#now that i have resigned myself with the fact that i cannot add my favorite clips to this in 1 post i will

[hoovesandfloorpaws]

adding the 3rd interview from that day here, the one where Harry says Louis is a good boyfriend and treats him really well.

the tag here from 2015 was "and they haven't done an interview together in the last 3 1/2 years" and now it's almost 10 years later

and they have never ever been allowed to do another interview together.

clown ass Syco & Modest! behaviour

like, i need to rant for a second. my memory is awful, so i basically watched these interviews with fresh eyes and yes, they're obviously extremely comfortable with each other (and of course i see the flirting and banter and mirroring and how it sounds like they already knew every single answer the other one is gonna give and it's fucking adorable how they sometimes get lost looking at each other and how freely and easily they touch each other), but if you think about interviews where Harry actually said to Zayn, about Louis: "Don't say that.. that he's gay!" "Lou, can I give you a blowjob?" "Louis'.. Louis' boyfriend!" "And I'd marry you, Harry." "If you were a girl, who would you date?" - Louis: "Harry." "For my Valentine.. I'd choose you, Harry" "My first real crush was Louis Tomlinson." "Are you and Louis dating?" Harry: *nods & blushes* "Oh, that girl looks like Harry", then Louis: "Marriage. Sex, everything." "Female." - Harry: "Not that important." "With a man?" - Harry: "Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it!" "What does Harry taste like?" - Louis: "Salt and vinegar." and their million domestic tweets at and about each other

..and these are only the ones that quickly came to me off the top of me head! There's like dozens and dozens more, oftentimes where words weren't even said and they just touched each other.. and oh my god.. the FRISCO interview, of course, where they almost climbed into each other's laps while also declaring "some people genuinely think.. they GeNuiNeLy think that we're together!" and Harry just nods, all dazed and still wearing his cock-appointment-blush and they say it again and again, yet curiously forget to say "but it's not true" lmfaooo and the air kisses and sign language love declarations and their at least 7 matching tattoos (that we know of).. the absolutely besotted way they looked at each other from day one... the way they verbally supported each other.. defended each other and got obviously jealous over someone else touching either of them.. and the rings Harry was gifted by Louis that's still wearing almost 12 years later... like--

all of this happened without them being interviewed just the two of them or even getting a fucking segment just the two of them during things like 1D Day!

and all of this compared to how they behaved with each other during those Paris interviews.. the ones that were -to Modest! obviously too much... i mean, let's be SO fr.. in my personal opinion, those interviews are very tame compared to everything else. they're rather sweet and polite, honestly. they didn't even touch each other much; not nearly as much as they did in group interviews, because obviously that is safer, because you've got a lot more distraction for the eye with 5 guys instead of 2.

And they were the same age in Paris as they were for a lot of the things they let slip in other interviews then, where they didn't think they were being filmed or picked up by a microphone.

Obviously, the fact that they -so early on- were tried to be kept separated like that portrays just how desperate Clowndest! tried to do "damage control". And or course they failed, but not for lack of squeezing these two into such a sinister iron closet for so many years; piling up contracted lies upon contracted lies that add to all the pressure of two young people who are giving their love a try.. the more lies they piled up, the harder would it be for them later on.

and now look where we are now.

Louis & Harry Paris Interviews

How many interviews are there of just Louis and Harry? I’m talking video interviews of L + H, sans Niall, Liam or Zayn to babysit them. There seem to only be a grand total of 2. And both took place on the same day. (February 14, 2012…Was it really on Valentine’s Day??) The Teemix interview below is broken up into 4 parts, but it’s all one interview.

This post actually took me longer than you might think because I tried so hard to find other video interviews of H + L. There aren’t any. Shocking, right?

L’Interview Paris - Fan2Fr

Highlights include: 

At 4:30 Louis reading Harry’s Hot and Dangerous on the fan-art: “Of course he’s hot” 

4:51 Harry says of Louis, “I would describe it more as funny and handsome and rugged…A bit more manly” and Louis gives the brightest most amused smile to the camera.

The looks they give each other at the end of the video with the whole ‘dangerous dave(?)’ thing. Many people hear Harry say ‘I’ll get you for that tonight’ in response. I suck at deciphering these things, but it would make sense given  Louis’ laughing reaction to it.

Teemix Interview 1 of 4

Louis’ face at 3:24 when waiting for Harry to describe Niall’s characteristics.

Louis softly pushing Harry’s hair back at 3:40 when describing him as ‘curly.’ He just..keeps..going..oh my god it’s adorable.

Teemix Interview 2 of 4

The way they finish each others’ sentences, talking about being normal lads. They seem so in sync and sound so relaxed about it.

At 0:38 – L: We still pop down to the shop every now and again– H: Bread and milk. L: Yep, the standard.

Teemix Interview 3 of 4

At 0:20 when describing their ideal girl, Harry corrects Louis’ ‘good sense of humour’ comment with ‘GREAT sense of humour’ and Louis nods ‘yeah’ with the most earnest, serious agreement I’ve ever seen from a person in a boyband answering a generic question. They’re clearly describing each other.

This entire segment is a ridiculous display of how calm and in sync these two are. Telling the story of Liam’s chat up lines, agreeing on their favourite date spots (1:35), Louis proudly suggesting ‘cook them their favourite meal’ (2:12), they’re so at ease with each other and so willing to agree on every little thing.

At 2:42 Louis tries to figure out how long he’s been with Eleanor and Harry suggests ‘a year?’. Harry’s just straight-up laughing at this point and again, clearly talking about him and Louis.

‘I would definitely say Harry is the most confident with girls’ and then he GRINS.

The way they’re smiling at each other at the end is too much. Louis tells Harry, ‘you’re on a whole new level of charm, man’ and can’t stop grinning.

Here’s a slow-mo gif of Louis’ cute head roll, when faced with having to choose his favourite love song. 

Teemix Interview 4 of 4

They cut off Louis at 1:52 here and it makes me realise I can’t even imagine what the unedited version of these L + H interviews is like…

[alohaemora]

hi! just wanted to drop by for two things:

a) had to let you know your writing style is BONKERS stellar, so, so good and succinct without undercutting the human emotion within each character you touch; just...you are incredible!

b) I've personally been wondering this for a long while, but have finally decided to just ask: why do you exclusively write canon compliant works? is it because that's what you find most comfortable? is it because you cannot picture anything beyond what's canon? or is it something else? I ask mostly because for a while I have seen many people in the fandom add this to their bios, which kinda turns me off of them (not due to writing, just a preference!), and it's rooted itself inside my brain and, well, here I am.

but I honestly really do adore everything I have read from you, you capture everyone's voices so masterfully I can't help but be enthralled (that Lee Jordan bit for Winter Sun? need more of that POV!).

so, yeah, hope this reaches you well, sorry for bothering! x

First of all, THANK YOU, Anon 🥺 I'm in the thick of a really horrible cold right now, and your words brightened my day. I'm really quite proud of my writing style at this moment in time. I've worked hard over the years at developing a style that balances conciseness and evocation - it's something I struggled with a lot when I first started writing, which you might notice if you read my older fics, so it always makes me genuinely thrilled when people comment on that. (Also, I'm delighted you enjoyed my recent Lee ficlet, I have so much fondness for his character, and hope to write more of him!)

As to why I'm a canon-compliant writer, it actually has very little to do with personal comfort - in fact, I love being pushed out of my comfort zone when I write, it's why my fics feature such a wide range of characters. I almost dislike the word "compliant" sometimes, as it has a bit of a…resigned vibe to it? The reason my works are canon-compliant is because what stimulates me, personally, when it comes to writing fanfiction is envisioning and creating different sides and dimensions to the canon universe. I enjoy the unique challenge that is posed by having to build upon, enrich, and add nuance to the characters and themes introduced to us in canon, while still working within the general parameters of that universe. The recent Winter Sun fest by @harrypocter, for example, has been an incredible writing experience for me - it's been so invigorating to add depth and culture and life to these characters of color, to create rich stories around those small mentions of them we got in the series.

Do I think that the canon universe is perfect? Of course not. I think this is a common experience for those of us who grew up with the series - as we matured, we naturally applied a more critical lens to books that we obsessively loved as children. A reputation that canon-compliant authors often have is that we are completely devoted to the source material and glorify it, when in fact, it's usually the opposite. It's been one of my favorite parts of engaging with this fandom as an adult, reading these incredibly nuanced metas and focused analyses of canon characters and plot lines, and then writing fics that incorporate my newly enhanced understanding. (I'll take this opportunity to rec one of my absolute favorite metas by @ashesandhackles that expertly breaks down all the problems within the series' house-elf-related arc.)

To conclude this wildly long answer lol, it's not that I see myself as trapped within the canon sandbox. Rather, what engages me most is making new things out of the sand. I will add that as a reader, I enjoy AU fic, particularly canon divergence AU, and there are so many truly stellar AU authors out there. One of the great things about this fandom is that because of how enormous it is, there are infinite niches and sub-fandoms. Despite the author's truly harmful actions (I will always support the rights and dignity of trans people and will never monetarily support jkr again), fans put time and care into making this space more inclusive and diverse every year.

Thanks again for the lovely comments ❤️

[sol1056]

Can you explain why LGBT representation is so important and why Voltron's negative portrayal of LGBT characters/rep should be scorned as harshly as it has been? I'm trying to prove a point to a friend and they don't get why representation has to be as important as we're making it.

Oh, this is a huge topic, and one I’m not sure I could do justice to, all by myself. Given that, this time I’ll let people speak for themselves. Anyone else reading (and I know a whole lot of you are out there) who’ve valued representation – regardless as to whether you relate to the character as a lived experience – feel free to add your thoughts, or links to any other articles, podcasts, or videos you’re recommend.

Fabricio Leal Cogo, Why Queer Representation Matters

I remember growing up here in Brazil and not seeing anyone like me portrayed on TV—or at least, not anyone with a similarly complex inner life. The few times I saw gays on TV, they were always a punchline in a comedy—a source of laughter. Many people, I’m sure, are probably thinking: It’s just a joke, right?

But representation matters.

It’s impossible to overstate the power of being able to identify with a public figure, particularly when that figure is actually seen in the fullest sense. As Michael Morgan, a former professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a researcher on media effects, told the Huffington Post earlier this year, “When you don’t see people like yourself, the message is: You’re invisible. The message is: You don’t count. And the message is: ‘There’s something wrong with me.’” He continued: “Over and over and over, week after week, month after month, year after year, it sends a very clear message, not only to members of those groups, but to members of other groups, as well.”

Uma Dodd, Queerbaiting And The Issue Of LGBT Representation In The Media:

Of the 125 movies released by major US studios in 2016, the media monitoring organisation GLAAD found that only 23 (18.4%) contained characters who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer – an increase of less than 1% from the previous year. … It’s insulting, and often quite disheartening, to be told that you’re only worth the three lines of dialogue and five minutes of screen time that the one LGBT character in a film might have, just because of your sexuality or gender.

Queerbaiting relies solely on subtext and the subsequent interpretation of it by fans, and as a result, creates the perfect paradox: writers are able to attract an LGBT audience with vague promises of representation, implied by the text and often encouraged by the writer, but will then never actually confirm or explicitly show said representation, reducing the amount of effort that has to be put in on their part.

You may say that I’m blowing this issue out of proportion, but that too, is a part of the problem. Because queerbaiting is based on purely subtextual hints, any evidence of it, no matter how blatant it might seem to the viewer/reader, is often insubstantial and difficult to quantify. This allows writers and cast members to dismiss the anger of LGBT fans as simple overreaction and, as a result, makes any legitimate pleas for better representation easier to ignore.

Another by-product that has resulted out of increasing calls for better LGBT representation is implied representation. This is where writers will claim that a character is LGBT but never explicitly show this within the TV show, film, or novel.  This is a method which has been employed by many creators of famous franchises, and it allows them to insert that token bit of representation which makes them look good, without ever actually providing said representation explicitly … Not only does this result in LGBT characters, once again, being shoved into the background – and often killed off for shock value – it raises the question: is this kind of representation good enough?

…Whilst any representation of non-heteronormative characters is a good start, this way of representing us can’t be allowed to become the norm – we deserve to be explicitly shown in the media as much as anyone else does. We need better representation and we need to be shown that not all LGBT characters have to remain in the closet, because what kind of a message is that sending to those young people out there who are currently questioning their sexuality?

B. Whiteside, 6 Reasons It’s Important to Have LGBT Characters on Children’s TV Shows:

A recent study by the Williams Institute at UCLA revealed that nearly 6 million adults and children have an LGBT parent. There are more than 125,000 same-sex couple households with nearly 220,000 children under the age 18. These children go to school and are active members of their communities. Their identities and home life deserve to be portrayed and represented just as much as anyone else’s.

Being a child can be tough, especially when one can’t identify with anyone around them. There are children and young adults alike who identify as LGBT or have parents who do so. Having content that mirrors their lives can, in fact, save their own. It isn’t always easy for children to articulate what’s wrong or what they need. So it can be a tremendous help to see their favorite character in their same predicament live out their life and truth.

Aristeaus Sizer, We Need To Talk About LGBT Representation, Apparently:

…since Cinderella, there have been 11 Disney princesses. All of which have been heterosexual, and the majority of them married by the end of their film. There is no shortage of straight princesses in this world, so why would it be such a crime for one of them to be LGBTQ? If anyone is forcing any agenda down anybody’s throats, Mary, it is you and your heteronormative agenda.

As a heterosexual, and I don’t mean to patronise here it’s simply the truth, you cannot understand in full capacity how important representation is. Seeing yourself on screen in a genuine, non-caricature form is hugely validating. When I was a kid I thought being gay was like doing drugs, it was a fun choice you made when you wanted to spice things up, and that all came from the films I had seen and how sordid LGBTQ people were portrayed as being. Then, later on into my teenage years, I thought I’d never be able to show public displays of affection without violent repercussion. Again, this was because of the media I had consumed telling me this. Films and media may not dictate our personalities, but they tell us how much of it we should hide, and the implicit message when you have an entire franchise of heterosexuals is that anything other should be kept underground, out of sight.

…we’ve been everywhere for so long you’ve just never noticed. Primarily because every movie and every advert and every t.v show and every animated cartoon is packed to the brim with straight people. LGBTQ people deserve representation because there’s far more of us than you think. … To you, it’s just a gay Disney princess where there could have been another straight one, but to someone that princess is the validation they needed that they aren’t some abomination or sinful mistake. They’re valid, they’re wonderful, and they have every right to love and be loved.

Danielle Cox, The Importance of LGBT Representation in Media:

[In 2016, GLAAD’s annual] shows the highest percentage of LGBT characters on our televisions … [but] when more than twenty-five of those characters are killed off in the same year, we know there is still a lot of work to be done. In fact, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis released a statement saying, “When the most repeated ending for a queer woman is violent death, producers must do better to question the reason for a character’s demise and what they are really communicating to the audience.” When this ending is repeated in show after show and character after character, we can’t help but think the message they are sending is about the worth of our LGBT characters or rather lack thereof. 

James Dawson, The importance of LGBT visibility in children’s books:

I was unaware gay people even existed and, when puberty hit, found myself more than a little lost. I so dearly wish there had been just one book with a character who was a bit like me – just a normal teenage guy who happened to be gay. I would have especially loved one whose sexuality did not define him.

I just know that had there been a diverse range of people like me in books when I was growing up, I wouldn’t have felt abnormal for all those years, which I see now, overwhelmingly, I am not. In 2014, it’s my hope that all young LGBT people can see themselves in fiction and recognise there is a place for them in the world.

Palmer Haasch, “Yuri!!! On Ice” and the importance of positive LGBTQ representation:

Despite my resigned certainty that I was about to be drawn in by the potential of a queer relationship only to be disappointed for the umpteenth time, Yuri!!! On Ice managed to exceed all of my expectations. In the end, the show delivered a thoughtful portrayal of two men developing a deep and trusting romantic relationship that provides LGBTQ viewers with representation of queer individuals being happy together above all else, which is something that we desperately need.

For me, it was the first piece of entertainment media I had seen that didn’t present queer individuals as “other,” but allowed them to simply freely love and exist. While watching, I didn’t have to worry about whether Yuuri or Victor would be outed in an unsafe environment or if Yuuri was going to be unfairly judged on the ice because of his sexuality like so many real life figure skaters have feared in the past. Rather, I fretted over when they were finally going to kiss (because really, it was a long time coming) and if I was ever going to get to see the wedding that was hinted at by their matching gold rings.

Although it is true that the discrimination-free world of Yuri!!! On Ice isn’t realistic (yet), it can help reassure queer individuals like me that they can experience love in the same way as anyone else. At the same time, it provides a glimpse of a future where being queer doesn’t mean being “other”. And that notion is something that I will always work towards and protect.

Additional reading:

Why Visibility Matters

Make Them Gay: Why Queer Representation Matters

Why LGBT Representation Is Important In Media

We Need More Than Visibility

Why It’s Important To Make More Diverse LGBT Films

Queer Representation in the Media

Why Television Needs More LGBT Characters

Importance of LGBT Representation

[pbby-org]

36th NCBD: Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC Keynote Address

36th National Children’s Book Day  Mundong Payapa para sa Kabataang Malaya Keynote—Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC

Greetings to our National Artist for Literature, Virgilio Almario; the Chair of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Icon of the Universe, Margie Moran; the CCP Vice Chair and Artistic Director, Chris Millado; the Chair of the National Book Development Board, Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz; the Chair of Museo Pambata, Nina Lim-Yuson; the Philippine Board on Books for Young People Chair, Tarie Sabido, and its Secretary General, Ani Rosa Almario; and the Director of the National Library, Cesar Gilbert Adriano. Distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues in the academe, ladies and gentlemen: Magandang Umaga po sa inyong lahat!

While exiled in Dapitan, Jose Rizal in 1895 described his experience in a sober disposition with resigned serenity and undiminished hope. When I consider our political landscape today, I must admit I am tempted to greedily appropriate these lines for myself (and here I quote a few lines in its Filipino translation):

Gabi’y bumubulong sa gitna ng sindak at pagkaligalig, At sa dagat nama’y bughaw’t lunting apoy ang pasilip-silip; Pagngiti ng araw’y payapa na naman ang buong paligid, At mula sa laot, yaong mangingisda ay napagigilid, Sugod na ang lunday at ang mga alon ay nananahimik. 

* * * 

Yaong pananalig na ibig ko sanang makitang kumislap Sa dakilang araw ng pangingibabaw ng Isip sa lakas; Kung makalipas na itong kamataya’t labanang marahas, Ay may ibang tinig, na lalong masigla at puspos ng galak, Na siyang aawit ng pananagumpay ng matwid sa lahat. Aking natatanaw na kulay-rosas na ang magandang langit [!]

One might ask why Pepe even bothered to write? Was it his mother egging him or Josephine? Was the motivation from within or was there pressure from without? Was he driven by altruism or was it pure ego? In his essay ‘Why I Write’, George Orwell names four motives for writing: (a) sheer egoism or the desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death; (b) aesthetic enthusiasm or the perception of beauty in the external world or in words and their right arrangement; (c) historical impulse or the desire to see things as they are; and finally (d) political purpose and here I quote Orwell’s own description of his motivation:

What I have most wanted to do… is to make political writing into an art. My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice. When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art’. I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing. But I could not do the work of writing… if it were not also an aesthetic experience. Anyone who cares to examine my work will see that even when it is downright propaganda it contains much that a full-time politician would consider irrelevant…. The job is to reconcile my ingrained likes and dislikes with the essentially public, non-individual activities that this age forces on all of us.

And so today we gather to celebrate National Children’s Book Day. Compulsive bibliophiles and impassioned pedagogues are welcome. Anyone who sincerely love and respect children must share in our jubilation. During the early years of the K to 12 reform, when we were rolling out the MTB-MLE program ‘like a woman in labor, gasping and panting’, we were confronted with the huge problem of the lack of original stories in the mother tongue that could be used for the primary grades. What we had were translations of the usual publications in English and Filipino. But while these old-time favorites were great stories and classics in their own right, they did not speak the language, culture and traditions that were familiar with the first-time readers. We found the solution by appealing to our public school teachers to gather oral traditions and to document original stories from the local communities. When I went around our primary schools a year or two later, I found much joy and pride in the teachers’ presentation of original stories from the localities in a big book version authored and illustrated by our own teachers. By now, there must be hundreds of original stories out there in the field and used in the classrooms obviously requiring some editorial intervention but definitely ready to be harvested into an anthology of original Filipino stories in the mother tongue. 

We encountered the same problem when DepED shifted to local history as the starting point for Araling Panlipunan. Since most barangays or municipalities do not have adequate publications on their local histories, it was close to impossible to get any essays or resources on local heroes and community chronicles. Our DepED teachers again came to the rescue and did their own share in compiling articles and pictures and sources so students could begin to know the Philippines and the world with their hometown as anchor for their historical journey. Would anyone have the discipline and the patriotism to gather those materials and work with our teachers and the local communities to further develop the collection into a serious publication? 

In our celebration today, we especially welcome our esteemed writers and chroniclers, essayists and poets, novelists and biographers, illustrators and artists, publishers and editors. We are rolling out the red carpet to those who are gifted—nay, compelled—to write because they have a story to tell, or a lie to expose, or history to be recorded, or beauty to be captured. Do not worry if egoism gets in the way, for that will eventually sort itself out. But write as though it were your life-blood. Write as though this nation’s very existence lies on the tip of your quill. This nation is in search of its soul and you cannot allow money or politics or armaments to continue to dangle their empty promises or to resurrect the ghosts of yesteryears. In the words of Carlos P. Romulo, the might of your pen may yet bring every Filipino to discover that: “The seed I bear within me is an immortal seed… It is the insignia of my race, and my generation is but a stage in the unending search of my people for freedom and happiness.”

I must warn you though: if you wish to take your mission seriously, then have courage! Pepe and many others during his time were martyred because they dared write. In another era and cultural milieu, the same fate befell an eminent scholar and a genius of translation, William Tyndale, who translated the Bible directly from Hebrew and Greek into English. Referring to the English language while comparing him to William Shakespeare, Hannah Bowers writes:

Tyndale was burned alive in a small town in Belgium in 1536. His crime was to have translated the Bible into English. He was effectively martyred after fighting against cruel and eventually overwhelming forces, which tried for more than a dozen years to prevent him from putting the Word of God into his native language. More than any other man he laid the foundation of our modern language which became by degrees a world language. His legacy matches that other pillar of our language – Shakespeare, whose genius was in imagination.

From an era when books were unavailable, the first printing press has revolutionized the landscape and made books available to ordinary people. That may yet be the most critical challenge for us in the Philippines. Fast-forward to the 21st century, we find that access to digitized resources has become a real game-changer in our world. In fact, by the end of 2017, there were already 4.2 billion internet users representing 54.4% of the world’s population. It was the same year when Thomas Friedman, writing in the New York Times, took note of a critical moment of history that is now irreversible:

And so it came to pass that in the winter of 2016 the world hit a tipping point…when we realized that a critical mass of our lives and work had shifted away from the terrestrial world to a realm known as “cyberspace.” That is to say, a critical mass of our interactions had moved to a realm where we’re all connected but no one’s in charge. 

After all, there are no stoplights in cyberspace, no police officers walking the beat, no courts, no judges, no God who smites evil and rewards good…

That seems to me like a mirror image of what is happening in the country today where news—or rather, fake news—is written by trolls and boosts and bots who rule in this era where populism is deified and where surveys and polls and votes of the majority stir the pot of violence and division. As the movers and shakers add chaos to the confusion, the thinkers and visionaries are nowhere to be found. I long to hear the voice of our poets and writers and artists where the nation’s soul resides.

Well, the truth is that the gains of the 3rd industrial revolution has become a real affliction for me as there are moments when I truly long to go on self-imposed exile into an island with no wifi connection and where I can get my downtime from viber and instagram and whatsapp… watch sunsets, smell flowers, sip Barako coffee and simply turn the pages of a good read under the shades of a century-old Narra. Iyan na siguro ang bunga ng aking pangangarap ng gising para sa isang Mundong Payapa para sa Kabataang Malaya! If we were to give every Filipino child that “downtime” to seek that which “only the heart can see rightly” by offering them the stories that can only come from our forebears and can only be told and written by Filipinos, then we would certainly have the joy of creating a nation for our children which the other Pepe, surnamed Diokno,  dreamed of:

A NOBLE nation, where homage is paid not to who a person is or what the person owns, but to what the person is and what the person does. A PROUD nation, where poverty chains no man to the plow, forces no woman to prostitute herself and condemns no child to scrounge among garbage. A FREE nation, where men and women and children from all regions and with all kinds of talents may find truth and play and sing and laugh and dance and love without fear. A JUST nation… where poverty, ignorance, and hunger are attacked… every breadwinner, a job… every farmer, a land… every family, a home… and everyone, a steadily improving quality of life. An INDEPENDENT nation, which rejects foreign dictation, depends on itself, thinks for itself, and decides for itself… An HONORABLE nation where public powers are used for the public good… where leaders speak not only well but truthfully and act honestly; a nation that is itself and seeks to live in peace and brotherhood with all other nations of the world.

On this 36th National Children’s Book Day celebration, with the might of our pens and courage in our hearts, let us proclaim this truth and claim it as our very own. Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

[20qs20somethings]

Chase, 28

1. Can you use three to five words to describe our generation?  Misunderstood, Neglected, Ambitious, Narrow-Minded, Active

2. What’s your relationship with social media like? It’s love hate I think like most people. I perfectly curate my life on it and I know that everyone else perfectly curates their life to be a perfect museum exhibit and it can be nerve wracking. I tend to be funny on social media as a way of dealing with things and I get a lot of my validation strangely from people liking and giving me positive comments on my posts because it means I’ve impacted them or made them laugh. 

3. Where has our generation failed and where have we succeeded? I think our generation and the generation that follows us has succeeded in understanding groups of people en masse in ways that earlier generations have and cannot. I think one place where the generation fails is the reaction individuals have when they meet people or interact with people who have a different viewpoint, a more traditional viewpoint on some things, or lack the capacity and experience to fully understand social justice or what the issue may be. I think millennials tend to overreact instead of trying to have a conversation that’s productive and able to bring the person they’re talking to closer to their viewpoint or at least to a mutual understanding.

4. Who or what is your biggest motivator in life? Internal ambition to succeed. Something intrinsic that was fostered by my mother. Even though my parents are divorced, I grew up in a very loving environment before and after in which they supported my brother and I. So I think that helped foster a really great sense of wanting to accomplish things and I was sort of the golden child of my church and school which does lend itself to a lot of self imposed stress so though that motivates me, i think it hinders me in a lot of ways too because I don’t handle those failures well. 

5. Do you believe in love? Yeah, I believe in different types of love. Platonic love, the people that bring joy to your life. Familial love, I very much love my family. Romantic love, I have not particularly had that experience, but I’ve had a lot of unrequited love. So I do believe in love, I believe it is a powerful and sometimes destructive force. 

6. What’s something you think people assume of you based on your internet persona? That I have my life together. That I’m a happy person naturally, that I have nothing but successes when in reality, I have constant internal doubt and I’m very self conscious about things and sometimes I sprinkle posts with a little bit of that. Maybe some people pick up on it, maybe some people have. But I think the major misconception that people really buy into my social media persona is who I am. Some of it is me, but it is perfectly curated for maximum likes.

7. What’s one thing you want people to know about you? That I live in a state of conflicted feelings. I was born and raised in Kentucky in a very pretty conservative place. I never felt regressed or oppressed. I grew up in church and I never had a reason like some other millennials, in particular gay millennials, have to sort of reject religion because the best people I ever knew that cared for me the most was my church family so I never fully rejected that or those values that have shifted my viewpoints and philosophies and theological perceptions of religion. 

At the same time, I live in an urban environment that is diverse in thought, religion, I’m part of an LGBTQ community that doesn’t accept that I’ve held on to a lot of things I grew up with. Add that to the fact that I’m a moderate republican operative and it’s not great for the dating life. It also creates conflict because I don’t know exactly where I fit into the LGBT community. There are people who support it and there are those who lay into me, particularly now that Donald Trump is President. For some reason, even though I didn't vote for him, they think I have to own him, own his policies, and his presidency which I do not. 

8. Fill in the blank: “Happiness is _______” Ephemeral for me. I’m not naturally happy and I have to work very hard for that. I think happiness requires a base of contentment and if you’re not content with things, you can’t build off of that into feeling fully happy and in a happy mood. I’d say ephemeral because it’s in this fast paced, ever changing dynamic of the society that we live in. It’s easy for something to come and knock you out of a good, happy state.

9. Do you think you’re represented in things you consume in media? (TV, Movies, Books, etc.) Well I identify in several different ways. I think LGBT, yeah there’s always going to be complaints that there isn’t enough positive representation in media, but in comparison to 10 years ago, it’s only growing and stories are being told. As someone from Appalachia, no. I think if you look at a lot of shows on television, you don’t have those Roseanne’s anymore, you don’t have shows that focus on a blue collar perspective anymore. On the whole, I would say yeah, I am a white male so I am well represented. 

10. Who or what brings you the greatest joy in your life? Moment’s where I’m with people that I enjoy, doing something I enjoy, laughing, making them laugh and having a bonding moment whether with family or friends that people enjoy engaging in.

11. How did you feel after November 8th? I was very conflicted. I like, most people had resigned myself that Hillary was going to win and I was more comfortable with her in a leadership position than the person that was the nominee of my own party. I am not a Donald Trump republican and in many ways, the party, and what he represents is diametrically opposed to many of the ideas that I came into my political own believing. I was very conflicted, I was happy we retained congress, sad that one of my favorite members lost her reelection campaign. 

I’ve still been conflicted this whole time because there’s this sensible part of me that feels like I’m being told that I have to participate in the public flogging of the President, his supporters, and his ideas to be considered a kind compassionate human being. On the other side, the political, professional side of me is like, “I can’t do that because is that disloyal to party?” I have my conversations with my own friends about what he’s doing wrong with pretty much everything. But there is a pressure to feel like I have to own him and his policies.

12. What are your thoughts on marriage? I’d like to be married. I think marriage is a covenant, a promise that you make to another person and to God that you will become one unit, one individual. Do I think you need to be married to be happy? No, but I think that’s up to everyone. I think marriage is very important, it’s important to find the right person and to develop techniques to solve your problems and work through issues. I sometimes wonder, it’s been very difficult for me to find people to date or fall in love with and see myself getting married with. I almost wonder if that’s because I’m supposed to be waiting to find the right person that’s going to be able to have that same concept of marriage.

13. What do you want out of this life? That happiness that I said was ephemeral. I want to be content I want to recognize my blessings because I sometimes forget that.

14. What would you say is your biggest character flaw? There’s quite a few. I think it’s definitely being self conscious to the point of over compensation. So I want people to like me I want to be a people pleaser and I try to do that on social media and if somebody says something to me that makes me think that they don’t like me or they're upset with me, it sticks with me for weeks. Again, I overcompensate by trying to be the fun guy at the party so that everyone will like me. Impatience as well in my career and my romantic life. 

15. How do you want to be remembered? As someone who made people laugh. As someone who hopefully made people feel good about themselves, who was kind. Someone who was creative, thoughtful, and I do hope my memory lasts beyond my death through some accomplishment, even if its a footnote of a footnote in history books.

16. What are qualities that you value? Kindness, compassion, good humor, hard work, thoughtfulness

17. How would you describe what it’s like to navigate your 20s? Exhausting. I think it’s a time when you want to have fun, especially if you’re single. But it’s also a time where you want to be serious and further your career and those can be difficult things to balance. It’s a chaotic time. I think that’s true for many generations. The 20s is when a generation is in that time period, is when they’re most judged by older generations because they’re trying to adjust, adapt, and figure their shit out. It’s unfair for baby boomers who have bankrupted America to be like “millennials are lazy.” Bitch, you bought things you can’t pay for. 

18. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned so far? I’m in the process of learning how to not let stress and anxiety overpower me. That everything will be fine and turn out right if I don’t meet my goals and I struggle with that on a daily basis and how to cope with those emotions. Beyond that, I think trying to learn patience and realizing that patience is needed. 

I think everyone thinks that when they come out of college that they’re going to hit the ground running that you’re gonna go one hurdle after another. I think it’s really interesting because after college is the first time when you have an open ended life. Up until that point, there’s always something on the horizon when you finish high school, you know the next year you’re going to college, you know you’ll do an internship, you’ll know you go back to school. When you’re out of college, you’re like know what? There’s no natural thing coming at me from the horizon except age and I’ve got to go out and figure it out and that can be daunting for people.

19. What are you scared of? Being alone. Not finding love to not find someone I love and care for. 

20. What is the best piece of advice you want to leave the world with? Just smile more, laugh more, because at the end of the day that’s what’s gonna make your day worth it, it’s those happy moments.

[obscurehistoricalinterests]

Gooberz review

Ok, this is going to be a little challenging, because I love Linda Goodman. Her books on astrology have been essential to my life and helped me to better understand the people around me, and as a result have made me a more tolerant person. It's not easy to make a Scorpio tolerant, as many will tell you. Speaking of my sign, reading the chapter she wrote on the Scorpio woman marked the first moment in my life when I felt completely understood. Her words came at a time when I needed the most to hear that it's ok and normal to be the way I am - thus healing the emotional wounds inflicted by my typically Aries mother. How fitting, that an Aries woman would fix what another had broken. This massive poem is Linda Goodman's Happiness Poem, which is half autobiographical, half esoteric belief manifesto. And while it starts off well enough, it gets very problematic by the end.

In a way, this is the perfect Aries book, encompassing both the qualities and the flaws of this sign. The first half, focusing on her childhood and her first marriage, is fantastic. Full of innocence, brightness, vivacity and stunning images conjured by a wonderful imagination. The second half is, and I'm going to be kind here, self-indulgent and outdated. Once her alcoholic ex-husband dies, the main character spends hundreds of pages mourning. Hundreds of pages, by the end of which I found myself fatigued and wishing she would move on already. Then it somehow gets even worse, as she meets a young man with whom she has a passionate love affair which lasts for one year, before her intense jealousy and her angry outbursts make him leave her for good. She then spends another good chunk of the book mourning him endlessly for years and years, refusing to move on, obsessed with the idea that he was her twin soul and that her dead ex-husband's soul was living inside his body. The seemingly neverending "why did you leave me, I can't believe you left me" becomes grating after several hundreds of pages, especially since she never seems to really reflect on why he left, on the role which her jealousy and angry outbursts played in making it difficult for him to stay with her. She was, for example, very jealous of a former liaison of this young man, a cool, sure Scorpio woman, and she would go with him to the post office every morning to make sure that he didn't receive any letters from her. She would also break things in her anger, including an antique doll which she received as a gift from him. Both her ex-husband and her ex-lovers cheated on her, and their explanation was the same - that they found her emasculating and wanted to prove to themselves that they were still men. Terrible thing of course, and it does explain her paranoid behavior the second time around, but one does wonder if things wouldn't have been better if she had looked over her flaws and tried to work on them instead of doing the typical, wounded Aries dash towards the brick wall.

The dubious crowing of this esoteric manifesto about spiritual enlightenment, reincarnation and souls comprises of several very unfortunate statements, uttered during a trance-like conversation with a paper-mache lion given to her by her young ex-lover. Among them, the idea that murder victims have done something in a past life to deserve being murdered, that trans individuals can avoid the urge to change their gender by becoming enlightened, outright stating that what makes them different is actually a spiritual imbalance of soul pieces. Add to that a weird mention of how some children younger than 12 can regenerate a lost finger thanks to their still-open third eye and you can get a fairly good image of the dated theories presented in the book.

What's really annoying and a surprising contrast to her deep understanding of the signs, is that she has the self-indulgence of many esoteric afficionados - she wants to find a sign so she looks for signs until she finds something which she can interpret to mean what she wants it to mean. Or at least that was my impression. She did write the book in 1970, so provisions must be made for the popular ideas of the time. Ultimately, her book is about hope and love, and there is a positive message for many people - if they happen to be heterosexual, cisgender and monogamous. I am all three of these things and I still can't help but feel that a cosmic vision which does not allow for diversity cannot be that enlightened to begin with. Linda decried the promiscuity and loosening of morals brought by the Aquarian age, and for someone who considered herself enlightened, it is rather jarring that she would be so unaware of the fact that the world has always been as diverse as it is now, from the gender and sexuality perspective - it's just the norms which have changed.

It was a difficult book to finish, but it is a book of its time and I reiterate, the first half is delightful. The way the lines are placed on the page and the usage of images, postcards and drawings are creative and add richness and warmth to the narrative.     

I do love this woman for her work, and I really wanted to extend that love her book, as it was her favorite. Alas.

I am resigned to an avalanche of hate mail from Linda Goodman fans.