#it's about people who refuse to take accountability for why they can't improve which is that they Aren't Drawing

[ilikeyoshi]

thank u for being the only person who understands the deeper point of this post i am going to cry (affectionate)

[damianbugs]

i know you love the dynamics between bruce and his kids as they are, but alot of it is also due to iffy writing lmao.

in your IDEAL scenario, what would bruce parenting look like? would he still be as abusive as he is in canon? CAN he even change?

the short answer to "can bruce change?" is... no 😭 but let me try and explain!

its not because of who bruce is as a character or batman as a hero, but because it is basically impossible for a popular character like him to have any consistent writing. we've seen it before where he's a great father and mentor for a few issues, and then less than six months later he does something horrific and takes ten steps back in that regard.

it's why this conversation (to me) is a very complicated one, because i can't for sure say who bruce is as a person without taking into consideration the literal decades of almost hundreds of different writers, runs and universes. of course, he has made some terrible and very harmful decisions, but again, so much context is required to truly comprehend those situations. that doesn't remove the fact that he has hurt his children, both accidentally and purposefully.

do i think bruce is a bad dad in canon? no. do i think he is a good dad? also no. depending on where in time you're reading him, who's writing him etc — he acts like completely different people. my head spins trying to come up with a simple answer to this otherwise simple question.

a good example i think is the current zdarsky batman run. arguably some of the best bruce wayne as a father introspection we've had in a LONG TIME, the story doing well to remove the 'child soldiers' narrative that frank miller infamously popularised to main continuity despite it not being from the canon timeline. but who's to say this sort of perspective will last before being completely disregarded by the next writer?

it's no secret i pick and choose what i (personally) view as canon, my own personal bias against Certain writers making me ignore their writing entirely, but i am also not ignorant to the fact that bruce can and desperately NEEDS to improve as a parent.

sorry for rambling but back to your original question about what my ideal parent bruce would like and to that it's two very simple words; honest and communicative.

that's really all he needs to do. almost all his shitty decisions can be linked back to him lying or purposely evading the truth and just refusing to communicate to his children, which in turn makes them not want to communicate with him. this then leads to much larger problems and much more devastating outcomes.

bruce needs to realise that his children don't owe him anything more than the very little he's given them emotionally. this whole "soldier-team" mentality that he adopts when he's batman filters into his dynamics with them as family and as bruce wayne, and that is why he keeps hurting them and not taking responsibility for it.

they should not be vigilantes before they are his children. but to do that, writers also need to make the distinction that batman is also bruce wayne, but that is an entirely different conversation.

again, current batman writing (mark waid batman vs robin, zdarsky batman, ram v detective comics, tom taylor batman etc) seems very promising in giving bruce a chance to be a better father, so we can only hope it continues this way. maybe, we'll even get bruce actually holding himself accountable one day.

i try not to discuss this topic too much because in my experience it's far too nuanced to explain in short text posts on the internet but i hope this answered your questions <3

[obsequence]

hi i hope this isn't weird askdjfksdksl, you seem to be much more active on twitter but i REFUSE to make an account on that website BUT a mutual of mine just said something to me about the idea of an au where the rattlers run like. an apocalypse gladiator ring instead and ellie eventually gets caught and stuck there with abby and this is just actually insane we can't believe no one else seems to have had this idea yet??????? my first thought was tell the only ellabs person i know of who is in any way active on social media idk you can tell twitter about this or whatever i just think you need to know. i think ellabs nation (ellabs village really lol) needs to consider the possibilities

1) come to twitter i promise it’s like not that bad i just get into fights a lot 😭

2) i have a new tumblr but it’s under a pseudonym because i’m literally writing x readers and i know people will clown me and think i’m doing it in the “y/n” way (nothing wrong with that) and not the “x readers are a great way to character study without making whole ocs and you’re able to share them with a large audience” way

3) honestly , i really hate fics that have like . anything to do with the rattlers . because they’re just , like , EXTREMELY miserable (hypocritical coming from me , i know) and i deserve a speck of dopamine every now and then . but i will spread the idea ! because tbh it’s pretty good and not done before . just not my thing

4) i’m going to take this as an opportunity to explain why the fuck tl2 isn’t out yet , but it’s going to be a very longwinded self-psychoanalytical bananza , sooo . .

so , tl2 isn’t going to be a multichapter , if it ever gets put out . it’s gonna be a really long oneshot , because if i post it , i want it to be FINISHED so i don’t leave anyone waiting again .

the reason why i have a mental block against writing it right now is because i’m really unhappy about where tl1 left off . i never really liked it honestly , i just felt a bit pressured to get it out asap so i could be done . i reread the first few chapters all the time , and i really consider that its peak , because it started to feel like a chore after chapter six .

it’s hard to write the sequel to something you don’t like . it feels like you can only disappoint (if not others , yourself) and expand on its horribleness , which sounds so melancholy , i know , lol , but it’s the truth . like , how do you fix what’s broken on something you can’t touch ? by adding more that’s broken ? nuh uh . it’s a lot of stress .

also , i just . . need a creative recharge . “spencer , it’s been like five months since you finished tl !!” no i mean like . a year . before i even poke it with a ten foor pole again . LOL it’s that bad . this might change , but that’s how i feel right now .

i’ve been really insecure about my work lately , and i’ve never been able to read original novels or other fics without feeling incredibly envious of others’ talent , and it has sowed a lot of discontent inside of me . so i stopped consuming others’ work for a bit , but that just left me uninspired and in an echo chamber of my own writing without any improvement , so it became hyper-stylized and odd to read , especially months later . i don’t even know what i was trying to accomplish at some points ?? it’s all very odd and tryhard and makes me cringe .

so , right now , my goal is to read more published work lol . i’m reading my childhood favorite “daughter of smoke and bone” right now , and it’s even better than i remember . highly recommend

but yeahhh that’s why tl2 isn’t out sorry 🌸🩷🩷💕🥺🥺🥺

(but like fr i am incredibly sorry)

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

Re: sister hit me. yeah, I spoke to 2 close friends about what my sister did and they said that it wasn't right, too. like, okay, she has issues at home with her husband and her children, but my friends made it clear that that was no excuse for what she did; everyone who knows me is aware that I'm snarky and that I made snide comments. it's my thing. it's how I joke around with people bc if I don't like them, I don't do it, and everyone who knows me is aware that they can say "that's too harsh" and I'll stop! I'll stop because it's not meant to hurt anyone. she's been texting me, telling me that she's sorry and how sorry she is, but it still feels rather empty; she came to the house today, and I refused to look her in the eyes bc I struggle with eye contact as it is, but when I trust someone I can do it. when I don't, I can't. so I just didn't. but she stuck around for a while, saying she "really am sorry", but it still feels totally hollow. I feel fine at home, even though it's not exactly the perfect environment, but my pets have kept me feeling good and when I go to work, I get to laugh and joke with people as well as spend time with animals. so it's not ALL terrible, but all the same, I feel like she's only hurt me bc what's going on in HER life is getting to her but she still centres HER pain around everyone else's. especially my own.

Hey anon,

I can definitely understand your perspective of the situation. There are healthier and more constructive ways for someone to respond to your snide comment than her disproportionate and violent reaction.

You may resonate with this, but personally I find that actions speak louder than words so apologies only go so far until it either happens again or they actually commit to change, which is less common for people with a history of abusive or toxic behavior. So I can understand why you may be feeling a bit sick of her apologies.

Respectively, if you feel she would be open to a conversation, you could potentially ask her if your snide comment was what set her off and if she'd like you to avoid approaching her that way moving forward. Depending on how well you think that would go, it could be an opportunity to foster communication and transparency between you both, and potentially bring a bit of mending to your relationship. Again, you likely know best whether that would be a safe idea to try.

I'm glad you have pets that can help you regulate or find moments of joy in that kind of environment, and also that you have a friendly workplace that brightens your experiences as well. But also please know that it doesn't have to be all terrible for your issues to be important and worth addressing.

I can see how maybe your sister uses her own experiences to deflect blame and justify perpetuating harm, instead of taking accountability for her actions. While it can be difficult for someone like your sister to admit to their wrongdoings and make an effort to improve, it's certainly more worth it than choosing to cause harm.

I hope I could help, and we're here if you'd like to add onto this or discuss something else.

-Bun

[bustedbernie]

You can't actually think that the average person is as much to blame for climate change as billionaires who erase years of progress with their own personal space race. Right? Tell me how me using paper straws or freezing in the winter/roasting in the summer is going to counter a CEO ordering a forest cut down a day.

Think you're being obtuse lol. That post isn't about the damage the rich do alone. It's about how leftists are using that harm to refuse their own accountability and their own ability to make small changes and in doing so, they are giving up their collective power to make larger changes. Experts have made it clear that it's not just about "billionaires," so you can shut up with that.

The crisis is going to demand LARGE changes from all of us - and yes, some of those changes are going to be uncomfortable. Set your thermostat at 80 in the summer and at 60 in the winter. Bodies adjust and those temperatures are safe for most everyone. In many climates, AC isn't necessary for more than 3 weeks of the year. Including where i live in the Southwest.

Stop using straws altogether and get rid of disposable items at restaurants - it's not hard. And if you're not the few who may need a plastic straw, then stop hiding behind them to avoid your own ability to change. Take the bus, and plan where you live so that you can. Live in a smaller space. Get a bike. Eat less meat and keep red-meat to an absolute minimum. And yes, vote and advocate for people who can make real change and regulations at the top to make changes for US easier to do in our daily lives while also multiplying the impact.

but don't forget that these corporations function toward demand - and they do listen - and they do know change is coming and preparing for it. If you can afford to, start using the power you do have, and you DO HAVE it, and stop hiding behind some convenient wall so that you can think you're exempt from making any changes in your own life - assuming you actually care about the climate crisis at all and aren't just using it to channel pure anger at an "other" (this case the rich or the billionaire class).

Anger is a secondary emotion and I think the way it is discharged, including in your ask, is not helpful to you or the crisis. You're just discharging blame. Accountability is a two-way street, and if you actually do make changes, you will be living YOUR values, which is valuable and it does matter. If the paper straw makes you feel more aligned with your values (and it does make a difference, no matter how small), then that is a good thing.

What you've done with this post is what they love to see. They don't actually care that you or I think they're evil, shortsighted, or whatever. Because you hiding behind that is just allowing yourself to remove yourself from the system (which can't be done btw) and enables you to keep buying the products made by the evil billionaires. It's funny how that works, isn't it? Saying it's all the fault of the billionaires while changing nothing you are doing is what they love to see.

why is it that you all talk about how each individual can create a massive collective action leading to a revolution or whatever, but you don't see how that is true, if not even MORE true, on this subject? Critical Mass bike rides have politically made it possible for cities to invest in more bike infra. Using reusable jars and containers on bulk items at your local coop reduces plastic individually, and also demonstrates a market for less plastic packaging. You might still need to buy certain things in plastic, but the more you buy available in other packaging helps enable even more. Even Target is now selling deodorant tubes made of paper and toothpast sold in aluminium tubes. I get bulk shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, soap, and cleaning products at my Coop (I in fact now have a plastic free bathroom and nearly plastic free kitchen!).

And like i said, i know my impact is marginal, but it is still an impact. On a personal level, the impacts benefit my mental health, they align with my values, and I find my life more enjoyable. I have a small apartment, but can take the bus or bike everywhere, and I have become more and more a part of a community that shares those values and lifestyles which is enriching. So yes, billionaires are doing a lot of damage, but we live in a society and all play a part. We can work toward holding them accountable and making those changes at the same time we make changes at home. But i have very little respect for people who think they can't make any change or who discharge all their responsibilities on others.

In my 15+ years advocating this way, we have accomplished a rapid transit project in my city that has massively improved public transport in the core, made plastic free options possible at several local Coops and shops, increased commuter bus service from the suburbs, created a commuter rail, grown our bike lane and cycle track network by many, many miles(more than doubling our number of bike commuters),invested in community bike maintenance classes and FREE bikes for low-income or unemployed folks and folks experiencing homelessness, banned plastic one-use bags, have gotten our city and state to use more water capture and permeable concrete in construction, and are helping support a large wind and solar industry (things our region should be especially good at). So idk, If we can make these changes in a sprawling, desert city in the middle of nowhere, then I'm sure there are changes you can start taking part in and advocating for in your city, too. You do have power, and when you put that power to work with other like-minded people, it can be game changing.

But i was recently in Philadelphia talking to someone who had a similar view. They lived 3 blocks from the subway and worked next to a stop, but said "the subway isn't a good option for me" and insinuated they thought it was gross (it's old but perfectly fine and I thought wonderful). They drove to the shop despite living walking distance from a super market. They channeled a lot of the same attitude that I see in your ask. Obviously this person is unique, but I have found a lot of folks with this attitude have similar low-hanging fruit that they are just refusing to take because it would require a modicum of effort. Hate to tell ya, but you've been lied to if you think we can solve this crisis without you evaluating making some changes.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

I've always thought there's something a bit culty about some people's attitudes towards vaccines. Vaccines in general are an amazing technology that indubitably saved many lives, but there's some nuance to that, which basically boils down to, "Like most scientific discoveries, they require rigorous testing and sometimes unexpected conditions led to something being improved that shouldn't have been." For example, a handful of years ago, I believe 2017, the flu vaccine consistently made flu worse for people who were vaccinated, at least on my college campus. I was not vaccinated, but I did contract the flu and it nearly killed me. I don't want to know what would have happened if I had been. (Take this example with a grain of salt: I've never gotten the flu vaccine because I regard it as gambling with extra steps and no reward.)

I'm absolutely not anti-vaccine! Like I said it's a great technology and does save lives. I'm up on everything except flu and Covid. But what I mean by the culty attitude surrounding it is this: when I was 14 my pediatrician tried to trick me into taking a vaccine -- I don't recall which one -- for some STD. I refused it on account of not being sexually active (I was 14, and she herself admitted that it was pointless if I wasn't having sex), but she tried to give it to me anyway, telling me it was something else, and I guess thinking I wasn't looking at the labels on the syringes? I can't figure out why she was so intent on getting that vaccine in me, aside from a general pervasive believe that more vaccines is better, regardless of whether or not you're actually going to use those antibodies. And the pushback I received for not getting the flu vaccine was always insane, nevermind that I've contracted the flu exactly once in my life, indicating that I probably don't generally need it. (Periodic unfriendly reminder that no vaccine prevents you from carrying a disease, so it's ridiculous to try to pull the 'protecting others' card on this, not that people weren't trying even years ago.)

Anyway my point is, way back in 2020 when a vaccine started to be discussed, I thought "Oh, great," because I could see that peoples' already cultlike obsession with vaccines was going to be fanned by all the fear surrounding Covid, and erupt into something really ugly, just like how religious cults convince their members to stay by showing them only the ugly parts of the outside world and using fear to convince them that this is better. And it's even worse than I thought. Any criticism of the Covid shot, no matter how mild (I.E. "I think it should have been subject to more rigorous testing.") is met with vicious mockery at best, just like when someone trapped in a cult realizes that one of the teachings is based in bigotry or something. It's really scary to me, too, because what I didn't realize was that the leaders of this particular cult are entrenched in the government, which means that you can't just leave like you can with a cult.

You're right and you should say it. I think people are way too easily persuaded to be scared. Plus, there is a huge difference between something like a flu shot and, say, the polio vaccine. The polio vaccine eliminates polio. The flu shot has a chance of keeping you from getting sick for one year. But people hear "vaccine" and think "oh they're all the same thing". Even when they should know better, like with covid, because the people pushing it aren't even pretending it was a one and done solution. It was always "well we might need boosters". They even left a spot open for a third shot on the earliest vaccine cards. The real insidiousness though, is the aggressive suppression of information regarding anything potentially negative about the covid vaccines. And not just because they're hiding potentially life saving information, but because this is going to destroy trust in the medical industry for decades. People are going to always wonder if their doctor is actually trying to help them, or if they're just upholding the narrative.

And speaking of doctors, fuck your doctor, holy shit. I'm pretty sure tricking someone into getting a medical treatment is illegal. And even if it isn't, it's unethical as hell. I hope you found a new doctor after that. If you haven't, find one.

[thedreadvampy]

this is kind of a Hot Take (and rlly long) so don't feel pressured to post this

also no one cancel thedreadvampy over posting this ask if she does these are my beliefs and not necessarily hers kthx

I'm honestly really uncertain why people are so militant about aphobia on this site. like obviously aphobes are Not Nice People and it's good to be against their shitty beliefs. But I've been on this site for ~5 years and I have never, in my memory, seen an aphobe (with the few exception of like. literal nazis but their main label isn't aphobe). I have seen a lot of people who were then harassed/cancelled being called aphobes in addition to a lot of other things like (homophobic, racist, abusive, etc) but as far as I bothered to figure out, the label of aphobe came from one specific phrase they used or one post they reblogged (though I can't be bothered to Deep Research so I genuinely don't know on this one).

(I have seen casual acephobia in my own personal life. however, that is not Tumblr.)

I have seen scores of posts along the lines of "aphobes are bad" "aphobes dni" etc etc.

Maybe it's just who I follow, but it seems like there's a lot more anti-aphobe sentiment than aphobes. Which is good! It's the goal! However, I think it's possible that that anti-aphobe sentiment has not become "look how few aphobes there are! yay!" it's "there are hidden aphobes all around us and you have to interrogate everyone to know who to ostracize"

You're a fairly popular figure in the mechs/tma fandoms and the thing about Tumblr is that it hates popular figures. And more than that, you're visible, so a) people will see if you answer a bunch of questions about ace things, and b) you exist in everyone's brains more than little blogs.

to be clear. to be absolutely crystal 100% clear: I am not saying that people got together and went "let's interrogate all the popular blogs so we can pretend theyre acephobic and have fun bullying people," I'm saying it's possible that what was once a positive emotion, "we don't tolerate intolerant people" has possibly, in some people, morphed into a fear that intolerant people are hiding all around them. And frankly, that fear can be understandable (not right, not kind, but understandable), especially if they face hate irl and their only outlet for emotion is tumblr. shit, Tumblr is one of my emotional outlets.

I don't think it's bad to engage with these people in good faith, or to answer questions, but I think it's possible that some of them are coming from the "intolerant people are hiding all around us and must be ferreted out" kind of perspective instead of a "hey I wanna check that this person isn't an intolerant asshole before following/supporting them" or "I want to engage with a person who may be ignorant" (I'm not attempting to imply that you're ignorant). Im not saying "not answer their questions" this is just, like, my opinion. I'm not making a lot of actionable statements here.

that's my whole Hot Take, hopefully I made some kind of sense, I just honestly feel kind of mad on your behalf that you have to go thru an interrogation to be Not Tumblr Cancelled. If people were generally having a nuanced discussion then that would be fine but you've already stated several times that ace/aspec people are valid and deserve love and respect etc etc. which as an aspec person makes me feel that your blog is safe for me, and I don't feel the need to play 20 Questions Are You Sure You Aren't An Aphobe

I don't know how much of this I entirely agree with and I refuse to think

(not about this. just in general. today I refuse to think)

my main response to this is:

a) I think my confusion is I have less than 1500 followers I think I always assumed the You Are Now A Public Figure People Have Opinions On mark had to be higher than that but this appears to have been a totally incorrect assumption

b) I don't feel like. a threat of Cancellation except inasmuch as I don't want Kofi to eventually get any kind of kickback if I turn out to be or people understand me to be a shitty person. I didn't ask for a platform or do anything to deserve it, if I get distressed it's largely just that I don't want to be a shitty person! and I have a whole thing about. I don't ever feel secure in my ability to say I'm NOT being shitty so like if enough people start saying AH RUTH THEDREADVAMPY IS A GARBAGE PERSON I definitely do stay wondering if they're right even if I think my position is morally defensible. like I'm very easy to get into a spiral of I think that's highly defensible but maybe I'm just in denial/trying to cover my ass/self-justifying so I can avoid accountability/etc. like this is a thing and it's why I'm very uncomfortable with absolutism, a lot of my family in my experience have a phenomenal capacity for denial and for rewriting reality into something they Fully Believe despite all the evidence, and so I'm really conscious of the possibility that I'm doing that and I wouldn't. know about it. it's a really really powerful subconscious force and that's been like. a big fear point for me my whole life. that I could be being a cunt and be obviously being a cunt and be so deep in denial that it just doesn't register at all. this is like. the thing I fear most. So I DO want people to tell me if I'm being a dick because the only way I can 100% know I'm not just in denial is if I can trust people to call me in, but I really, really, really struggle with when people say I'm being a dick and I disagree, not because they're harassing me necessarily but just because it really sends me into a spiral of doubting my own ability to be sure about like, anything. at all. it's a whole unreality thing which is, uh, it's MINE to deal with, it's not something I would want to put on other people, but it very much does affect my responses and I didn't mean to write this but hey, no therapy last week and it shows.

oh also c) on reflection I don't agree that there's very little aphobia on Tumblr (although as I've said I'm not ace or aro so my opinion should hold little weight) but I do think that there's a lack of give and take, not just in aphobia stuff but also in general, in these kinds of conversations, like sometimes yeah people are actively hateful but I don't think there's any room for misunderstanding, poor phrasing, or questioning, and I understand that that's coming from a really genuine place of pain and devaluation of aro/ace experiences but I also think people jump straight to assuming active malice very fast, and often explicitly consider "actively not stating an opinion" to be an offence on the level of "actively staying a harmful opinion," which I think is unhelpful. like. we learn by listening, there are times in my life where I would have been lying at the time to agree unconditionally with something like "I think we should believe survivors" (I was a 2000s teen who hung out with 4channers) but I also was conscious of the harm that it would do to publicly debate from the perspective that No We Shouldn't Believe Survivors, so you know I waited and I listened and I thought about it and ultimately I came to a position I could say with my chest. but like. The online social more that you Have to have an opinion and I Have to hear it to prove that you have the Right opinion is. uncomfortable to me to say the least. I don't think it gives you much room to learn and improve, especially given that everything on the internet is permanent and often treated as if it forever reflects your current beliefs. like I have changed my opinions So Much since I was 16 and if someone went back through a tag on my blog to Prove My Bad Opinions they could paint pretty much any picture they wanted with 12 years of changing opinions.

anyway yeah like. no I don't fully agree with this ask but I appreciate the alternate perspective. I also did not mean to write another wall of text I'm just very much In A Brain Hole today and sometimes words Just Happen.

[unwelcome-ozian]

Hey. I don't have tumblr so I can't message sorry if this is long. My husband is active duty in the US Army as a combat medic. Anyways, he volunteered as a recipient to use the PoNS device, even though he has no traumatic history. He did this from April 1, 2019 until June 27, 2019. On April 12, 2019 the FDA rejected it. Yet he kept getting assessed in a lab Twice a week and his attitude has changed rapidly. Every Sunday he gets blind rage now and he repeats the same phrase.../1 🏜️

🏜️

over again every Sunday, saying "I don't know what it is, I don't know why I'm angry." And he gets mad at me for trying to make it better. He keeps repeating that he feels he's lost control of himself. Every little thing angers him. He'll spend HOURS on War Thunder and avoid me and our five month old daughter. He has changed and no, he has never been deployed and won't be until Spring 2020. Ever since the testing he's secretive and it's almost as if he's possessed. This isn't him.

🏜️ 3...It's like nothing shakes him, his eyes glaze over and he says he doesn't remember when he gets angry like this, as if he blacks out. Last Sunday he punched two holes in the garage wall. The Sunday before he put a gun to his head. The Sunday before that he was brandishing a knife while naked and rambling. I had to call the police and use my social work skills to calm him down. I've had to be careful since I don't want to cost him his career but I'm terrified for him now.

🏜️ 4...I myself am a victim of cult abuse through Ordo Templi Orientis so I understand some programming here and there, but from a ritualist perspective. I think he has become a victim of Delta programming but idk..his cousin is a friend of mine and her brother was a Marine who had the same thing happen (sans the PoNS experiment it was something else) to him. Is this Delta Programming? If so where do I start? Please advise. Thank you for reading. Xx 💖😔

The PoNs device, wow.

Anytime a branch of the military has a 'sole source' contract there is foul play a foot.  

What your husband is experiencing isn't programming, he is the experiment. In the military there is no such thing as a 'volunteer'.

You can trace what the military is doing back to  Jose Manuel Rodriguez Delgado.  Jose Delgado shows up in the Stargate/Grillflame files.

Delgado is most famous for his experiment with a bull. LINK

I am unable to adequately address what is happening to your husband in a post. I there a way you could set up an account? That way I can give you some suggestions, links to information that could assist you, your husband, and his cousin.

Below are some quotes that you may find interesting.

Oz

(Newtown, PA) – July 7, 2015 – Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. (CSE: HSM) (OTCQB: HSDT) (“Helius” or the “Company”) announced that NeuroHabilitation Corporation (“NHC”), a division of Helius, successfully executed a sole source cost sharing contract with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC). The contract will support Helius’ registrational trial investigating the safety and effectiveness of the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS™), a non-invasive brain stimulation device that is being developed for the treatment of balance disorder in patients with mild-to-moderate Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI).

2013 article:  "Predictably, some of the major innovations in brain stimulation research are being funded by the US military. What army wouldn't take advantage of a method that could make soldiers more alert, faster to react, faster to learn, less likely to binge-drink off duty, and more compliant with authority? What intelligence agency wouldn't embrace a technology that could help their operatives become better liars, or which limits the ability of prisoners to lie under interrogation? Applications like these, in turn, raise ethical questions. Would a soldier be able to refuse brain stimulation, and if not, wouldn't that violate the principle of consent underlying 'medical' interventions? Going deeper we might ask whether it is ethical for neuroscientists and psychologists to collaborate with organisations whose ultimate research objective is to develop more efficient ways of killing people."

2012 article:  The staggering possibilities are further along than many think. There is already development on automated drones that are programmed to make their own decisions about who to kill. Other ideas that are closer-than-you-think to becoming a military reality: Tanks controlled from half a world away, memory erasures that could prevent PTSD, and "brain fingerprinting" that could be used to extract secrets from enemies. Should soldiers have the right to refuse "experimental" brain implants?"

The United States military is making substantial investments to develop technologies that would enhance the ability of warfighters to complete their missions safely and effectively. Driven by neuroscience, biotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics, and other emerging technologies, this research includes combating sleep deprivation, improving cognitive performance, increasing strength, reducing muscle fatigue, and other enhancements to the human body and mind.~Greenwall report~

[yumeinikki]

*cracks knuckles*

I'm glad you asked

The reincarnation is the myth about cats having 9 lives. In the cats sense it's literally being reborn. In the human sense it's about getting another chance.

Now here's a cool hc that i recently got from the wrong cat died. Not every year has a Jellicle choice, only when it's needed. The choice is the grand finale of the celebration, but not necessary.

I think the 2019 movie got it wrong for taking out the community. Which i think is the most vital part. I don't think the tribe works well as competition.

I used to be team 'it's a talent show'. But then i actually thought about it and it didn't make sense as said above. I believe it is one of the Grizabella twcd eps that spurred this on for me. It was never a contest. It was a celebration.

I don't think the Jellicle choice perse is so important as much as Old D showing up and the community just having fun is. Like a visit from santa. He's not just there for the biggest most impressive gift, but as a jolly cool old guy who's kind and wise. It's a treat to have him around.

All cats are jellicle cats and all dogs are pollicle dogs. The show just focusses on one weird ass group. I have literally never seen outdoor cats enjoy eachother's company minus maybe two that have a crush on eachother. In the human sense I see it as a community center. Just a place in the neighbourhood all kinds of people meet up and hang.

I think Mac and Griz were both at one point Jellicles. I think you leave the Jellicle com much like fandom. You just move on, stop coming to the comunity center. Mac probably fucked around. I refuse to believe Griz was cast out over being a sex worker. I just think she left in search for something new, it was a bust and she comes back to the tribe looking for support. And it's the current tribe being the 'bad guys' for not letting her back in.

I like to believe there's other tribes out there. After all the poems describe a gazillion different cats. 'Jellicle cats have moonlit eyes' that's literally every cat ever. We're just focussing on this one community, somewhere in London.

Which then also accounts for different shows and even varieties in one staging. They're all different communities. With some similar archetypes and some different ones.

Now this might have to do with my bias for the Dutch Tour. Which is localised instead of translated. Skimble travels through Dutch towns. Macavity is hunted by Interpol etc. For me that meant that Scharrelnelis and Lorejopie are not in fact the Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer from Victoria Grove. After all they sing about a Dutch park. It's a Dutch tribe.

Imma circle back to The wrong cat died again because at first I really disliked the podcasts. Mr host completely missed the point of Cats. But over the episodes you see him realising his wrong. And even admit it a little.

The actors talk a lot about how the show is up for interpretation, but that the clues are there. Someone (maybe same Griz as before but idk) at some point mentioned that as actors they need the context because with so much improv they have to know the relations between the characters. Which also includes Zach Bravo being told 'don't adlib, you can't beat Eliot' some Jenny being told 'Jenny wouldn't do that'. The actors aren't always right. And neither are the fans.

Which is in the end why the 'canon' plot is about community. Not about nitpicky details. Because every community is different. Heck even one community is different at different points in time (looking at you 'queer is a slur' discourse) Sometimes the cool train uncle is gay (Colin Cunliffe i think), sometimes he's bi, sometimes he's straight. He's still the cool train uncle. That detail doesn't make or break the community.

I still know this isn't serious, but the wrong cat died made me think about it a lot. And I love talking about the logic in Cats. So here we are

Sometimes I'd like to politely ask 3-4 of the ppl who think there's a clear canonical plot to cats the musical to like. Tell me? And the rest of us? What it apparently is? Like. no communicating with each other, not even thru middlemen, just. One at a time, on their own, tell me and the rest of us what they think the plot or canon is. And how they account for various traditions and productions.

[shamaste]

My visionqueeste.

I am not the only one who feels this way about this situation.

This group is quite large, the new world is order and a group of spiritual people who have set themselves the goal of everything that needs recovery ..., to increase the chances of that or to start it. This by increasing awareness with knowledge of how to do it.

This group does not consist of highly developed spiritual people, but of a group that have put our earth's well-being as a starting point. Collaboration is very important in this to get Our house safe and clean. Our Earth. It is the reflection of humanity now, their home. This has now become a dirty, full of polluting mess, destroyed environment, in which people now live! Viruses thrive there, or mutate or new ones are added. We, man, are the cause of this. And you?

Do you want a new virus or new outbreak? And that you are a victim of that, or your children? Only then do you suddenly want to change? Then you are already too late. Much late.

Currently; I do nothing but tune in, rest, contemplate, (in) feel, looking around me how the world is doing, how people behave.

And sometimes I'm ashamed of those people, and of being human.

Where is the respect for other people? And when is taking account of other people's feelings a crime? O noo, own pleasure first. This shows little, let's say at least: no healthy brain and mind.

Everything has consequences, and also pushes through your own will, ego. Ofcourse that also has consequences, you will not like it.

I am already rubbing my hands with the beautiful things that will return them as karma. You still know: what you give you get it back? The universe likes balance. Its a law.

So folks, this period is not for nothing, and what do you see again: people are counting down the clock.. to go on like idiots again and blame everyone for the situation in the world. STUPIDITY!

I think we now know who is to blame. Often blame is placed on the wrong people to pass on their own responsibility. Narcissists can do that very well, and it is choking.

New world order!

There is also something like a spiritual counsel. The tells us what the lesson is. What you and I should adhere to, which we as humanity especially should not do. But what is. This and much more ... You can hear it, if you want to listen. We all hear. But really listen, no!

People who are spiritual are not inclined to float. They are aware of what is going on, why it is happening and what to do with it. Their role and task.

Someone with any higher (duty) awareness knows that I am right. The world has been destroyed, just take a look around and it is precisely this group of spiritual people who have to jump in again to get Mother Earth healthy. If it succeeds in this generation.

Realize that we, you and I, are the last generation who can still turn this around? And you give this to your children and the children's children? We who think differently want the children after us to have a better world, life and not because you want to continue to have and keep your pleasures, so that your offspring must be on a decrepit planet. to grow up. Your 'have, want it zo bad and ego' has consequences for the generations after you. 7 to be precise.

It could hardly be more selfish than now, can it? I hold my heart ... For those who come after me.

Fortunately, the Wise Council supports this group of benevolent, socially minded people. I know why I chose this life and why I don't have children.

I've been through almost everything you can think of in misery, but it is in stark contrast to what is developing now. So spiritual people are the answer. And sometimes you better listen to this group. And if that group had done that much earlier, instead of judging and judging these people, then ... Fill in.

A group of people refuse again. People refuse to enter, to take responsibility for themselves, to tackle that which has been suppressed and suppressed. This is called: come back to your true self period.

I have always been myself, but people were not okay with that. So I had to adjust if I was cast out. Been alone a lot. And if you stand up for Mother Earth, or your fellow man, are these people suddenly pathetic? They are wolves in sheep's clothing. They are narcissists in my view. Yes, that's what I call these people. I i i. I dreamed last night, and if a shaman dreams ... That is about to happen. Visions .. I can't make them more fun.

We're not there, done yet. The fear, mistrust and selfishness has become so great, and many cannot deal with it and if you don't know how to act well or deal with it well, then you have a best ptsd on your ass. And there will be many who shall have a mental blow to this. This virus hit like a bomb. The spiritual man therefore has an advantage. Selfknowledge. And who git now a lot of problems? It is those people who cannot or will not come to terms with themselves. A missed opportunity for them, which will not come again.

A spiritual disaster is occurring. And part of you would like to know how. And I'm not the only one who thinks about it this way.

And maybe spirituality should take over the world. That as a new world order. Then I would be fine, I'm sure. That's why I start small when this is over. If that's the only way to save her?

I notice that I am pretty clear. Its the 8th Fire, era of aquarius.

I am not afraid of my future, because those 10/15 years what I have left to do here ?! Why should I still worry about the people after me? Why am I fighting so hard? I can also choose to ...!

But I have never been like that. I am and you are a guest here, and the earth is in loan. It is temporary. You leave her as you came. Clean and tidy. These are mine: Spiritual norms and values.

Make it livable for everyone. I wish even more people thought of it that way.

So. I had to lose this. And do whatever you want with it. There is still time. Use it very wisely. And stop making excuses, apologies and playing your victim. Enter, looking for your true destination. That is not outside, but in you. Improve the world? Starts with and in you.

I wish you well, in body. Mind and soul. Hans White Eagle. Dutch shaman and caretaker.

[solo1y]

A Facebook Convo; 7 Years Ago

Timothy O'Fallon [in a status update about his bible study group]: Let's do this Hemingway style (except badly): Exodus. Tomorrow. We journey The Bible in 1 Year then. And it will be 10AM. Climb the steps to the class above the Cafe at CCC. You might hear something new. You might not. More than likely you will. I would enjoy seeing you there. Well, except for Barry Purcell. Everyone else.

Barry Purcell [me]: You're full of bravado when you have the machinery of Florida's justice system behind you, aren't you? Remember, the restraining order runs out in two weeks. Then I can show up to your bible class any time I like and not a single person in this fine democratic nation you have can stop me.

Stupid joke time - "I had to go to a talk about Exodus, but I managed to get out of it."

Tim: That's the day I will teach the class using the gift of Tongues, Barry. And you can interpret. Ha ha! Er...wait...

Barry: I'd probably translate incorrectly: "And lo he said unto Ezekiel, 'I am shuffling. Yea, verily even unto Israel am I shuffling every day.' And every day he was shuffling."

Tim: But does He stack the deck? That's the controversy you know.

Barry: I guess if he's the one who built the deck in the first place, it would be technically impossible for him to "stack" it.

Tim: I'm telling you, you could teach this class

Barry: I don't think so, Tim. At the end of every class, I'd have to say "Just don't take any of it literally", which is probably anathema to the standards and practices department.

Tim: That would work for everything except for the stuff that was intended to be taken literally

Barry: The further back in time you go, the more likely that it's a more helpful approach to the material, regardless of the intentions of the author.

Tim: Chronological snobbery! Personally, I subscribe to the notion that determining what people mean when they say or write something is critical to understanding what they said or wrote...no matter how far back you go.

Barry: The further back you go, the less literally you have to take what was written in order to understand it. Not only are the earliest documents historically inaccurate, but they don't seem to understand "historical accuracy" even in theory. It's a relatively modern idea which we are imposing on the ancient texts, expecting them to bend to our conception of what "accurate" means. Whose fault is it when they snap under the strain?

A wonderful example is the literature of prophecy, which always, without exception, tells you nothing at all about the future and everything about the people making the predictions. This is true of all predictions made my any people in any culture, ever. But you'll miss that entire layer of reality if you interpret the prophecies literally.

Tim: I see historians (including very good ones) impose modern ideas of history on ancient texts all the time. Finding instances of that sort of thing is one of my most amusing pasttimes (pathetic, I know). But we mustn't mistake that sort of misdeed with the equally false notion that the ancients never intended to relate something that actually happened. That's not a modern idea at all, any more than the embellishment of events is exclusively an ancient habit. There is far less separating you and I from an ancient Chinese calligrapher or an Akkadian scribe than not, a fact that modern historians are at great pains to point out in every area of life except that of writing. Again, I find that amusing. And again, I continue to find it instructive and intellectually fulfilling to try to discern what an ancient writer actually inteded to say. In the case of Scripture, I find it a lot more than intellectually fulfilling. *********** Regarding prophecy, of course prophecy tells you nothing about the future if in fact prophetic prediction of the future is impossible. Ever. But one thing it DOES dell you abou the "people making the predictions" is that they were the sort of people who believed you could make true predictions about future events. And again I find that at least in this way, they aren't much different than me. And this adds a layer of "reality" to me that a skeptic, by definition, cannot attain.

Barry: I'm a skeptic and I accept that they were the sort of people who believed you could make true predictions about future events. You get those sorts of people today too, and their predictions are just as accurate at predicting the future.

Also, it's not so much that they never intended to reflect reality, it's that they would have been unaware of the psychological construct of a 'metaphor'. They frequently used metaphors to reflect their reality in a way that we wouldn't, at least not without flagging it down first. It wasn't a question of 'accurate' or 'inaccurate'. They just didn't think of things in those modern terms. However, as you say, once you are made aware of the common symbol database to which all our cultures refer (thanks to the good work of people like Joe Campbell, Carl Jung and James Frazer inter alia), it becomes easier to work out what the authors of these ancient works were getting at.

As far as I know, the Greeks were the first people to understand this, the first people to question their divine myths, the first people to even be aware of the fact that they could be questioned, and hence philosophy.

Tim: The Greeks were not the first people to question their divine myths, though they may have been among the first to misunderstand their own myths, or mythology itself for that matter. Their work in that area has certainly flourished in modern times. And becoming aware of the symbol databases to which all our cultures refer does indeed, in my view, give us some excellent tools to misunderstand the ancients more conveniently. As far as the ancient unawareness of the psychological construct of a metaphor goes, if by that you mean that they used metaphor much more brilliantly than we do today, and that in most cases they had a much greater understanding of how it ought to be used, I would agree with you wholeheartedly. And you missed my point about the skeptic (I am a skeptic too, just about different things). It was a joke. The skeptic can't share the layer of reality in which he identifies with the belief in prophecy. Now that I've explained it, it doesn't seem funny any more.

Barry: Oh well if you're identifying with prophecy in the sense that you think it's true, then yes. That facility will be denied the skeptic. At least until one of them comes true. Then the skeptics will all be on board.

I don't think they used the metaphor more brilliantly than we do. It was just a different way of looking at things. The Greeks may have misunderstood their own myths, but let us not forget that Socrates, the inventor of philosophy (more or less) got sentence to death specifically for the crime of blasphemy.

Timothy: Of course they won't be on board. See, told you I was a skeptic on some things. **** The way the ancients looked at metaphore was infinitely more mature, subtle, and poetic than the modern method. That's what I meant by brilliant. Admittedly, they were less encumbered by psychological theory and the new philology, but I think that's a good thing. And Socrates was sentenced to death in part for blasphemy, but everyone then as now knew very well that is not why he was sentenced to death. You might say he died of metaphor.

Barry: Blasphemy was the charge on the ticket, but of course he was killed for more practical reasons.

Socrates had absolutely no fear of anything; felt like he was on a divine quest to improve the lives of everyone in the world; never wrote anything down himself (so we are forced to rely on the accounts, often written long after his death, of others who make various claims on him); amassed a small gang of followers who delighted in his witty and intellectual take-downs of establishment and authority figures; tried and failed to reject his responsibilities; had his early life (at least the first 30 years) completely shrouded in mystery, relegated to one or two anecdotes; refused to defend himself properly against the charges of blasphemy when called upon to do so; accepted the death sentence even though it was well within his power to avoid it; and ultimately put more value on the truth than his own life.

You might indeed say that he "died of metaphor".

Tim: And we know all this about him because we believe we have ascertained the intent of those ancients who wrote about him. Barry, listen, I just think that when we apply modern theories of interpretation to ancient authors (the "what he REALLY must have meant (even without realizing it)" school of interpretation, we do the author a disservice. And I think we are further from understanding him or her, not closer. For example, I doubt very much I have ever met anyone in my life more misinterpreted than you. I see it happen all the time: you say something clever, it gets interpreted as a personal insult, and a personal insult gets thrown at you in return for your non-insult. But unlike the ancient authors, you are right here to clarify what you intended. Still, the person who originally misinterpreted your intent holds fast to their misinterpretation. It is comic and a little sad. But it shows that people prefer to interpret things based on their perception of things (such as the perception that you are an offensive little snit) rather than the intent of the author. Imagine, if it is that bad for you, how badly our modern perceptions - even ones not formulated by the Jungian school - mangle the intent of the ancients, who aren;t even here to clarify. In my class, I teach (or try to) on the theory that before we can evaluate anything about a text, we first need to do our best to figure out what the original author of that text intended it to mean. Sometimes, as you pointed out, they have a different way of looking at things than we do, and so of course that goes into determining their intent as well. But I do not subscribe to the notion that just because an author is ancient, that he thinks COMPLETELY differently than we do, or that the further back we go the more alien it is when he writes "the emperor made a sacrifice to the gods to cure his toothache" (oracle bones) or "and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper"(psalm 1). The intent of the author is comprehensible because we are more alike than not; the distance between us in time does little to distance us in basic inference or the conceptions that follow from it.

Barry: Fair enough. My original concern was that not so much that we might think of modern ways of interpreting texts as "better", but that we would subconsciously parse all those ancient texts through our modern filters *before* we even get around to asking what the author meant. We are often unaware of how much damage we can do to an ancient text just by deciding what does or doesn't count as inside the parameters of what the author meant, and we are often unaware that we're even doing it.

Nothing I've said here is peculiar to the bible, by the way. All this would work as well for the Iliad, or any other ancient text. Despite the sterling work of Schliemann, we may never know for sure what went on at Troy, or if it happened at all. But *something* happened to cause some literary masterminds to record it. And that's as good a start as any.

Maybe what I'm saying is that the further back we go, the less likely it is for us to encounter literal, accurate history in the modern sense, because there was no modern sense of literal, accurate history back then. Does that sound better?