#monument destruction

[kuijoon]

BRO 😭

No the fuck you aren’t

Btw they’re both crafted using the exact same materials except the good one uses metal and Sampo’s uses trash

[super-paper]

The sudden uptick of people who are now convinced that “Tomura never wanted to talk with Izuku/has never actually wanted to be saved or associated Izuku with the idea of being saved/was only thinking about Izuku in the first place bc he hates him and he’s actually just been fantasizing about kicking his ass this whole time(???😭)/etc” is funny, in a way— bc from what I’ve seen pretty much everyone has been disregarding how the incident pictured below is one of the most 100% damning moments we’ve gotten in the series so far:

Like, just to hammer things home:

This scene is followed immediately by a scene where he doesn’t hesitate to unleash Decay (after he gets warped to the UA coffin). Hori draws further attention to Tomura’s initial resistance by having AFO tell him “not to interrupt him this time” before he tries using Decay again— and this time he is able to use it without any interference from Tomura.

TomurAFO also has enough fine control over Decay at this point that his allies would not have been in danger if he had unleashed it when the battle first began. Which leads us to our next point…..

I’ve seen people argue that Tomura was intervening to save Dabi, and I can see how the paneling might’ve lent to this particular interpretation when the chapter first dropped— but in my honest opinion, the sequence of events reads more like: AFO realizes that Tomura isn’t going to let him use decay → AFO tries to order Dabi to unleash hellfire on the heroes instead since that’s the next strongest AOE attack on their side → Dabi says “fuck you old man I do what I want” and proceeds to do exactly what AFO wanted him to do anyway while screaming about Endeavor (my son who is never gonna beat those C rank intelligence allegations… 😭)

Nothing is outright text yet, sure, but this is still something that needs to be asked: if Tomura truly doesn’t want to talk with Izuku, truly doesn’t want to be saved, and truly hates Izuku just the same as everything else— then why try so hard to resist destroying what he supposedly hates? What’s the motivation here? Why not let AFO wipe all the heroes out and then just focus on getting his body back after the dust settles?

Izuku’s presence and absence are the key elements of consideration here— and if I may be blunt, certain parts of the fandom going well out of their way to repeatedly downplay the effect Izuku’s presence has on Tomura is more than a little disingenuous at this point.

All that being said—! I really need someone to call Tomura out about this scene eventually because the subsequent meltdown both in universe and out of it is going to be so, so funny.

[13eyond13]

.

[savagechickens]

Godzilla Time.

And more Godzilla.

[spitblaze]

god the monument mythos series Does Not Fucking Miss

[vorakh]

the thing about micro-reactivity (and how soon the player start to notice its absence) is so so true you have no idea how disappointing it was to go through the discovery of the insulindian phasmid before the last dream sequence and have harry not acknowledge at all the promise he made to let go of dora/dolores dei ):

[2t2r]

Cretto di Burri - le labyrinthe de béton de Gibellina

Nouvel article publié sur https://www.2tout2rien.fr/cretto-di-burri-le-labyrinthe-de-beton-de-gibellina/

Cretto di Burri - le labyrinthe de béton de Gibellina

[jadenvargen]

free online james baldwin stories, essays, videos, and other resources

**edit

James baldwin online archive with his articles and photo archives.

---NOVELS---

Giovanni's room"When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy. This book introduces love's fascinating possibilities and extremities."

Go Tell It On The Mountain"(...)Baldwin's first major work, a semi-autobiographical novel that has established itself as an American classic. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves."

+bonus: film adaptation on youtube. (if you’re a giancarlo esposito fan, you’ll be delighted to see him in an early preacher role)

Another Country and Going to Meet the Man Another country: "James Baldwin's masterly story of desire, hatred and violence opens with the unforgettable character of Rufus Scott, a scavenging Harlem jazz musician adrift in New York. Self-destructive, bad and brilliant, he draws us into a Bohemian underworld pulsing with heat, music and sex, where desperate and dangerous characters betray, love and test each other to the limit." Going to meet the Man: " collection of eight short stories by American writer James Baldwin. The book, dedicated "for Beauford Delaney", covers many topics related to anti-Black racism in American society, as well as African-American–Jewish relations, childhood, the creative process, criminal justice, drug addiction, family relationships, jazz, lynching, sexuality, and white supremacy."

Just Above My Head"Here, in a monumental saga of love and rage, Baldwin goes back to Harlem, to the church of his groundbreaking novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, to the homosexual passion of Giovanni's Room, and to the political fire that enflames his nonfiction work. Here, too, the story of gospel singer Arthur Hall and his family becomes both a journey into another country of the soul and senses--and a living contemporary history of black struggle in this land."

If Beale Street Could Talk"Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin's story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions-affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche."

also has a film adaptation by moonlight's barry jenkins

Tell Me How Long the Train's been gone At the height of his theatrical career, the actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, Baldwin shows the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable. For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the intoxicating world of the theater lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. An adored older brother vanishes into prison. There are love affairs with a white woman and a younger black man, each of whom will make irresistible claims on Leo's loyalty. 

---ESSAYS---

Baldwin essay collection. Including most famously: notes of a native son, nobody knows my name, the fire next time, no name in the street, the devil finds work- baldwin on film

--DOCUMENTARIES--

Take this hammer, a tour of san Francisco.

Meeting the man

--DEBATES:--

Debate with Malcolm x, 1963 ( on integration, the nation of islam, and other topics. )

Debate with William Buckley, 1965. ( historic debate in america. )

Heavily moderated debate with Malcolm x, Charles Eric Lincoln, and Samuel Schyle 1961. (Primarily Malcolm X's debate on behalf of the nation of islam, with Baldwin giving occassional inputs.)

----

apart from themes obvious in the book's descriptions, a general heads up for themes of incest and sexual assault throughout his works.

[rosieposiepie]

Watching the new Percy Jackson episode, and while by no means is the show perfect, I do love how they updated the blending of Greek mythology and the American Gothic for social commentary.

What I mean is Echidna, the mother of monsters, is some respectable-looking vaguely southern white woman who is able to convince the police on the train that three kids shattered a train window and used those institutions to isolate the kids so she can target them and scare them for the chimera's hunt. The way that the police especially treat Annabeth. Now, as a young black girl, she has to know how to ask if they're getting arrested, and gets called out by the police for her tone.

And then, at the St. Louis Arch, we see Grover upset because of the museum, which is basically a monument to Manifest Destiny (literally, there's a shot where the words are in full display in the background). And while they say, "Grover is upset because he doesn't like it when people hurt animals," they explicitly depict America's colonization and destruction of indigenous communities as The Bad Thing. It adds another layer of flavor for the whole "Pan is missing" - it's not just about Climate Change. It's about the extermination of indigenous groups (the centaurs they saw on the train, the reminder that there used to be more of them until humans started killing them). They say "humans" are bad, but they're showing us Western/American colonizers.

Also, a rare yet interesting moment of conflict between Annabeth as a daughter of Athena and Grover as a Satyr. Annabeth insists that the museum's commodifying and glorifying of American colonization is "not what the arch is actually about, it's about architecture and math," but Athena is the goddess who protects social institutions and a patron goddess of the state, law, order, industry, and war. The Industrial Revolution and Western social institutions definitely contributed to colonialism; just saying. We also see in this episode that Athena can be arrogant and cruel - letting a monster go after her own daughter because she was embarrassed.

Anyway, idk. Maybe I'm overthinking this but these were the things that popped out to me on first watch, and now that I think about them more, I would love a continuation of these kinds of themes and tropes in future seasons, if we get them.

[that-neurodivergent-gay]

(not so) friendly reminder that a non-exaustive list of war crimes that isreal has committed is:

Wilful killing

Torture or inhumane treatment, including biological experiments

Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health

Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly

Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking part in direct hostilities

Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects which are non-military

Intentionally directing attacks against humanitarian assistance

Intentionally launching an attack knowing that it will cause loss of life, injury or harm to civilians or civil properties

Intentionally launching an attack knowing it will cause significant damage to the natural environment without necessity

Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives

Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science, charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the wounded are collected, assuming they are not military objectives

Employing asphyxiating, poisonous, or other gasses, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices

Employing weapons, projectiles, and material and methods or warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering

Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport and personnel

Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival

If you still think this is isreal defending itself, you're ignoring the signs. This is a genocide. These are war crimes. More than 25,000 civilians have been murdered. This is not okay.

Edit:

For all the people asking me for a source, here is a list:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza

Any of Bisan's videos/writings. There are so many people on the ground in Gaza who are documenting this. Stay safe and stay educated

[wordsmusicandstories]

Lady Hamilton in Calais (part 68)

Emma was buried in Calais on January 21 in the graveyard of the Eglise de St Pierre, outside the town, without any sign.Some time later an unknown person planted a wooden cross bearing the inscription “Emma Hamilton, England’s Friend”. Another unknown hand removed it. This happened twice. A British visitor passing through Calais in September of the following year set out to search for the grave…

[cmaculatum]

I am thinking about some of my muses:

I think about azzy a lot, and the fact that he has so much potential, and how unlucky it was that col was the one who saw it first. it's unfortunate, too, that azzy is so loyal to him now.

keith really is my quintessential terrifying werewolf. he is the one who can't control it and never will. he's the monster, the beast, the wolf who is so, so angry and frightened and dangerous. he doesn't love the things other werewolves might love. he hates the night, he hates the cycles of the moon. his changes are painful and leave him sore and tired and hungry each and every time.

eden collects a lot of things that some might find odd: carnivorous plants, taxidermy (rogue and normal), bones and other vulture-culture related things. their house is filled with this collection. their fox familiar, quasar, enjoys pretending to be these pieces of taxidermy, sometimes, only to frighten an unsuspecting guest by moving or blinking (or winking if he wants to be really terrible).

latona comes off as rather calm and self-assured, in a way that makes her intimidating in some ways. she's perfectly aware of her own power and her own emotions, and can easily use one specifically, while shoving the other way. they never effect each other unless she wants them too.

[jonathanrogersartist]

How 'The Acolyte' Disappointed Me, and Why the Themes of 'Star Wars' Matter

Someone recently commented on my 'On the Dark Side, the Jedi and the Moral Decay of Star Wars' essay with these words: 

"A lot of words for saying 'I don't like the newer media, but I won't get into specifics as to why.'"

Okay! I shall then finally clarify those specifics....

That first essay has, so far, been my biggest success on this blog, and it's attracted a number of interesting responses. Full disclosure: I wrote that fresh off the heels of feeling depressed over how the Acolyte ended, and after reading/listening to several of Leslye Headland's interviews, where she went into great detail about her ideas behind the show's choices, the themes she's trying to get across, and what personal baggage she brings to Star Wars. 

Why was I depressed?

Because the show's finale ended with the deeply problematic implication that Osha, by killing Sol and joining Qimir, has achieved true self-actualization. As Leslye herself put it, it's a 'positive corruption arc.' Interesting way to phrase it. 

Furthermore, Vernestra's actions that frame Sol for several murders, all to protect her own reputation, and to avoid oversight by the Senate, confirmed one of the things that I was really worried this show would do as soon as we began learning plot details, which is that it's leaning into this very persistent edgelord take that the Jedi are actually big ol' bastards not worth seeing as heroes. 

It's the Dave Filoni gospel of the Jedi Order as a morally broken and fundamentally hypocritical institution, a decaying monument to religious hubris, who brought about their own destruction with their arrogance and so-called rejection of emotion making them lack empathy. 

This is, as many of my followers know already, a giant misreading of George's storyline in the prequels, and what he was actually telling us about the Jedi's philosophy and code. And in my experience, it gets us some vicious pushback when we try to inform fans of it, even if we back it up with proof of George's words. 

George really did intend the Jedi to be the ultimate example of what a brave, wise, and all-loving hero should be, and are very specifically inspired by Buddhist monks. They do not 'repress emotions': they learn to regulate their emotions, so as to not let the negative ones feed the Dark Side, and they have the moral fortitude to focus on their spiritual duty. They're professionals that have dedicated themselves to a higher calling, and who still feel and display the same emotions we all feel, unless I watched very different movies from everyone else. We see that Jedi characters can still crack jokes, cry when they are sad, become scared or anxious, feel strong love and loyalty to their peers, and can even be righteously angry in some situations BUT always knowing when to pull back.

The Jedi of the prequels were victims of manipulation by Palpatine, and were caught in between a rock-and-a-hard-place with the Clone War, and they were ultimately destroyed not by their own actions, but by the treachery of Anakin Skywalker, who failed to overcome his own flaws because he refused to really follow the Jedi teachings, and was gaslit by Palpatine for decades on top of that. 

Leslye's take on Star Wars, based on how she wrote the story of the Acolyte, is that "yup, the Jedi were doomed to destroy themselves by being hypocritical and tone-deaf space cops," and she also outright compared them to the Catholic Church (this reeks of Western bias and misunderstanding of Eastern religions). The one that really stunned me, was when she said she designed Qimir to be her own mouthpiece for the experience of being queer and suppressed, who isn't allowed to just be her authentic self in a restrictive world. Which, to me, implies that Leslye wanted to depict the Dark Side as actually a misunderstood path to self-actualization that the Jedi, in keeping with their dogma of repressing emotions, only smear as 'evil.' 

Let me remind you all: Qimir is officially referred to as a Sith Lord, by Manny Jacinto, by Leslye, etc. And what are the Sith, exactly? 

Space fascists. Intergalactic superpowered terrorists. Dark wizard Nazi-coded wannabe dictators, whose ideology is of might-makes-right, survival of the fittest, and the pursuit of power for power's sake. To depict followers of this creed as an analogy for marginalized people who have literally been targeted and murdered throughout history BY the real-life inspirations for the Sith.... I find revolting and tone-deaf by Leslye. 

SO.... seeing how that show ended, and reading up on how Leslye intended it to be interpreted (Osha's 'triumph' over the 'toxic paternalism' of Sol/the Jedi in general), really put me in a funk, because deep down, I could just sense that this was not at all compatible with the ethos of Star Wars. It made me go on a deep-dive into the BTS of the writing of the prequels and George's ideas about the Jedi, and it's how I discovered the truth that Dave Filoni has been pretty egregiously misrepresenting George's themes for several years now, usurping George's words with his own personal fanfic about the motivations of characters like Anakin, or Qui-Gon, or the Jedi Council, etc. 

His influence on the franchise has caused this completely baseless take on the Jedi to become so widespread as to rewrite history for modern fans. Who are utterly convinced now that this anti-Jedi messaging WAS George's vision all along, and they get real mad at you if you show them actual proof of that being a lie. 

And the Acolyte is perpetuating this twisting of the very core of Star Wars. This is what I meant by the 'moral decay of Star Wars.' 

The Star Wars saga was made by George Lucas in 1977 to accomplish these specific tasks: 

To remind people of what it really means to be good.

What evil actually looks like, and how it comes from our fears and greed.

To teach kids how to grow up and choose the right path that will make them loving, brave, honest people that stand up to tyrants.

To give the world a story that returns to classic mythological motifs and is fundamentally idealistic, to defy the uptick in cynical and nihilistic storytelling after the scandals of Vietnam and Watergate broke Americans' belief in there being such a thing as actual heroes anymore. 

THAT is the soul of Star Wars. That is what George meant for this remarkably creative universe to say with its storytelling. But I sincerely think that what the Acolyte told, was that morality is relative, the heroes of this saga are actually bastards, the fascist death-cult is misunderstood, and a young woman being gaslit into joining said death-cult is a triumphant girlboss moment. When it actually comes across as the tragedy of a broken person choosing the wrong path that will only make her miserable, full of hatred and powerlust, and hurt innocent people along the way. 

The Acolyte betrayed one of George's most critical lessons: that the Dark Side ruins people, and if you want to truly become your best self, you must choose the path of Light, and the Jedi are the ones who have best mastered that path. So if the future of Star Wars is to continue framing the Jedi and their teachings as some corrupt and immoral system that is making the galaxy worse, then I would rather stick to rewatching the classic scripture of Episode 1-6. George wrote a complete and satisfying story, that is thematically consistent, and in my opinion should have been allowed to rest. 

I will not hate on new fans that love the new material, but I will pity them if they really think any of this is actually faithful to George's vision (they may very well simply not care, either, which troubles me too), and I am afraid of a show like Acolyte teaching young people to see the Jedi's philosophy as wrong, and the Sith as having a point. 

(P.S. I have a moral duty to clarify this, given the discourse around the show: No, this is not a problem with 'wokeness,' or diversity, or representation; that side of the fandom is very sick in the head and not to be taken seriously. 

It's a problem with Leslye's themes and tastes as a storyteller, being fundamentally against the ethos of Star Wars and how it soured the entire show in hindsight for me... a show that I was actually really liking, before the finale dropped its thematic nuke.)

[probablyasocialecologist]

During the first six months of the current war on Gaza, the Israeli military destroyed about 60 percent of the Strip’s cultural heritage sites and monuments. This toll includes the Bronze Age settlement of Tell el-‘Ajjul, the St. Hilarion monastery founded nearly 1,700 years ago, and Pasha’s Palace built in the 13th century and used recently as an archaeological museum. According to many Palestinian and civil rights organizations, this destruction is deliberate. I’m an archaeologist living in the West Bank who has written about cultural heritage destruction and antiquities looting. I serve as the secretary general of the International Council on Monuments and Sites–Palestine and of the Society for Palestinian Archaeology. Over 34 years, I have conducted several research projects and interviewed hundreds of Palestinians involved in illegal looting, trading, and trafficking of ancient objects. The losses unfolding now in Palestine, however, are unprecedented in scale and speed. International agreements enshrine the protection of cultural heritage and recognize its destruction as a war crime. But agencies responsible for policing these agreements have been conspicuously and inexcusably absent from the current conflict. No doubt protecting historical monuments and archaeological sites is challenging amid a war, and humanitarian efforts should prioritize saving lives. Yet UNESCO and other heritage organizations have tools and tactics to deter the destruction of cultural assets in conflict zones. Why, then, are these organizations neglecting to protect cultural heritage in Palestine?

[...]

According to Resolution 242, passed by the United Nations Security Council in 1967, the Palestinian territories, which include the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, are under occupation. As the occupying power, Israel must take necessary measures to safeguard and protect the cultural and natural heritage of the Palestinian territories. During its 2023–2024 assault on Gaza, Israel has been credibly accused of doing the opposite: systematically destroying Gaza’s cultural heritage as part of its broader genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. As of February, Israeli forces have destroyed at least 200 archaeological sites and buildings of cultural and historical significance in the Gaza Strip, according to a report from the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.

6 June 2024

[shcmook]

THE STAR BEAST

Is about the RTD era. It’s set in dimly lit London streets. The Doctor avoids going to UNIT directly. Queer identity is at the center of it. The Metacrisis DoctorDonna comes back. He meets a woman named Rose. The plot is moved by strange unexplained coincidences. The Shadow Proclamation is invoked. There’s a big obvious spaceship crash that wasn’t an accident like in Aliens of London. There’s alien law enforcement hunting a real villain like smith and Jones. The Doctor is separated from Donna by a clear barrier like he is from Wilf in end of time. But instead of losing her, he gets her back. She remembers him. Journey’s End is undone.

WILD BLUE YONDER

Is about the Chibnall era. We’re separated from the TARDIS like in Ghost Monument, facing creatures beyond our universe like in It takes you away, Can you Hear me? And Flux. We’re on a spaceship nearly outside of the universe, failing to get as far as Tecteun wanted to go. We’re reminded the Doctor isn’t from this universe. Of the destruction of the Flux that the Doctor failed to stop. And the Doctor refuses to let Donna in, to tell her how badly this is affecting him, just like 13 didn’t let Yaz in. He even almost chooses the wrong Donna near the end. In a different way, 13 also didn’t choose Yaz.

We’re scratching the surface of the Doctor’s trauma but the Flux isn’t the real problem. She’d been keeping her companions out since before that. Why? What happened to the doctor in between Donna and the flux?

THE GIGGLE

Is about the Moffat era. There’s great emphasis on how old the Doctor is, that is the same old Doctor we met in the 60s. We’re reminded how the Doctor lost Amy, Clara and Bill, and the Doctor’s focus is on protecting Donna and Mel over the actual planetary stakes. Time is rewritten. There’s a too-good-to-be-true happy ending. There’s a lot going on.

The Doctor hasn’t stopped moving since losing Bill. Really, he hasn’t stopped since long before then. But the Bi-generation gives him a way to stop without depriving the universe of the Doctor. Amy, Bill, and Clara didn’t just die. They got second chances at life, with their own chosen companions (Rory, Heather and Me) . And at the end of his short journey, 14 gets that same fate. He dies, but finally gets a happy, restful life. Meanwhile 15, already feeling the benefits of his past self’s rest, journeys on.

[smashingveteransandnewcomers]

The Retold Tales of Team RWBY

@astral-multiverse

Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past.

"Do not worry...I will be fine..."

Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness — creatures of destruction — the creatures of Grimm - set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void.

"I'll show them...I'm not some little girl that needs to be looked after anymore..."

However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named "Dust".

"Just you wait! Soon, I'll be just as strong as you, Cloud!"

Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life.  But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone... darkness will return. So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called "free world", but take heed... there will be no victory in strength....Heh Heh...

"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul...."

We find ourselves in the City of Vale, where Outside the shop 'From Dust Till Dawn' a lone figure walks up, clad in green, they look up at the sign

"Hey, a Dust Shop! We could use a restock!"

"Hope you know what your doing..."

As the lone figure walked in, the looked around, gathering what they needed before bumping into someone, which shocked them soo bad they stumbled back!

"W-Whoa-URGH!"