#poet's health log

[poetusa]

★｡:*•.─── Health log! ───.•*:｡★

Unfortunately I got sick again, my sinusitis isn't helping

Headaches because of it

I had renal colic these past days and it freaked me out a bit

Got a new ophthalmologist appointment

But now I need an otolaryngologist too

Been sunbathing a lot though!

My skin is getting better

★ Favourite activities:

🧵 3h

[maybe-itsforthebest]

there are so many wonderful things i could be doing that i'm just not. not because i can't, just because i don't. i say i don't feel like it today and i scroll through pictures of beautiful places i could be and wonderful things i could be doing. and i wake to another meaningless day.

[kissochako]

𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐊𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐌𝐀 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐔

summary: headcannons of kage and tsuki developing a crush on u! Except they’re princes may be a part 2 later LOL I spent too much time on writing their character instead of the actual crush

tags: gender neutral reader, royalty!au, she falls first and he falls even harder trope & enemies to lovers trope

—KEI TSUKISHIMA

Tsukishima is a prince who likes to show off and one-up everyone, whether it’s materialistic possessions, his acclaimed achievements or his line of available suitors. For his habit of showing off, most other princes of other kingdoms are not very fond of him, so most of the time, he’s left to his own thoughts. Though, despite all this, all he really wants is for his people to truly see him for who he is, not what he can do, or what he is.

During a stroll through the market, Kei’s ears perked of the vibrations of such an enchanting voice, reading out children’s fables and stories to the passerbys. Kei usually reprimanded the local poets and storytellers for causing a blockage in the market’s path, but this time, he sat on an empty wooden log and listened. His mind followed with the words and his head swayed to the rhymes and rhythm. Before he knew it, the moon had replaced the sun, the market shop keepers had packed up and gone home and the children went to go have supper.

“Excuse me, my prince, but I’m very much so gracious of you using your time to hear my craft!” With a grin occupying your face, you bowed before hurriedly leaving. Kei was left dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that such talent belonged to a person as divine as you. He wanted you to be by his side, and read him poems just for him. With a pleased mind, he made plans tonight to host a function at his palace and invite every poet or storyteller, just to see you again.

—KAGEYAMA TOBIO

Kageyama is a cold-hearted prince, who values power and wealth over the health and prosperity of his people. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings except his own and is willing to sacrifice anyone and anything in order to get what he wants. Some say it was because of the absence of his parents, or that no other kingdom was willing to make alliances with him. Even so, Tobio dismissed all of those rumours and continued his duties as prince.

You were just a measly maid at the palace, someone beneath him. He ordered you around to do mundane tasks or incredibly difficult tasks just to satisfy his ego. However, despite all this, you defended him against your gossiping co-workers.. Tobio can’t say for sure this made him fall in love with you, but it definitely did earn you some respect.

Although, what did make him fall head over heels for you, was when he was assigned you a task to mop and polish the ballroom floors by yourself. He was expecting an obedient nod and for you to hurry along, but you did the exact opposite. You screamed at him, something along the lines of it being unfair, being overworked and not ethnically correct. He didn’t listen to your words because he was so distracted that someone had even yelled at him. He just had to admit, your bravery made him feel weak at the knees. However, he isn’t the one to submit.

💕please reblog! 💕

[sharktoothjack]

people I'd like to get to know better

Tagged by @maidencryptid - thanks for the tag!

last song: The Poet and the Pendulum - Nightwish

favorite color: full saturation green-cyan

last book: Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett

last movie: Logan (rewatched the series after Deadpool & Wolverine)

last tv show: Frieren (back on my anime bs)

sweet/savory/spicy: Sweet! Total sweet tooth here, cannot turn down a dessert

relationships: spouse, friends, cats, varying levels of closeness with family of origin and in-laws

last thing I searched: chestnut puree where to buy -> health food stores near me -> hazelnut cream recipe -> hazelnut butter -> hazelnut butter -cocoa (planning a recipe for a yule log cake)

current obsession: crochet again at the moment, but feels like my interest is going to pivot again soon. I hope I get the Christmas presents done before that.

looking forward to: local holiday market

favorite drink: herbal tea

song playing on a loop in your head 24/7: currently the Stardew Valley soundtrack

current favorite character: no current obsession, but Elliot (Leverage) is probably most recent

fun activity you would like to get into: oh my gosh so many. I'm gonna say cosplay because I've got like 3/4ths of a costume that I've never had the boldness to wear outside yet

last video game: Stardew Valley - working on an "actually finish the game this time" run

last comic/ graphic novel: whatever looked interesting at the local library ... probably Boyfriends. (Webtoons Unscrolled) by refrainbow ?

people to tag: @ambersagen @huntunderironskies @softendings @not-mrs-cake @theophaniathegremlin

[shoebanfoo]

Attempted item icons for a friend's vaguely fish-themed game.

From left to right, top to bottom:

Magic Eight Ball, Anchor Amulet, Albatross Necklace, Number One Boss Mug, Bucket of Batteries, Administrator's Card

Tome of Philopatry, Book of Burial, Anarchist's Cookbook, Faraday Cage, Skipper's Box of Fun, Crime Discouragement Stick

Ship in a Bottle, Clepsydra, Curious Sauce, Clockwise Birdcage, Cursed Cilice, Good Health

Celestial Anointment, Gluttonous Grey Glove, Bloodwood's Glove, Dead Man's Hand, Amdahl's Lotus, Kumquat

Ice Nine, Drowned Poet's Inkwell, Castaway's Travel Log, Crown of Thorns, Honeyed Tenebrae, Carloc's Thesis

Compound Vitreous, Ancient Synapse, Matter Universalizer, Nutrilog Crunchbar Plus, Nice Shoes, Samurai Shark

[dominapirevita]

My 2024 fig tree

Happy new year! I wish everyone the best of luck in completing their goals.

I drew a moodboard in the form of a fig tree, based on Plath's fig tree analogy. The idea is that I pick as many figs as I can in 2024. Some of my goals aren't meant as careers and are just basic things to improve my health or well-being.

My figs are:

Continue using Habitica to track my progress and get inspiration for new challenges

Read 24 books (around 7 books for school, 2 books about science, 3 French books that are not for school, 1 audiobook, 2 poetry collections and 9 other books of choice)

Get better sleep by going earlier to bed, waking up earlier, avoiding my phone in the early morning and late evening, having a morning and night routine and by logging how much I slept, used my phone and how much I read.

Clean my room daily

Use sundays to prepare for the week (outfits + weekly reflection)

Practise the piano daily, experiment with making my own music and discover new music

Watch at least one film each month, reflect on it and experiment with writing my own script

Read at least 2 books about science

Learn every week a new bit of ancient Greek (grammer or a new text) and review daily

Write an outline for a novel and write 6 poems.

Post more on this blog (I am thinking about using it as a girlblog and posting every two weeks)

Make nice memories with new people and record it in a diary

Finish my homework a few days before the deadline and review new material beforehand.

Exercise a little bit every morning and begin learning ballet online

Image from the film 'Black Swan' (found on Pinterest)

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig-tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and off-beat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig-tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

[cppsheffield]

Centre for Poetry and Poetics in Collaboration with Black Humanities Series Presents:

A Reading With Safia Khan, Inua Ellams and Imtiaz Dharker

Venue: The Diamond, LT2, The University of Sheffield, 6pm.

Safia Khan is a junior doctor and poet. Her debut collection (Too Much Mirch) was published in 2022 with Smith | Doorstop and won the New Poets Prize. She has been commissioned to write and deliver lectures in poetry for various universities and literary organisations, including The British Library, The University of Oxford, The Poetry Business, and the Hippocrates Initiative for Poetry and Medicine. Her work has been published in various journals and anthologies including The North, BATH MAGG, Poetry Wales, Introduction X: The Poetry Business Book of New Poets (New Poets List), We’re All in It Together: Poems for a disUnited Kingdom (Grist), Dear Life (Hive), Surfing the Twilight (Hive). -- Born in Nigeria, Inua Ellams is a poet, playwright & performer, graphic artist & designer. He is a Complete Works poet alumni and facilitates workshops in creative writing where he explores reoccurring themes in his work - Identity, Displacement and Destiny - in accessible, enjoyable ways for participants of all ages and backgrounds.

His awards include: Edinburgh Fringe First Award 2009, The Liberty Human Rights Award, The Live Canon International Poetry Prize, The Kent & Sussex Poetry Competition, Magma Poetry Competition, Winchester Poetry Prize, A Black British Theatre Award and The Hay Festival Medal for Poetry. He has been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Tate Modern, Louis Vuitton, BBC Radio & Television. His poetry books include ‘Candy Coated Unicorn and Converse All Stars’ published Flipped Eye, 'The Wire-Headed Heathen' by Akashic Books, The Half God of Rainfall by 4th Estate and The Actual by Penned in The Margins. His plays include ‘Black T-shirt Collection’, ‘The 14th Tale’, ‘Barber Shop Chronicles’ and ‘Three Sisters’ published by Oberon. He founded The Midnight Run (an arts-filled, night-time, urban walking experience.) The Rhythm and Poetry Party (The R.A.P Party) which celebrates poetry & hip hop, and Poetry + Film / Hack (P+F/H) which celebrates Poetry & Film. -- Imtiaz Dharker grew up a 'Muslim Calvinist' in a Lahori household in Glasgow, was adopted by India and married into Wales. She is an accomplished artist and video film-maker, and has published six books with Bloodaxe, Postcards from god (including Purdah) (1997), I Speak for the Devil (2001), The terrorist at my table (2006), Leaving Fingerprints (2009), Over the Moon (2014) and Luck Is the Hook (2018). Her seventh, Shadow Reader, is published in 2024. All her poetry collections are illustrated with her drawings, which form an integral part of the books; she is one of very few poet-artists to work in this way. She was awarded The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry for 2014, presented to her by The Queen in spring 2015, and has also received a Cholmondeley Award from the Society of Authors and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Over the Moon was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2014. Her poems are on the British GCSE and A Level English syllabus, and she reads with other poets at Poetry Live! events all over the country to more than 35,000 students a year. She has had a dozen solo exhibitions of drawings in India, London, Leeds, New York and Hong Kong. She scripts and directs films, many of them for non-government organisations in India, working in the area of shelter, education and health for women and children. In 2015 she appeared on the iconic BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs. In 2020 she was appointed Chancellor of Newcastle University. She lives in London.

Please note this is an in-person event and we would love you to be there but if you can't make it to Sheffield you can log in by no later then 5.50 on the following link: meet.google.com/fdh-igyk-hrr

Recording now available:

[captaindibbzy]

So I finished the letters I will never send.

It's a good idea, and it's got some nice poems in, but it talks a lot about love. The poet/author is, like, 20? It mentions in one of her poems. It does read like a teenager/early 20's poetry log. But teenagers do write some amazing poems so that's not a criticism, just a notice on style.

It covers some heavy topics like eating disorders, abuse, and mental health. Mentions cigarette a lot. Could be triggering, or it could help someone feel they're not alone. I picked it up cause one of the poems about eating disorders hit close to my own mental illness.

Inspiring, artistic (complimentary and derogatory), and easy to read.

[ear-worthy]

Pod-Alization: NatGeo & The Soul Of Music: Freakonomics Now On YouTube

Nat Geo Launches THE SOUL OF MUSIC Podcast Series

National Geographic will commemorate Black History Month with its flagship podcast, Overheard, through a month-long, four-part series of episodes focused on music and exploration featuring influential Black musicians and accomplished National Geographic Explorers. The weekly series, THE SOUL OF MUSIC, premiered on February 7 and drops every Tuesday through February 28. It comes as National Geographic rings in its 135th anniversary with an emphasis on celebrating its creative and explorer community. Hosted by Overheard producer Khari Douglas and edited by Carla Wills, manager of audio, these four episodes will feature world-famous musicians Rhiannon Giddens, Sampa the Great, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott) and Meklit Hadero in conversation with Nat Geo Explorers Alyea Pierce, Danielle Lee, Justin Dunnavant, and Jahawi Bertolli. The Explorers and artists will discuss how nature, history and culture influence their work, what music inspires their adventures, and how they address some of the world’s most pressing and complicated issues through art and exploration. “As global storytellers, we all have a responsibility to engage in cultural archeology to explore our past and to understand our shared history. Music is the perfect medium to inspire exploration and create bridges to the past. ‘The Soul of Music’ series on ‘Overheard’ does just that. It inspires us to embrace our shared humanity and the desire to be understood,” said executive producer Davar Ardalan. The four-episode lineup includes the following: Feb. 7 – Musician Rhiannon Giddens and Explorer Alyea Pierce: Nat Geo Explorer and poet Alyea Pierce talks with GRAMMYⓇ-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens about the origins of the banjo, her new opera “Omar,” and how she finds inspiration through history. Feb. 14 – Musician Sampa the Great and Explorer Danielle Lee: Nat Geo Explorer and wildlife biologist Danielle Lee meets rapper Sampa the Great to discuss learning through stories, being a foreigner in a new country, and mental health therapy through nature. Feb. 21 – Musician Chief Xian and Explorer Justin Dunnavant: Nat Geo Explorer and archaeologist Justin Dunnavant sits down with GRAMMY-nominated trumpeter Chief Xian to discuss ancestral memory, creating new instruments, and stretch music — an expansion of jazz. Feb. 28 – Musician and Explorer Meklit Hadero with Explorer Jahawi Bertolli: Nat Geo Explorer and musician Meklit Hadero discusses her transmedia storytelling project, which tells the stories of immigrant, migrant and refugee musicians, with Nat Geo Explorer and marine and wildlife cinematographer Jahawi Bertolli.  THE SOUL OF MUSIC podcast series will be available on Apple Podcasts,  and you can access more of National Geographic’s Black History Month content, by visit natgeo.com/race.

Freakonomics launches its shows on YouTube

 The Freakonomics Radio Network, home to the podcasts Freakonomics Radio, No Stupid Questions, People I (Mostly) Admire, and Freakonomics, M.D., is teaming up with YouTube to bring its network of shows to the platform. 

“YouTube is the biggest and best audience in the world for user-generated media,” said Stephen Dubner, host of Freakonomics Radio and founder of the Freakonomics Radio Network. “I can’t wait to show them what we’ve been making.”  

The Freakonomics Radio Network YouTube channel now includes all new podcast episodes each week, as well as hundreds of episodes from the network’s archives. The network also plans to experiment with short-form video, animation, and long-form video on the channel.  

"YouTube is one of the most popular platforms for podcasts," said Stephanie Chan, Strategic Partner Manager at YouTube. "With over 2 billion monthly logged-in users, YouTube can provide access to a vast global audience. We are very excited to partner with the Freakonomics team to expand the reach of their storytelling and look forward to deepening our relationship in the future."  

“One of the challenges for podcasting has been discoverability, and Google and YouTube have been leaders in search for years now,” said Neal Carruth, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the network. “We can’t wait to see this strength in search help get our shows in front of new audiences.”  

You can subscribe to the channel, which is updated multiple times a week, at youtube.com/@freakonomics.

[shadowydoes]

To be honest, being forced to stay inside was a blessing and a curse. I am an introvert by heart. My own space gives me comfort and calm. Inside those four walls, I spent two and a half months of my life. It wasn’t productive besides school work. I did not finish the novel I had been working on for almost a year –and I don’t think I will before summer ends–. I didn’t publish anything here because I wasn’t worth to my eyes. I just existed.

I walked around at the university when the stars aligned. Aka, when the weather, the laundry situation and my mental state was coordinated. Besides that my daily walk was going to Park Eat on the campus to get my dinner. I would call my mum at that time. She was doing some cleaning or making food. We would chat or video chat and she would keep me company while I ate my dinner. I think that was the part of my messed up routine that I miss now that I am back home. Walking to the university with the singing birds laying on the trees.

Talking about messed up routine. My bedtime was between 3 - 4 am. I had never seen so many sunrises in such a short time. Most of my night time would be trying to be creative just to fail and sleep all morning. My breakfast was more of a brunch at 1 pm. I had my eight hours of sleep... just a little bit off.

But what quarantine truly gave was the consolidation of two growing obsessions: BTS and star wars. I had been listening to BTS for a year now. The happiness that the band gave me was something else. Musical theatre, twenty-one pilots and BTS were the tunes that kept me company during the lockdown. And Star Wars, this was completely Tiktok's fault. The amount of cosplay, memes, and Kylo Ren edits made me love the universe more. And my emo virgin boy Kylo.

[poetusa]

★｡:*•.─── Health log! ───.•*:｡★

Heart palpitations after lunch

Feeling hungry by the morning

Office days + sunbathing

Weird stomach aches and nausea

Acne caused by my helmet strings

Fragile nails

That being said, I'm definitely late to get appointments. I just went to my dermatologist, but there's still a lot to do. I'm taking vitamins since may but I haven't noticed good changes at all. Keeping both eyes open 👀

★ Favourite activities:

🪡 8h30 last week

🚶 12h last week

[wolfgangisdead]

in the stars

part one

warnings fluff, angst

@ghostscap for u

Her fingers pluck the strings of her harp absentmindedly before she strikes a despondent chord loud enough to echo off the walls. Damn these large rooms and their emptiness. Elrond and Gil-Galad both look up from their work to send her a questioning look—they’d been meeting lately to celebrate Galadriel and her soldiers, with Gil-Galad being apprehensive and Elrond being the dashing good person he is, has been trying to convince Gil-Galad to send her home to the Undying lands.

            “Are you alright, Meleth nîn?” Elrond sits upright, sending her a worried look. It seems to please Gil-Galad that he’s worried, but the look is quickly hidden by his own mild concern.

            Ninaelnith sends him a funny look. “I’m fine, just didn’t get the chord correctly. Nothing worth worrying about. Carry on about your business, or else I’ll simply go and entertain the children instead.”

            “They would not know how to fully appreciate your music,” Gil-Galad chimes, raising an amused eyebrow at her. “There is something on your mind. Name it and be free from it.”

            “What if, on the off chance you are wrong, Adar, and Galadriel is right, Sauron returns? What are we to do then?” She folds her hands neatly in her lap, fiddling with her thumbs as she speaks. “We have lost far too much already to lose anything more.”

            Gil-Galad doesn’t treat her concern like he does everyone else. He’d normally treat her concern like it was nothing if she were anyone else, but she’s not. She’s not everyone so he merely sighs and leans back in his chair.

            “However great a threat he may be, Ninaelnith, we will be greater.” He says simply, hiding the uncertainty from her well enough. But Elrond is skeptical. “You will be safe. You will not need to worry.”

            The unspoken meaning was that she would not have to pick up a sword for as log as she lives. But it wouldn’t be as simple as that, and the feeling leaves an unsatisfying, uncomfortable ache in her stomach that only time will be able to fix. Assuming Sauron truly is gone.

            It’s an ache that Elrond brings up when they’re finally alone, away from everyone else and in the confines of their chambers.

            “Meleth nîn, I’m sure everything will be alright.” He lifts her chin to press a quick kiss to her lips. “You’ve been fiddling with your thumbs constantly. It’s not good for your health to worry so much.”

            “You can’t blame me for worrying, you know as well as I do that Galadriel makes good points. Who knows if he’s even gone? Just because we haven’t seen them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.” She clutches the fabric of her sleeves tightly, bunching them up until her knuckles turn white. “Something just doesn’t feel right, Elrond. It’s very worrisome.”

            He looks at her a moment, coming to kneel before her. “I promise no harm will ever befall you. You are safe here.”

            Ninaelnith smiles at him, pressing her forehead against his. “I am not made for war, Elrond. Neither are you. You are a poet, a wordsmith, you are meant for the arts. Should a war come, I could not stand to lose you.”

            There’s a smile on his face when he once again lifts her chin to look at her, to really look at her. “I will go nowhere you can’t follow. Now come, shall we go for a walk and wash this stress away?”

            “Only if you read me another of your poems, Meleth nîn.” She nuzzles him, nose to nose like a rabbit kiss. “I would feel much better and at ease if you did. Perhaps I might turn it into song, with your permission of course.”

            “You have my permission to do with my works as you please, you know that.” He tilts his head as his arm slides around her waist, pulling her to walk at his side. “Now, I’ve heard that you’re working on a special project. Care to share what your new work is?”

            “No, it’s supposed to be a surprise. You’ll hear it when I’m ready.” She leans her head against his shoulder, sighing contentedly. “Where is Galadriel anyway? She’s been gone for so long. I miss her.”

            “She’s fine, I assure you. She can handle just about anything that comes her way.” Elrond waves his hand dismissively and smiles at her. “She’ll be glad you miss her, Ninaelnith. You know friends are so few and far between for her.”

            “Well, it’s not her fault her brother died. I would’ve done the same thing if it were you.” She huffs, pouting. “I may not be any good at a sword, but I think I can manage.”

            He laughs. “Not on my behalf, please. I’d much prefer you safe and sound.”

            “I can do that.”

—

            By nightfall, when Elrond is hunched over his desk in the corner of the room, and she’s nestled under the covers holding onto his pillow tightly. She sleeps marginally peacefully until something changes and she’s tossing and turning, silently, but frightened all the same.

            In her dream, or nightmare, rather, she sees violent images flashing before her very eyes. The tree, first, then the roots of the tree blackening and turning into ash before the image shifts and there’s a symbol, a three-pronged symbol. Then it’s back to the tree decaying, the very life the foundations of their people are built upon. An endless, vicious cycle that she can’t seem to wake up from.

            She jolts awake, gasping and clawing for air like the nightmare had become worse between her experiencing it and waking up from it. The panic and fear that settles into her bones causes her to haphazardly fall out of bed, feet still entangled in the sheets before she gives up entirely and starts sobbing at the foot of their bed.

            She doesn’t know at what point Elrond makes his way to her, but when he does, she’s instantly pulled into his lap, his arms keeping her safe against him.

            “Meleth nîn, you’re safe, you’re safe, Ninaelnith.” He whispers, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Was it a nightmare?”

            “Oh, it was horrid! The tree, Elrond! The tree was dying and it was terrifying!” She gasps, curling into him like it’d ground her, like he was her tether. “I don’t… It was horrible…”

            “You’re okay now,” he brushes her hair away from her face, pausing to look at her frantic and fearful gaze, “breathe, okay, just breathe. Look at me, you’re okay.”

            He keeps her in his lap, holding her until he’s certain she’s relaxed. He lifts her up and tucks her back into bed. He pauses for a moment, thinking he should clean up his desk, but decides against it and crawls into bed beside her, making sure to keep a protective hold around her.

            “I’m sorry, you were working, weren’t you…?” She turns to look at him, biting her lower lip.

            “The work can wait another day, Meleth nîn, you are my first priority.” He says simply. Like it truly didn’t matter to him whether he got his work done or not. “You are my most important priority.”

            “Did Gil-Galad tell you to say that?” She rolls her eyes, smiling weakly. “It was just a very odd dream, I’m alright now. I’m sure you’d rather go back to your work.”

            He pulls her close to him, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “You are a far greater delight to be with than measly papers.”

[queerpyracy]

My poet buddy of mine who is an ex-logger and ex-environmental activist, likes to tell an anecdote about the time he was blowing down Interstate 5 along with the director of an environmental activist group. His passenger came suddenly unglued as they passed a log truck loaded with big old-growth #1 Peelers.

"You motherfucker!" the director shouted while flipping the driver the bird, "We're going to shut you down, you tree-killing sonovabitch!"

Maybe the truck had a bumper-sticker that he found offensive or maybe it was just the sight of those fat logs that set the director off and turned some poor schmuck of a truck driver into a scapegoat for all that was wrong and frustrating in the director's pitifully small world. Yet many log-truck drivers also "reduce, re-use and recycle" and the target of that up-thrust finger may have been stacking his newsprint in a recycling bin for years. Maybe the director's contorted face and his one-finger salute confirmed the trucker's worst suspicions about environmentalists and their alleged, "socialist agenda." In all likelihood, the driver never even noticed.

My neighbors find it unremarkable that mill workers, loggers and log-truck drivers recycle. To them, anyone who thinks that timber workers don't love the land is just another ignorant (and arrogant) outsider trying to tell them how to live without bothering to first learn about their lives.

#

Another friend, a tie-dyed-in-the-wool middle-aged flower child, runs a health food store in a local small (population: 1,100) town. A half-dozen years ago, when spotted-owl fever was running about 109.7 degrees Fahrenheit, he was "encouraged" to place a dayglo-green placard in his store window reading: "This Business Supported by Timber $$$$."

"Screw the mill owners," he told the committee, "They've been shafting everyone around here for years--running the gyppos out, cutting wages, killing the fish. Now they got their tits in a wringer and they want me to help get them loose?"

As the only business on Main Street that didn't display the placard, he found himself isolated and boycotted. During those days, two Earth First!ers from Santa Cruz showed up in his store. No doubt feeling more comfortable in the store than they'd been out on the sidewalks, they started loudly voicing their views on the old-growth question, blaming it on "asshole redneck loggers" who'd been "duped by the timber-nazis."

"You guys don't know shit," my friend told them, "You're the only assholes around here. Quit bad-mouthing my neighbors and get the fuck out of my store."

Robert Leo Heilman, "Talking Trash" from Overstory: Zero: Real Life in Timber Country

Quick note about the term "gyppo": It occurs a few times throughout Overstory: Zero, and is explained as a term that refers to a kind of independent logger that was most common after WW2 and largely no longer exists. It does ultimately derive from the anti-Roma slur, and though came to be used neutral-to-positively later, was derogatory at the time of its origination. I've tried to avoid posting selections with this term, but felt it would be weird to make an omission in this passage without ultimately having to explain why. I've left it intact for this passage, because it's not my job to sanitize someone else's writing and I felt that it would flatten the nuance of the piece, but I will continue to largely avoid occurrences of the word where possible.

[thegrapeandthefig]

Who's your (professonial) patron?

In theory, your patron is the one who has patronage over your occupation or the career field you're into. It's a fun concept, but also something you can use when needing help for professional matters. Again, that's not a researched post, just wrote this for fun. Note that some of them have two patrons eg. Aircraft mechanic: aircraft = Hermes but mechanic = Hephaestus. So consider the overlaps. This list is in no way exhaustive nor 100% correct, it's just meant to help as a general guideline.

Hermes: Advertising, Sales, Trade workers, Retail workers, Marketing, Aircraft engineers/mechanic/controllers/pilots, flight attendants etc.., Postal service, Logistic workers, transportation workers (bus drivers, taxis etc.), Automotive industry workers, Communications, Broadcast and radio operators, Media, Telecommunication, IT, Surveyor, Casino workers, Linguists, Interpretors/Translators, Travel agents, Hotel workers,

Dionysus: Entertainment careers and associates (actors, producers, directors, theater/film staff), Bartenders, Oenologists, Wine and Spirits industry workers, Dancers, Psychologists, Psychiatrist, mental health workers.

Athena: Teachers, School workers, Librarians/library technicians, Archivists, Curators, Bookkeeping, Accountants, Clerks, Textile workers, Military strategists, Journalists, Urban planners, Civil engineers/technicians

Demeter: agronomists, food scientists, farmers, bakers, millers,

Hestia: Chefs, Cooks, Food Preparation workers, Restauration workers, Interior designers, Heating/air conditioning/

Artemis: Zoologists, animal care workers/vets, environmental scientists/engineers/workers, Forest and conservation workers, Logging workers, Hunting workers

Apollon and the Muses: Artists, art directors, poets, writers, dancers, musician, graphic designers, historians, physicists, astronomers, astrophysicists, Mathematicians, Geographers,

Ares: Athletes, coaches, trainers, Fitness workers, Military careers,

Asclepius: all medical professions and fields, doctors, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists etc.

Hephaestus: Mechanics, Assemblers, Fabricators, Carpenters, Masons, Electricians and electronics workers, Engineering (all of them), Metal industry workers, Construction workers, Repairmen, IT fields, all crasftmanship.

Zeus: Arbitators, Mediators, Conciliators, Judges, Lawyers, Law enforcement, Executives, Politicians, Public relations, Meteorologists, Hydrologists,

Hera: Child Care workers, Marriage/Family therapists, Wedding planner,

Aphrodite: Barbers, Hairdressers, Cosmetologists, Appearance workers, Manicurists, Sex workers, Models, Fashion designers,

Poseidon: Sailors, Marine engineers, Naval architects and workers, Fishermen, Marine biologists,

Hades: Financial careers/banking, Miners, Geologists, Petroleum engineers/technicians, Funeral service workers

Persephone: Funeral service workers, Floral designers. 

[missmentelle]

Hi MM/Bee! I'm a recent college graduate. I always worked hard in school and I matured a lot at college, but I'm realizing how low my self-esteem is. I'm obsessing over the things I haven't done/accomplished, scholarships I never applied for, my body image, my high school days, "not being as successful as my high school class", an old crush who I never talked to (who is already super successful), and some days I feel like I messed up my life beyond repair. How do I work on self-love? Thank you!

For starters, I think it’s important for you to know that you aren’t the only person feeling this way. I get similar questions all the time, often from people who aren’t even out of their 20s yet. It isn’t even remotely true that you need to achieve wild success by age 25 or you’ve wasted your life, but I can understand why so many people feel that way. 

Our culture is dangerously obsessed with productivity, youth and achievement, to the point that it is actively making all of our lives miserable. It’s not hard to understand where people get this idea that they’re failing in life if they aren’t a 20-something well-travelled millionaire - that is the message our culture throws in our faces all the time - and it’s so unbelievably untrue. We compile “top 30 under 30″ lists, celebrate incredibly young performers and entertainers, and hold up extremely high-achieving lifestyles as something that every one of us needs to be striving for, but we don’t - there is no timeline for “success”, there is no one true definition of success, and people will take wildly different paths in life to arrive at the same set of goals. What you think of as your failure is not actually your failure - it’s a cultural failure that so many of us fall victim to. 

I think it’s also important to remember that you haven’t messed up your life beyond repair: you’ve barely started your life yet. Your college years are supposed to be a time of growing and maturing, and that maturation doesn’t end the moment you cross the stage - you’re going to continue to learn and change and grow throughout your lifespan. And growth means you are always going to mess some stuff up - that’s how we grow. All of us have to make mistakes in this life, and all of us have to prioritize rest sometimes; there are always going to be tests we don’t do so great on, social situations we flub, scholarships we don’t apply for, crushes we don’t confess to, deadlines we miss, relationships we let fall apart and goals we don’t achieve. Nobody speedruns life with 100% completion. And that’s okay. Those missteps and mistakes are what teach us to do better next time, or they give us the time to rest and gather energy for the next goal we want to work toward. 

Of course, learning to accept yourself and let go of cultural conditioning is easier said than done. For many of us, it’s a lifelong journey, if not the overarching theme of our lives. I wish there was a simple way to achieve it. I do, however, have some tips that can help you get there:

Unplug from productivity and self-improvement culture. Going online and seeing “Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine, here’s how to maximize your quarantine time” and “here’s how I became a millionaire by age 22″ is not actually that motivating - in all likelihood, it’ll just make you feel bad about yourself. The internet is an absolute firehose of content about how you can do more, achieve more, squeeze more out of your day, and it’s completely overwhelming; honestly, most of us feel better when we stop pointing that firehose straight at our own face. It’s easier to believe that you are enough when you stop consuming content that tells you that you aren’t. Self-improvement culture looks positive on the surface, but we aren’t actually making ourselves better people by obsessing over our work and productivity - we’re just making ourselves miserable. 

Ask yourself “who benefits from making me feel bad about myself?” It’s not a coincidence that we’ve built a culture obsessed with youth and productivity - that culture is making a lot of people very, very rich. Whenever you can be convinced that you aren’t thin enough, not pretty enough, not good enough, you can be convinced to run out and buy things that might fix the problem. That’s how we ended up with a $10 billion dollar self-improvement industry and a $532 billion dollar beauty industry. Content people are harder to sell to. Of course, knowing that people are profiting off your insecurities doesn’t magically make the insecurities go away - but it’s important to start thinking critically and asking yourself “where do my insecurities come from? Is there really something wrong with me, or is someone profiting from making people like me feel this way?”

Do things that make you happy, just for the sake of doing them. Paint a picture. Plant a garden. Learn to play the mandolin. Read cheesy romance novels. Find some things that you enjoy doing just for you - things that you don’t need to maximize, monetize or optimize. You don’t even need to be good at them. If you enjoy doing it, have at it. So many of us are encouraged to suck the joy out of our hobbies by turning them into a “side hustle” or another regimented form of self-improvement. Find some activities that just make your life better and do them, just for the sake of doing them. 

Examine the role of social media in your life. Most of us don’t post a complete, unedited view of our lives on social media - we just post the highlights and keep the tough stuff - the rejections, the times we got ghosted, the bad hair days - to ourselves. And even if you know that cognitively, it still sucks to log onto social media when you’re having a “blah” week and find yourself bombarded with other people’s engagement announcements, med school acceptances, wedding pictures and photos of the new homes people just bought. Social media forces you to compare your “average” to everyone else’s “best”, all the time. And the numbers don’t help - social media lets you do an exact comparison of how many followers and likes you have compared to someone else, and seeing someone get more positive feedback than you can sting. Working on self-love means taking a hard look at the impact social media is having on your self-esteem. How much of your time do you spend on social media? How do you feel after you use social media? Are you following accounts that make you feel better about yourself, or worse? Do you ever feel bad about the number of likes or followers you have? Do you feel like your time on social media is wasted? Do you follow accounts that make you feel better about yourself, or worse? Stepping away from social media for your mental health is an important move for some people - you can still be happy for your friends and loved ones while acknowledging that it’s not good for you to have their achievements broadcast to you 24/7. 

Surround yourself with good, supportive people. If you find that your circle of friends tends to diminish each other’s achievements, be overly critical of each other or go out of their way to one-up each other, that’s probably not a circle of friends that’s going to be good for you in the long run. Find people who are genuinely happy for you, and make you feel supported and loved for who you are. If that means you need to branch out of your current social circles, that’s okay - you can find great friends in surprising places, and it’s worth the initial awkwardness of getting to know a new person. 

Challenge your definition of “success”. Success does not have to look like a high-paying job and a giant house and expensive cars and 2.5 honour roll children. It certainly can look that way, if you feel that those are meaningful goals for you, but it doesn’t have to look that way. A doctor is not necessarily “more successful” than a poet, and a lawyer is not necessarily “more successful” than a stay-at-home parent. The only person who gets to define what a “successful” life looks like is you. It takes time to unlearn the social conditioning that “money and prestige = success”, but it can be done. Success looks different for all of us. 

Set goals that are personally meaningful to you. It’s important for all of us to think critically about what we want, and it’s even more important to think critically about why we want it. Do we want that degree program or that accomplishment or that job because it aligns with our interests? To impress others? To prove someone wrong? Or because we feel like we’re supposed to want it? Try to focus your energy on the goals that you want, that are personally meaningful to you. If that’s law school, great. If that’s selling homemade jam at the farmer’s market, that is equally great. 

Remember that success does not have a deadline. I know this is very hard to believe in your early twenties, but your dreams do not shrivel up and blow away the day you turn 30. Life doesn’t end when your 20s are over. You haven’t missed your shot, and you don’t have to figure everything out right now. Growth and achievement are lifelong journeys - people find their dream jobs, accomplish their goals, finish degrees and meet the love of their life in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond. The best book I read this year was “Where the Crawdads Sing” a novel that spent 32 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It also happened to be the author’s first novel, and it came out when she was sixty-nine years old. Your dreams do not have an expiration date. 

Capture the joy and positivity in your life. I think one of the most important ways to feel better about your life is to spend more time focusing on all the good things in your life, rather than focusing on all the ways you could be better. Rather than fixating on whether you could have applied for more scholarships or turned that B+ into an A-, spend more time reflecting on the happy memories you have of your time in college. Again, this isn’t something that will happen overnight - it’s a learned skill that you need to consciously work on. Interrupt yourself when you are starting to fixate on things you could have done better, and make yourself list out three things you enjoyed about college. Connect with old college friends you haven’t heard from in a while. Try to take more notice of good things in your life as they happen to you - take more pictures, keep a journal, make collages, start a scrapbook, keep a box of momentos. You don’t need to have a perfect life to be happy; it’s okay to work on being happy with the life you have. 

Best of luck to you! MM

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Upcoming Ottawa Events Assembled by Punch Up Collective

Event Listings: Monday, August 16 – Sunday, August 22

This is the most recent compilation from the Radical Events Ottawa (REO) List. The REO List is a public announcement list for radical events, meetings, protests, and other activities in Ottawa, Ontario, on unceded Algonquin territory. The Punch Up Collective collects submissions and produces this curated weekly compilation of upcoming activities.

Due to COVID-19, we’ve expanded the list of events we would typically include to feature more online activities and actions, including some that are not specific solely to the Ottawa area. 

Would you like to see your event included in the next REO list? Submit it through this form by the Friday before! Find out more about our submission guidelines and how to subscribe or unsubscribe here.

CONTENTS

OG-500 Poetry Slam – Thursday, August 19, 8:00-10:30PM

Dirty Trivia Fundraiser – Saturday, August 21, 7:00-9:00PM

De-escalation Tactics 101 and Managing Conflicts During Actions – Tuesday, August 24, 6:00PM

DETAILS

1. OG-500 Poetry Slam – Thursday, August 19, 8:00-10:30PM Online

Hosted by House of PainT Hip Hop and Urban Arts Festival

The OG500 is Ottawa’s largest annual spoken word event, bringing poetry lovers and urban storytellers across the nation’s capital to explore the spoken word and exchange in a live show of wit, verbal acrobatics and theatre. Starting at 8pm on August 19th, 2021, we’re taking it online for a high-quality virtual event where the audience still gets to vote in real-time.

This year, 11 poets will be competing in a three-round poetry slam where the winner receives $500 cash. All guests are invited to participate in the voting process, breaking the common practice of traditional poetry slams where only 5 judges select the winner of each round. This year the OG500 is headlined by Toronto’s Britta B., an award-winning artist, spoken word poet, performer, emcee, voice actor and educator.

Captioning will be provided.

Limited PWYC tickets available at: https://houseofpaint.ca/store/

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/778241412855083

2. Dirty Trivia Fundraiser – Saturday, August 21, 7:00-9:00PM Online

Hosted by Venus Envy

We’re hosting a dirty trivia fundraiser for the Venus Envy Access Fund! Create your team and compete to show off the dirty things you know.

How It Works: 1. Make your team! It can be a team of just one, or up to 10 people. 2. Buy your tickets! $10/each person on the team. You can buy all your tickets together, or buy them individually. 3. Plan a backyard/balcony/covid-safe trivia party. You’ll get together at your place with your team to host the event and log into the Zoom trivia. 4. On August 21 at 7pm, you’ll sign in via Zoom link to give us your team name, play trivia, and compete for prizes!

Buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/dirty-trivia-tickets-165790224023

What is the Venus Envy Access Fund?

The Venus Envy Access Fund is focused on supporting sexual and reproductive justice in communities across Ottawa. The Fund provides small grants or loans to individuals, with the aim of reducing cost as a barrier to bodily self-determination, sexual and reproductive health, and consensual sexual pleasure.

We’re aiming to start accepting applications in the fall of 2021.

Can’t make the event, but still want to donate? You can use the Paypal link here: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=F68UGJJEJ2UCS

3. De-escalation Tactics 101 and Managing Conflicts During Actions – Tuesday, August 24, 6:00PM Online

Hosted by Tools for Change, OPIRG Toronto, and Showing Up for Racial Justice – Toronto

Workshop admission – sliding scale. We request all participants register, Zoom invitation will be emailed out to you. This workshop will NOT be recorded.

Free for staff, members and organizers with: George Brown Community Action Centre, Greenpeace Toronto, No One Is Illegal – Toronto, OPIRG Toronto, OPSEU, Showing Up for Racial Justice – Toronto, and Climate Justice Toronto

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/de-escalation-tactics-101-and-managing-conflict-during-actions-tickets-60785573286

Whether we want them there or not, police and provocateurs often show up to most rallies, marches, picket lines and direct actions. Often they will act as instigators and aggressors towards those attending these sort of actions resulting in an unsafe and unpredictable atmosphere rife with conflict. We have seen scenarios with people who are the police, fascist/alt-right militants, anti-Palestinian Zionists such as the J.D.L. and others intent on causing fights and and harassing those at picket lines or rallies.

For organizers dedicated to abolition, how do we mitigate and de-escalate conflicts and confrontations that may result in harm and arrests? Often this requires some pre-planning and designating people to be able to spend their energy to respond to and de-escalate the situation.

This workshop will be a beginners discussion on the questions and scenarios activists need to consider before planning rallies no matter what degree of escalation the action takes. Don’t be caught off guard or be surprised by the tactics of the police and others.

In this workshop we will be covering of the basics of de-escalation tactics with tips on how to defuse rising tensions. We will also explore some of the ways in which allies can still work to create safer actions for BIPOC, unsheltered folks, and others typically singled out for harassment by police and fascists. While not all activists can stop everything, we can try to be as prepared as possible.

About the facilitator:

Aruna Boodram (they/she) is a queer, gender expansive community organizer and legal worker from the Caribbean diaspora based in Toronto. She has been involved in grassroots organizing and frontline work for over almost two decades. She is a community facilitator and teacher who is grounded in abolition, decolonization, direct action and collective liberation. She is the autonomous parent of Surya Amaris, a thriving and resilient baby Sagittarius. Aruna is also currently the advice columnist for Shameless Magazine, council member for the Children’s Peace Theatre in Toronto and a National Family Advisor for the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation.