otome-shenanigans

[alphaketoglutaricacid]

hater moment alert

Cannot stand the girl autism is more acceptable than boy autism bc masking take….i can abide by shitty takes on fictional shit but i cannot let shallow analysis of real issues slide. What the hell is boy autism and girl autism!!! The neat splitting of the complex process of socialization, the ways healthcare works as a system of control that often disregards symptoms of women, the complex way ppl punish the ways ppl diverge from gender roles esp for women, and how diverse of a disease autism is. I know this is a complicated discussion in healthcare bc how we view behaviors differently w gender but dare I say a big reason women (just like poc in america) are underdiagnosed is medical neglect LMAO.

This is like an actual pet peeve of mine. Theres so many stupid long held medical myths in the field like the symptoms of heart attacks are different for women vs men w no statistical bearing or were borne out of statistical malpractice (nuanced topic im not gonna fully get into abt how health data is analyzed). We (i hope) are moving away from this stupid biological determinism ohhh diseases present differently in different genders/races/whatevers bc of (biological differences/genetics/epigenetics and ooo this doesnt have anything to do w the long standing beliefs eugenics still has on how we view health ooooo bc eugenics was #cancelled and theres no troubling inheritances from it ) and acknowledging the reason why mortality differences exist are overwhelmingly bc of health inequities. I know behavioral issues are different. But they are often medicalized similarly and demographics are often homogenized when within groups ppls experiences are incredibly diverse. Anyways.

edit: this is not a dont trust the medical system go to a naturopath instead thing. Naturopaths are scammers. I generally think its a good thing medicine has moved to having evidence behind it, but our ways of collecting and executing it can be deeply flawed.

edit: its in bad form to make medical claims without sources and i dont aim to spread medical disinformation. Here are mine and you can draw your own conclusions:

the most commonly cited study on difference on presentation based on gender for heart attacks is the framingham heart study. A more recent cohort is the GRACE (the global reg of acute coronary events). U may look at these stats and go hey some of these proportions in initial disease presentation do look different between the sexes and even is statistically significant. Which is true. But it must be noted that atypical symptoms are common in both men and women (1/4 roughly vs 1/3) which means when assessing for a heart attack, you should be checking for atypical symptoms in both men and women because it occurs often. I dont believe these ratios are clinically actionable, tho some ppl disagree. Now the fact women get advanced heart treatments, get put on standard medications less often than men etc, I think thats much more actionable.

There is also something to be said abt what statistics measure. Which in population studies is: are the prevalence or outcomes of the disease different between these two populations? Which if you theoretically rounded up every man and every women in the US that has had a heart attack (which the populations in these studies are a proxy for) the answer would be: yes. But also if you rounded up everyone in the state of Minnesota vs everyone in the state of Montana, you would also have differences between manifestation of disease in these two states. The question is how large and why—the why is a question stats have a harder time elucidating.

Another question is what is the utility of dividing the groups to compare each other when there are infinite ways you could split groups up. You probably would not argue that there are inherent biological differences between people who live in Minnesota and people who live in Montana, but if you found enough difference, perhaps you could make an argument that there may be a difference in health infrastructure or policy thats driving that gap. But then youd have to further investigate. There is no approach in statistics where you can avoid the responsibility of interpretation. Now how does that get into how sex and or gender is traditionally interpreted in health studies. Well stay tuned to if i still feel like talking abt this. Bc this is complicated.

[shirayuki7]

Ok your tags on the reblog were very cool, would love to hear more about this project. Also, this is entire based on vibes of just existing in or near PA and having incredibly revisionist (and religious) history books, yeah. Sounds right.

Yeppppp! Get ready for a long answer cause i am in the thick of it! I'm pretty much a complete outsider to this topic. USA history doesn't interest me as much as ancient history does. The whole theme of the project is religious in/tolerance, and I picked Pennsylvania because my in-laws are all in Pittsburgh and I thought getting to know the state more would be fun! I've already got a pretty good background in religious history, so most of my research has been contextual colonial history. But the primary source I'm basing my project on is AWESOME. It's "Gottlieb Mittelberger's Journey to Pennsylvania" (free in the Library of Congress btw) and it's just so full of amazing information about colonial PA and how it was viewed by outsiders at the time (for Gottlieb, it was pretty godless and not worth the hype despite how beautiful the country is. He lived in Lancester county for about 4 years before returning to Germany).

The basis of my research is that in Europe, most Protestant sectarians (Quakers in particular) were seen as anti-state/anti-authoritarian. Being a dissenter was the same as being a treasonous terrorist because religion was the basis for most if not all laws and public policy within a country. So dissenters like William Penn were heavily discriminated against based on their beliefs and punished by the state as tho they were public enemies number one (spiritual danger = real danger). So quite frankly, because the America's were the place for criminals to be sent anyway, it kinda made sense to let dissenters leave and rotten themselves and their communities else where. So William Penn gets permission from his buddy King James 2 to create Pennsylvania as a "holy experiment" for liberty of conscience (and Quakers) to go. Penn advertises in England and Germany for the most part about this land of religious freedom and opportunity. With a little censure from the crown about how he sets up the colony, Penn makes it law that people can believe what they want and therefore worship and do what they want (within reason). From the outset of the colony, we have a very diverse environment full of very diverse people. No single people's settled PA, despite Quakers being a majority for a time and even when they weren't the majority they still held most of the power in the colony.

Anyway, all the secondary literature I've read all say the same thing: Penn's holy experiment was a success. Religious tolerance helped make PA economically and politically successful and set up all the American colonies for an equally successful revolution. But I've noticed that they're all ignoring, or just plain forget because 'MURICA, that the colonies were not completely separate entities from their parent country and are enabling the narrative of usa supremacy and individualism that DID NOT EXIST at the time. Individualism sure as hell did exist, but not in the sense of "im an american." It was "I'm an English Quaker" or "I'm a German Lutheran" or other ethnic or religious identification. These historians make it sound like everyone thinks PA was a great thing... but here we have over 100 pages of a German immigrant's travelog that heavily criticizes Penn's colony, telling his fellow Germans that it's just not worth the risk and they're better off at home. Obviously there's a ton more nuance to the account than I'm giving here, but the whole book is him saying "here's this bad thing, here's this good thing but here's the dark side of the good thing that isn't immediately obvious but I will explain it to you for your own good, and here's another bad thing." Most of the negativity he gives about PA in particular is religiously based: anarchy and atheism (exaggerations, but it was how he saw it as a faithful Lutheran). He tells stories of women running the show (heaven forbid!) And how the courts and laws are so lax that everybody does what they want even if theyre sued! These are seen as bad things to him, but obviously to a modern person (and to many a modern Pennsylvanian) it sounds like libertarian paradise. The idea of "success" is what I'm challenging with the Gottlieb account; we as historians are always needed to challenge the narrative. Complicate the story. The 13 colonies as a melting pot and overall success story is a good story and we use it to reinforce murican values in our public schools (something i greatly disagree with but it is what it is). But it's not the whole story and never will be. We've got the puritans in New England doing their thing and the Quakers in PA doing theirs, but what did that actually mean to people at the time? Did they see it as success? I should probably stop now haha! This is getting long. Thanks for asking about my project, it helps me articulate it for my prospectus due in a few days. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[i-am-adlocked]

One-Shot Stories: Post or Nah?

Okay, so I write short stories on Wattpad and they are all one-shots in different Soulmate Alternate Universes... all around 5k-10k words and I’m contemplating whether I should post them here on Tumblr or not... 

...and people on Wattpad (as well as my friends who had read them) are all angry at me when I post because I apparently destroy their hearts... so should I? let me know...

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

that poc ask reminded me, i was doing research on all of the characters backgrounds and was so shocked at how the writers were able to make characters who were chinese, creole, cafre/moroccan, arab/north african, malian, vietnamese, japanese, jewish, native american, black, and so many more im probably missing so BORING. im black, and dont get me wrong i hate in your face representation, but you can tell thomas just throws all these nationalities and ethnicities in as if theyre extra points he can earn. you cant know that any of the characters are so diverse unless you go onto the wiki or you rummage through his tweets. i take great pride in my culture so its just annoying he takes pride in having such a diverse cast but that means nothing if you dont do anything with it.

I don’t want to act like I’m the authority on this, but my personal theory is that Astruc wants the show to be easily digestible for viewers despite also claiming his cast is so diverse to gain attention. Remember when he actually said something along the lines of “I’m not racist, some of my main characters are people of color!” when someone (albeit very rudely) accused him of being racist?

This theory of mine is kind of backed up with the idea that despite basing some of the heroes and Akumas on folklore, Astruc’s team really seem doesn’t do a lot of research on culture from other countries.

Oni-Chan is a good example. Aside from an admittedly decent character design, her powers don’t really match up with the Oni seen in Japanese mythology other than Oni-Gokko (tag, only the person who is “it” is called an Oni), but that’s really stretching it. She doesn’t use a club for a weapon, she doesn’t use any sorcery or elemental powers. She basically has the same powers as Lady Wifi. Thematically, Oni-Chan is closer to the Namahage, people who dress up in Oni costumes and threaten to kidnap children if they don't behave, similarly to what she was doing by hunting down Lila.

You really could have done a lot more with this concept, like if the Lucky Charm of the episode was something related to beans (a common practice in Japan during the Setsubun festival to bring in good fortune at the start of Spring), or peaches (a reference to the Momotaro fairy tale, where the titular Oni-fighting hero was born from a giant peach).

There’s also Weredad, an Akuma who just has a fairy tale motif despite it not really lining up with Tom’s character. I get that they were already going to have a baker-themed Akuma later on (even though that Akuma is also a waste of potential with his powers), but I just don’t get why they throw in so many fairy tale cliches in with this Akuma like the single rose or the damsel in distress role Marinette plays. What if instead, he was based off the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk? It’s just a mess of an Akuma concept

If you want to see an example of a show having fun with the concept of fairy tales, I’d check out Episodes 34 and 35 of Kamen Rider Ghost. You’ll get a little lost as it’s right as the series’ final arc is starting (and that’s not getting into a really creepy scene in Episode 34), but once you get to Episode 35, it becomes an absolute blast.

And then there’s Anansi, one of the worst Akumas of the series from a conceptual standpoint. Anansi in African folklore is a trickster by definition. The reason we have stories today according to African folklore is because Anansi managed to capture four extremely dangerous creatures for the Sky God Nyame (he tied Onini the Python to a palm tree branch, trapped the Mmoboro Hornets in a gourd, lured Osebo the Leopard into a pit, and got Mmoatia the Fairy stuck to a doll covered in gum tree sap), who traded his stories to Anansi in response. Even then, his wife Aso gave him a lot of advice on how to trap these creatures, and is sadly forgotten in modern interpretations of Anansi. As a result, since Nyame gave all of his stories to Anansi, every story told today is by definition, a “Spider Story”.

Anansi in the show... is the complete opposite. She’s a dumb brute who has to be told where the Miraculous are, and the closest thing she does to any trickery is trapping Alya and Cat Noir in one of her webs. It makes you wonder why Nora even adopted the title of Anansi in her boxing career in the first place. 

Why base an Akuma off someone known for deception and trickery and make them a complete idiot? For the love of God, you had a template to base this Akuma on because Static Shock had an episode all about a superhero themed after Anansi! Sure, a later episode with the character took a few liberties when discussing the folktale, but it’s still more accurate than what Miraculous Ladybug did.

To me, it just reinforces my belief that the only reason Astruc has characters of several ethnicities in his show is for social brownie points. If he actually cared about diversity or introducing folklore to children, he and his team would actually do their research on properly representing various cultures.

I’m just saying, when a PBS Kids cartoon with a talking moon as the main character does a better job at teaching children about various cultures in every episode than your show that only talks about other cultures in a handful of episodes, your writers might need to rethink the way they do their research.

[gerrydelano]

okay so this new song that came out ALSO came out around the same time the new chap did, and ever since i have been frothing at the mouth about danny. it's kind of short so im spitting half the lyrics at you here but-

Pity was never a factor/When mercy is the sign of a talentless actor (idk how many times danny has put on a show and had the slightest thought of 'hm, that's not good.' but it would have been in the early days when he's confronted with the 'costumes', right? the memory of being one of them must have still been fresh, and they would have been closely watching him to see if he falters, and AHHHH)

And as you grow, its hold on your throat starts to falter/And once you go beyond pure humanity's border (monster danny!!!)

You will come running back like a dog... To Her (mf must be HOMESICK!!! even though everything's dark so kind of unknown, the loupe is still making everything clear and the Archivist is right there and- 😭 he must miss the contortionist, even as much as i hate it)

I know of pain and devotion/A gear in the machine grew immune to corrosion/Go on, turn the back the clock/I will set it in motion all over (is... there any argument to be made that danny is proud of how far he's come? like. he's good at what he does. he knows that. and apart from the occasional 'slip up', i assume he does quite well. could there be arrogance even? also the turning back the clock thing is!!! Well!!! they can't do anything!!! they cannot bring the original danny they and loved back!!! they cannot resurrect tim!!! they can't unkidnap him!!! they can't turn back the clock!!! and it's not like danny is gonna be super duper willing to reconnect. everyone has regrets xoxo)

... So tell me, what do you know of pain and devotion? (Danny's what we call POMI, as I'm sure you know (physically out, mentally in if anyone doesn't) and well. in my experience and what I've seen from others, people dig in HARD when violently removed from their belief system, no matter how much said system was hurting them. so, again, the arrogance thing. these people don't understand, and how can they? that's the whole point.)

just.... danny is like the only cult survivor rep i've seen. like. ever. you and ren have no idea how much he means to me. i am ecstatic to see how his journey develops once more (martanny im looking at you 👀) and i just wanna say ty for all the work you do in diversity!!! im sure so many people are grateful for your hard work :]

oh those lyrics FUCK! incredibly accurate, yeah, WOW. all of this analysis? spot on. delicious. 10/10.

i didn't know the term POMI, thank you for teaching me! i'm going to be looking more into cult survivor stuff now that i'm finally able to bring him in, for sure. ren had done soooo much research and of course i played sounding board for them, but i need to bulk up on that knowledge, too! it's always so moving to get feedback from people within an experience we're trying to portray respectfully, i can't tell you how much it means to us both (namely ren, in this case, because they set all the groundwork for our danny first!) and i can't thank you enough!

i can only hope that where i take him in PBR comes across the way i want it to, especially since i'm intentionally skewing his development in almost an opposite direction to his narrative trajectory in HLM! it might be more uncomfortable in some places purely by nature of HOW they extracted him from his situation, the information that he doesn't have, the agency that was taken from him "for his own good" (which we all know Virtually No One responds well to, even without all this extra incentive to resist.) that said, i am so looking forward to his recovery arc. healing is imperative, and love is always possible.

i hope you stick around long enough to see where he ends up!

[shattered-catalyst]

Intro to OCD for the RPC part 1/?

This is a balmy 6 page document on the VERY BASICS of OCD by a person who has had OCD for over 15 years and knows their shit.

If you want to write a character who has OCD this series is going to be a good starting point. If you dont know much about OCD I encourage you to read it so you can be an ally to those of us who have the disorder.

OCD is made into a cultural joke and when there isnt the ‘Obsessive Cat disorder’ bullshit its an angst off with other people and their non-ocd intrusive thoughts. Its different. Do your research and be an ally.

This will cover the very very basics. The next post will look into subtypes of OCD and how those are experienced.

 Whomst can write it? 

Literally anyone as long as you 

● Do so respectfully and not make a mockery of the disorder and the harm it causes in peoples lives 

● Dont make OCD the characters single thing or boil them down to it entirely ● Do respect the experiences and opinions of muns who have the disorder if they have concerns about your portrayal.

● Dont milk it for angst - unless you have OCD in which case release some of your angst.

● Dont try and say you know what intrusive thoughts are because they have *insert any other neuro a-typical thing here* 

● Dont police how Muns who have OCD choose to portray it. Its our experience not yours. I like to write out my characters OCD as I experience OCD so my experiences are different from other muns. OCD is very diverse in its effects but always ask if you arent sure.

. What isnt OCD? 

● Cleanliness or organization- OCD is NEVER an adjective. 

● Planning/ Hypervigilance/Organized/Methodical 

● Turning light switches on and off, unplugging things (find out more on later time)

 ● “I have to organize my pencils otherwise it bothers me” “ I have to make sure my mattress is straight” “ my nails have to be the same length” are all typical responses from people WHO DO NOT have OCD. 

● Making sure objects are lined up neatly 

● Having things go in a particular order like the letters CDO as the joke goes

● Really loving Cats, Corgis, or Christmas; if you own any of these items i urge you to reflect and also send me 10$ (jk but do reflect)

The Barest minimum 

Google OCD this will be an advanced version of OCD. This will be long but if you want to be aware of others or want to write the character you will read it. 

OCD is made of Obsessions. Triggers. Anxiety, Compulsions/Rituals.

1. Obsessions are the thoughts 

2. Triggers are the object/person/image/situation/smell ETC 

3. The Anxiety occurs is at uncomfortable levels to the point of panic or anxiety attacks

 4. Compulsions or Rituals are performed 

*There is a variant of OCD called Pure O. In this individuals have the obsessions triggers and anxiety but there is NO compulsion or ritual. This is still valid OCD. 

Obsessions are the precursors to the flawed unwanted and harmful intrusive thoughts: 

Im going to use you so you really understand this because its important.If you misunderstand this you are basically encouraging a mental health condition and dont get a sticker for reading this far. 

First check out this link as it has ALL the subtypes and examples. 

Obsessions can be hidden by the intrusive thought and teasing them out can be difficult to do if you have the disorder because well its a disorder okay thats why. It boils down to ‘i could harm someone’ ‘i could cause harm’ ‘ i may have accidentally harmed ___’ ‘ i may accidentally harm’ etc 

This is the flawed powerful belief that predate the Intrusive Thought. 

Intrusive thoughts appear in every brain on earth. They are not special or unusual however intrusive thoughts with OCD get stuck in the brain- meaning they stay there no matter what you do. So yes , they are different from intrusive thoughts in other conditions. 

The thing about OCD is that it latches on to what you hold dear; it may be you are a caring person and love children and animals- your OCD would give you intrusive violent or sexual thoughts or images. These are horrible to experience. They are not welcome nor appreciated and there is no benefit or positive side to having them. 

If say social justice is something you hold dear your ocd may take the form of intrusive thoughts of slurs, jokes, visuals etc. These are horrible to experience and lead to high levels of anxiety and are not positive nor beneficial to have in any way shape or form. 

Maybe you would not harm someone or you value others; your OCD may present as graphic intrusive images or thoughts around poisoning, stabbing,accidental..ly murdering (yeah you read that right), hitting, insulting etc someone else 

I must emphasize this because it is critical that people understand POCD: for the sake of those of us who have OCD read this until its burned into your brain. 

This is the fucked up awful Obsessive thought that you are/were/ or could be sexually attracted to children. This is NOT pedophilia. People kill themselves over this because they are afraid that these intrusive thoughts are true. People isolate themselves and dont have families out of fear of harming a child. People take work in different fields or avoid areas with children out of the absolute terror their obsessive thoughts could be true. This is NOT pedophilia. There is NO attraction present.

Most people who experience POCD intrusive thoughts would rather punch a sharknado than even THINK of hurting a kid in any way shape or form. That is why the OCD does its thing it is like having an abusive brain. 

Again for clarity's sake 

If you value social justice -> the intrusive thoughts violate social justice stuff 

If you value animals -> intrusive thoughts come up with harming animals 

If you care about the protection and safety of children -> POCD 

Triggers would be the situation, scenario, object, person,creature, context etc that is related to the Obsession. It can be literally anything. 

What follows is a hell of a lot of anxiety that can range anywhere from discomfort to full on panic attacks. 

Everyone has different intrusive thoughts and everyone experiences different amounts of distress upon being triggered. 

● As a side bar. Do not ever try and expose someone to their triggers or write about a character being exposed to their triggers as a way to help ‘cure them’ or ‘expose them’ to ANYTHING. What you are doing is literally taking someone with a mental illness and shoving them into a breakdown and thats a piece of shit move. Exposure therapy does exist and is done by professionals TRAINED in ERP. My parents did this a lot and I am positive I am not alone in that experience. 

Compulsions or Rituals: Now you may be saying ‘hey i know what those are’ yeah dude me too and I have had ocd for over 15 years and trained in mental health for 7 and guess what. They teach ya wrong. 

Compulsions or ‘rituals’ are any behavior done to alleviate the anxiety from the intrusive thought and trigger object. 

This can be as passive as ‘i am leaving the room’ ‘ i am checking my body sensations’ ‘ i am trying SO HARD TO HEAR MY HEARTBEAT’ .

 It can also be repeating the same thing over and over. To illustrate this I once mentally chanted the same song lyric line on a 3 hour plane ride because otherwise we were all going to die. I took one for the whole team.

It can be somatic things like counting your heart beats, focusing on your breathing, swallowing, staring and not blinking for so many seconds. 

It can be readjusting clothing until the seams fit. It can be checking god yes checking IK its a common trope but it IS a compulsion that has ruined my life and can be as passive as checking my reality or texting for proof my cat is still alive. It can also be checking yourself for assurance you wouldnt do the intrusive thought or that the intrusive thought isnt going to happen.

Compulsions are mentally painful and sometimes physically painful; 

● Washing your hands with scalding water for 5+ minutes can lead to horribly dry and cracking skin to down right BURNS.

● If you do the same movement you can mess up joints and ligaments. So if you pray constantly you may have knee issues from standing and kneeling.

● If your compulsion has you doing movement against an object ie say gripping and regripping something you get callouses. 

● If you compulsively exercise you may get trapped doing something above a healthy amount or say going from not working out to running a five minute mile and wiping out on a treadmill because your brain demanded it. Totally didnt do that... 

● If your compulsions make you rub against any object you can get friction burns and scars. 

To put this in perspective 15 years of compulsions have left my hands and finger joints a complete mess, damaged my arm tendons, friction scars on my arms that only now faded, and scars on my legs from doing too much of an activity. 

Its not lmao I gotta fix these pencils its real agony and real torture. 

In short compulsions and rituals are not fun they are absolutely not logical, and we know they are not logical but we are forced to do them. Thats why its a disorder. 

OCD disrupts relationships with social components such as ; 

Obsessively checking in with partner/friend if things are ‘okay’ (this feels horrible to do too fyi like you KNOW things are fine but you cant NOT because the anxiety is SO BAD), 

Relationship OCD is a WHOLE category itself! this ties into sexuality OCD where your obsessive thoughts prey on your sexuality (regardless of your orientation), your relationship, cheating or being disloyal etc.

OCD causes significant withdrawal from others, fears of being a monster, intense guilt over intrusive thoughts, disgust with yourself over the intrusive thoughts sometimes leading to self punishment. 

OCD leads to strange behavior which more often than not leads to bullying and ostracization. To exemplify this I have an intrusive thought that I have stolen something when I am inside stores, my check-check-check-check-check-recheck! of my pockets gets me store security called so often its criminal.

OCD limits activities that may expose them to triggers or influenced by intrusive thoughts ie: not being able to take the train to work or only getting off at bus stops with even numbers.

OCD impacts where they spend time, who they associate with, what jobs they take or even if they have a family or not

OCD leads to overwhelming feelings of guilt, shame, and fear over having intrusive thoughts or images that they experience which causes them to socially isolate or have difficulty in social situations. 

OCD leads to Hyperfixation: like a lot of other things but thankfully it is just hyperfixation and not different from other diagnoses. 

OCD leads to rigidity or structured routines: I have listened to the same CD in my car for 5 years now. Every single day. 5 Years.And Im not okay with that. 

OCD impacts standards we hold ourselves to and others: its like regular perfectionism but like add on 5 extra layers of anxiety! 

OCD according to NIMH statistics 

1.2% Occurrence among US adults 

2.3% Lifetime Prevalence among US adults 

34.8% Of Adults who have OCD suffer moderate impairment to daily functioning 50.6% of Adults who have OCD suffer serious impairment to daily functioning

OCD has strong co-morbidity with the following:

Tourettes Syndrome- is a genetic friend of OCD and if you have tourettes or OCD your chances of having someone else in the family is high

ADHD

Autism 

GAD

Eating Disorders

Depression - this is a big one along with low self esteem because of the intrusive thoughts

Writers like to make jokes about characters “being OCD” well now they have clinical OCD and you should consider fleshing out your character with this information just as you would any other disorder.

Batman (DC)

Riddler (?)(DC)

Domino (Marvel)

 Cyclops (Marvel)

[feelingbluepolitics]

*** Highest recommendation. ***

"Sanctioning [t]rump or Greene offered the party an opportunity to draw a bright line against extremist groups and violence as a means of advancing political goals. But the vast majority of congressional Republicans conspicuously rejected the opportunity to construct such a barrier through their decisions to oppose impeachment or conviction for [t]rump over his role in the US Capitol attack and to support Greene during the recent Democratic effort to strip her of her committee assignments.

"Those choices unfolded against a backdrop of recent polls that found a stunningly high percentage of rank-and-file Republican voters endorsed anti- small-d democratic sentiments, including the belief that 'the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.'

"In a survey released last week by the conservative American Enterprise Institute, not only did a majority of GOP voters endorse that statement, but nearly one-third of them also embraced the convoluted QAnon conspiracy theory Greene has espoused alleging that [t]rump is defending the nation against a global ring of influential child sex traffickers.

..."Voters sympathetic to these conspiracy theories and the use or threat of violence as a political tool, says Daniel Cox, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who supervised the poll, have become 'a really important faction that the Republican Party is going to have to address. 

..."Through their inactions on [t]rump and Greene, Republicans 'are normalizing, they are mainstreaming, what counterterrorism experts would say is violent extremism: that it is acceptable to use inflammatory rhetoric and encourage violence to achieve your ends and ... it is acceptable to engage in public life through conspiracy theories,' says Elizabeth Neumann, a former assistant secretary for threat prevention in the Department of Homeland Security for [t]rump who resigned and opposed his reelection.

"'They have fed the monster for so long that even when it turns on them, when the barbarians are literally at the gate ... when they were the targets and they were prey, they still will not turn on it. That's how dangerous is the societal threat that we are facing.'

..."The exact share of the GOP coalition responsive to extremist White nationalist beliefs or the use of violence to advance political goals is impossible to measure precisely. But polling and other research suggests that the best way to think about it may be through concentric circles radiating out from hard-core believers willing to commit violence themselves to a much broader range of GOP voters who might not become violent personally but express sympathy or understanding for those who do.

"The inner circle are the extremists actively participating in potentially violent White nationalist extremism.��Neumann recently told me that number might total about 75,000 to 100,000 people.

..."Even more Republicans, of course, have consistently told pollsters they accept [t]rump's baseless claim that the election was stolen -- even though his 'evidence' was rejected by courts all over the country, including by many Republican judges. In the American Enterprise Institute poll, fully half of Republicans said the attack on the Capitol was engineered not by [t]rump supporters but by Antifa, a loose affiliation of leftist protesters -- a claim utterly disproved by the evidence.

"And a huge share of Republican voters has seconded [t]rump's apocalyptic warnings -- delivered even in his speech on the morning of the Capitol riot -- that Democrats were trying to steal 'our country' and transform it into something unrecognizable. In a mid-January poll by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, two-thirds of Republicans said that when [t]rump leaves office 'America as we know it will be over' and three-fourths described him as a 'true patriot.'

..."GOP voters most likely to justify violence and express extremist anti-democratic ideas tend to be those also most receptive to the views that studies have shown are the best predictor of support for [t]rump: hostility to the demographic and cultural changes remaking America.

"'The strongest predictor by far of these antidemocratic attitudes is ethnic antagonism [i.e. RACISM] -- especially concerns about the political power and claims on government resources of immigrants, African-Americans, and Latinos."

..."Perhaps not surprisingly, the American Enterprise Institute survey also found that anti-democratic and extremist attitudes had penetrated most deeply in the portions of the GOP coalition that have provided the most die-hard support for [t]rump, including Republican voters without college degrees and White Christian evangelicals. Nearly three-fifths of White evangelical Christian Republicans said Antifa was mostly responsible for the attack on the Capitol.

..."The growing racial and religious diversity that triggers the retreat from democratic values among a growing number of GOP voters will only accelerate in the next decade. If the Republican Party does not find more will to explicitly renounce the dark forces circling around [t]rump, persistent outbursts of White nationalist political violence could be the deadly drumbeat for the years ahead.

"'Clearly they think that's where the base is and they can't change it,' Neumann told me. 'But I would argue we are at a moment where ... if nobody steps up and tries to tell the truth and tries to lead people out of this echo chamber of stolen elections and [the belief that] violence is justified, that is catastrophic for the country. We will not survive as a democracy.'"

[corvidshipping]

modern au red/milo dump while i try to get myself together to answer asks nd work on ATJ:

(tw for alcohol mentions near the end, also this is an EXTREMELY long post, its so long that even after i split it into categorized sections each section could be its own post)

CLOTHING

milo absolutely has no sense of fashion. i feel like this is basically canon - for the styles at the time, he dresses fairly basic, mostly focused on looking put together for his job (definitely dresses aimed more towards how he would like to be treated by his peers, despite his actual position - then again our best example outside of the expedition is when he's about to deliver what he considers the most important presentation of his life, so who knows, maybe he usually dresses like a slob). aside from that his main concern seems like practicality and comfort. his wardrobe is dominated by earth tones - beiges and greens set with white and greys. all of that taken into account, i can see him dressing like this in a more modern era:

basically- a lot of cardigans, usually collared shirts or comfortable turtlenecks (since he does still occupy a research position at the smithsonian, even if only in title), big ol' coats, khakis and chinos and slightly stiff dress pants complete with ironed creases. i can see him wearing similar clothes outside work, just more comfortable - jeans and knitted shirts, henleys, more turtlenecks, and comfy cardigans over short sleeved shirts. i dont really see him wearing a lot of prints, i think he'd veer more towards solid clothes in lighter colors, but maybe he has a few. hes definitely the kind of guy to think of wearing the single graphic tee he owns as "bold and wild".

im very married to the idea of him wearing converse though. i cant explain it. milo in converse keeps me going in this world

hes kind of broke so i think maybe he got the converse secondhand maybe? or a gift of some kind. aside from the converse i can see him wearing a lot of oxfords and maybe wingtips

i want to see him in a hawaiian shirt so bad. i am losing it at this thought. he buttons it all the way up to his neck like someones awkward dad. milo wears a hawaiian shirt to "let loose". he wears it with like, khakis. or knee length jorts AHHHHDJHDSGJHDSJGh

a tie??? does he wear his hawaiian shirt with a tie???? does he think it makes it look cooler?????????? i am sobbing

red is the COMPLETE opposite. in the canon 1914 setting, red is already very rebellious for an AFAB person of their era- theyre openly a suffragette, they frequently refuse to wear skirts even in public and dress in mens clothes even before they were openly nonbinary, despite not being accepted into the male-dominated research fields and colleges they continue to educate themself with or without help, they purposely aim for an "unfeminine" silhouette when they dress, refuse to wear corsets, etc. (spoiler alert- there's a clear reason they get on so well with audrey in ATJ)

theyre also easily mistaken by people that didnt know them prior to their transition for being just a very small/young cis man- even though they canonically have a very soft "traditionally feminine" face

so basically, in any era theyre set into, red is always gonna aim to be ahead of the curve- both in their personal beliefs and practices and in their fashion. theyre also very androgynous in their clothes, although they tend to aim a bit more masculine (thats partially due to the era though, and having been forced into skirts exclusively for their entire life- i think in a modern setting where its more acceptable for AFABs to dress and act in a less hyperfeminine way, theyd be more okay with a fluidity in their gender presentation).

all that taken into account, i can see them dressing like this:

lots of baggy clothes, especially baggy jackets and shirts. they like loose fitting high waisted pants like JNCO jeans, cargo pants, etc but they arent averse to pencil legs. they rarely ever wear skinny jeans or drainpipes though. messy hair is a lifestyle for them- their haircut is definitely home-done

you know how in BICSTLY they used to have really long hair before they cut it? in a modern au i can see them impulsively doing the cut at like 3am and waking milo up at his door cause they screwed it up and he ends up having to help fix it (even though hes literally no better at cutting hair than them. worse even)

definitely have an undercut bob- bob on top, shaven on the bottom layer. they might end up growing their hair into a mullet at some point if they get bored. probably dyes their hair all the time out of boredom and then regrets it later and has to use dye remover.

lots of ripped tights and fishnets, leggings with big loose crop tops, big hoodies, safety pin jewelry and homemade jewelry. maybe some sticknpokes.

all that said, they still know how to dress in a professional situation. since its a modern au theres really nothing holding them back from the education and career they canonically want but cant get in the 1910s, so i imagine they would work at the smithsonian as well, maybe their father helped them get the job? potentially in that case they might be his assistant- after all, he trusts their opinion on artifacts more than anyone else's.

at work you can still very much see the punk/skater/grunge/goth style but its more understated- turtlenecks, high waisted and looser dress pants, lots of black, slightly unbuttoned collared shirts with a loose overcoat and no tie

since i elaborated on milos shoe taste i may as well elaborate on red's: they definitely wear converse as well, probably newer than milo's since their father is fairly wealthy and they can afford it. they also have a doc martens collection. they have a pair of demonias but they never wear them and milo is really the only person to even know they own them, let alone see them in them. they really dont like to wear heels much, but they own a few just to play around with. they have a bad habit of wearing any laced shoes untied, but they never trip over the laces. they also use lace code- their most-worn Docs have purple laces on the right foot and yellow on the left. some of their Docs have (reclaimed) pink laces.

has an extensive pin collection including feminism pins, anti-racism pins, punk-related pins, skater-related pins, and pop culture pins (80s music, modern music, old movies, etc)

MUSIC TASTE

milo's into a lot of older music- stuff from the 50s is his favorite. really into jazz and ballroom style stuff. his favorite band is queen, i think- he likes the old-fashioned sound, the jazz-chamber-ballroom influences, the diversity of their lyrics, and the complexity between the guitar riffs, the basslines, and freddie's vocal runs as well as the vocal harmonies.

sometimes he hums good old fashioned lover boy to red and they two-step in the living room in their pajamas :pleading:

also very into rush. yes, he is a rush guy :pensive:.

also listens to a surprising amount of lo-fi? he really likes stuff that remixes older music with hip hop and lofi elements, like earl grey. nearly exclusively into instrumental stuff but also very into louie zong. he listens to it while he works a lot.

knows a lotttt of foreign artists, especially niche ones. fuckin LOVES casiopea

red's spotify is a goddamn mess. everything from 2000s emo, to classic 70s punk, to post-punk and new wave, to 90s pop, to rap. they cant be easily classified at all

their favorite bands are oingo boingo, prince, queen (they listen to a lot of their harder-rock music, but milo knows theyre into the ballads too. theyll never tell anyone else though), doja cat, lil nas, fall out boy, and billie eilish.

red recites the intro monologue to lets go crazy very seriously to make milo laugh, sometimes. they get very into it with their facial expressions. sometimes it devolves into a full air guitar/keyboard/drum and wild dancing session. milo does not know how to participate in this but he loves watching them have fun with it. sometimes they pull him off the couch to make him dance with them, though

they are a huge sucker for dark pop, vaporwave, retrowave, EDM, hip hop, emo, punk... etc etc. anything that combines any two or more of those genres in an original or interesting way gets their attention right away

there's a lot of sharing between the two of them- even though their music tastes are so different, they like a lot of the others taste, and theyre always up to listen to whatever their partner is playing.

red is a huge softie, and milo has found them more than once listening to or humming something he was playing for them the other day because it reminded them of him

speaking of which- in the 1914 canon, red can play piano. i think that carries over to a modern au, where they could play piano and by extension keyboard. i like to think they experiment with a lot of instruments but i doubt they ever really mastered any others. maybe theyre okay at drums or bass?

they learned to play and sing teo torriatte for milo, as a surprise. when they first performed it for them, they had everything set up for when he got home from work- the lights were dimmed, they had candles lit around the keyboard, they draped stuff in cloth to make it look pretty, they scattered flower petals around. when milo walked in and saw it all, he almost proposed then and there- the only thing that stopped him was that he would kick himself for the rest of his life if he did that without a ring.

HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES

milo is still an avid chess player in this, but i like to think hes in some kind of groupchat or text or discord server for it. he doesnt necessarily consider any of the others in the chat close friends, but he does know them all by name

he tries to get red into chess but they never really get it

he tells them all about the stuff that goes down in the games and they just. do not understand. but they love listening to him get excited about it anyway

"red you're not gonna BELIEVE this, eddie played an italian game on star today! i thought for sure she would see through it since everyone knows it but she slipped and he beat her in like, 13 moves! i wouldnt have believed it if i hadnt been there!"

"yes sweetie please tell me more" (barely disguised pained expression)

red is a skater and a regular at the skate park by the smithsonian

most regulars there know them by name, they can spot a newbie a mile away

they have a sticker of a broken tv with a skull inside of it on the underside of their board, its become recognized as a symbol of them unofficially

since theyre so regular and have been going there a lot longer than most of the other skaters that frequent the place, a lot of what they say is kind of just accepted as the rules

they have a bad habit of lecturing new kids who show up without knee/elbow pads or helmets at the very least. all the other skaters enforce it too. kids dont end up showing up without protective gear very often after their first visit

they brought a first aid kid and left it there and everyone has kept it stocked pretty well without them having to have much input. its kind of just a communal first aid kit

they once drew the broken tv symbol on the inside of a half-pipe and everyone started calling it red's ramp after that

they also started calling the bowl at the center of the park the Soup Bowl and now thats just accepted as the name. some of the newer kids genuinely thought that it was called that by the park and were shocked when they found out it was just a random nickname red gave it one day

theyve brought milo a few times but hes extremely awkward on his feet and could never really get his balance on a skateboard, and quite frankly red is afraid of what might happen if he tried even a low ramp, so he usually just sits at the rim of the bowl while red skates around

everyone knew he was their boyfriend before they even met him. a few of the regulars called him by name right away. one of them was certain red had brought him before.

but no

they just talk so fuckin much about him that its like they already know him

aside from skateboarding, red is pretty good on rollerskates/blades

they tried to take milo to a roller rink once but it was a disaster and they ended up going home, changing into pajamas, ordering chinese food, and marathoning movies till they fell asleep on the couch together. so not a total loss

theyre both very into movies. red is deep into horror and milo likes indie/art movies and just Cannot handle horror at all, but they both agree on old movies, from the 80s and 90s to like the 30s.

red has shown milo some of the classic horror movies and the niche old ones (from like the 40s) since theyre not difficult to stomach

every so often when red brings up wanting to see a horror movie milo is like "aw babe we can watch that tonight i promise it wont be bad" and he genuinely thinks he can handle it this time

he cant

he never can

it is always a lie

red ends up holding him every time and talking him to sleep, but it thankfully never causes like a major panic attack or anything like that

they love going to museums together, of all kinds. they love art museums. they also go to aquariums and aviaries

sometimes they like to go to other history museums and criticise the veracity or accuracy of exhibits/translations, all in good fun of course. theyre never actually being mean about it

SIDENOTES/UNCATEGORIZED

they both used to work at starbucks, when they were younger and before they worked at the smithsonian. they worked at separate stores 2 blocks from each other.

milo cant stand soda or carbonated drinks, red can and will chug a java monster in order to survive a long workday if they must. milo is constantly concerned for their health and wellbeing

they r both lightweights when it comes to drinking. they can split a six pack and both be falling-over drunk by the end of the night.

given the changes in beauty standards people DEFINITELY think milo is more attractive than they would in 1914. cmon. hes a lil twinky nerd. you think people wont eat that up?

he never really catches onto the flirting much though

did u think i would forget ki/da and the others? youd be wrong.

i simultaneously like the idea of something similar to the movie happening, but also just like... ki/da just being a regular person living on the surface. in either case they r all friends still

in the case of ki/da just being a regular person on the surface- i like the idea of atl/antis just being A Place in this au, maybe its a bit of a closed off country though? like, not many foreigners live there and to get there you basically need to be there as a diplomat or a scholar

maybe ki/da visits DC as a diplomat? she is a princess, after all

red meets audrey online cause they both yell at the same misogynistic asshole on twitter

they exchange discord names in the replies of the tweet and tell the guy not to interrupt them while theyre talking in his replies

i like to think red and milo are selected to go on an academic visit to atl/antis (to learn about the culture, with permission of the king), and audrey ends up as the mechanic on the ship during the visit and theyre like (spiderman pointing meme) at each other

red and audrey have so many inside jokes that they basically speak a different language. milo gets some of the terms from context and pop culture (they use "so very" in real life- as in "wow, that shirt is so very.") but he is hopeless to learn all of it

one of their inside jokes is any variation of "milo hot girl summer" and they REFUSE to explain it to him no matter how much he begs

milo wears that iconique tank top on the ship and they say it literally any time he bends over, picks anything up, reaches for anything, moves, BREATHES. he is bewildered and at this point concerned

(in truth, the joke came from red taking a really blurry picture of him in a short sleeve shirt where he looked pretty cute and captioned it "milo's having a hot girl summer rn" and they just could not stop repeating it once audrey met him IRL)

they have a minecraft world. i do like to believe that every so often vinny finds a way in- theyre never sure how- and griefs the shit out of them by blowing up EVERY. monument.

this post is getting long bc im enraptured by the idea of an atl/antis modern au so im cutting it off here but expect WAY MORE later

[asking-jude]

so a few months ago, i told my dad that I wanted to be a nurse instead of a doctor, and today was our first day of truly talking it over. he said he could not understand why i would want to be a supporter/follower instead of a leader, or why i was willing to make less money just to be around people a little longer. he also said that i should consider other career options. i responded with telling him that this is what i want in life, i really don’t know why, and then i went to the bathroom to cry and shower. eventually i came out and he said that he just thinks that if i become a nurse instead of a doctor, then i am not doing what’s best to help my community (im a black person) or family, and that i am being selfish. i just wanna know if im actually making the right decision or not?

Hi there,

There are several stereotypes surrounding nurses and their role in the medical field. For instance, many people think of nurses as the way they are portrayed on TV; nursing careers are stereotypically portrayed as being "meant" for women, so the profession is sometimes not taken as seriously. There is also the assumption that nurses only do unimportant tasks. This has led to people frowning upon men entering the nursing field or to people perceiving nursing as an unrespected career. Your dad seems to have his own beliefs about the nursing industry, and I think the best way to convince him that this is what you truly want to practice is to do your research and explain why this choice is right for you. Below are some examples of what you can say to him:

1. Nursing Jobs are in Demand: One of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. is nursing. Opportunities for nurses will continue to expand in the next several years.

2. Job Security: The career field of nursing can provide economic stability and job security. There is always a need for nurses around the world.

3. Nursing is a Diverse Field: Travel nurses can relocate to cities and countries with the highest needs, emergency room nurses work in a fast-paced environment treating patients who need immediate attention, research nurses look at current medical research, flight nurses provide critical care to those needing medical evacuation via air transport, etc.

4. Nurses are Important & Make a Difference: Nurses experience a rewarding career with hard work and determination. They offer help to families and patients, as well as enable personal growth.

There are plenty of reasons to show why becoming a nurse is both rewarding and fulfilling. Perhaps your dad had a different goal planned out for you, but ultimately this is what you want to do. Take some time to consider your options, talk to your school advisors, and even shadow a nurse. Shadowing a nurse and speaking to current nursing students will give you an idea of what to expect in the field and will show your dad how serious and committed you are to your decision. Here are some resources that you can explore:

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/steps-to-choosing-career-525506

http://careersinnursing.ca/new-nursing-and-students/why-be-nurse/10-reasons

https://www.healthcaresupport.com/the-highest-demand-nursing-specialties/

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-make-a-career-decision

https://nursejournal.org/articles/reasons-to-choose-a-career-in-nursing/

Best,

Jennie

Asking Jude has moved to its OWN platform at askingjude.org. We will still be answering submissions on Asking Jude, but the new website’s submissions will take priority. We highly recommend you create an account on Asking Jude’s website, so you can receive 24/7 support from the Asking Jude Team and our community members. 

[h-sleepingirl]

“9 Persisting Misconceptions About Hypnosis”

A zine by sleepingirl and GleefulAbandon

(Access the downloadable and nicely formatted Google Doc here!)

Hey, there! Have you been turned on to the wonders of hypnokink? Do you feel like you've just had a bucket of shibboleths and tips and bits of wisdom dumped over your head, and they are now slowly dripping down your back? Are you thinking to yourself, "OK, I am finally getting the hang of this erotic hypnosis thing?"

Not so fast! Odds are a lot of the information you've received is, while given in good faith, mired in assumptions about the nature of hypnosis and the human mind that are not empirically true! And the kicker about a practice that takes advantage of suggestibility is that buying into these can make them more true! How’s that for a mental rut?

Here are 9 myths about hypnosis you are likely to encounter in your freaky journey!

(Full disclosure: We are experienced hypnotic players who are constantly exploring and growing, and we recognize that not everyone may share our perspective on all of these. But when we accept the oft-repeated principles we hear as incontrovertible truth without questioning them, we risk building a wall between us and further learning about the amazing, weird things we can do with our brains! This is not meant to disparage any person for their beliefs or experiences, and we welcome feedback and discussion!)

1. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis.

Yep, and all pain you feel when someone punches you in the thigh is your own brain making pain happen. CURSE YOU, BRAIN!

This tends to be an idiom that can cause more harm than good. It’s clearly not an empirical statement (how could it be?) though it is often taken as one. On the surface, it’s well-intentioned and trying to convey that subjects have agency and hypnosis isn’t mind control like you see in the movies. However, while it's good to know that subjects have the ability to cultivate a real sense of self-sufficiency, it minimizes connection with the hypnotist and the power that can be exchanged. Hypnosis is collaborative, and the hypnotist’s behavior absolutely affects trance, whether positively, or in bad situations, negatively! It takes two to do hypnosis with two, full stop.

When you hear this phrase, ask yourself, what is really being communicated here?

2. Hypnosis is distinctly different than meditation, subspace, etc.

Different how, exactly? Sexiness is not sufficient here, kids.

Well, here's a whole can of worms: Hypnosis as defined by hypnokink practitioners tends to be a wider umbrella than the clinical definition of hypnosis. There is also the concept of hypnosis as an altered state and then the concept of hypnosis as a set of practices. Pretty much any altered state could be called hypnosis when kinksters use it in hypnokink to commit dastardly deeds. Same with the (extraordinarily broad) set of practices that we take advantage of to fuck with brains.

Here’s the thing: hypnosis isn’t just one solid thing or state with one solid set of rules. Trance and brainfuckery are dynamic! We don’t really even have a great way of defining suggestibility, because we know that shoving someone into an altered state and then telling them, “You will experience xyz” is not really sufficient. And of course, a lot of stuff can get done outside of a traditional “trance.” Where is the line?

Spoilers: Any line we make is subjective. Meditation, when you potentially put yourself in an altered state and change the way you focus pretty much fits under that umbrella, too.

3. You can't make someone do something they "don't want to do" or go against "core values" with hypnosis.

We do things we don't want to do all the time, starting each day from when we wake up when our alarms go off. People drink alcohol and do things they wouldn't have otherwise done. People are talked into buying things they don’t want or need, or making complex decisions that don’t always have their best interests at heart. Not to mention that our broad-strokes “core beliefs” are changeable, sometimes with just a simple shift in perspective.

Human beings are dynamic and complex and exciting creatures, and we don't have a black box inside of us with ideas that are immutable to us. Change in belief and behavior is a part of how we function, and that’s WITHOUT hypnosis! Once again, this myth is well-intentioned, but an oversimplification that can backfire if someone is trying to process why they experienced a hypnotic scene differently than they thought they would.

4. Depth is the key to suggestibility.

Here's an idea: A swear jar but you have to put money in every time someone asks if they were "deep enough." Depth is a metaphor, but it's a useful one! It relates to your own subjective trance experience and how you experience intensifying it, which is hugely important self-knowledge. But it is not quantifiable, and there is not a simple correlation between depth and ability to access more trance phenomena. As with many things in hypnosis, it’s different for everyone and can be different at different times based on a huge number of variables.

And on that note…

5. Suggestibility scales are legit.

"But wait!" You might say, "These have been studied! What about things like the Stanford Susceptibility Scale?"

They're bad.

Academics, in good faith, tried to impose objective rules on altered states that run on the subjectivity and diversity of the human mind. People are different. Subjects are different. Alas, researchers at Stanford in 1959 (yes, that long ago) were mystified by this concept. And still, so are some today.

Really, Stanford peeps, amnesia is the most hypnotized a person can get? Some folks lose memories in trance right away but won't take to certain hallucinations. And some hallucinations are easier for some folks than others. Trying to create hypnotic rules for how hypnotizable you are is a losing game.

But speaking of different kinds of hallucinations...

6. Working with someone’s “primary modality” is the key to effective hypnosis.

The idea that of the five senses we each have one primary one that aids in our learning and that is best used to create hypnotic states and phenomena is not only limiting, it’s been debunked time and time again. The concept of “modalities” that is so prevalent in the erotic hypnosis world comes directly from NLP, where Richard Bandler and John Grinder stated that we had primary modalities — a “Preferred Representational System.” However, just like with learning styles, study after study after study has found no supporting evidence of this. In fact, in the ‘80s (yes, that long ago), Bandler himself said that this idea was no longer emphasized in NLP (regardless of the fact that it is still pervasive today).

And beyond this, yeah, you could spend your time using only visual cues and visual words and creating visual hallucinations, or you could actually utilize multiple senses, because spoiler alert that is how human beings experience the world. You're not trying to find a secret code that unlocks a shortcut to being a better subject, you're Dora the Goddamned Explorer and it's not just about finding the thing at the end; it's about chilling with Boots and Map.

7. “iM tOo AnAlYtIcAl To Be HyPnOtIzEd”

Also going in the swear jar is anyone saying they have trouble being hypnotized because they're "too analytical." Bruh. Hypnosis is not a game of chess wherein the hypnotist out-logics the subject to get them to comply. It's engaging your brain and letting you do more with it than you thought possible. This is definitely not downplaying the experience of people who have had a difficult time getting the experiences they are searching for, but more about The System(ic misunderstanding pervading hypnokink culture) getting us all down.

Being “thinky” doesn’t mean someone can’t be hypnotized (hypnosis =/= not thinking or altered thinking), it just means that you both use what you’ve got — hypnotist AND subject. Analyzing something doesn’t make it impossible to trance. Hypnosis should not be synonymous with “letting go.” It’s about changes in focus and engagement, oftentimes really subtle, especially for subjects who have preconceived notions of what it’s going to feel like. It’s dynamic, it doesn’t mean laser focus, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean blank-minded.

Subjects: Learn to love the way you analyze; notice shifts and changes, use it to be open to learning about how hypnosis feels for you as opposed to what you expect it to feel like. Understanding what your real subjective responses are is key to growing.

Hypnotists: While it might be helpful for some people, stop assuming that you necessarily have to overload or confuse them to get to the holy hypnotic grail of mindlessness; utilize their internal responses for the trance!

Here's a secret: If a hypnotist calls someone a "difficult subject," they mean they failed to connect with their partner in a way that they deemed hypnotic enough. This is on them, not the subject.

8. Your subconscious is like a quiet roommate chilling inside your head.

The metaphor of your subconscious (or unconscious mind) as someone with whom you can communicate is a useful one for a lot of people! It can put you in touch with how you're feeling and processing, and create fun surprises no one might expect. But it's just that: a metaphor. Your brain is not a director and an actor; it’s a beautifully complex amalgam of experiences and observations. You can play with treating your subconscious as a person, but recognize that there's not literally a man behind a curtain, and recognize that your interpretation of it might be flawed (i.e., don’t use your “unconscious mind” to negotiate under the assumption that this conscious personification is faultless and somehow knows better than you do).

9. Abreactions.

This is a huge one, and another one where the hypnosis scene has deviated from psychology (sometimes a good thing!). Clinically, an abreaction is a response with some emotional connection, and is in fact often used as a tool to create breakthroughs in therapy. In the hypnokink Scene, “abreaction” has also become a boogeyman, a synonym for "freak out.”

Can folks freak out during a hypnosis scene? Sure! Can they freak out during an impact scene? Of course! Can they freak out in the dairy aisle of the supermarket because the wrong song starts playing on the loudspeaker? Also, yes. But an abreaction isn't technically synonymous with freak-out. Technically, a giggle-fit during hypnosis can be an abreaction.

Here’s the thing: it might even be OK to appropriate the term “abreaction” to mean “negative reaction” in the hypnokink community, but we have to stop making that interchangeable with “unexpected reaction.” Of course a negative reaction is unexpected. But that doesn’t mean all unexpected reactions are negative. They happen absolutely all the time in hypnosis; demonizing all of them is unhealthy and unrealistic.

Well-intentioned practitioners of erotic hypnosis have put all their safety eggs in one basket: Caution against causing an abreaction, end the scene when you do, and you've accounted for the worst. But this is a scene that traffics in suggestibility; when you make out abreactions to be this looming, awful risk, you bring them to the fore, and when both players assume that that means an unexpected reaction is cause for panic, it creates unwarranted anxiety and problems. Not to mention that it greatly hinders the breadth and depth of what you can achieve together.

In short, you can and should learn to navigate emotional vulnerability and be confident and flexible in handling your partners’ responses, no matter how unexpected or intense they are. We're here for those reactions, folks, and not all of them are to be feared and fixed.

Sleepingirl is a switchy writer, presenter, and podcaster who joined the public kink scene in 2012. She’s had a life-long hypnofetish and is way too interested in brainwashing. She did the doodles for this zine, and look out for her Brainwashing Book coming soon! Check out her hypnokink podcast at twohypchicks.simplecast.fm and follow her: Twitter @h_sleepingirl, Tumblr @h-sleepingirl, FetLife @sleepingirl

GleefulAbandon is a queer, submissive hypnofetishist. She joined the BDSM/Hypnokink Scene in 2012, and teaches and writes about hypnosis from the subject’s perspective. She’s a sucker for a pocket watch. @gleefulabandon

[among-the-lostboys]

11. Create your own class for Pride University. Who teaches it? Come up with three assignments Disclaimer: I know I didn’t *actually* complete this task, because instead I wrote a Magick student scholarship but I figured I’d pretend like I did lmfao and I feel like this is kind of in the SPIRIT of the assignment also im not trying to win this challenge so-- have this! 

THE MERLIN MAGICKS HONORS PROGRAM

The Merlin Magicks Honors Program at Pride University offers intellectually demanding and dynamic courses for a class of gifted Magick-status students from all walks of human and humanoid life. Throughout the three years, Merlin Magick Fellows will learn how to conduct sophisticated academic research in preparation for the highlight of the program—a project of professional quality that culminates in a published volume in Pride University’s library. 

Merlin Magick Fellows can… 

Design their own degree from a diverse list of Magick Studies and non-Magick Studies courses. 

Consider academic issues from multiple perspectives when you take three Honors courses team-taught by professors from different fields

Study a summer abroad in one of Pride University’s partner programs in Dublin, New York City, or Singapore, housing for which is covered by the program.   

Work alongside a faculty mentor to complete an Honors thesis using your original academic research.

Participate in a community of intellectually engaged colleagues with by living in the Merlin Magick Living and Learning Community on Pride University Campus.

Who should apply?

All Human and Humanoid Magicks are eligible for the program. Pride University recognizes that Magick students face additional, systemic challenges to higher education and thus the Honors program does not make any decisions based on Human-status, pre-collegiate level coursework, or test scores. Instead, aspiring Merlin Magick fellows should: 

Provide proof of their magick-status

Write an essay answering the year’s prompt 

Write a separate statement of purpose

Submit three recommendations from your peers. 

Each year, 30 students are selected as Merlin Magick Fellows based on this material as well as an in-person or phone interview. 

Program Benefits

Scholarships

Merlin Magick Fellows receive full tuition reimbursement from the program. Each year, one Merlin Magick Fellow, eligible for maintenance loans or bursary, is selected as the Merlin-Lyons Honors Fellow to receive additional room and board, provided the recipient agrees to live in the Merlin Magick Living and Learning Community on Campus. If students want to be considered for the Merlin-Lyons Honor Fellow, they must fill out the correct financial information and submit it with their application. 

Merlin Magick Fellows who plan to study Magick Studies may also apply for Swynlake Town Scholarship that provide an additional $2,000 per year. These scholarships are renewable annually, provided students meet the criteria for the scholarship. A special essay is required for consideration for the Swynlake Town Scholarship. 

Magick Merlin Experience and Research Grants

All Fellows receive a $500 grant for a university-approved Experiential Learning opportunity, in which students can visit many of England’s most magical historic sites. An additional $1,000 grant supports thesis research and should be applied for when submitting thesis work. This grant can also be used for attending academic and/or professional conferences. 

Colloquia

Fellows attend selected cultural events on campus and participate in lively debates with their peers following the programs. All Merlin Magick Fellows must maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher and participate in the three required Honors courses taught by select faculty from the Demonology department, Magick History department, and Magi-zoology department. 

Criticisms of the Merlin Magicks Program 

While I was writing this I couldn’t help but feel myself criticizing it as I went along, but instead of making it better, lol, I actually found that really interesting because while I feel like this is a very forward-thinking program on behalf of Pride University, it’s still with its flaws that could generate discussions on the college campus and maybe some of the Magick students-- who might be part of this program or NOT-- could engage with that. That is, if we accept that this is a real thing that exists lol. So I baked these flaws in purposefully and I’m a nerd about it: 

The Merlin Magick program favors Human Magicks, especially Gifteds and Sorcerers, who generally have more access to Human resources, like... being able to write an essay or attend an on-campus interview or have access to a phone. Other Magicks (I’m thinking mostly of fairies in fairy communities) would have to jump through hoops for these things. 

The Merlin Magick program requires you to be an out Magick. This dissuades werewolves, vampires, mediums, etc, from applying.  

Because it does not cover both tuition and board, there is still a significant barrier for less affluent Magicks. 

To apply for the Merlin-Lyons Fellow specifically (the most generous scholarship), you must provide proof of household income and qualify through England’s own loan system. Which is definitely another barrier for Magicks who might not have traditional household income, or might have difficulty navigating these systems. In fact, there’s a whole other issue here that I need to explore about whether pixies are even considered English citizens because they don’t...technically pay taxes? So. Word. 

The Swynlake Town Grant also prioritizes those studying Magick Studies, which I think reveals a prejudice, or assumption, that Magick students will be interested in Magick studies. This further perpetuates the belief that magic and STEM are incompatible, discourages Magicks from pursuing other fields, or simply disqualifies Magicks from applying. 

[magical-agatha]

god my fuckin temperament is too weak to handle thinking about inguinal hernias anymore today. this: http://transhealth.ucsf.edu/trans?page=guidelines-testicular-pain is still the only link i can find that has any confirmation of it as a danger to trans women who tuck. but it doesn't go into detail about how the actual hernia is occurring and what the relationship is with tucking. but at least it confirms a correlation so i know that it is in fact a danger and not just wild speculation or something based solely on one person’s experience, which may or may not reflect the rest of the community. from what i can guess its probably like? pushing the testicles into the inguinal cavity is distending it and weakening the muscles, which is allowing the intestines to slip through into the cavity. i wonder if theres like, something in this to do with like, physical exertion, bc it could also be that tucking is creating a weakness that is getting exacerbated by a moment of physical exertion? or maybe by moving in a way that like, affects the muscles in there? idk. there really isnt a lot of info about this and im not a doctor so the best i can do is speculation. but i dont think the idea that tucking is distending the inguinal cavity which is weakening the associated abdominal muscles is too extreme of a jump. this is one of those times where i really really wish there was more medical information and research about trans bodies, bc most of what there is is sporadic and incomplete and the rest is sourceless uhh, whats the word, when its just based off a persons experience being recounted without any like, reliable research or info. starts with A. im very tired lol. point is i wish there was more info out there cuz there really isnt a lot and im scared ppl are going to get hurt bc of that. this is also like, opening my eyes a lot about how uncertain the information i have in general about like, my body and the bodies of other trans women. bc im finding inconsistent info about things i thought were facts, like for example tucking has always been held up to be perfectly safe, but ive never been able to do it without it hurting, and apparently like?? the whole ‘hrt will turn you infertile’ thing might be inconsistent too? apparently it happens to some but not others. and the thing about like, ‘you WILL lose the function of your dick’ (with the implied ‘but thats a good thing’ that has always pissed me off) and my dick still works, it works differently and i cum and orgasm differently than i did before hrt but it still very much works, it just seems to follow different rules? and i still cum and i can still get hard, both of those things were supposed to stop happening but they didnt. it just like.. went through a process of being reprogrammed so it behaves differently now. cuz there was a period where i couldnt orgasm and i couldnt cum, but then i could again, and now my orgasms are totally different than they were when i was pre hrt. instead of it being like, sudden and intense and overwhelming, it builds up slowly to a peak, then gradually declines from there and leaves you feeling warm throughout and very very soft. and my hen leaks precum constantly when im aroused, and then when i cum it shoots a little bit out then like, leaks goo for the next half hour, not a little bit either. its a mess.

there was something else i wanted to say here but i forgot it. all in all im just. mad that the only ppl who care about the health of trans ppl are some doctors and trans ppl themselves. and that information about our bodies is inconsistent even between professionals. i cant be sure that my doctor actually knows how my body works and whats best for me. it makes it so much harder to trust doctors and feel safe when i see them. what a nightmare. i want to help ppl. i want to find and compile info about our bodies to keep us all safe but i can barely look after myself and i cant commit to doing that. i have to focus on myself. so all i can rly do is like, give advice and try to warn ppl of potential dangers and do what research i can. which is what we’re all doing. the danger is when personal biases conflict with caring for the safety of other ppl, which is the root of all the problems with trans medical stuff i think. whether its doctors enforcing their biases on trans ppl thru medical advice/medicine, or trans ppl themselves giving advice that is warped by their personal beliefs. it leads to misinformation and inconsistency and thats dangerous. that means people getting hurt. so i have to be careful when i give advice to be aware of my own personal biases. such as like, i hate tucking, but i cant tell ppl to just not tuck bc its not my body, i dont know if theres a way to tuck safely or not, so instead i have to tell ppl to be careful and to be aware of potential risks, and to listen to their body bc pain and discomfort are important indicators of harm being done. but im scared that will be lost in the tide of ‘tuck or you arent a real trans woman, you need tucking to pass, it cant hurt you’ that has been spread among us for a really long time.

i feel like this is like, tied to another big problem which is the like, necessity and obsession with passing. which are two very different things. necessity is like, passing to be safe, which i feel like has room to accept that tucking might not be totally safe and comes with certain risks, because it isnt about affirming self worth or identity, only about staying safe. then obsession, which might not be the best word but it will do for now, by that i mean ppl who feel they Have to pass at all costs, bc they think that if they dont they arent a real woman or something like that. they tie passing to self worth and identity, if they dont pass they are worthless or incomplete or like, inferior to cis women, and they will do anything to pass, with little to no regard for personal safety. they will do risky things like skipping meals or tucking unsafely bc they want to pass at any cost. but they spread their perspective on this through advice to other trans women, telling them they need to tuck and they need to wear makeup and they need to do voice training and get implants and srs and all manner of things or they are a trender. a faker. they put insecurities into other trans women and bully each other to propagate their personal biases and force other trans women to conform. most trans women pre hrt are extremely vulnerable and lost, which is when these obsessive trans women give them bad advice and twist them to their world view. that happened to me. i got sucked into that when i was trying to figure out my identity and needed validation. luckily i got out of that and i know better now. its really fucked. ive talked about like, versions of this idea before. that there are two kinds of trans ppl, those who love being trans and those who hate is and want to be cis. and i think as im getting a bit older and learning more and getting further thru my transition im starting to put together a bigger picture of the interplay between all of this stuff. like, the interactions between cis society and its expectations of trans ppl, how trans ppl deal with those expectations and how they deal with living and moving in a cis society thats hostile to trans ppl. this is all one big mess. and thats not even touching on the interactions between terfs, transmeds, and the various levels of trans communities both online and irl. its an absolute nightmare. and then as well there’s like, further interactions with like, nb and gender diverse ppl, gay vs straight trans ppl, intersex ppl, exclusionists, and the mess that the current lgbt+ community online is. i could write a book about this. im living in a nightmare. a massive roiling chaotic community thats fighting itself and the world around it and trying to survive and destroy the parts of itself that it thinks arent ‘valid’. which sounds like a metaphor for my experiences as a trans woman. god and theres more i keep forgetting. im so scatterbrained tonight. i havent had enough sleep to be trying to talk about something so complex as this. and im destroying my hands by typing this much. time to stop. i can sort all this out later. what a mess.

[jordanknightcdc]

Final Project Assessment

When looking back at this project as a whole there is an endless wealth of possible topics to discuss. I have thoroughly enjoyed “Crafting through the Cathedral” and have found it to be the most enjoyable and informative project I have taken part in. The opportunity to use a space so rich with history that connects to my personal interests so strongly has been enthralling. I have also felt like I have developed my feelings of direction and destination thanks to taking part in more tutorials and taking on board the guidance. I also introdued using a blog in my practice which has increased the depth of my project largely due to being able to articulate myself better. I would like to cover the many other areas that I have enjoyed. However, I don’t have close to enough time to go through it all, so instead I,am going to dived the following topics into periods of time that I have deemed the most challenging, beneficial and interesting for myself and my methodology moving forward.

Starting point- Research and navigating the use of a blog

During the beginning of this project I was really focused on making sure this project and the others following were of a higher quality across the board. This was in direct response to my end of year exiting tutorial where I was told I could be doing more and better (paraphrased). This feedback was really important to me as it was very true and I felt I could be also. This was the catalyst for my introduction of using a blog. I had used them in the past for my diploma but I I tried to change this when starting the degree and I was not happy with the results. I became far too invested in the presentation and found articulating myself very difficult with being able to edit or adjust my thoughts.

However starting this project with the blog and ending with it I feel like it has only benefited me and will continue to do so moving forward. The current situation of the blog will develop and change but is currently making my methodology much better. This is due to me not having to think about spelling, sentence structure and use of language all at once. It has allowed me to post my interviews as well unlike what is possible with a sketch book.

Despite this I did struggle with my blog and research initially. I think it was a combination of experiencing information overload and trying to best decide what interested me most. The idea of refining my ideas was unpleasant as I just wanted to keep looking at diverse stories. I initially focused on the very broad subject of narrative which I will mention later and how I approached it. Upon revaluation of this stage I can see it was a way of averting a final thought or subject and I’am glad I moved on from it. 

Midpoint- Interviewing and concept readjustment 

A large part of my research was informed by interviews I chose to conduct under the theme of finding original narrative from the people of the Cathedral. This experience was the defining factor in me changing my projects focus and how I wished to convey my work. The interviews I conducted all seemed to feedback into a singular matter of scepticism, faith and doubt. This is something upon being initiated I ran with as it is something I find genuinely engaging and relevant to my own personal interests. This sparked a euereika moment when all my ideas of faith, narrative and my intimate concern of the place of faith became aligned. This then led into my interview with Chris Pullin which was the most informative of all my interviews as he gave me real insight into his own faith and the perspective of others within the Cathedrals environment. It illuminated many questions I had but also gave me many more to answer.

Moving forward from this my interviews became more focused on addressing faith and doubt later becoming a body of work focused on the matters of religious belief, conduct and its place in the ever developing world. 

Final stage- Making and the developing body of work and thought

The most taxing and rewarding part of this project has definitely been the many stages of making the concept went through. I had created so many versions of my work and different directions it could go. This was really frustrating but very important in retrospect as it allowed me the chance to rethink refine and develop my piece in a very critical and natural way. I describe the process like a perpetual funnel constantly go from a broad state into a refined idea then back again. I was constantly striping my concept back and what I was trying to communicate. After time it became a part of my process and methodology, unpicking every decision. I have come to realise doing this inst being overly critical or fussy (like I did) but is instead a crucial aspect of your integrity as a maker, to be ale to justify everything your doing. Not just blag or lie about its “possible” meanings but to have a body of work that has been thought out and refined to the pinnacle of what you can at that time. 

This new line of thinking was brought to me during a tutorial with my tutor. I have discussed it previously and wont rehash it but purpose it served was to make me consider what I’am making, if I’am happy with it and if not how can I change this. It was the most memorable and informative tutorial I have had thus far and is something I will continue to reference in my practice due to its impact upon me. 

The impact the tutorial left has fed not only into my theory but also my making. It made and makes me consider the quality of the work I’am producing and why im making it. I had multiple instances of having to remake my work because of my awareness of the quality and craft of my work. I’am aware that the work is now a isolated object that I cannot defend or justify and I have to be comfortable that it is a representation of me. This is a matter I’am stilling trying to address within my work by ensuring it is as best a representative as it can be. 

I have learnt more about making on this project than I have on any other degree project. This is in part because I set myself more work than I probably needed to in a inefficient way. However it forced me into a position of having to try many different techniques and materials to achieve the results I wanted. This impacted my making positively because of the exposure I experienced by jumping into the deep end as it were. I will in future alter my approach to making despite it improving my skills as it was bordering on being too much exposure and I risked failing the work as a whole.

Final thoughts- Moving forward and how would I improve

After now completing this project I feel a great relief and sense of pride in the work that my peers and myself have created. It is a magical though to know that we will now become apart of the Cathedrals long and great history in a small way. I’am pleased with my outcome despite there being many things I would change and improve. I feel this satisfaction because I know that I have pushed myself as much as I could and have not refused to change like I have in the past. The way it functions and the matters it touches upon are all something I’am proud and excited to discuss in this piece and hopefully beyond within my practice. I see this project as stepping stone and turning point within my practice. It has given me pause when considering my future as a craftsperson and what that will look like. I feel slightly closer to that developing answer now.

However there is much I need to address in the way of improvements and future consideration for my work. First I will quickly address the issues with the final outcome in a list below:

The use of some poor materials in the construction. Mainly the base and paper used for the graphic.

The lack of investigation into the possible ways of manipulating coins in beyond what I have achieved

Using more secure and adjustable fixings for coin tracks.

Each of these could have their own post but that would be less informative as they are very clear problems I would address if I had more time on this work. I do want to say that upon making the piece I see a new path that I could peruse and how I could make the use of coins in an interactive way much more interesting. It would involve me going in a automata direction most probably. There is a endless wealth of great automata makers that I could mention but the main point I wanted to make is the ways in which I could use sound, movement, scale and interactivity when it comes to coin based pieces. It is a really interesting point to be at in my work as I feel I have to freedom to now redefine what my practice is and can be in the future. As the next project comes to develop I want to focus on what kind of work I’am going to be making moving forward and how I can translate that into my work best now.

I cant wait to see the work in the crypt and how it is received by the public. It will really inform how I make user responsive work in the future and if I will.

[cafezimmermann]

(in which I become angry...)

On Thursday evening, I attended a vernissage at the Grassi Museum of Ethnology in Leipzig for The German Dream, an "ethnographic study of the dreams, rituals, and visions of a society in which many of its members are looking for an alternative for Germany." The exhibition, as seen through the eyes of its two curators – a cultural anthropologist and an art historian – attempted to identify “typically German” things that seemed doomed to disappear in the future.

"At the beginning of the 20th century, ethnologists were driven into the world by the fear of the loss of "foreign" societies, which is why they set off to collect objects, languages, and stories from all over the world before the respective communities disappeared under the pressure of colonialism. Before this presumably happens to the Germans as well, we have collected important every day and cult objects of this community and offer here a small insight into the current state of what is often speculative research."

On the whole, I found the exhibition interesting (having translated parts of it into English, I was curious what it looked like). There were elements of it that I particularly liked – for example, a 1972 video of Germany in the year 2000 that portrayed the typical working day of a specific "Herr B, 45 years old, politically independent, and single. For the past five years, he has had a steady girlfriend, and for the past two years an artificial heart that works satisfactorily for him." In the adjacent room, there was a mockup of the "Weisses Ross" (White Horse), a Leipzig bar that, after 143 years, was forced to close its doors to make way for a modern microbrewery (at the Stammtisch, the regulars of the bar had been invited to drink beer and play a final round of cards for the visitors). And in yet in another room, there was an installation titled "Digging for Dreams and Nightmares" – a presentation of how a German archeological team has been deliberately planting time capsules at random locations for future generations to discover.

These were the exhibition's highlights. For the most part, however, The German Dream seemed to focus on the dreariness of conservative middle-brow mentality and consumerism – a life of plastic water bottles, barbecue grills, supermarket checkout counter dividers at Aldi, Märklin model train sets, plastic garden dwarfs, Playmobil figures, and Jack Wolfskin rain parkas (strange, the exhibition failed to display those little waste receptacles found at breakfast tables in German hotels). These odds and ends that we take for granted in everyday life, accompanied by pictures of faceless communities (where, when you step off of the bus, you stare heavenwards and wonder to yourself "Just what the hell am I doing here?") attempted to portray modern German society, on the whole, as ‘castrated’:

“While megalopolises such as Shanghai and Dubai are realizing the belief in progress in concrete and steel, the Germans are forced to put up with the question: What happened to the great projects? While around 1900 the overall fascination for visions of the future was still great, it seems, only 19 years after Expo 2000 in Hanover, that the German mentality of the 21st century remains stuck in provincialism, skepticism, and retro kitsch.”  

That said, the ‘epicenter’ of The German Dream was a room that had been cordoned off by heavy velvet curtains – the "heart of darkness," a space apart from the drab grey of consumerism where "good citizens" dare not go. It was here where the fascinating and yet controversial aspects of German culture could be found. It was here where Lucas Cranach's Eve was offset by, among other things, Schinkel's stage design for the “Queen of the Night” aria in Mozart’s Magic Flute, stills from Reni Riefenstahl's film Olympia, a portrait of Karl Marx's daughter Laura, and a drawing of a wolf in the woods made by the art historian's five-year-old daughter. It was here where Caspar David Friedrich's Cloister Cemetery in the Snow was juxtaposed with portrayals of Albert Speer's Germania (as an "idealized" future) and black and white photographs of drab concrete prefabricated East German housing blocks (as the reality of Socialist utopia). And it was here where, unfortunately, in the middle of it all, Deutschland, Rammstein's latest video, was being played in an endless loop on a video monitor.

In a time where political views seem to be a polarization of extreme political correctness and blatant right-wing populism, Deutschland is a disturbing attempt by Rammstein to address key points of German history: the Crusades, the Reformation, colonialism, National Socialism, and the Cold War – in effect, all of the things that The German Dream didn’t address. And, although I can understand why some regard Rammstein's "message" in the video as a criticism of German history and thus a dissociation of right-wing ideas ("Deutschland, meine Liebe kann ich dir nicht geben" – "Germany, I cannot give you my love"), Rammstein doesn't hesitate to portray the very violence it seems to criticize.

This, in turn, effectively makes Deutschland nothing more than a rape of German history. In an online article about the video, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Central German Broadcasting, MDR) didn't hesitate to conceal the outrage of many who see Deutschland as an affront to humanity and German culture. According to Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, the band’s members "rage with their violent fantasies through German history as if inspired, driven by the greed for the most bloodthirsty images and scenes possible, including those of the German concentration camps […] The value of this video as an artistic examination of German history and Germany as a fatherland is far below zero." MDR adds Josef Schuster's opinion to Heubner's thoughts: "Anyone who misuses the Holocaust for marketing purposes acts reprehensibly and immorally."

(Even the title of the video stoops to the lowest common denominator by using the 1934 “Deutschland” typeface, which typesetters, who were brought up with more elegant, humanistic examples of Fraktur from 16th and 17th centuries, ironically referred to as Schaftstiefelgrotesk ("jackboot grotesques"). Oddly enough, Hitler later banned the blackletter typeface in 1941, decreeing that "the so-called Gothic letters were based on Jewish Schwabacher letterforms.")

The message of the video aside, I felt that the overbearing maelstrom of Rammstein's music – its sheer aggressive, overbearing force – pulled the visitor away from being able to focus on the rest of the images in the dimly lit room. It angered me, in part because the visual associations offered were absolutely brilliant – there was so much to discover in the room, and yet, after unsuccessfully trying to draw my attention away from the video, I simply gave up and left, frustrated by the experience.

On my way back home, I started wondering about what this part of the exhibition might have been like if there had been different music. It then hit upon me that in his essay Concert Design. Form Follows Function, Folkert Uhde, the director of Radialsystem V in Berlin, writes about the importance of context in a concert program, citing an experiment he often holds in workshops about concert design:

"I often conduct a small experiment by showing ten very different photographs and playing the same piece of music for each photograph. The reactions are always surprising: depending on the image, which is seen as 'suitable', the music achieves in part an entirely different effect. Sometimes it is even doubted that it was the same recording of the same piece."

With that in mind, I began to ask myself, “What would it have been like the other way around?” How might have the public reacted had this room been presented with a different pieces of music in the background? How might such parallel worlds, which, musically, equally reflect the complex diversity and beauty of Germany's cultural past, affect and alter the visitor’s perception of the images on the wall? Which music would have been best suited? Would the relationship and meaning of the images change according to the musical context - perhaps intensifying the one over the other?

As Folkert Uhde explains: “If the impression is strong enough, it will make an impact. Contextualization can introduce a particular atmosphere, make associations and, above all, create individual personal points of reference for the listener.”

What if, for example, if classical music ranging from Bach's chorale "Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig" or Salomone Rossi's Al naharot Bavel to Richard Wagner's “Im Treibhaus” (from his Wesendonk Lieder) or Anton Webern's Passacaglia for Orchestra, op. 1, had been playing? Or, if popular music were desired, something like Wolf Bierman's Ermutigung, Jupp Schmitz's Wer soll das bezahlen?, or a video of MarieMarie's A Beautiful Life? What associations might have been made through these pieces of music?

Or, if they really wanted to be confrontational, why not a video of the Ernst Thälmann Lied, the unofficial hymn of the German Democratic Republic?

“The most precious thing man possesses is life. It is given only once. And he shall use it so that he may say when he dies, ‘My whole life, my whole power, I have dedicated the most glorious thing in the world, in the struggle for the liberation of mankind.’”

(my translation of the text at the end of the video)

Unfortunately, the opportunity to explore such relationships within the context of The German Dream was simply missed. Actually, that’s putting it lightly – the use of the Rammstein video was, in in my opinion, a display of ignorance. 

Admittedly, it showed the point where we have arrived in society (which, from what I understand, was the justification for using the video), but failing to take the rest of Germany’s rich musical culture into consideration is criminal. Indeed we have come a long way from Martin Luther’s proclamation “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” But do we really need to reach for the bottom of the barrel and scrape out ‘music’ that is so vile and does nothing more than glorify the history of violence for commercial purposes? And just because we are too blind to look beyond the horizon? 

I hope not, and yet, when I see Deutschland being used in a serious discourse about German society, I have my doubts.

[nostlagiac]

hi! do you have any tips/advice for writing a muslim character? i just really want to write my character well, and do her justice :)

hello dear anon! i do have tips as a matter of fact so thank you for asking! (sorry i couldn’t answer earlier but this is a topic that needs a lot of attention and i was at uni till now!) 

i suggest not attempting to write a muslim character unless you are absolutely sure with your ability to write in a sense that’s islamically and socially accurate. this is because if you mistakenly make your character do something that is against the muslim agenda (such as drinking, gambling, sex before marriage, tattoos, practicing or believing in magic or having supernatural abilities granted by magical means, fortune telling, communicating with the dead etc) it will ruin the portrayal of the religion and it’s foundation. this may make muslim readers feel uncomfortable and you will be faced with backlash :( but by all means, if you are confident that you know islam well enough to have a solid, wholesome character, then go for it!

name them appropriately, dress them appropriately - but here you can also consider to what degree you wish your character to be practicing islam - this is up to you but refer to the point above at all times ^^^  

i recently read and i darken by kiersten white and felt that it was one of the most unbiased stories i’ve read that incorporated islamic concepts and values as well as two muslim protagonists. i would say its 96% accurate and what wasn’t exactly accurate wasn’t bad enough to make me upset, so i suggest reading it to further understand what i mean!

it is important to avoid, avoid AVOID stereotypes surrounding islam (some include men in turbans, oppressed woman, belly dancers, terrorism, the cultural appropriation of veils, intolerance towards other religions and minorities etc) if you don’t want readers to either belief false information through your writing or completely infuriate muslim readers, avoiiiidddd. 

‘i love allah’ →this phrase is one i’ve seen (used in the secret dragon society which is an acclaimed novel, i read when i was 9 and made me really confused as a kid) to show that a character was muslim but he later ate pork dumplings??? (muslims don’t eat pork so little me was really confused) how misleading especially since the novel is so popular too?? basically the lesson is don’t make muslim characters vague, a simple ‘i love allah’ is nice but uphold the sincerity that comes behind it please and show through other actions too that they are muslim!!!

muslim characters, just like everyone else, are not defined by their religion alone. they should have a personality, likes and interests just like anyone else, they should have dreams and inspirations that don’t levitate around the blaring fact that they are muslim (you don’t hear me shouting ‘IM MUSLIM’ like, ever) - remember that muslims are just like everyone else, they just believe a story different to yours. they shouldn’t be a token character used as a plot tool to show diversity in a book, and they definitely shouldn’t be facing racism in the book either. 

learn the difference between culture and religion! some cultures claim to have roots in islam but they are merely cultural, not religious. also be certain of what background your muslim character is - arab? american? desi? mixed? 

the era you write in also holds a great sway on your muslim character, so be careful what you are portraying - many muslims these days are very adept in the modern world and don’t appreciate backward portrayals of muslim characters

muslim characters aren’t meant to be perfect - they have moments of anger, hurt, annoyance, jealousy. we aren’t different to everyone else. we fear God and punishment, but we are still human so we make mistakes. remember that, and make sure that you create a character that is human and not ‘plastic’ as i might say. give your character the breathe of humanity. 

most of all ENJOY WRITING AND !!!! RESEARCH ABOVE ALL ELSE !!!

i hope this helps you in writing and good luck!

[sciencenews18]

meditation

Practicing meditation or mindfulness techniques is, at any rate narratively, supposed to smooth your way to a more joyful, progressively healthful life. Be that as it may, what does science say about these practices? 

Meditation "keeps our minds and hearts quiet, serene, and loving, i.e., in the opportune spot," a casual routine with regards to mindfulness and meditation told Sciencenews18. 

Indeed, most individuals who become interested in meditation are attracted to it thanks to the widespread thought that it will enable them to feel quieter, increasingly adjusted, and less exposed to the effects of day by day stress. 

Meditation is in no way, shape or forms another training. Actually, it has been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and a piece of diverse cultures. Initially, meditation had solid ties with religion — not only Buddhism, with which people typically partner it — yet also with Christian practices.

Indeed, numerous individuals today with various religious beliefs like to incorporate meditation as a spiritual practice. 

One person even revealed to us that, for her, meditation amounts to a "combination of focused idea and conversation with God," while also providing a set "[t]ime to listen for the 'still, small voice' of quiet." 

Mostly, in any case, and especially in Western countries, meditation has moved far from its spiritual and reverential roots, becoming to a greater extent a straightforward practice for mental health and general prosperity. 

There are numerous types, including loving-kindness meditation, mindfulness meditation, and transcendental meditation. 

Mindfulness has also fanned out as a series of practices involving focusing on small details in the present minute. The point is to enable a person to stay established in the at this very moment and de-escalate unwelcome feelings or moods, such as episodes of anxiety. 

Individuals who draw in with mindfulness techniques and meditation frequently claim that these practices enable them to boost or maintain various aspects of their prosperity. In any case, what has explore found about the impacts of meditation on the psyche and the body, and are there any potential damages included? In this Spotlight incorporate, we research.

1. Resilience to stress 

Resilience to stress 

One of the top reasons that individuals refer to while claiming that meditation is useful is that it allows them to dispose of the stress that accumulates consistently because of employment or family pressures. 

An investigation that scientists related with the Center for Health and Achievement in Preparing in San Francisco, CA, coordinated a year ago affirms that people who practice supernatural meditation uncovered inclination less stressed at work than friends who did not meditate.

During transcendental meditation, normally, a person focuses on and repeats a mantra — a special word, sound, or phrase — which is intended to enable the mind to settle down. However, for what reason would meditation positively affect our minds' and bodies' reactions to stress? 

A past report, distributed in 2017, uncovers that meditation — close by other personality body intercessions — is related with lower dimensions of the particle "nuclear factor kappa B," which influences the rule of value articulation

The gathering who drove that examination clarifies that our bodies ordinarily produce that particle in light of stress and that it, thusly, actuates a progression of pro-inflammatory cells are called "cytokines."

High cytokine activity adds to numerous physical and psychological well-being issues, counting abnormal inflammation, cancer, and depression. 

"Millions of individuals around the globe as of now appreciate the health benefits of mind-body interventions like yoga or meditation, yet what they perhaps don't understand is that these benefits begin at a molecular level and can change the manner in which our genetic code goes about its business," says the study's lead researcher, Ivana Buric, from Coventry University in the United Kingdom. 

Mindfulness 'shows promise in reducing pain and distress' 

Other verification, likewise uncovered in 2017, shows that meditation, nearby yoga, advances stress flexibility by expanding dimensions of the cerebrum determined neurotrophic factor, a protein that ensures nerve cell wellbeing and coordinates metabolic procedures. 

Also, late research — distributed in Verification Based Emotional wellness, a BMJ journal — demonstrates that care is about as convincing as (CBT) cognitive behavioral therapy in mitigating the indications of unending torment related with conditions, for example, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis

"While CBT is considered to be the favored psychological intervention of [chronic pain], not all patients with [this sort of pain] experience a clinically significant treatment response," the research authors compose, recommending that: 

"[A]n additional arrangement may be to offer patients care based stress decline [therapy] since it demonstrates guarantee in improving agony seriousness and lessening pain impedance and psychological distress."

2. Improved self-control 

Improved self-control 

Meditation and mindfulness seem to improve, a person's resilience to stress factors, yet additionally their by and large mental health. 

For instance, one study took a gander at the effects of mindfulness on ladies who experienced depression, anxiety, and mood swings are following menopause.  

The authors found that this training helped the participants minimize the effects of these enthusiastic and psychological symptoms. 

"The objective during mindful moments is not to exhaust the mind but rather to turn into an observer of the mind's movement while being kind to oneself," says the study's lead creator Dr. Richa Sood. 

"The second step," she goes on, "is to make an interruption. Take a full breath and watch one's very own space, musings, and feelings nonjudgmentally. The subsequent calm enables lower to stress." 

Robert Wright, a creator and previous visiting instructor at the University of Princeton in New Jersey, argues that there is an unmistakable reason why mindfulness and meditation practices enable a person to battle anxiety and other mood disorders. 

In his most late book, Why Buddhism Is Valid, Wright writes that individuals have advanced "to do certain things that helped our ancestors get their genes into the people to come — things like eating, having sex, earning the esteem of other individuals, and outdoing rivals." 

For this, our minds have developed a reward framework, which makes us have to look for encounters that we find pleasurable — eating, drinking, and engaging in sexual relations. 

A weapon against addiction 

In itself, this mechanism is intended to help us survive as well as flourish. In any case, it can also prompt addiction if, for instance, the brain gets "stuck" in an unhelpful criticism circle with a pleasurable stimulus. 

Research shows that meditation and mindfulness techniques can enable a person to battle back against those unhelpful impulses and gain increasingly self-control. Thus, a study from 2015 found that individuals who smoked had the capacity to eliminate their smoking in the wake of taking up mindfulness training. 

So also, inquire about distributed in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology in 2017 demonstrated that people who normally busy with overpowering drinking expended 9.3 fewer units of alcohol, which is the thing that may be contrasted with around 3 pints of the mix, in the week that sought after brief care preparing. 

Mindfulness, research suggests, also helps individuals who need to lose weight. "Mindful eating," as it is called, teaches individuals to end up mindful of their eating-related impulses right now and to genuinely end up mindful of the sensation of each chomp. 

A study from last year affirmed that participants who went to three or four mindfulness sessions had the capacity to lose about 6.6 pounds (3 kilograms), by and large, more than 6 months, while peers who went to fewer sessions just lost around 2 pounds (0.9 kilograms), all things considered. 

3. A healthier brain 

healthier brain

"Meditation, when polished consistently, can revamp the neural pathways in the brain," Dr. Sanam Hafeez, a licensed psychologist based in New York, told Sciencenews18. 

"Studies indicate that meditating even 20 minutes out of every day for a couple of weeks was at that point enough to start experiencing the benefits," she explained. 

Indeed, numerous studies have discovered that meditation can also help maintain brain health and neuroplasticity — the limit of brain cells to frame new connections. 

In one study, researchers pursued 60 individuals, who were experienced meditators, for 7 years. The investigators found that the participants saw improved stress resilience as well as better consideration. 

These benefits, the researchers say, lasted for quite a while, and the general population who meditated most regularly did not present the considerable problems that accompany age. 

Research published in 2017, in the journal Mindfulness, also discovered that mindfulness meditation, alongside a sort of yoga practice, was associated with better official functioning and improved energy. 

4. Are there any undesirable effects? 

undesirable effects

Nevertheless, albeit such huge numbers of individuals thus numerous studies point to the benefits of meditation, some individuals feel put off by the work on, saying that, rather than helping them improve their very own prosperity, it triggers undesirable emotions. 

One person told Sciencenews18: 

"I've attempted several meditation apps and videos, as well as endeavored to meditate with a person, all things considered, and each time the problem is the same — when asked to focus individually breath, I get exceptionally anxious." 

"Because focusing on my physiological states is frequently the source of my anxiety, [it] gets me spinning because I start wondering if my states are 'ordinary' [...] Like, is my breathing typical or am I having a breathing problem? Does my chest hurt or am I having a heart assault?" she explained. 

Another person told to let us know, "Meditation makes me incredibly sensitive to everything — like sounds and developments — that stresses me out!" 

There is research to show that these are not one of a kind cases. In one examination, the aftereffects of which appear in PLoS One, the agents reviewed 342 people who practiced care and meditation either calmly, free from anyone else, or as a noteworthy part of meditation withdraws. 

The reviews demonstrated that 25.4 percent of the members itemized encountering unfortunate impacts of fluctuating degrees of seriousness. These included side effects of anxiety or panic attacks, physical pain, depersonalization, manifestations of depression, and dizziness. 

The investigators note that most of the undesirable effects — 41.3 percent — happened during individual, not gathering, practice. They also report that 17.2 percent of the undesirable effects occurred in the course of focused consideration meditation and that 20.6 percent happened when a person meditated for longer than 20 minutes. 

According to the researchers, 39 percent of these undesirable effects did not last long and were not sufficiently severe to require therapeutic intervention. 

The authors of an audit analyzing the findings of other studies that revealed potential adverse effects of mindfulness practices contend that "rather than mindfulness in essence, [...] it is an absence of understanding of the nuances of mindfulness among some instructors — and the subsequent poor teaching of mindfulness — that is probably going to pose the greatest risk to patients." 

As a result, they suggest that individuals interested in these kinds of practices pick their instructor subsequent to conducting cautious foundation research. 

In addition, they say that therapists wishing to incorporate mindfulness into their clinical practices should, for included safety, "experience supervised mindfulness training for a time of something like 3 years [...] preceding attempting to administer mindfulness in a treatment setting." 

As for individuals who have endeavored mindfulness or meditation, yet are not seeing any improvements, Dr. Hafeez advises tolerance. "As with numerous things we do to improve life, the results are not always prompt," she told Sciencenews18.

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medical April 01, 2019 at 12:35PM