyewon to quinn hwang. he had also hired an english tutor to help his kids learn and understand english more. it was then where quinn had became fluent in english, but still stayed close to her korean roots. 

before she knew it, their small family of four grew from four to five then six, then seven and recently to eight. quinn is now an older sibling to four younger sisters. one that was a year younger than her, another about seven years, followed by her next sister of eight years and last but not least her youngest sister of twenty-four years. although their newest sister was definitely a surprise seeing as her parents were surprised she was able to get pregnant after their last daughter. quinn doesn’t mind, she loves her sisters dearly and will continue to love and care for them. 

growing up the hwang family had adjusted to their new american lifetyle but her sisters having been born in america while quinn and her second sister were born in south korea. which took them a bit to understand and learn english. aside from the tutor, quinn had also started taking english classes to help her understand more. it didn’t take her younger sisters long to learn english, so it was nice for them to grow up in america. 

living in california, it didn’t take her long to make friends. it was also a coincidence that she had found some korean friends of her own that lived not to far from where she was. although she had met them at a young age which made it easy for her to grow up with them and form a close bond with them. they were inseparable and stayed together throughout elementary, middle and high school. it wasn’t until quinn had gotten accepted to nyu where they had to part ways, but still made their friendship work and did their best to keep in touch. 

QUINN THROUGHOUT HIGH SCHOOL ( THE RUN DOWN )

freshmen year - 

she and her same age best friend had tried out for the volleyball team together. of course they made it and were apart of c-squad throughout the entire year. 

took a liking to art which she had taken an art class causing her to enjoy it, in which caused her to practiced her drawing skills that have improved throughout the years. 

straight a student since elementary school landing her to be a candidate for  national honor society. you wouldn’t call her a nerd, she just knew the balance between school, volleyball and friends. 

participated in being a few of her teachers student assistants towards the end of her freshmen year. 

sophomore year - 

worked so hard in volleyball in hopes she would at least make it to jr varsity. sadly she and her best friend were stuck in c squad. she didn’t mind, that only meant she had to work harder to prove she was good enough to be apart of jv. 

continued taking art classes, but soon took up in interest in singing and playing instruments. causing her to take band and choir seeing as she wanted to improve her singing and learn how to play the guitar and piano and maybe a few instruments along the way. still very close with her seven best friends while they support her in everything she does. 

maintains her 4.0 gpa and continues to strive to work harder and to graduate with honors. doesn’t want to disappoint her family, most of all her younger sisters. 

junior year - 

after all her hard work, she figured she would move up to jv for volleyball. with the captains of the volleyball team seeing how hard she had worked, she went from c-squad to varsity right away along side her best friend. at first she was shocked because she herself didn’t believe she deserved to be on varsity but continued her hard work in which she proved and showed herself that she does deserve that spot. 

while working hard in basically everything during her junior year, she may have taken on more than she could chew. the stress was weighing on her, but she was doing her best not to give up and to keep pushing towards success. 

not only was school and volleyball weighing on her, she felt it was time for her to get a job. you’d think she’d slow down, but quinn is someone that wants always keep herself busy and to be on the go. this is where quinn had landed her first job working at the movie theater. she had worked in the back stocking things that needed to be stocked, along with being apart of cleaning crew. 

this year was where quinn found herself always busy but still doing her best to make time for her friends and volleyball. not to mention school. she couldn’t slack off, not now seeing as senior year was right around the corner. 

senior year - 

the year that meant so much to her and her best friend. of course her six other best friends were a few grades behind them so they didn’t have to worry about graduating just yet. quinn needed to graduate, although she knows she won’t be the valedictorian which she doesn’t mind. that was one thing quinn wasn’t a fan of, making speeches. the whole thing just brought her nerves out and if she had to make a big speech to her graduating class, she is pretty sure she’d faint in front of everyone. 

working harder than ever, she went from working at the movie theater full time to part time. only because she wanted to focus on graduating and to make sure she passed all her exams and finals that were coming up. 

volleyball was still going really well for her and had earned herself a letterman jacket during her junior year which she now wears proudly. 

finally, she graduated, graduated beside one of her best friends and thankful that their high school career was over. the hardest part about it? saying goodbye once august rolled around for college. 

𝖰𝖴𝖨𝖭𝖭 𝖳𝖧𝖱𝖮𝖴𝖦𝖧𝖮𝖴𝖳 𝖢𝖮𝖫𝖫𝖤𝖦𝖤 ( the rundown )

a new life for quinn was just beginning. a fresh of breath air and a new setting for her. something she had to get used to. she couldn’t slack off and wanted to make sure she could carry her high gpa that she did in high school to college. 

being in new york was new for her. she was now living in a dorm at nyu and met her roommate whom she gets along really well with. at first quinn wasn’t sure what she wanted to major in so she had just taken a few general classes needed to at least graduate under general studies for now. 

she thought about majoring in art, but just decided to take that as a minor and not a major. it took quinn majority of her first semester at nyu to figure out what she wanted to do. instead she took up a few business classes since she wanted to explore something new. 

[localenbylesbian]

Schools are so fucking abelist it hurts

my science teacher doesn't believe adhd or autism are real...guess who has adhd and asked her to accommodate for me (such as extensions and going over things). No wonder why she hasn't offered help once.

they can 'accommodate' all they want, but it doesnt change the fact that a lot of teachers are abelist towards nerodivergent people. It doesn't change the fact that teachers will fail you on purpose. it doesn't change the fact that they will call a class full of mostly neurodivergent kids, the "stupid one"

it doesnt change the fact that nerodivergent kids are demonized and always in trouble.

I have ADHD, diagnosed. elementary school was absolute hell, I was always in trouble for talking or being too hyper. There was rarely a day where I didn't have my card moved or was grounded. I got screamed at by teachers when I was only 5 for this shit. It didn't stop until they gave me ADHD meds, but then I almost died because they made me lose all appetite.

its so fucking crazy to me that schools would rather have kids get horrible physical issues because of their meds because then they'll be all quiet and perfect.

ADHD meds can be a massive help sure, but I'll never forget how I almost died just so I could 'function' in school. I got horribly sick because teachers couldn't handle the fact that I would talk too much.

that is what pisses me off. that is why I despise school. there hasn't been a single year where I've had every teacher understand that some kids need extra help. this is yet another failure in the american school system.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

I am gonna go into the British gang vs. American gang stuff cause I do have actual first-hand knowledge on this. Before I start, I am going to preface this by saying they are both very serious issues that shouldn't be made light of.

I think Americans' problem with how we (I am including myself) view your gang culture is just due to the varying extremes that each has. It's the drowning in a pool versus drowning in the ocean debate. Both are different extremes but show an obvious problem of a lack of resources and proper care and preventative measures to ensure it doesn't happen (like life guards), but ultimately in both situations someone is dead.

Essentially, to a lot of Americans, your gang violence is so not severe. For a good portion of my life, I went to a school that required uniforms. I lived in such a poor area that many students couldn't even afford lunch, but we still had to wear uniforms. Not as a sign of class, but so we couldn't associate ourselves with gangs as school. At one point, I had my hair dyed bright blue cause it wasn't against the dress code but the faculty through a full-on fit and panic because of it. I had to dye it a completely neutral color.

This was in elementary school. I was no older than 11, but by that time, kids were already bringing knives to school and finding ways to associate with their older siblings' affiliations. I am not saying this to be rude or diminutive, but the children were doing exactly the same as your British gangs. As someone who has family from Chicago who has had run-ins with both British and Chicago gangs due to military service, it is somewhat sadly child's play. (Which screams a such larger problem and issue on America's part, cause seriously, I have had guns flashed at me by kids no older than 13)

Also, it just takes into account what each culture views as severe, and it is unfortunate that Americans have such a high tolerance. This entire thing is not to say that the jokes or references are right, though.

[Talking with my mother about this cause this stuff is her cup of tea and she wanted to provide mom lore: *Not paraphrased at all* Oh, mention to them that it is much easier to defend from a knife than a gun and getting shot is a lot more painful than stabbed. Also a lot more difficult to stitch yourself. I WOULD ASSUME! 👀👀 (she has had an interesting life)]

Obviously, I don’t think anyone ever denies that guns are ultimately the end-all-be-all of accessible weaponry. They’re terrifying.

But in the same way that Brits are detached from gun violence, and as such make jokes because ‘oh well it’s stupid it happens’, but they absolutely shouldn’t… Americans also shouldn’t make jokes about knife violence either just because they have a ‘tolerance’. People die.

Like sure, whatever, knife crime isn’t as broadly dangerous or whatever. But people still fucking die. People can stop being insensitive pricks about it, too, because our government is putting in a huge effort to stop it as well.

Why are people making fun of something which is actually a good thing? Yeah people are gonna be scared of knives when it’s the scariest thing that can happen to you. We don’t have guns (mostly), so yeahhh… our gang violence isn’t going to include guns on a big scale.

Like the thing they find funny about Uk gangs is what British people find funny about US school shootings: people (especially kids) die to guns, our government did something about it and yours didn’t. You can’t make jokes about one without enabling jokes about the other.

At the end of the day, it still pisses me off. Even if I understand why it’s seen as funny by Americans, it’s infuriating to know people who have been stabbed, or threatened with knives, and have people dismiss that because ‘we have it worse 🥺’

Like what happens when a gang of guys with knives corners a girl on a night out? Are they making fun of it then? What about when it’s black and brown people getting stabbed in hate attacks? Or kids at a dance class? It was only this year that 3 little girls died to a singular stabbing. And that’s funny?

I don’t care if it’s ’child’s play’ it’s fucking disgusting that anyone finds it amusing.

If school shootings aren’t okay to joke about, why is it okay to joke about little kids getting stabbed and killed? dying even after they get medical attention?

Two things can coexist; guns are bad and so are knives. Neither are funny. Anyone who thinks either is needs to get a fucking grip

[twig-tea]

15 people, 15 questions

Tagged by @my-rose-tinted-glasses, @infinitelyprecious and @he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle! Thank you friends 💕

1. are you named after anyone?

Nope! My folks just liked the name they chose for me. They did the thing where they tried to choose a name that they thought would be unique and ended up with one of the most common names in the year, for both me and my brother.

2. when was the last time you cried?

Watching the What Did You Eat Yesterday S2 finale.

3. do you have kids?

Nope! Never wanted any, so I'm happy with the status quo.

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

HA. Here we go. In elementary school I was on a neighbourhood softball team and was terrible; in the end of year tournament, we were two outs and I was at bat and struck out for us to lose, which soured me on this game permanently. I also took neighbourhood tennis lessons and sucked at that too though I really did try. In middle school I was on the basketball team because I was tall and the coach was convinced I could learn hand/eye coordination....she was wrong. I am a decent defense player because height lets me block but I cannot land a foul shot to save my life (or my team's). For fun during lunch l I played [American] football with other enthusiasts. We would play tackle in all weather and on pavement, and we had a great time (I wasn't good but I enjoyed it). By high school I had finally convinced everyone around me I have no hand/eye coordination or physical skill and stopped all sports activities. PHEW. These days I do no sports though I will go to my company slo-pitch games and heckle like heckling's a sport.

5. do you use sarcasm?

Absolutely, but I try not to use it in that mean way in which people try to make someone feel bad about themselves.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

Body language, how they hold themselves and move.

7. what’s your eye color?

Close to slate grey/blue.

8. scary movies or happy endings?

I don't respect this false dichotomy.

9. any talents?

My superpower is the ability to sing along to any song whether or not I've heard it before, and whether or not I know the language. Other than that, I'm pretty good at understanding what people are trying to say and not just what they actually said, which comes in handy in show analysis as well as interpersonal communication and work. And I am good at modifying/adapting recipes to use what I've got/what I like on the fly. Those are my core talents!

10. where were you born?

Toronto, Canada

11. what are your hobbies?

Other than watching All The BL/GL/QL? I am crafty, I like playing with mixed media stuff, lap weaving, and bookmaking/bookbinding. I haven't had the energy for it the last few years, and that's been mildly devastating. But I made holiday cards for the first time in years this year, which was very fun! I also have been known to puzzle, and I garden when I can. And I hike on occasion!

12. do you have any pets?

Nope! I'm allergic to most pets (fur and feathers; I tried keeping fish but was allergic to the algae on the tank, so I gave up). The dog in my avatar is my parents' rescue dog they got after I left home, and I see her when I visit them! She's a "hypoallergenic" breed mix but that's actually meaningless and I'm still allergic lol

13. how tall are you?

180cm; and the kicker is I've been this tall since elementary school so I went from being the tallest person in the room by a LOT to half the boys in the room shooting up to my height or higher, which was a weird experience!

14. favorite subject in school?

Tie between English, Biology, and Chemistry. I loved science and words and analysis in both subjects. I ran the bio and chem clubs in high school!

15. dream job?

University textbook editor, which I did for ~7 years! And it was everything I wanted it to be, but I eventually outgrew it. I love what I do now too (essentially I'm in management), and I know I'm lucky that I've had jobs I love for most of my working life.

I won't tag anyone because I've been absent for days, but if you see this, this is permission to do this tag game, and tag me so I see your post 💕

[kaiandersonsbabygirl]

haii so i noticed i never actually did an intro for this account since i never though id use tumblr this much so here a intro!! :)

————————————————————— 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕: American Horror Story, Girl, Interrupted, Shameless, Gilmore Girls, Orange Is The New Black, Aboutt Elementary, Speak (the movie) The Office, Harry Potter, Skating, Music, Sleeping, poems, Reading, Rainy days, Smoking cigarettes, Long talks, Taking walks around for fun.

𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕: Nirvana, Hole, Lana Del Rey, Tv Girl, Clario, Korn, Stray Kids, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, Lady Gaga, Mitski, Sematary (not very fitting for me but whatever 😭) Alex G, Ayesha Erotica, Chase Atlantic, The Neighbourhood, Arctic Monkeys, Cigarettes After Sex.

𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒔: Spam texting, Loud noises, Rude ppl (oml i can’t stress abt this enough.) Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Sexism.

For funzies <@:)

•I have discord and i’ll probably give the user bc i have one friend on there. (LMAO)

•I actually enjoy talking about anything going on in my life like i will tell anything to anyone even if i just met them.

•I’ve been trying to get better at talking to people since i’m not the best at that.

•I GO TO SCHOOL!! So that’s the main reason why i haven’t been active, posting/ reblogging things on here :(

•Honestly i’m a crybaby so i will cry over the smallest shit 😭

•I sometimes takes jokes too far so i can either make a joke that’s not funny or i could ignore ppl over a joke that was funny.

—————————————————————

𝑰𝑴𝑷𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑻!!

I still don’t know how to use this app fully 😭 so if i don’t understand things that’s why, also u barley use it just like to reblog things or for lana del rey and kai anderson related things.

I’m half Italian and i’m still learning italian to this day LMAO

I like to talk about music and certain bands, so if thats something your into dm me!!

I do tend to talk about myself. A LOT. But not really about myself more just things i enjoy.

ANYWAYSS that’s all cuties byebyeee <3

[jokertrap-ran]

[スタオケ] La Corda d'Oro Starlight Orchestra Main Story Chapter 2-6 Translation

*Starlight Orchestra Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Main story tag will be #Main Starlight

Akira: Phew…

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

⊳ Choice: That was brilliant!

Akira: Well, your Violin playing skills weren't bad either.

⊳ Choice: I was right to invite you two to join us!

Seiji: You think so? I'm glad to see that you're pleased.

Seiji: Well, I'll have to excuse myself here.

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Akira: Dunno. He's busy too, isn't he? Though, I wouldn't know much about it.

Akira: 'Sides, that song we just played went well, so it's not that much of a problem now that he's gone, is it?

Akira: He did play the Trumpet in the past too, for that matter.

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

⊳ Choice: What about you, Kirigaya?

Akira: Me? Well, there was the Brass Band Club back when I was in elementary school. Akira: Then there was the Brass Band Orchestra Club in middle school who was a pain in the ass, tellin' me to clean up and put myself together a lil' more.

⊳ Choice: What of the "Yaksha of Route 6"?

Akira: Huh, you're aware of that? Oh, I s'pose Yasu was the one who told you about it. He does like to run his mouth off.

⊳ Choice: Is your middle school nearby?

Akira: Yeah. It's 10 minutes away from Joyo on foot.

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Akira: This place is like my backyard, see? I've been loitering 'round these streets ever since I was a kid.

⊳ Choice: Was Osakabe in the same middle school?

Akira: Yeah, he was.

Akira: Wouldn't it be better to ask him about it if you wanted to know more about him?

Akira: What, you tryin' to get in his good graces or somethin'? Must be hard being in your position, Concetmistress.

Akira: Well, I s'pose that's part of your job and all, but I'm sure that even you know that this is not somethin' I can help you with, yeah?

Akira: After all, we're just a bunch of "bad students" who are shunned by the school.

Akira: The way he does things is pretty insidious, and there are loads of people on my side who hold a grudge against him.

Akira: Some of my guys would rather dance a dance of death with a snake than team up with Osakabe.

Akira: But each to his own, right?

Yasu: Kirigaya-san! Trouble! Big trouble!!

Akira: Hm? What happened?

Yasu: Those guys from Oba Commercial High School who came to our school came back. And this time, with their top dog, Busujima, in tow!

Akira: Oh? They're back? Things are finally getting interesting…

Yasu: Now's not the time to be amused by things like this!

Yasu: He's a monster notoriously known as "Mito's Armoured Car"! It doesn't matter how hard we retaliate; it doesn't work at all!

Yasu: He should have been abroad to play rugby or American football, but he messed up big-time over there, so now he's back.

Yasu: Our guys are so frightened that it feels like we're all attending a wake or somethin'!

Akira: There's no helpin' you guys. So? Where's the funfair at?

Yasu: Wha- Wait! Hey! Kirigaya-san!? You're just going to walk right up to him without taking any precautions!?

Yasu: W-WAIT UP!!

Hayate: …That looks bad; as bad as it comes. Looks like it won't be possible for him to compromise with Osakabe-san.

Hayate: What? I don't hate people like Kirigaya.

Hayate: He's chivalrous enough to protect his subordinates, and even takes the initiative needed to see it through. I can understand why people are willing to follow his lead. 

Sakuya: Oh? That's unexpected. I thought you were more of the "That's against the rules. Let's crackdown on them" type.

Hayate: For students of our school, yes. First, I'll have him tuck his shirt tails, that's hanging out for the world to see, back in his pants.

Sakuya: …I'm glad Kirigaya isn't one of our school's students. Wouldn't you agree, (L/n)?

☆ ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♬Main Starlight♬◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ☆

Previous Part: (Chapter 2-5) Next Part: (Chapter 2-7)

[posttexasstressdisorder]

https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2024/04/17/laquila/

Happy Birthday, Mr. Mancini...thanks for three of the biggest tunes of my younger years...and many more!

L’Aquila

We’re here for a hundredth birthday concert for Henry Mancini.

L’Aquila is somewhere between one and two hours from Rome, depending on the traffic. It’s in the Apennine mountains. (You remember them from elementary school, right? Well, I remembered they were in Italy, but I couldn’t have picked them out on a map, nor did I know they were so close to Rome.) It’s a bit over two thousand feet high and feels like it, it’s in the fifties today, and supposed to go down to almost freezing tonight. If it weren’t for the long days, I’d think winter is coming.

Actually, Hank’s birthday was yesterday. We celebrated with dinner in the hotel, in a restaurant with multiple cases of aged beef wherein you can see your dinner before it is cooked. Actually, I was the only one who had steak, from the local cow, as opposed to one from Russia, Ireland or Japan or even America, all of which were in the case. And they served this round bread that was a cross between naan and pizza and it was very good.

But speaking of the food…

I just have to testify about the bread. It’ll crack a tooth, I tell you. Which is the crusty exterior you want, which Americans won’t tolerate. That’s the way bagels used to be, now they’ve got the consistency of Wonder Bread. Furthermore, everywhere you go in America, except for a few restaurants, the bread in the basket they serve with dinner is soft, basically bland, empty calories. But at lunch today, the bread might have looked pedestrian, but the crust reminded me of my youth, back when you bought rye bread at the local bakery, when they sliced it upon order.

So the key is not only making people aware it’s Henry Mancini’s hundredth birthday, but that they consume the music.

Now if you’re my age, everybody knows Henry Mancini. But over the past week I quizzed two twentysomethings and got blank stares in response. Then I started to sing “Pink Panther” and their eyes immediately lit up. But still, it’s such a challenge crossing old acts over to younger generations, attaching the composer to the song. The family switched to Primary Wave to quarterback this centenary celebration, we’ll see how it works out.

Anyway, the conservatory in L’Aquila reached out, they were doing four concerts, would we come?

Well, here we are.

Now the head of the conservatory’s passion is prog rock, I kid you not. Unfortunately, he doesn’t speak English so well, but I did get him to say his favorite prog rock keyboard player was Rick Wakeman.

And the conductor of the program… He’s not that great with English either. But Daniela studied at the University of Chicago, she’s the conservatory’s musicologist. And she’s a fount of information. They say you learn most when you hang with the locals…that is true. Although I still wish I spoke Italian. You know, like Jackie Kennedy, that’s what we heard when JFK was president, before she was married to Onassis, when her image was at its peak, that she spoke six, or was it seven languages. You have no idea of the hope JFK’s election generated. A turning point, a young man to lead us into the sixties. We thought we had something similar with Obama but he punted, for fear of looking like the angry black man. Biden is standing up to the status quo more than Barack, then again, Biden was vice president for eight years and saw firsthand that you can’t negotiate with the unreasonable.

I had to ask Daniela about “Gomorrah.” Of course she’d seen it, and “Suburra” too (although it took a while for her to understand what show I was talking about, I didn’t have the accent right). Streaming television is now the universal language.

So after waking up we went to the Fountain of 99 Spouts. Built in the 1200s. No one knows where the water comes from, supposedly they killed the architect and buried him under the fountain to preserve the secret.

And then we went to the local museum.

Most of the art was religious, but it all made me feel insignificant. That and the Forum back in Rome. You’re born and you feel so important, believing you matter, that you’re going to put a dent in the universe. Meanwhile, almost no one achieves this. And frequently those who are remembered were overlooked during their lifetime. But you see the antiquities and you realize nothing has changed over the years. Oh, of course travel is much speedier, and health care is much better, but everybody thinks they’re important when they’re alive, that the era within which they’re living is the most significant. I don’t know, it’s weird. Museums are sanctuaries, where the trappings of regular society don’t count. How rich you are, what kind of car you drive… You leave those at the door at the museum. It’s just you and your senses. Your thoughts start to percolate. Today money triumphs, but not at the museum. It’s a great correction.

So we’ll be back in Rome, but for less than two days. The whole trip is barely a week.

And L’Aquila is not a tourist town. Although there are ski areas in the mountains, one where Pope John Paul II used to surreptitiously ski. And there is still snow on the peaks. And every car I’ve been in so far has had a stick shift. Nearly extinct in the U.S., from Skodas to Volvos, everybody’s rowing through the gears here.

And oh, on the conservatory stage, I saw this Fazioli concert grand. I figured they couldn’t afford a Steinway. But it turns out Fazioli is usually more expensive, and their concert grand is even bigger, and you learn something every day.

That’s the name of the game.

“Al Conservatorio dell’Aquila parte l’omaggio a Henry Mancini”: https://shorturl.at/houxX

[mightyflamethrower]

Idiocracy has arrived

April 10, 2024 1:54 pm Robert Zimmerman

Over the last few days the conservative press has been having a field day making justifiable fun of a number of Democrats and leftists for exhibiting incredible scientifict ignorance, an ignorance so profound as to be mind-boggling.

First, after the unusual 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered in New Jersey on April 5th, a Green Party senate candidate in New Jersey, Christina Amira Khalil, immediately tweeted, “I experienced my first earthquake in NJ. We never get earthquakes. The climate crisis is real.” The mocking on X was so great she quickly deleted the tweet.

Then, in an incredibly embarrassing segment of the television show, The View, one host, Sunny Hostin, showed off her complete lack of any scientific knowledge when she claimed that the earthquake, the solar eclipse, and even the normal arrival of the cicadas every seventeen years (which she thought happened every hundred-plus years) was evidence that climate change was real.

Finally, to top off this stream of utter empty-headiness, during an eclipse event in Texas, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee gave a speech of such stunning incompetency and lack of knowledge you have to wonder how she can figure out how to put on her clothes each day. This quote has been most often used to ridicule her:

Now those [the Sun and Moon] provide unique light and energy so that you have the energy of the moon at night, and sometimes you’ve heard the word full moon, sometimes you need to take the opportunity just to come out and see a full moon is that complete rounded circle, which is made up mostly of gases. And that’s why the question — the question is why, or how could we as humans live on the moon? The gas is such that we could do that. The sun is a mighty powerful heat, and it’s almost impossible to go near the sun. The moon is more manageable.”

It is worth reading her entire speech, however, in order to get the full flavor of her lack of knowledge or her incomprehension of some of the most basic scientific facts. For example, later she says “Today will be the closest distance that the moon has ever been in the last 20 years. Which means, that’s why they will shut the light down because they will be close to the Earth.” Then she adds, “That the solar system is bigger than us, though there are solar systems and there are systems that are smaller than the Earth.”

I doubt she has the slightest understanding of any of this.

Though all of these idiots are leftists or Democrats, and the right has had a lot of fun making mincemeat of them over their dumbness, the problem really isn’t confined to the left. For example, consider the high number of local governments, controlled by both parties, that declared states of emergency because of the eclipse, fearing panic and car accidents. These government officials feared they would not be able to handle the large number of tourists, nor would people know what to do when the eclipse occurred.

Or as Chicken Little screamed, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”

That such people hold important positions in our political and cultural world, and still hold those positions after exhibiting such foolishness, speaks very ill of our entire society, not just those on the left.

Nor is these failures seen only in the political or entertainment world. The inability to think critically or with forthright intellectual honesty is now seen everywhere. For example, this week the American Library Association (ALA) released its list of what it considers the “ten most challenged” book titles in 2023, books it considered banned or censored. The problem was that more than half the books were those advocating the queer lifestyle, and the challenges to them almost all came from parents who did not want their little kids exposed to such porn in their schools. No books were banned, parents simply wanted the books out of elementary school libraries.

And yet, the head of the ALA was unable to recognize this very important and completely legitimate distinction.

“In looking at the titles of the most challenged books from last year, it’s obvious that the pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color,” American Library Association President Emily Drabinski said in a statement accompanying the list. “We are fighting for the freedom to choose what you want to read,” Drabinski added. “Shining a light on the harmful workings of these pressure groups is one of the actions we must take to protect our right to read.”

For Drabinski, who is a proud advocate of Marxism and the queer agenda, any disagreement is censorship, blunt and simple. It is impossible for her to analyze any dissent with any nuance.

And yet, she is the elected head of the foremost organization representing the nation’s libraries. What does that tell us about the nation’s librarians, and their ability to think critically or with intellectual honesty?

Then there was the long op-ed published yesterday by a senior business editor at NPR, Uri Berliner. He has been at his job there for 25 years, but he now considers the place a failure as a news organization, close-minded and unable to report the news with any competence.

An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don’t have an audience that reflects America.

To conservatives he states the obvious: NPR has become entirely focused on reporting only news that fits a very narrow and extreme leftist viewpoint, and as a result, it is now listened to by only a very small segment of Americans. Everyone else has been driven away by its partisan intellectual dishonesty.

He cites for examples NPR’s reporting on the Trump-Russian collusion, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the origin of the COVID virus. In all three cases the network accepted the accusations of the left without question: Trump won his election by working with the Russians, the laptop was disinformation and a fraud, and anyone who said COVID came from a lab was a wild conspiracy theorist who should be ignored.

Yet, when all three of these accusations turned to be wrong (there was no collusion, the labtop was real, and COVID almost certainly came from a Chinese lab in Wuhan), NPR refused to admit error and correct its reporting. Instead, it made believe it never happened, reinforcing this denial by generally refusing to cover the scoops that proved its reporting was wrong.

Once again, these examples are on the left, but once again, there are no consequences. Being intellectually dishonest to a point of absurdity, in a way that is plainly obvious, carries no penalty. If you get into a position of power today in America, you can pretty much say or do anything, with little fear of retribution.

From Idiocracy: “But Brawndo’s got what plants crave. It’s got electrolytes!”

And without consequence, this ignorance and arrogance of the ignorant will only grow. If you are wrong you need others to tell you bluntly that you are, and you need to be forced to listen, or else go elsewhere because of your inability to correct youself. This is how you teach people the necessary humbleness required for them to improve themselves.

Instead, our culture now teaches them to punish anyone who criticizes them. In such an atmosphere, our culture can only become even more ignorant and foolish at all levels, across the entire political spectrum.

Unless something changes very soon, this elegant, prosperous, but very complex technological society is going to collapse. It will become like the moronic society of the movie Idiocracy, where stupidity rules and critical thinking is entirely impossible.

If we aren’t already living in Idiocracy already.

[chrysanthemum-and-co]

the little woman identity: an american girl's internal complex/ dilemma

sofia says I'm a Jo.

Which makes sense, she knows college me. She knows I don't pull punches with my opinions, I bite my nails down when I'm stressed. She's seen me finish a book in a couple hours, she's heard my ambition to continue to learn. She knows the very best of anyone my dream to work in publishing.

in my opinion, this is the easiest, most obvious answer. that, however, does not mean it is right.

noa says I'm an amy

Which makes sense, she knows elementary, middle, and high school me. noa, the ever-patient, people pleasing older sister (perhaps a textbook meg, but personality-wise much more of a Beth), both sees me and loves me for my bratty youngest child tendencies. she knows I enjoy attention but hate to ask for it, that I like to get what I want but only in the way that I want to get it. she meets me in the middle in many ways, and perhaps knows my artistic side the best. She knows the very best of anyone my dream to travel the world and marry someone rich enough to buy a nice beach house for my kids and her kids to become best friends in.

this may perhaps be a deeper answer, but i think it relies too heavily on who I used to be, not the whole picture of who i am. Amy is maybe the most fun answer, but also has never felt completely right.

in the request of opinions of my March sister, I almost exclusively received "Jo" and "Amy". i was maybe resigned to sit somewhere in the middle of the two.

julia, though, dearest julia is who by far my oldest friend who has known me since the cradle but has not liked me the whole time, who has ebbed from my life and come back in these past years as one the only people who knows me totally and completely

julia said i am a meg.

YES my brain said YESYESYESYES!

this makes sense, because she has seen every single part of me. she has heard my sharp remarks and returned with her own wit. she has dreamt with me of far away places in a blanket fort in my old rental house i haven't lived in for twelve years. she was the first recipient of my literary creativity through elaborate stories we'd play out with out barbies in her play room. but she knows none of that is as important to me as my dream to have a family. she can see behind the sharp tongue and particular tastes that really, truly, i carry myself as someone who knows what they want, and what I want is love, love for a spouse and kids and the whole beautiful domestic shebang

i probably have some beth in me too, and there is something to be said for the jo aspect of the way i am staunchly standing by this identity, or the amy way i insist this is the only right answer. the truth though, is not that what sofia or noa sees in me is wrong at all.

it's the understanding that meg is how i dream to be seen, and that she exists as the Little Women identity i can ascribe my ambitions onto. julia sees in me what is most important to ME, what I value most in my own character.

i think that is what defines who you are; not necessarily your most obvious traits but what you yourself put the most stock in. i am all in on me being a meg.

[rose-of-pollux]

Book Quiz thing

Tagged by @carriagelamp

Tagging @belphegor1982, @threephantomrey, and anyone else who wants to do this!

How many books did you read this year? Too many to keep track of...

Did you reread anything? What? That's All Folks: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation--this was a book on the history of the original Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies that I first read as a kid when it was in my elementary school library--it was way, way, way over elementary school reading levels (it's a grown-up nonfiction coffee-table sized book about the history of the WB cartoons and all the technical stuff) and I honestly have no idea what it was doing there aside from someone looking at it and going "Oh, Bugs Bunny? That's for kids, right?" But no one stopped me from reading it then and I was a high-level reader--though some stuff went flying over my head, but when I found the same book at a used book sale earlier this year, I got it to see what I might've missed back then.

What were your top five books of the year? The Writings of Paul Frees: Scripts and Songs from the Master of Voice -- Paul Frees You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To: The Letters of Paul “Buddy” Frees and Annelle Frees -- Paul & Annelle Frees That's All Folks: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation -- Steve Schneider (hey, I enjoyed that nostalgic reread, especially now that I could understand all the intricacies...) Not Dead Yet -- Phil Collins Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show -- Daniel De Vise

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year? If by "new," you mean "new to me," then, yes--Paul Frees! Yes, he's an amazing voice actor and the best Ghost Host ever, but he's also a great writer!

What genre did you read the most of? Nonfiction

Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to? *laughs and then cries*

What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate? Don't have that

Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones? I don't really set any goals, I just read when I can.

Did you get into any new genres? Nope

What was your favorite new release of the year? Shadecursed by @chaoskirin

What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read? The Writings of Paul Frees: Scripts and Songs from the Master of Voice

Any books that disappointed you? I started Wicked since I love the musical, quickly realized it was not what I wanted and bailed.

What were your least favorite books of the year? I didn't remember anything I didn't like--if it didn't do anything for me, I bailed after the first chapter; I only remember Wicked because I sought that out.

What books do you want to finish before the year is over? It's December 31, I'll never make it 😅

Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them? Don't think so...

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year? Wicked

Did any books surprise you with how good they were? I knew I was going to enjoy Paul's writings, but I was underestimating just how much.

How many books did you buy? ...A Lot 😅

Did you use your library? Sadly no; I should remedy that.

What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations? I wasn't really anticipating anything.

Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama? No, but I watched ReviewGate from afar.

What’s the longest book you read? Andy & Don. I think.

What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book? One day.

Did you DNF anything? Why? Anything that didn't capture my interest, plus Wicked.

What reading goals do you have for next year? Not setting any, whatever I read, I read.

[mariacallous]

Despite many advances in our understanding of how out-of-school factors relate to test scores, there is still much to understand about what is driving differences in student achievement across geographical areas. This question is particularly salient for explaining differences among students in their early elementary years, who have experienced comparably less exposure to formal schooling but arrive at elementary school with systemic gaps in test score performance. One under-explored area for examining early differences in achievement is children’s local health environments, such as the local presence of physicians trained in pediatric care.

Physicians trained in pediatric care play an important role in early childhood. Not only do these providers protect the health and well-being of young children, but they also play a critical role in catching and treating early developmental delays and other conditions that can affect learning, such as impaired hearing and eyesight. Despite their important role in child development and early childhood learning, we do not have much understanding of the role that pediatric physicians play in academic achievement, nor of how accessible they are from one community to another.

We do know that poor access to pediatric care is bad for kids. In areas with low physician supply, families may be more likely to miss well-child visits and other non-emergency care, especially when the drive is long and parents cannot miss work. Researchers have linked the local supply of primary care physicians to numerous health outcomes for children, including overall access to care, prevalence of unnecessary hospitalizations, and local rates of infant mortality and low birth weight. These health outcomes are linked to educational success in both direct and indirect ways. For example, lower birth weight has been directly linked to reduced cognitive performance, and preventable hospitalizations for conditions like asthma have been linked to reduced academic achievement due to increased school absences.

New research on students’ access to pediatricians

To learn more about this potential relationship, I recently published a study in Health Services Research with my co-author, Benjamin Domingue, that maps every practicing pediatric physician in the country to their local school districts. We use data from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile to construct the district-level measure of physician supply, which we then use to explore some basic questions: How are pediatricians and family physicians distributed across school districts? Are they equally accessible to all students, or do some students have better access than others?

Our secondary aim was to describe the relationship between the national distribution of these physicians and local levels of early academic achievement to better understand how these two factors might be related (albeit without necessarily identifying the causal effects of physicians on student test scores). To do this, we use nationally normed third grade test scores from the Stanford Education Data Archive.

Our analysis produced several key findings.

First, pediatric physicians are highly unequally distributed across school districts. Nearly 30% of 12,297 districts have no pediatric physician, which includes 49% of rural districts (Figure 1).

Since only about 15% of visits to family physicians are from children, we did an additional analysis focusing exclusively on pediatricians. The inequality in access to pediatricians is even more extreme: 65% of all school districts have no pediatrician within their boundaries, including 89% of rural school districts.

We were also concerned about differences in access to health care by different racial groups even within the same geographic category, and we found that rural children of color in particular have very little access to pediatric care. In Figure 2 below, we plot the white student share along the x-axis and access to pediatric physicians on the y-axis. Rural districts (red dots) have systematically lower access to pediatric care compared to non-rural districts. In both rural and non-rural settings, districts with the least access are disproportionately in communities with low shares of white students (on the left side of the figure).

Second, districts that have more physicians per child tend to have higher academic test scores in third grade. Determining the causal effects of physicians on student test scores is difficult with the data currently available. However, at minimum, we can get a sense of the correlation between the local supply of pediatric physicians and test scores.

To do this, we organized school districts into thirds: the top third represents districts with the highest supply of pediatric physicians, and the bottom third represents districts with the lowest supply of physicians. Table 1 below shows that the bottom third of districts have, on average, only 0.05 pediatric physicians per 1,000 children. The top third of districts have over 100 times that amount.

Looking at achievement levels, average third grade test scores in high-supply districts are 0.12 standard deviations above average third grade test scores in low-supply districts. (Note that these test scores represent the average gain across math and ELA.) This difference in test scores is especially notable since the average socioeconomic status (SES, an index measure based on average household income and other measures) in high-supply districts is actually a bit lower, on average, than in low-supply districts.

Third, we analyzed the national relationship between physician supply and test scores and found that the association is most pronounced for districts with low supply. In low-supply districts, an additional physician is associated with a 0.16 SD increase in average third grade test scores. Though mapping changes in standard deviations onto months or grades of learning is an imprecise, ballpark exercise, we can think of 0.16 SDs as being roughly equivalent to 90 added days of learning, or an additional half of a grade level of achievement in the average 180-day school year. For comparison, in high-supply districts, an additional physician is associated with a 0.004 SD increase in average test scores.

What does this really tell us?

Our data show that not only are pediatric physicians very unequally distributed across student populations, but also that students with low levels of access to nearby pediatric care tend to be the same students that have lower levels of early academic achievement, even when controlling for socioeconomic status.

To address the disparity in access to pediatric care, we make two main recommendations. First, policymakers should continue expanding opportunities for districts to establish school-based health centers. Expanding access to pediatric care through schools, including school-based vision, hearing, and dental care, can be effective, since the vast majority of U.S. children are legally compelled to attend school. Accessing care at school eliminates many traditional barriers to health care access, including the cost of transportation and the inability of many parents to take time off work. Additionally, families who mistrust, fear, or do not know how to participate in the U.S. health care system may be more likely to participate in early childhood health services through a trusted conduit such as their local school.

Second, since physician training is publicly funded, policymakers and practitioners should improve policies and practices aimed at distributing pediatric physicians in a more equitable way, especially if communities are reaping uneven benefits from taxpayers’ contributions to the U.S. medical workforce. Expanding medical student loan forgiveness may be an effective way to achieve this redistribution, since research has demonstrated that physicians with more education debt are less likely to serve in health professional shortage areas. Medical schools should focus more attention on recruiting students from the communities that need better access to care since students from medically underserved communities are more likely to practice in those communities. Additionally, medical schools must work to expand rural training opportunities, since students in the health care profession who are exposed to underserved populations during education and training are more likely to care for this same population once in practice.

We would like to emphasize that regardless of whether the observed association is causal, it is of grave concern that children throughout the U.S. systemically face barriers to access and success in two sectors—health care and education—that are deeply intertwined with child well-being and outcomes across the life course. It is imperative that researchers, practitioners, and policymakers engage in cross-sector collaboration to remove these barriers and create more equitable access to opportunities for all children.

[starrcarter01]

hi

hi. my name is starr, and i knew khalil better than probably any of you. i've known him almost my entire life. i grew up with him, through elementary school, middle school, high school. we played together, hung out together, and were always there for each other. he introduced me to those strange new feelings too. he was the best friend i ever had or could want.

there are things i regret. lots of them. i hadn't talked to khalil for months before, you know. we were growing apart, and i wasn't there for him. and what was he doing? struggling more than any of you could imagine and still trying his best to take care of his family and be the best person he could be. it doesn't matter if he was dealing drugs, whatever. what he did by no means at all justified him being SHOT. KILLED. by a 'police officer', who supposed to be protecting us and regulating the law. not murdering someone -- who's just a kid, and who he didn't know. officer one-fifteen couldn't have had any idea if khalil did something wrong, broke the law. maybe he was speeding. but none of that matters. he was shot, murdered, for no reason at all besides the color of his skin. he was innocent.

and, by the way, he was dealing drugs. he never joined a gang or participated in any gang activity. at first i was mad at him, so angry that khalil would sell the same stuff that destroyed his own mother, and put himself in so much danger. but he sold drugs to protect her, his mom. she was in debt with some gangleader or something like that, they had no money, and the only way khalil could make enough money to protect her was by turning to drugs. he loved her more than he hated drugs, and in the end all that matters was that he was doing it all for his mom. even though she was a drug addict, even though she wasn't the same person she was, he still loved her to death nonetheless. he only wanted the best for her. i know khalil. he has a big heart, he's loving, caring, smart. i'm sure he didn't want to sell it, but he ran out of other options. if you were in his position you would do the same thing. khalil shouldn't be judged for that.

a lot of you don't quite understand what it's like, to be black, to live in the community khalil lived in and i still live in. to be treated like you're inferior, to be looked down upon. it's a neverending cycle, of suffering, of pain. it isn't easy to make money when you're in those circumstances. everyone wants and tries to get out, but they can't, and eventually they all fall into gangs or drugs, end up killing each other if they weren't already shot by a cop. that's how it is for so many black americans. it's a system, and you can't get out.

even if all of you don't understand the situation khalil was in, hopefully you all can agree what happened to him was cruel, unjust, an evil act by a police officer who couldn't see farther than khalil's race.

khalil deserves justice. and i don't know if he'll ever get it. what does 'justice' even mean in today's american society? i don't think there is a true 'justice'. it's no more than a mere concept, an ideal. no one can get justice anymore. there's nothing i want more than for him to just get what is undeniably right and fair. but will he? will he? i don't want to say the answer. we don't know the answer yet. so all we can do is wait. wait and see if our courts can do the right thing, for once.

justice for khalil.

[pantestudines]

"American Civil Religion" is grossly fascinating as a concept to me. Its shitty. It's fascist. I was raised in it. It still holds power over me in ways I hate. But It's inherently goofy... the only people really inducted Into it are like boy scouts and kids who were made to do student government in elementary school. Despite being obviously Christian the adherence to the first ammendment has turned it almost secular and, I think I could say, nontrinitarian? Like there's really only the One God in American Civil religion and as long as you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or otherwise Very Monotheistic its okay to worship him however you want. "jesus" isn't really a factor in it, just "God". Being an Athiest, however, even a culturally Christian one, is less acceptable. The flag is a holy icon, one with an intricate series of Rituals only rrally enforced by the initiated. Native Americans are treated like wise sages whose wisdom was passed on directly to the founding fathers (and I should note my absolute distaste in this practice here-- American Civil Religion really is awful in most cases but this one always makes my skin crawl). The military might as well be priests, because all of the "rituals" in American Civil Religion are directly tied to military practice. But that only really extends to officers and the ones in ritual... out of costume soldiers or those in normal combat gear aren't sanctified in the same way. Any career path is lauded, however, at least as Long as you are both upper middle class and providing a direct service to the country. Weirdly it almost sees businessmen as outsiders-- sometimes trustworthy, but the private citizen who isn't involved in the Scouts or VFWs or something are taught to be almost like sheep that one must protect. That's the point of the religion, to protect and serve "America's citizens". Or, more accurately, the state itself, but thats obvious. Actual conservatives and especially rural ones have a much different idea of Patriotism, I think. They don't trust the state, only the soldiers and the land they stole. They also want everyone to be conservatives. They value individual freedoms (as long as you use them to be an evangelical gun toting farmer). Meanwhile in American Civil Religion... you can be a Democrat, you can live in cities. They don't mind, and often do, appeal to the capital L "Liberals". They just want you to respect and revere the senate and capital buildings as places of worship. A different kind of patriotism. The only laws or religious observances seem to be the laws of the federal government itself, and perhaps whatever someone who outranks you tells you to do. I wonder how many people even really grew up with it as their only religious Influence, like I did? Is this what the elite politicians are raised to believe by their elite politician parents? Or do they just grimly control the strings, donating to ROTC programs and performing flag burnings for 90 year old veterans to boost vote numbers? Or is this religion purely for shitheads named Eric whose parents were rich and who could never understand why his attitudes towards money and race and politics were off-putting to his poorer friends? (And the friends who in turn didn't realize yet why Eric's money and spoiledness off-put them so much?) Hopefully the whole damn thing gets dismantled soon enough I will never have to find out, but until that day I will remain distantly intrigued.