#publicly journaling at this point basically

[fearofmusic1979]

at least 3 or 5 people close to me have said that I need to "take a break from gaza" because of how emotional it makes me

what I don't understand is the idea that a strong emotional response is less useful or productive than some kind of, I don't know, logic-based takedown. emotion, and specifically empathy, are not a distraction. I think they're the most useful way to understand. we are in a void of empathy right now. how can you see these videos and not cry. how how how how. how can you see it and not be haunted. how can you not feel, that's me, we're the same, the "human animals" not deserving of life are me. the way israeli soldiers can slaughter people and not bat an eye israeli officials can send them to do this and the US can bankroll this is because they just do not have this understanding. I'm not even just talking about the limbs blown off, or the destroyed hospitals, government buildings, and universities, or the children under rubble, or the starvation, or the targeting of journalists, or the torture, the cruelty towards those with disabilities, the little girl saying I wish I'd died with my mother, you know, those things that REALLY haunt you, that really make your blood boil, but it's the olive trees, the video of bisan encountering a cat in the rubble, the little details, the old woman and her birds, the looting of jewelry from corpses, the mocking death chants, the destruction of homes, kitchens, bakeries, the poisoning of the sea, the sullying of green, fertile land. the abusive language. the laughter. the footage of gaza before. I'm thinking of what it would be like for your home to be destroyed. like the physical house. just as 1 thing. how much that alone would devastate me. how devastating it would be to lose even 1 friend or family member. I'm thinking of the palestinian girl I know on twitter who says every day, I don't know how I'm supposed to talk about other things anymore.

anger is one thing but the ability to feel fear and sadness is so important I can't articulate it to you. the way americans can see the horror and stick to their pathetic justifications is because this ability is just as completely, pathetically underdeveloped in us as any soldier of the IOF. we do not know how to be humans anymore.

because of my distress, many have been encouraging me to adopt a "balanced" relationship to what they call "the news," where you choose how much or what you want to see. I hate that we have to know about each other's suffering and it's just "the news." I understand that this attitude is preferable for one's mental health, but I can't get rid of this feeling that when we say mental health in this situation, we really just mean peace of mind. well the thing is this is not about me. or probably most of you. following the journalists is probably what has made the most difference. every day I wake up and see the reports of individuals who possess bravery I cannot imagine fighting for their lives to show us the truth about what's happening, a truth that the largest powers in the world rely on you not knowing. the most crucial thing right now is not falling victim to the propaganda. not being led astray by the cesspool of talking points with these slimy little tricks they use to try and keep your heart hard and distant. well, that power doesn't work when you know how to look at a human and know that's you. you can't just read about it, you have to watch and understand. you have to hear human voices.

. I am an American -- a white westerner -- and unfortunately, that means our voices are usually heard much louder than those of others. it is imperative right now not to deprive our fellow humans of the power our voices -- AND OUR EMOTIONS -- have.

this is one of the situations where changing the narrative really matters. well my fucking narrative comes from empathy. I am just that way. you can start with an ideological position or you can start with a relationship to what's happening in another person's heart. a narrative starting with ideology and logic, from either side, leads to a situation where Palestinians can be stripped of humanity and we can be ok with it. a large percentage of people are capable of watching a video of pure, actual human suffering and feeling nothing. sorry that that's not me.

we're witnessing one of the most horrible crimes against humanity that's going to happen in our lifetimes. in a situation THIS awful, how is a burning hole in your heart a less reasonable response than the alternative? how is it not useful? how is the tactic of sharing pain of the people they want you to believe are human animals not one of the most useful tools we could have right now? how different would the world look if we understood that your humanity is not contained to your own body?

[northwestofinsanity]

About REO Speedwagon breaking up…

So, earlier this week, an announcement went out on the official REO Speedwagon social media pages that blindsided pretty much every REO fan… including the very small handful of REO fans here on Tumblr.  It’s been a rough week.

I’ve done some digging around for information, and have managed to get somewhat of a blurry picture of what happened from everything I’ve found, so here’s a post to hopefully help the small few of us here make sense of it all.  Due to the length, I’m keeping this under a read-more, and I’m going to try to (aside from where I must clarify) put the timeline of basic information I’ve gathered up top, and analysis down lower, so that those who don’t want to read further don’t have to sort through it. 

Two Disclaimers before jumping into it:

1 -While it is fair that anyone might have their opinions from the information here (as I do, too), this post is not an invitation to hate on the members of the band, and I do not condone the making hate comments toward any of the members on any social media pages with posts on the matter.  At this point, talking smack about Bruce Hall, Kevin Cronin, or Neal Doughty is not what’s going to change the situation -if anything will at all.

2 -For every Facebook post I mention, I do have screenshots, though I will not be posting them in the main post, as some social media screenshots have a way of being removed here.  Most of those pages are publicly viewable even to those not logged in, so I will link to REO’s official page and Bruce Hall’s official page to those who would like to look, and anyone who would rather not look there at all who would still like to see is welcome to request that I DM the screenshots.

Alright, let’s do this, starting with the Basic Timeline of Events:

Starting with the line of perspective given on the official REO Speedwagon Facebook Page (and I believe everything on there is cross-posted to their Instagram for anyone who has that). This Facebook page is viewable without an account. Kevin Cronin makes a lot of posts here himself in a blog-like format, so we can consider posts here as Kevin’s side of the story.

-Back on November 7th of 2023, it was announced by Kevin on social media that Bruce Hall, the longtime bassist of REO Speedwagon, would be off the road and replaced with a substitute to undergo back surgery and the subsequent recovery.  Matt Bissonette, who has been with multiple groups, was the bassist who took over touring duties while REO has been on tour with Train.  As Kevin’s post read, one line stated, “Bruce is our brother. And times like these test us all. We have faith that Bruce’s surgery will be successful, that he will make a complete recovery, and that he will be back to being the hard rocking bassist/singer that we all know. Bruce has our love and support, as we have encouraged him to take all the time he needs to get himself back to 100% strength.”

Very little information has been given there on Bruce since, up until recently, but going back through, I found:

-November 27th, 2023, at the end of Kevin’s “Happy Thanksgiving” journal entry, a PS note stating, “Received a photo of the newly repaired Bruce Hall, sitting up in his hospital bed and smiling. The nurse in the shot was all smiles and hands in the air, reacting favorably to Bruce making progress. I am giving him space, while my thoughts are with Bruce and wishing him a full recovery.”  So by this point, Bruce had undergone his procedure and was doing well in early recovery.

—June 1st, a post from Bruce on the Official REO Facebook Page, mentioning he had been featured on “A Fishing Story With Ronald Green”.  No telling if this was filmed before or after Bruce’s operation.  He does look good in the video, and is on his feet, though not holding anything of substantial weight.

—One of Kevin’s journal entry-like posts on July 12th, 2024, where Kevin was talking about the Milwaukee Summerfest performances, and mentioned, “Bruce told me he would love to be out here, but we both agreed that his health and recovery need to come first.”  So by Kevin’s account here, Bruce was not in condition to play.

……..

Nothing further came on the REO Speedwagon page until the recent unfolding of events within the last week -so let’s jump over to Bruce’s official Facebook page, Bruce Hall of REO Speedwagon, (also viewable without an account) and backtrack to get his side of the story:

-On November 7th, 2023, Bruce made his own announcement letting fans know he would be off the road, stating that he had been powering through a “traumatic back injury” for quite some time and was unable to do so any longer.  He assured fans that REO had a plan to find a good substitute while he was away.

-On November 20th, Bruce’s wife, Kimmie, made a post saying that Bruce had his surgery that morning.  She assured that “Everything went really well”, and that Bruce had “already gotten up and walked a couple of steps”.

-On December 10th, Bruce posted his first picture of himself with his then newborn grandchild.  He looks a bit rough (rightfully so), and is sitting on a couch, so unsure how steady he was at this time, but he was at home in recovery.  In his post, he stated “My surgery was a huge success, and I’m getting better everyday.” 

[I’m not going to list every one of Bruce’s posts, because there were a lot while he was home in recovery, but over the next month or so, there were several around the Holidays where Bruce was with his family, back on his feet and looking better, and even a few where Neal Doughty was visiting with him]

-Worth mentioning, on January 27th of 2024, Bruce mentioned in a post that he had been working on bass tracks for an album his daughter was recording over the last couple of days.  A post came the next day featuring a video of Bruce playing bass, if sitting down and leaned over, but playing as great as usual for him.

[Multiple posts continued of Bruce living life in recovery, including a trip to Disney World with his wife in February, his feature on Ronald Green’s fishing show in March, confirming that it was filmed at that time, and another family gathering with the Doughty’s in early April]

-On April 8th, Bruce made a post with pictures of an REO Speedwagon Make-A-Wish Benefit show, in which he did come onstage for one song and perform.  He excitedly mentions this as the first time he had performed since October.  Pictures show him playing standing up, if bent over.  (Very strangely, there are no posts about this show on the REO Facebook page, when they are typically very prolific with posts made about benefit shows).  The day prior, the 7th, Bruce had a video featuring him and Neal Doughty at soundcheck (Neal had also shown up and was playing Piano for “Can’t Fight This Feeling”)

[More posts follow, including ones where Bruce posted Facebook-generated “memory” posts of pictures with him performing with Kevin and Dave, stating how much he misses this, and pictures of being out and about fishing and golfing.]

On June 14th, Bruce made the first post directly addressing the length of his time absent, accompanied by a picture of playing bass while sitting down.  Within his statement, the most notable information is as follows: “I'm feeling better every day and have been cleared by my doctor to perform.  If it were up to just me, I'd be there rocking tonight...but it's unfortunately not.  The consensus feeling is that I don't have good enough posture to perform at the level expected by our fans.”  Amid assurances he was still undergoing physical therapy and training to continue recovery, he added, “Trust me, I have no intention of retiring or walking away from the band I have loved for almost 50 years.  I would never ever walk away.”

[More generalized Bruce living life and being physically active in recovery follow]

On September 5th, Bruce made a post with a picture of his wife that seems a bit cryptic, stating that he appreciates the support of fans and misses them.  It seems this coincided with an article that had come out on September 3rd by Ultimate Classic Rock, regarding Bruce’s absence, titled “Is Bad Posture Keeping REO Speedwagon’s Bruce Hall Off The Road?”  My guess is this is what began stirring up a lot of talk from fans, and led to the official statement eventually being made, and Bruce was answering to concern given by fans who might not have been following his page to be aware of his condition until this time.  Now, Ultimate Classic Rock is somewhat of a clickbait site (there’s no other way to get around putting it as such), and the article was quoting information from Bruce’s post made back in July, but in this case, it is true to Bruce’s post.  Anyone who is trying to avoid Facebook who would like to see it can find it here.

This ends anything relevant on any Facebook page up until everything unfolded within the last week, so the next part of the timeline that follows, I’m going to mix posts from the REO Speedwagon Facebook Page and Bruce’s page in chronological order, rather than separating them out.  I will also attempt to hot link the individual posts to the dates here (Tumblr tends to limit how many of these I can do, which is why I have saved that for the most pertinent posts).

-On September 14th, 2024, on the REO Speedwagon Facebook Page, Kevin made an announcement entry along with a performance video regarding the end of the Summer Road Trip Tour, and expressing gratitude for the good touring partners Train have been.  He then addressed REO Speedwagon having to miss the last two shows of the tour, revealing that he had emergency surgery, and suggested that he was making this post from the hospital.  Kevin then went on to leave this somewhat cryptic message, “I have so much more life to live, and have re-examined what I want to do with the rest of my time here, and who I want to be surrounded by while I do it. I need to be lifted by those around me, and in return, to lift them. I feel excited at the prospect of creating and playing the best music I have in me, with the best artists, musicians, and people who will have me.”

Many comments were left on the September 14th post, requesting clarification on what Kevin meant about this, as well as asking “What about Bruce?  When will he be back?”  

One person made a comment claiming that they had privately spoken to Kevin on Facebook, and that Kevin had said that Bruce had quit the band on his own.  Bruce himself came into the comments on his verified account to say that Kevin does not have his own Facebook page, and that it was a fake imposter account whom that person had spoken with, warning to look for blue checkmarks after the names.  In his first of two comments clarifying this, he noted, “I would NEVER leave the band.”  This was less than two days before major news came to light.

The speculation on this post inevitably led to the next…

-On September 16th, an announcement came up on the REO Speedwagon Facebook Page that most REO fans have seen by now -if not on the band’s socials, by many news articles featuring it.  This one was worded as if written by management.  It stated that if it were up to Bruce alone, Bruce would be back to touring, but “it’s not up to just him”, and stated that there was a consensus that Bruce could not perform up to expected standards.  It also stated that Kevin had never had any intentions of leaving the band, but then cited irreconcilable differences between Bruce and Kevin as cause that REO Speedwagon will stop touring at the end of this year.

Comments were disabled on this post, as well as the next couple that followed.  Many people still shared this post and commented on their own pages

—Bruce shared the post on his own page, expressing that he is heartbroken that it has ended this way, that he in no way expected this, and that he and Neal did everything to try and keep the band going after his recovery. (Should be noted that while Neal has retired from touring, he is still very much a member of the band with some background control).  Many fans commented on Bruce’s shared post, expressing anger toward Kevin, and some suggested that Bruce and Neal should find a singer who can do justice to Kevin’s voice, as well as a strong guitarist who can back them.  (To the effect of “Do what Journey did”, etc).  Bruce has said over and over again in responses to those comments that he believes Kevin is the voice of REO and that he will not tour as REO without Kevin, that he is protecting the legacy of the band and the wishes of Alan, Neal, and Gary’s family.  (Also, we don’t know if there’s some contractual agreement between Neal, Bruce, and Kevin as owning members where it’s a tiebreak situation, and Kevin can’t continue permanently by himself, and if Bruce and Neal refuse to do this.)  Even though he has been deemed healthy and ready to return by his doctor, he has said that if Kevin would rather “go solo”, he cannot stop him from doing so.  He has suggested through these comments that despite being upset, he does not want anybody talking disrespectfully about Kevin in his comments.

—A share that I will not be linking, but I have a screenshot of that anyone may request by DM, Eric Richrath, the son of late classic era guitarist, Gary Richrath, whom in the past has occasionally joined REO onstage for a couple of songs, shared the post, making some scathing comments about his feelings on the situation.  For the sake of keeping this part of the post neutral, and for the sake of his dignity, I will not repeat publicly what he said about Kevin.  The relevant point he makes is that he believes this is a sad way for the band to have gone out, that fans and the members deserved at least some proper farewell shows, and brought up the good point that Alan Gratzer and Neal Doughty may have wanted the opportunity to rejoin the band for a couple of songs at said shows to send off the band they founded in a good way.

…………………………………

Alright… phew.  That was already a lot.  Now, discussion, analysis, if anyone wishes to continue further:

From what I can understand from all this, is technically, Bruce is medically cleared to travel and perform, but he is under certain limits as to how he is allowed to perform.  For the sake of putting on a good show, is the show diminished somewhat if Bruce can’t jump around as he has in the past, or if he’s required to play sitting down for part of the show?  To a point, yes… However, this has been done before.  Members of various bands have sustained injuries before and have had to do this, and some found their ways to still make it fun.  (Actually, more recently, Bruce posted a throwback picture performing onstage, where Kevin was sitting down after injuring his foot, so this isn’t the first time REO has dealt with something like this… in the comments, when asked about Neal’s stance, Bruce stated that Neal is his best friend, and that Neal is “100% in [his] corner”).

And honestly, none of our aging rockers are able to jump around the way they used to.  That’s life, that’s fair whether anyone likes it or not, and that’s what’s going to happen.  Sure, I have more fun when I watch live videos of -say, let me pick on Heart, and compare just the videos from even the late 2000s/early 2010s to now.  Nancy Wilson isn’t kicking and jumping as high as she did less than a decade ago, but I still love her.  And she’s 70 -it’s lucky she was still doing that as long as she was, and that she can still kick at all.  I don’t see any reason to view Bruce any differently.  Now, maybe not ideal to continue for years like that, but for the sake of having some official farewell shows here and there, as many fans, and Gary’s son have suggested they would have liked to have, it would have probably been feasible.  It is worth mentioning that traveling for multiple shows in close proximity can be a little harder on the body (it’s ultimately why Neal chose to retire even though he can still play fine).  Bruce has traveled, per the timeline posts I went through, though there could be some valid risk.  Nobody’s necessarily saying that farewell shows would have to be close together, though -one a month in different locations could limit the toll of the traveling.

And then, the side of the issue with Kevin.  My intent here is to put this into an objective viewpoint, because some people who know me well may know I have some opinions about what happened in the past with Gary, and I’m not alone in that among REO fans -and I have seen it brought up in comments on Facebook.  Which is fair, and I especially find it fair for Eric Richrath to leave the comments on his share he did, after he had to witness the impact of that fallout on his father -but let’s put the situation with Gary aside and look at this as an isolated incident, because this is about Kevin and Bruce.  And while I’m not here to defend Kevin, I’m also not here to trash talk him -and I would discourage anyone who has decided to side against him to not go wild with negative comments, as Bruce’s Facebook comments have made it abundantly clear, he doesn’t want this.

Is it kind of cruddy for Kevin to just spring this on everyone suddenly the moment he decides he wants to do something else?  Yeah!  Could he have handled this better, and would it have been more fair of him to just agree to stick around to do even just a couple of official farewell shows?  Probably so.  But the reality is, while Kevin does share a great deal of what goes on in his life on REO’s official pages, there’s a lot we still don’t know about, because we don’t know Kevin.  We do know he recently had emergency surgery.  We don’t know what for.  We don’t know what’s going on in his life or his true health status, or whatever news he’s potentially been given.  Apparently, based on Bruce’s replies mentioning “going solo”, he’s decided he’s got other things he wants to do, and I hate saying it (because it breaks my heart), but we’re not going to have these guys around forever.  So again, while it would have been great for Kevin to stick with it for a farewell tour even just a week long, he’s got a need to do something else, and the reality is, there’s only but so much time he’s going to have to make that happen.  If that’s what he’s choosing to do with the remaining time he has where he is still able to perform, that’s a choice that has understandable and respectable merits, regardless of how much there might be to disagree over.

My advice to fans who have chosen to pick sides in this situation?  If you’ve sided with Kevin, keep your eyes out for whatever he’s going to do next.  It won’t be REO, but maybe it might just be something worthwhile -so give him a chance.  If you’ve sided with Bruce, and you feel the need to say anything, go show him some love on any of his socials, but please keep comments expressing frustration toward Kevin to yourself or to your own private posts away from him.  I cannot stress this enough (I’ll say it again), Bruce has politely suggested that he does not want that.  I imagine comments of such on his socials at this point are only serving to rub this in his face.  I can also imagine that if Kevin can see any comments like that, it’s only serving to fuel whatever animosity he might feel toward Bruce right now, and it’s making any small chance of reconciliation in the future smaller.  So please don’t do this. 

And for those neutral in the situation, let’s just stand back and watch this situation.  Give Kevin a chance, show Bruce some love…  Maybe Kevin will get whatever he feels he needs to do out of his system and will rethink things and decide maybe he wants to get together again for some farewells (situations in the past -including the fallout with Gary -have told that he doesn’t go back and change his mind after making a big change like this, but who knows… time will tell).  Hopefully, everyone will make good choices, and as the shock settles, “irreconcilable differences” may seem a bit less than they were in the moment.  We can only love these guys while we’ve still got them.  This situation is hard, and nasty thoughts aren’t going to make it any easier.  We know what’s said before every live performance of “Ridin’ the Storm Out”, and I think it holds true here as we process all this.

[darkshrimpemotions]

I really hate the extent to which any conversation about fatness and ending fat phobia and fat acceptance always turns into managing the emotions of thin people.

Like you have to manage the emotions of thin people in the comments who insist that they also experience discrimination against their bodies because somebody told them once they were too skinny. You have to manage the emotions of thin people who feel like they deserve to publicly air their own anxieties about ever looking like we do. You have to manage the emotions of thin people who don't know the difference between systemic oppression faced by fat people and their own self-image issues.

And then you have to manage the emotions of thin people who are existentially terrified that if we as a society acknowledge that it's okay to be fat, they will no longer be able to view being thin as an accomplishment instead of like a fucking luck of the draw, genetic accident and then they will have basically tormented themselves for nothing.

And then we have to manage the emotions of people who are convinced that somehow the actual goal of fat acceptance is to take their diet away from them. When, in fact, literally nobody within fat acceptance cares what you're doing with your body. The point is that we should be able to live in the bodies that we are existing in and be given the same dignity and healthcare and pay and opportunities as everyone else, and shouldn't be discriminated against because of what our bodies look like.

Like we have more important shit to do than manage your anxieties around whether or not somebody's gonna find your diet problematic. That is not fat acceptance's concern. That's something you need to journal about or talk to your therapist about. But that is not any fat activist's concern what you do with your body, what diet you're on, what exercise regimen. Nobody fucking cares.

And then we have to manage the emotions of the thin person who's offended that nobody fucking cares. Or the person who's mid-sized and gets mad that their voice isn't amplified enough within a space that's not really for them. And they feel shamed and left out because they're not being given the platform in a fat activist space because they're used to the hierarchy of the world that prioritizes thin people. So the fact that they are within the space, a thin person, but not being prioritized feels like an attack on them and then we have to manage those emotions too, and I'm just...

It's fucking exhausting. It's like I'm tired of managing the emotions of thin people when I'm trying to do fat activism. I have better shit to do I have more important shit to do!

[eretzyisrael]

by CORY FRANKLIN

Politics has a uniquely transformative effect on science. When a scientific article is published in a political journal, the journal remains political. But when a political article is published in a scientific journal, that journal becomes political. That is what happened recently, when the Lancet, arguably the most respected medical journal in the world, published thinly disguised propaganda as scientific information.

Earlier this month, the Lancet published a letter to the editor from three researchers, which speculated on the number of deaths that will occur as a result of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Two of the authors have a history of extreme anti-Israel bias.

Their estimates are riddled with problems. The authors took as their starting point the official death toll at the time of writing, of 37,396 deaths – a number so precise it should already be setting off alarm bells. These figures, produced by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, have faced a huge amount of criticism and scepticism. Nevertheless, the authors of the Lancet letter felt that even this number was too low as it does not include ‘indirect deaths’ that will continue into the future.

‘Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable and non-communicable diseases’, they wrote. According to the researchers, ‘In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.’

Needless to say, that number strains credulity. This would represent nearly eight per cent of Gaza’s population. The use of the phrase ‘in the coming months and years’ is ridiculously open-ended. Does this mean we should be counting deaths for one year after hostilities cease? Five years? Twenty years? Employing a long enough observation period, the authors can basically attribute any number of deaths of their choosing to the war.

The authors also provide no definition of what constitutes a delayed death as a consequence of the war. Indirect deaths from ‘reproductive, communicable and non-communicable diseases’ is basically medical gibberish, signifying nothing. What diseases, specifically? Currently, there is a minor outbreak of mosquito-borne West Nile Virus – a ‘non-communicable disease’ – in Israel near the Gaza border, although there have been no reported cases in Gaza yet. Five years hence, if there are deaths in Gaza from West Nile Virus, will those be counted as a result of the war? We have obviously exited the realm of science here.

The eye-catching nature of the 186,000 figure, as well as the fact it was published in such a well-respected medical journal, has turned it into international news. It has been seized on by pro-Palestine campaigners. It was spray-painted by vandals on the ground by the Cenotaph in London last week, and has been quoted as fact by a Labour MP.

Some might try to argue that these outlandish figures are in no way being endorsed by the Lancet, as they were published in a letter and not a peer-reviewed article. But this is tosh. Peer-reviewed articles naturally carry more weight because they are more carefully scrutinised by outside reviewers. However, letters to the editor are not published at random. They are not akin to below-the-line comments on a website. They must be approved by an in-house editor and the vast majority are rejected. Approval and subsequent publication confers the imprimatur of a prestigious medical journal, whether the editorial staff publicly agrees with the letter or not. The fact that this was published at all carries some kind of implication.

[bisexualbaker]

Dreamwidth and Lurking

In (I think) the notes on my "Why is everyone recommending Dreamwidth as a Tumblr alternative?" post, someone asked if it was possible to lurk on Dreamwidth. My first instinct was to automatically reply with "yes", since wasn't lurking just kinda. Hanging out and reading someone's posts and generally not letting them know you're there in any way? But getting the question at all made me stop and think for a minute, because if that's all that lurking is, then why would someone feel the need to ask the question in the first place? Does that mean that lurking means something different on Tumblr than I'm used to?

This lead to my initial question post, and, a few days after that, my All About Lurking Poll, which wrapped up yesterday. I personally found the results fascinating, and while the answer that got the most votes out of the 2808 responses was "You do not interact in any way with the poster(s); you can only read", other answers together made up more than 50% of the responses.

So when it comes to the question of whether it's possible to lurk on Dreamwidth, it depends heavily on what you consider lurking to be! I'll be covering the first four options, which should between them cover at least most of the rest of the poll answers.

Option one: "You do not interact in any way with the poster; you can only read"

Generally possible! I had five different Tumblr accounts each open to their own tabs before I broke down and got my own account to condense them down. Given how many tabs I have open as a result of that decision, for reading or reblogging later, that backfired a bit, but the intent was there!

I did it for at least five LiveJournalers back in the day that I was too intimidated to add to my friends list (basically the equivalent of Following on Tumblr), only that was also before tabs, and I hated having extra windows open, so I would cycle through the links in the search bar.

That said, there are some people who have their journals set to "Access Only"; they have posts that only people with a Dreamwidth account who they have granted the ability to access these "Locked" posts will be able to see. It's a privacy feature that's very beloved at Dreamwidth, and it means that anyone without an account, or without access, can only see posts that are shared publicly.

I want to add that I'm not actually sure how Dreamwidth works on other RSS Readers, which I'm sure would simplify things somewhat, but I do know that you can subscribe to RSS accounts through Dreamwidth! If someone wants to chime in with more details, I would welcome them!

Option two: You can follow the poster, but not interact any farther than that

Yes! I've got any number of "ghosts" following me, who have Dreamwidth accounts and who have subscribed to my account, but who haven't granted me access and who don't comment on my posts.

Aside from the above-mentioned RSS Feed idea, the easiest way to do this is to create a Dreamwidth account and, well, subscribe to someone whose updates you want to see! It's basically the same as following on Tumblr, with a few functional differences; and for the purposes of this poll answer, it may as well be exactly the same.

As an important note, you don't actually have to grant anyone access to your locked posts in order to subscribe to them! On LiveJournal, these features were connected (you could only follow an account by adding them to your "Friends List", and this would grant them access to all of your locked posts, IIRC), but Dreamwidth made a point of separating them. This allows greater privacy for everyone involved. Dreamwidth went one step further, and created "Access Filters", so a given journal owner could make a post that only a certain subset of people could see, but that's a post for a different time.

Option Three: You can follow the poster and like their posts, but not reblog

Unfortunately, this is where things fall apart for anyone who likes this answer best: Dreamwidth has no "Like" function. The closest you can come here is to create an actual comment, and only include an emoji in the text. This is probably a little bit more interactive than a lot of people are interested in when it comes to lurking, and understandably so!

If you want to read about why Dreamwidth doesn't have a "Likes" system, site co-owner/co-founder Denise talks about that in a comment on an official news post right over here. (Full disclosure, I'm soc_puppet on Dreamwidth, so that's me replying to her comment there.)

Option Four: You can follow the poster and reblog their posts, but not like them

Almost no one picked this option 😂 I can understand why, since reblogging is a higher-interaction function than liking, and if you're reblogging already, you might as well go for the lower-interaction function as well.

That said, the answer for this is surprisingly: Yes! You can do this form of lurking!

Reblogging is not a native function of Dreamwidth, though, so it takes a bit more work to do it. If you want to reblog things, you need to learn how from this post. I'm still used to the old way of signal boosting from LiveJournal, so it's not something I ever installed myself, or really intend to install. But if you're looking for a way to reblog stuff on Dreamwidth, this is your answer!

Ironically, I'm pretty sure this script makes the Dreamwidth equivalent of reblogging lower-interaction than the Dreamwidth equivalent of liking. I'm reasonably sure that the person you reblogged from with this script doesn't actually get any sort of notification of your reblog, so you can add just about anything in the tags, or even in your own reblog, and it's very unlikely that they'll see any of it.

What about Asks, anonymous or otherwise, and DMs?

Dreamwidth doesn't really have an Ask function. A lot of Dreamwidth users have a pinned introduction post, and some of them doubtlessly use it to welcome questions from the public, but Tumblr's Ask function is pretty unique. There may be communities with an equivalent feature or interaction (such as posting questions to a community, which may or may not have moderated posts), but it's not something you can generally do with individually owned journals. But Asks aren't something that everyone on Tumblr has enabled either, anonymous or otherwise.

Dreamwidth does have a Private Message feature, but as on Tumblr, a journal's owner has control over who can send them a message.

So that's it!

That's all I can think of to tell you about Dreamwidth and lurking, and lurking on Dreamwidth. If you have any questions I didn't already cover, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer them!

[chicago-geniza]

Interesting thing I've picked up from trying to read Literally Everything Stefania Zahorska Ever Wrote (and the secondary literature such an undertaking demands) is that "propaganda" did not carry a default negative valence, at least po polsku, during the interwar period. In many cases it was in fact a positive means to achieve a desired sociopolitical end; it was not the sole purview of "totalitarian" or "authoritarian" regimes, the way the concept has been ideologically resignified since the Cold War. Like in 1937 (or 38, need to double check) Stefania was one of three judges in a publicly advertised contest for "best propaganda screenplay." She was involved with a committee to propagandize Polish art abroad (they published an ephemeral French-language journal in Paris). She's even enthusiastic about socialist realism as a tendency in Soviet film circa 1935 because for her film is a democratic medium capable of reaching the masses and influencing their taste, their worldview, etc.; by using film to illustrate how an individual, interacting with social/material conditions, becomes conscious of themself as a(n) historical subject, directors can "propagandize" a similar process of social transformation to the viewer. And that's good! Her four points on film are basically: 1. The profit motive should not drive the film industry; the fact that it does leads to formulaic, predictable "blockbusters" that cater to unsophisticated tastes instead of using film, instrumentally, to refine them; 2. People in the film industry need education. Literally any education; 3. Filmmakers should experiment with the aesthetic/formal aspects of film AS A MEDIUM (e.g., montage) that are not possible in other media, and make film both unique and uniquely modern; 4. Propaganda is good, actually, and film can be used to change people's tastes and ideas

[obfuscated-abstract]

Medical literature is unnecessarily inaccessible

I am in the lucky position to be doing a degree through an institution that gives me access to a lot of medical literature that other people can't necessarily access. I'm also fairly practised at reading said medical literature because I am doing a degree that requires at least some ability to research.

I am an astronomy student, not a medical student, but I want to do everything in my power to make at least some of this research more accessible to people with complex illnesses.

If you have come across a paywalled study or something that you just can't seem to understand, send it my way and I'll give it my best shot!

Table of Contents

General questions under the cut

Can you give medical advice?

Absolutely not. And my summaries should not be construed as a perfectly faithful interpretation of the material -- they are a guide to finding the part of the article most relevant to your own research.

Can I ask you to do research on a condition or symptom for me?

No, sorry. I don't have the energy or time to do that as much as I would love to. Send me a study or piece of literature and I will be happy to access and interpret it. If you really can't find literature on your topic, you can send a question and I'll try to find a paper on it but no guarantees.

What can I send?

You can send any medical literature you want me to try and summarise (journal articles, studies, statements, etc), suggestions for accessibility improvements, questions about things I've posted (I'll link them to the orginal post), pointing out errors. Basically anything. If I can't access or answer something, I'll let you know!

Can I send something anonymously?

Absolutely! Anonymous asks are on. Unfortunately anonymous asks don't allow you to send links so minimum information I need to find the study is title, author(s), and publication date. The name of the journal it was published in is also useful! I will put the summary in the response to the ask so if you don't want to be credited and you don't want to ask anonymously, just put that in your ask and I'll accommodate.

How is this blog organised?

I have included a link to the table of contents above. I will tag all posts with the relevant condition so they show up in the archive. Each post will have a link to a second post that includes the article figures, and, if the article is not publicly available, some way of sharing important parts of it.

Are there restrictions on what disabilities/chronic illnesses the material can relate to?

I am going to loosely restrict this to conditions that have a physical component but of course if the study is on a link between a physical and other disability, that is perfectly fair game. Obviously I am more knowledgeable about the disabilities and chronic illnesses I personally experience (including POTS, hEDS, ME/CFS, and fibromyalgia) but if you send me something that I don't have experience with, I will give that caveat and do my best.

Edit: I'm actually happy to do non-physical conditions too! Why'd you restrict it, silly past me?

What language(s) can I send things in?

The language of the study must be English. If you come across something in French, I can do my best with that as well since I grew up biligual; however, all my medical treatment has been in English as is the degree I'm pursuing so I am much more comfortable with English language papers. If you want to send your question in French, go ahead but I will respond in English.

Can I help?

Yes! Of course! Just let me know how you want to help. One thing I absolutely need help with is image descriptions. I likely won't be including them unless I'm having a really good day since they're absolutely exhausting for me to write, so if you send me an image description for a figure, I will be adding it to the post immediately and crediting you if you want!!!

[twistedtummies2]

COMMISSIONS 2024

Hello, everyone! It’s time to discuss a topic that I’ve put off longer than I probably should have: Story Commissions for 2024.

Let me start off by saying this flat-out: 2023 was an unmitigated disaster when it came to commissions. My plan to try and take care of crowd control backfired on a most spectacular level. And this was after me trying other experimental tactics to manage time, crowd control, and money alike, none of which really worked. As a result, my INITIAL plan for 2024 was to return to basics: to go back to the way I always did things, and just stick by that.

In some ways, that is exactly what I’m going to do. In others, not so much. So, HERE IS HOW COMMISSIONS WILL BE HANDLED FOR 2024.

I will be opening publicly in February of 2024. There will be commissions in January, BUT, for reasons I won’t go into here, I am contacting the commissioners for January privately. The specific current plan is to open publicly on February 16th, which is a Friday. If I need to open late, for any reason, the late opening will be February 19th; if I am able to open earlier, and I feel up to doing so, the early opening will be February 14th. All other dates for openings will be announced as they come.

I will LIKELY be open nine months out of the year: January (privately), February, April, May, July, August, September, October, and November. I am taking March off specifically because I’m going to be out of state for a week or so that month (unless something changes), and even if that trip gets canceled, I’ll also be having rehearsals for a play, very likely, in the time after I’d be scheduled to return. So by giving myself the extra month off, I’ll be able to ensure I complete commissions despite these hiccups, theoretically speaking. June and December I planned to take off anyway.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: I am - rather begrudgingly, I must confess - going to be raising my prices for commissions. I will also be lessening the number of commissions I take on. Specifically, I will be charging $15 per thousand words, and I will only have five slots available. As far as crowd control goes, I will deal with that on a case by case basis: if reservations for a month fill out, then I may not open publicly that month, but I will not open for multiple months at a time. I will go into why I am doing all this later in the journal, so just bear that in mind for the moment.

There will be special discounts offered in February, April, July, and November. These discounts won’t have any particular THEME, it’s just going to be a collection of characters/franchises that you can earn money off of. With the exception of July, the discounts for the other three months will all be handled the same way: if you request a piece with a character on the list, you will be charged $10 per thousand words instead of $15, basically getting five dollars off every thousand words and being charged what WAS my standard fee.

TIED TO THE PREVIOUS POINT, there will be a standing discount - which means it applies to EVERY month I’m open, not just those four - where if you request a story with one of my OCs as the main focal character, you will, again, be charged $10 per thousand words instead of $15 per thousand.

My extra fee will change slightly too: if I go 3000 words over the established minimum length, then I will start the charging at $5 instead of $10. This fee will still increase by five every thousand. So if the story is, for example, 3000 words to begin with: at $15 per thousand, this would cost $45. If I write 6000 words for that story, then the final price will be $50: forty-five plus a five-dollar extra fee. You can do the math from there.

Now that I’ve detailed all of that…let’s address the question no doubt on a lot of your minds: why have I raised the price and why have I shortened the number of stories? Well…the answer is simply one word: “necessity.” I realized, as a result of the fiasco that was 2023, and the problems with 2022 before it, that my work output has slowed down a LOT over the years, for MANY reasons. I physically cannot write the GIGANTIC stories lots of people commission from me quite as quickly as I used to. So, I’m lessening the number of stories, so that I have a better chance of finishing everything on schedule. However, if I’m going to lessen the number of stories, I then absolutely MUST raise the price: bills need to be paid, various other expenses need to be dealt with. I need to make the same amount per round as before, if not more so, and I need to do it more consistently. SO, I basically have no other recourse. It’s either only do work half the year with lots of stories but only about half the amount of money I’d make, or I do less stories, more frequently, but have to charge more as a consequence. I understand that, for lots of people, these conditions will prove troublesome. I did not blindly stagger into this decision: I consulted several friends and frequent commissioners to see what they thought, and all of them - even if they did admit it might be more difficult for a few of them - agreed this was the best choice to make.

I will be updating my Commission Info Post (and reblogging it) in the near future according to these new plans. Again, January commissions will be dealt with privately, and I plan to open publicly on February 16th. If anything else changes, I will let everybody know.

Thank you all for your patience, and your continued support. I hope this next year will be more fruitful and more fun than the last one. :-)

[learnfromhistoryorrepeatit]

February 7, 2023, 4:30AM

Ohio public schools under attack as lack of accountability allows Nazi homeschooling scandal | Marilou Johanek, Ohio Capital Journal

“Public education is in the crosshairs of book-banning, speech-censoring bullies, and private school zealots draining public school dollars. Missing in the DeSantis shuffle and campaigns to privatize education is any correlating interest in how the vast majority of publicly educated students in this country learn, develop, grow, and achieve.

Some 90% of Ohio kids attend public schools. Their districts are routinely starved for funds, teachers, equipment, and sound facilities. But the educational welfare of those students is not what motivates Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman’s education agenda. What drives the Lima Republican is political control.

He wants it over education policy without interference from Ohio voters or the Ohio Board of Education members they elected. That’s why he’s pushing to transfer most of the duties of the board to an unaccountable, unelected political appointee in the governor’s office with Senate Bill 1. Huffman’s disdain for public accountability and oversight in education was evident when he downplayed the explosive news of Nazi homeschooling in Ohio.

His concern was less about Ohio children being reportedly indoctrinated with racist, antisemitic, and homophobic curriculum and more about political fallout. “I hope, frankly, that people will not try to take some political advantage or policy advantage,” said the Senate leader who hopes to take political advantage over education policy.

Nothing to see here, he implied when asked about the Ohio-based homeschooling network purportedly disseminating neo-Nazi propaganda and hate-filled lesson plans to a flourishing online community of like-minded Nazi parents. According to bombshell media reports, a northwest Ohio couple had secretly been running an organization known as “Dissident Homeschool” to share “Nazi-approved” curriculum via a Telegram channel since October, 2021.

The stunning revelation raised obvious questions about the need for stricter home-school regulations in the state — which Huffman dismissed outright.

“Basically trying to decide that a couple of sociopaths somewhere in Ohio who are doing strange things, that that somehow should affect policy and the rest of the state” was somehow preposterous to Huffman. The senate president has more pressing priorities — like squeezing public education to subsidize parochial schools — than getting to the bottom of a homegrown Hitler brigade allegedly corrupting homeschooled students in Wyandot County.

Where is the Republican outrage over the reputed indoctrination of young minds in Ohio to the finer points of Nazism and white nationalism or is MAGA indignation only reserved for “woke” lessons on phantom menaces (CRT) not being taught to children? The home-educated students in the Upper Sandusky Exempted Village Schools District were apparently learning to denigrate African Americans, celebrate Adolf Hitler, and the Sieg Heil salute.

The husband-and-wife pair who allegedly grew their pro-Nazi homeschool community on the popular messaging app to more than 2,500 members evidently spent years developing fascist coursework and toxic syllabuses to properly rear a child who “becomes a wonderful Nazi.” The rot reportedly peddled from Upper Sandusky as “primarily resources for curriculum recommendations for elementary aged children” operated under the radar until the media exposed it.

If not for reporting by Vice News, Huffington Post, and initial investigation by a hate group monitor, the apparent use and distribution of pro-Nazi homeschool materials might still be going on in Ohio. That’s a problem. Over 51,000 students are home-educated in a largely hands-off state okay with absurdly weak homeschooling regulations compared to public schools.

Parents who homeschool are only required to submit an annual Home Education Notification Form to the superintendent of their home district. That form will either excuse their child from school attendance or not. Homeschoolers must confirm compliance with state home-schooling requirements which include a minimum of 900 hours of instruction in core academic disciplines “unless the topic or practice conflicts with the religious beliefs of the parent.”

Yearly homeschooling requirements also cover “a brief outline of the intended curriculum” and “a list of teaching materials” for students. The submitted notification to home educate with background information and academic assessment reports must be reviewed by the superintendent “within 14 calendar days.” Excusal from school attendance is not guaranteed.

“If a superintendent finds the parent’s notification to instruct a child at home has not been submitted, is incomplete or does not comply with the laws” the child’s absence from school would be investigated and truancy laws enforced. So what went wrong in Wyandot County?

Did the parents who reportedly operated a Nazi homeschool bent on indoctrinating grade schoolers to dehumanize Blacks and Jews pass muster with the superintendent of the Upper Sandusky district as mandated by law? Did Eric Landversicht ever receive, review, and sign off on a completed notification form from the identified neo-Nazis homeschoolers?

The superintendent wouldn’t say. In a statement he called the allegations about the social media channel created by fascist homeschoolers in his district “egregious” but claimed state and federal privacy laws prohibited him from discussing the case and even affirming receipt of notification or whether he responded to it. “I cannot address whether a particular family submitted a Homeschooling Notification Form, the contents of such Form, or whether I excused a particular student from compulsory education mandate,” he emailed me.

So much for the public’s right to know what’s going on in their school districts and what young Ohioans are being taught — besides which books they can’t read or what history they can’t learn or what resources they can’t have because of depleted funds.”

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/02/07/ohio-public-schools-under-attack-while-lack-of-accountability-allows-nazi-homeschooling-scandal/

[prolifeproliberty]

Capitalism doesn’t get all the credit for the internet, but it does get credit for the internet as it exists today, and ESPECIALLY the accessibility of the internet through relatively affordable handheld devices. It also gets credit for a lot of the places people go to access information (yes, including Wikipedia which is not perfect but is generally reliable for basic information)

YouTube - with as many issues as it has - contains a LOT of knowledge, especially when it comes to learning from people who are experts in their field.

Now, we would have better access to more information and more options for where to look if the government didn’t enable corporations to have monopolies.

Remember that capitalism is literally just people owning resources (including their own labor) and making their own decision about what to do with those resources.

People choose to share their knowledge online.

People choose to write books, and then sell those books in book stores or online.

I’m not saying knowledge is free, I’m saying it’s accessible. You might have to pay for a book or for access to an academic journal. Oh the horror.

What I’m saying is that you DON’T have to go into significant student debt to learn deeply about a topic. You don’t need a degree if you want to “learn for learning’s sake”

You can buy a book (or academic journal subscription) and read.

For most of human history, that was not possible for the average person.

The Gutenberg printing press was the first game changer that allowed pamphlets and books to be mass produced and available to average people of average means.

Advancements in printing have gotten us to the point now where books are almost considered disposable. I can walk into a discount book store in any medium to large size city and spend a small amount of money to buy reference books on almost any subject.

Sure, some knowledge has been lost - is that somehow capitalism’s fault? Would socialism/communism somehow fix that?

There is more knowledge readily accessible online either for free or for a nominal cost than you or I could actually read and retain in our lifetimes.

Go read and learn things. And yeah, work a job so you can afford your basic needs (including books). Learn a trade or skill that allows you to make decent money, and then learn for fun. It’s really not that complicated.

(Also, while libraries are publicly funded, they also heavily rely on donations - and that’s part of capitalism. So if you like libraries, donate money to help them stay open.)

I think it’s incredibly fucked how capitalism discourages learning for learning’s sake. People will have interests they’ve spent years researching then say it’s “useless knowledge” bc it didn’t go towards a college degree and isn’t part of their job. Learning is never useless! Your brain is growing and developing throughout your whole life! People would never have epiphanies or sudden lightening strikes of creativity if they weren’t learning new things! That goes double for topics like science, politics, and history, which inform your understanding of the world you live in!

[subjectivecuriosities]

A Few Thoughts on Stirner: This is a response to the recent 2 parter Max Stirner episode of The Partially Examined Life Podcast: https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2025/01/06/ep358-1-stirner/ It's a great podcast check it out.

Don't know if y'all read these since I am not behind the paywall but I wanted to throw a few thoughts in. Even though I disagree with most of the hosts readings overall I did find the discussion interesting as always and there were plenty of individual interpretations I did agree with. I had a similar reading when I encountered Stirner's writings for the first time but have changed my mind since. I have read both English translations of The Unique and Its Property a few times as well as Stirner's Critics and other writings from and about Stirner including pretty much the only real attempt at a record of his life where basically everything we know about the historical person is sourced since it was created by interviewing the few living people who knew him: “Max Stirner His Life and His Work” written by John Henry Mackay.

Stirner's Critics is his only follow up to this work which he wrote in third person responding to three critiques (Szeliga, Feuerbach, Hess) of The Unique and It's Property. I highly recommend reading this and the forward to Wolfi Landstreicher’s 21st century translation of The Unique and It’s Property. I do not agree with everything Wolfi reads into Stirner (Though Wolfi certainly makes it his own and is an interpretation I like and make use of personally something that seems very in spirit with what Stirner writes about), but he briefly provides so much needed context lacking in the Byington translation. He takes more care in what words he uses in his translation along with providing explanations of those choices.

Part of the right-wing recuperation of Stirner is because the translation you guys read (and only English translation until the 21st century) was commissioned by market anarchists. He inspired the first queer print journal in history I am aware of, The Bonnot Gang in France, and many more socialist minded projects (Unions and what not) as well as trying (and failing) to operate a co-operative milk shop.

Still the icky feeling his book gives off by his seemingly weaselly unsatisfying decision to not over clarify or spend nearly as much time on a positive project or some sort of to do list to respond to is a fair critique but the point is to apply his ideas of autonomy, insurrection, and free association to your own unique perspective and that is where you find the positive project in your own subjective life experience. This is intentional. For one thing I believe Stirner is merely stating how he lives his life (still he did publish an illegal book about it publicly implying some kind of desire for engaging others). As well as letting his drinking buddies at Hippel’s Wine Bar (The Young Hegelians minus Marx who never met him in person) know he thinks they are fixing the old limitations of Hegel and each critique after by simply making new limitations or giving the old ones new names. Neither here nor there but by most accounts Stirner was a mild mannered friendly joy to have drinks with.

The unique itself is like Debord's Spectacle (giving it a specific one sentence thesis definition is not desirable) or even more so the Dao. Stirner had Hegel as a professor who taught Eastern Philosophy so I do no think it is just a coincidence that he wrote in this way. He of course in turn influenced the Daoist anarchist Jun Tsuji continuing the circle. You cannot limit it simply by language or subject object. It is a self devoid of any fixed attributes put upon it. It is so specific it cannot be generalized. Your property is everything that exists in your reality. Thoughts, relationships, people, ideologies, and how you use them. My friend is my property when they make me smile when I think about them. The shovel I borrow is my property when I am using it and when it is no longer useful to me I discard it. Even though it is back in my friends ownership it is still my property because I know I can borrow it or steal it or buy it from them again. Properties is a synonym for attributes (details of an object, action, or thought) as much as it means any kind of literal possession of something.

There very much is a positive project expressed here though that anyone can take up and in the same way it includes all activities it also closes out none. He is basically saying test all things to legitimacy dont take anything at its word or as some over arching thing as a bare minimum across the board, a starting place. Gender isnt real and neither is God. You can believe in either one you want as long as you know there is no such thing as an external justification or proof for them outside of the self. Same thing as any state or individual powerful enough to give you something only has that power by also being powerful enough to take it away from you and it will be determined by the states well being not yours. This does not mean you can not be a christian it means you must know that there is no external truth that it is or not real and that if it is not working for you you may (if you have the ability to) scrap it at least mentally you may have to pretend but mentally you can believe whatever you want no one can take that from you and if the situation changes materially you can respond rather than holding back due to mentally constructed limitions.

I interpret the whole no overarching external morality thing to mean freedom from having to be violent just as much as it does freedom to be violent. There is no external morality every social belief or institution we take for granted can be traced back to agreement or subjugation to violence. He just means that there is no third party arbitrator who will come down and tell you what to do and if you do what others tell you you are doing what they want you to do and to be aware of that as a starting point in thinking about it. Stirner’s perspective is an attempt at authenticity (an escape from alienation) by my reading but to and for yourself only, you can be as inauthentic as you want to other people in the form deception if you so desire and as Stirner points out there may be no total escape possible from alienation or authoritarian subjugation but it leaves yourself open as an agent in your own reality to respond, create, and destroy when where and how you can even if just mentally in the present moment.

Might doesnt necessarily make right it makes what is. The problem in most peoples readings is they miss that might is not just physical strength. Might can be anything it can be loving kindness, it can be charisma, it can be blackmail, it can be murder, it can be guilt, it can be trading favors, it can be using other peoples own ideological hangups against them, it can be anything. Rather than Might I think of it as what is beneficial to you both short term and long term. It may be beneficial to rob a store in the short term because you can but will it be beneficial to have the store owner try to kill you? To be banned from the store permanently? To go to prison or be on the run from the state? I think it completely allows for a conscious you may not want to rob the store because you like the store owner or you have your own business and you would not want that behavior to spread and have your own business robbed as a result.

As far as a positive project goes Stirner is quite clear with his union of egoists with what a positive project might look like. It is when two or more individuals find a common activity or relationship. Finding mutual empowerment rather than begrudged compromise or violent subjugation. This looks just as much like making love, playing sports, having a night out with friends, etc as it does anything resembling violence. For more context on what Stirner meant by the Union of Egoists here is a quote from his follow up Stirner's Critics:

"If Hess attentively observed real life, to which he holds so much, he will see hundreds of such egoistic unions, some passing quickly, others lasting. Perhaps at this very moment, some children have come together just outside his window in a friendly game. If he looks at them, he will see a playful egoistic union. Perhaps Hess has a friend or a beloved; then he knows how one heart finds another, as their two hearts unite egoistically to delight (enjoy) each other, and how no one “comes up short” in this. Perhaps he meets a few good friends on the street and they ask him to accompany them to a tavern for wine; does he go along as a favor to them, or does he “unite” with them because it promises pleasure? Should they thank him heartily for the “sacrifice,” or do they know that all together they form an “egoistic union” for a little while?"

In general The Unique and It’s Property is perhaps not satisfying from an academic knowledge of the history of philosophy in an so we can argue over principles/claims sort of way but it for sure had a huge positive impact on my own understanding of the world and my place in it as a casual philosophy/political manifesto reader when I was younger and I think it would have been very enlightening to folks in 1800s Prussia. Stirner makes a nice Ying to Peter Kropotkin’s Anarcho-Communist Yang as a foundation for Anarchism and I take equal inspiration from both in my own understanding of the idea 100+ years later.

Most of the supplementary material I mentioned is too esoteric for the podcast I am sure y’all are not chomping at the bit to get into the weeds of Stirner but I do think Stirner’s Critics would make for a great follow up episode the entire PDF is only 31 pages. Also neither here nor there but I am not really a leave a comment type of person so if you read this thanks for keeping the lectures of Rick Roderick alive! I stumbled onto those, the lectures of Robert Solomon, and The Partially Examined Life podcast about a decade ago and for a poor person who has never taken a single philosophy class and did not graduate from an unrelated college degree program it has been incredibly informative and enjoyable to listen to while I break my back at the wage labor factory.

Max Stirner - Stirner's Critics: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/max-stirner-stirner-s-critics

John Henry Mackay - Max Stirner His Life and His Work https://files.libcom.org/files/Mackay%20-%20Max%20Stirner%20-%20His%20Life%20and%20His%20Work.pdf

Wolfi Landstreicher’s English Translation of The Unique and It’s Property: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/max-stirner-the-unique-and-its-property

[freestylegenius]

In the spirit of calling myself on my shit I have entertained the thought on multiple occasions that doing so publicly must mean that I am indulging in some performative breakdown.

And maybe that’s true. Like who the fuck cares about a sad middle age white woman who no longer has a place in society? Literally nobody. Nobody cares. Even I’m sick of my own shit. I don’t want to hear about it either, but I’m the one in it and I can’t leave. Unless I leave leave.

So why set up a whole ass website and a bunch of socials with a pseudonym? Why be public with it? This has been a monkey on my back for a couple of decades, since I travel the world solo for a year in 2001.

I became a prolific writer on that journey, only to never revisit it again. I tried many times but never stuck with it. Something about experiencing big emotions with nobody to share it with seems to get me to write. So here we go again. Something is here. And I won’t know what it is until I coax it out. All I know if whatever remains hidden in my subconscious is now straight up ruining my life at this point.

And maybe as a bonus to getting out of my way I might also find my tribe. My people. This would be such a blessing. I know they exist. I see them online. Bring me the women, the witches, the intuitives and the deep thinkers. The animal lovers. Those who swim in esoteric angst about what why we are all here and can be gutted by well structured sentence in a book or lyric in a song. And the dancers. Bring me all of the dancers and the musicians too. Bring me people who are moved. Hell, just bring me an emergency contact I can rely on at this point.

I think I was supposed to be a creative. But I was indoctrinated by republican parents who taught me to chase the almighty dollar and all it got me was moderate success, no true fulfillment and a midlife breakdown where I appear to be losing everything I have ever worked for.

While I have often presented as a whiny, entitled, selfish asshole at times, I would like to believe that this is not my true nature. As evidenced by the fact that I feel my heart so deeply that I am moved to tears on the daily. And that feels significant. Like I can’t be here all alone with this giant heart. It seems at least one other person should know about this.

The voices in my head are so loud. The ones telling me I am wasting my time. Why write anything at the point where AI is basically about to take over? Because my self expression matters. Because we need to create. Even and especially if it isn’t marketable. Assigning value to creative pursuits based on their marketability is ass backwards and a tool of capitalism that I would like to see die. Every one of us should be writing, painting, dancing, singing and creating.

I’m writing because we are in unprecendented times and it seems someone ought to document what the hell is happening around the world. Journalism is absolutely dead so it seems to be on us.

I don’t think anything I have written here is worth reading. At all. And that alone in and of itself is an act of defiance. Here I stand, middle age and out of favor in my culture. Taking up space and telling my story. I know nobody is watching. Nobody is concerning themselves with what aging women are doing. But I still exist. I may no longer exist in a company, and maybe the bank will take my home some day and I may not even want to be here anymore and sometimes I don’t. But until then, my presence will be felt. On some level, in some medium. that alone is an act of defiance

I am here creating this because I have never created anything. I have never built or birthed anything before. And I need to leave this earth with more to contribute than money into the pockets of rich men and whatever I contributed to a landfill. And because I don’t know what else to do and I don’t have money for therapy.

We will shift the collective realty when we all shift internally. I will no longer be passive in the creation of the space I inhabit. I have good intentions and a beautiful heart. Why am I passively sitting by watching morally bankrupt men destroy everything that is beautiful.

I shall relentlessly pursue meaning. I will live with intention and pursue meaning. This is how I will live a meaningful life. My delulu will be my fuel. I was born into this fucked up world to reimagine it. I do not feel I belong here because I am meant to change it.

[louisysl]

trauma dumping under the cut this isn't meant to be read btw it's just. like a journal entry so plus it'd need all kinds of tws so just don't read

i have a very fickle memory in general due to dissociating, but i just got this flashback that gets triggered by something every now and then and that i can't quite access but it keeps coming back up sometimes and i don't know if typing it out will accomplish anything but

i've said it plenty of times here but my ex was abusive. also he was a guy, and i'm not even sure i'm into men - the more i look into it the more i realise a lot of my supposed attraction to men is actually craving the validation of men which i've been conditioned to crave from literal childhood as most if not all girls are? like i've never really been into a man, but i've wanted to be wanted by a man, to be attractive to a man, y'know? like i've played that role successfully and it's made me feel accomplished or something, i haven't really dug too deep into that thought yet

like if i think back to that relationship and to thoughts i can remember having, there are a few that stand out

- knowing we didn't want the same future, knowing he couldn't be my forever because i didn't want what he wanted and i knew he thought he could coerce me into it. maybe i even thought he could somehow. but i was so dependent on him that i avoided that reality entirely - consciously trying to justify to myself why he was attractive or the type of person i wanted to be with, when so much of him was so opposite to what i want and when so much of his morals and thoughts completely fought with my own. trying to come up with things i found attractive about his personality, consciously trying to dig them so i could. i don't know. prove i was attracted to him? and not just.. craving to be wanted and latching onto someone who really did want me desperately, because that was the one thing i could count on, that he really, truly wanted me and i hadn't really had that before. i wasn't wanted or liked by my parents and with my ex gf i didn't feel it that strongly, it didn't feel as, like. um. it felt more fickle, her attraction to me, i'm not sure if that's fair to say but it was very young love. that love felt much more tender - he personified abuse i experienced growing up. i started to realise that at some point. i even heard that it's common that those who have been abused as children look for their abusers in their partners in the future. but i didn't face that for a long time

but there was this one time when we were on a tram and he did something where he completely humiliated me publicly. like to a point that i lost my ability to speak (my trauma response is going mute, like, unable to utter a word even if i try my very fucking best to, i physically can't). and i remember the feeling, i just can't access what it was he did or said. but i remember that feeling, that shattering of something, that cruel way he crossed a line that was too far even for me, even for my stupidly low idiotic standards for how i should be treated. he somehow managed to cross that line when the line barely existed, and i can't for the life of me remember how

but even though i was so utterly devastated, humiliated and even angry, which isn't something i feel about myself - i don't get angry for myself. i don't get angry, period, not unless something really fucked up is being done to someone i love. lol. lol oh my god. sorry im actually laughing right now because does that mean somewhere really deep down i love myself? because what the fuck isn't that what i basically just said

god okay i can't entertain that thought right now please

anyway. despite the complete state of shock i was in, despite being so desperate to run, to get away, to fucking go. to leave him. to go home. i can't tell you how desperately i wanted to. i can't express it. but he had manipulated me so fiercely by then that despite the aching need to fucking leave, i couldn't. couldn't. physically could not do it, i fantasised about it in that moment, i stepped out of that tram with him and i thought, i had this wild, wild, insane thought that i could just get on a train home right now. i could go to my own apartment. i wanted to. god did i want to. my very soul was screaming for me to. and not even for good but just for that night, to show i could. to show it wasn't okay, what he did. but yknow what i did instead?

i stayed. i allowed him to berate me more. allowed him to blame it all on me. to humiliate me further. to diminish me to nothing. to scream and throw up all over my fantasies of leaving, drown those thoughts out with this hold he had on me. i bet he fucking knew i wanted to go. bet he did and i bet he loved that i couldn't. god i used to think so well of him, gave him every benefit of doubt the world had to offer and then invented some more. can't tell you how many excuses i came up with, how many arguments i had with my friends insisting they were wrong, he wasn't what they thought he was, they just didn't see him for who he was, but i did, he showed that to me because i was so special

if i ever heal and get into another relationship i'm taking my friends' word the first fucking second they say hey so this is fucked up and you need to leave, i'm gone.

but the hold he had on me, it's scary to think back to. to have been so desperate to escape but physically unable to, because he had me wrapped around his finger so skillfully. fuck. i used to think he was just accidentally manipulating me. it was a coincidence that there was this massive power imbalance. he was pure at heart, it was just circumstances, he couldn't help it..

but if i have even the tiniest fraction of sympathy for myself those years ago, if i look at myself then, and i think of him then, and i look at it from the outside it's impossible to think he didn't know, that it wasn't deliberate.

hm. i need to stop rambling. yknow t hasn't been active lately, lately as in years.. but he's there now he's saying i need to shut up now so

[luzarvizublog]

Film Journal #4 The 1950's (Back to the Drawing Board)

"No Smoking" (1951)

Directed by: Jack Kinney

1) Technique section:

How was it made? 

The 1950s marked a period of innovation at Disney (besides expanding into the theme park industry), although there isn't a lot of detailed information about it. During this time, animators were encouraged to explore new techniques and storytelling methods. In addition to creativity, smoking was quite common, as the dangers of tobacco had not yet been publicly recognized by the federal government. Cigarette manufacturers also actively promoted their products without restraint.

What materials were used?

Cel animation, which was the most common technique, allowing multiple layers of animation to be stacked over a static background, whether hand-drawn or computer-generated.

How was it captured?

The animation was captured using a multi-plane camera, this allowed different layers of cels and backgrounds to be filmed and create a sense of depth and dimension in the final film.

2) Representation section:

What is the short about?

In this short film, we follow the story of Goofy, who is depicted as a character named "George" who is struggling to quit smoking. The film humorously illustrates George's challenges as he attempts to quit but finds himself returning to smoking. In the end, the narrative concludes on a somewhat "positive" note for him.

Who does it depict?

Goofy as a smoker named "George" who is apparently trying to quit smoking but ends up returning to it anyway.

3) Reception section:

How was it shown?

Its first appearance was in cinemas, just like many other animated short films. Later, it was included in a 1961 episode of the Walt Disney anthology series "Goofy's Salute to Father." This allowed the short to reach a wider audience, enabling people to enjoy it in the comfort of their homes. You could say it had a dual life, first in cinemas and then on television.

How did you see it?

Saw this short on a youtube playlist and capture my attention cause it had Goofy on it.

This was my first time watching this short film, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve seen other shorts or movies where Goofy is portrayed as, well, goofy, but this one really caught me off guard. Seeing Goofy like this is not what I'm accustomed to. Maybe it’s because watching him struggle with quitting smoking is somewhat depressing. I understand that the short conveys a message about quitting smoking or how one might look as a result, well, that’s my interpretation. I wonder if this short film or any of the animators attempted to convey something to Walt since we all know he was a chain smoker.

What was the response at the time? Now?

During that time, smoking was very common and was often seen as cool and glamorous. A significant percentage of men smoked. However, this short film was generally well received because the audience could relate to the character's struggle to quit, as it was a common issue.

Nowadays, the short film "No Smoking" is viewed through a more critical lens due to changing attitudes toward smoking and health. Some people find it concerning that Goofy does not make much effort to quit smoking. While this may have been funny at the time, today it is seen as something that would never be acceptable on Disney+. So basically, while "No Smoking" was initially enjoyed for its humor and relatability, other perspectives are more critical because of the evolving understanding of the health impacts of smoking.

Fun fact: At one point, this animated short was included in the 1960s Walt Disney anthology series called "A Salute to Father," which was later renamed "Goofy's Salute to Father." In this series, there is an alternative ending where they reanimated the short to show Goofy ACTUALLY quitting smoking for good and encouraging others to do the same. This version delivers a "Don't ever start smoking" message, in contrast to the original 1950s short that focused more on "finding a way to quit." The change was made to reflect the evolving cultural attitudes toward smoking.

Sources used:

[newstfionline]

Saturday, June 1, 2024

Departing House Members Ask: ‘Why Am I Here?’ (NYT) At some point during a routine seven-hour trip from his Oregon district to Washington, Representative Earl Blumenauer, 75, a Democrat who has served in Congress for almost three decades, experienced a depressing epiphany. “I distinctly recall crawling on yet another plane to come back for yet another vote that made absolutely no difference and was going absolutely nowhere,” he said in an interview. “And I had this singular experience of asking myself, ‘Why would you do this?’” Mr. Blumenauer’s moment of truth was in fact far from singular. A total of 54 House members, or about one-eighth of the total body, will not be seeking another term this November. Many say that serving in Congress is no longer worth the frustration.

Americans now get a quarter of their groceries from store brands (The Independent) Americans are buying roughly one-quarter of their groceries from store brands, rather than nationally-recognized name brands, as shoppers continue to deal with rising prices on everyday goods. As inflation continues to keep prices up across industries, Americans are turning to cheaper alternatives for groceries, the Wall Street Journal found. National brands still make up 78 cents of dollar shares—basically percent of sales if all sales equaled $1. However, store brands are seeing their shares grow from 18 cents in 2006 to 22 cents today. Consumers are looking to save money wherever possible.

The hail in Texas was so big Tuesday that it required a new description (Washington Post) A string of rotating thunderstorms developed across west Texas on Tuesday, dropping record-setting hail and prompting a novel warning message from the National Weather Service. Hail the size of DVDs bombarded communities to the northwest of Lubbock, shattering windshields, damaging structures and even leaving small craters in fields and farmland. In an unusual turn of events, the biggest hail report, at nearly five inches in diameter, came from … me. I happened to be storm chasing and was stationed in the town of Pettit, Tex., about 40 miles northwest of Lubbock, where I encountered hail larger than grapefruits. My report prompted the Weather Service to issue a warning for hail five inches in diameter, the first such warning since at least 2010.

Two more US officials resign over Biden administration’s position on Gaza war (Guardian) Two more officials have resigned over the Biden administration’s policy on the war in Gaza. Alexander Smith, a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said he was given a choice between resignation and dismissal after preparing a presentation on the death of women and children in the enclave. Meanwhile, an official from the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Stacy Gilbert, sent an email to colleagues to explain that her departure was sparked by the department’s official report that Israel was not deliberately obstructing the flow of food or other aid into Gaza. Smith and Gilbert bring the total number of Biden administration officials to have publicly resigned over the war in Gaza to nine, but some say that number is higher.

Flood-battered farmers in southern Brazil wade through lost harvests (Reuters) After three days of ferocious rains, Edite de Almeida and her husband fled their flooded home in early May and let loose their humble dairy herd on higher ground. Nearby, the waters rose above her head and within a day they were lapping at the roofs of houses. Record-breaking floods in southern Brazil, the result of weather patterns intensified by climate change, have only started to recede after displacing half a million people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and killing more than 160. The full extent of the losses is still coming into focus, especially in rural areas where farmers like Almeida and her family produce much of Brazil’s rice, wheat and dairy. The floods have rattled agricultural markets as they disrupted soy harvesting, washed out silos, snared farm exports and killed over 400,000 chickens. The washed out farms and roads around the state capital Porto Alegre have contributed to food and water shortages in the area, adding to the crisis disrupting the lives of more than 2 million people. Parts of the state saw more than 700 mm (28 inches) of rain so far this month, national weather service INMET reported—more than London’s average rainfall in a year.

Iceland volcano dramatically erupts again as streams of lava reach town’s defensive walls (CNN) On Wednesday, an Icelandic volcano erupted for the fifth time since last December. The eruption sent lava flowing towards the nearby town of Grindavík as well as a tourist destination named the Blue Lagoon. Luckily, Grindavík has built literal defensive walls to protect from the lava—“houses in the west and farthest part of the town would have gone under the lava if it weren’t for the defensive walls, but they are still standing and defending,” said one local authority. While the flows luckily didn’t cause much damage to local communities, researchers say that the increase in volcanic activity at the crater might spell a rocky (and also molten) period for the area. The last time that the Reykjanes Peninsula (where the eruption occurred) experienced a period of volcanic activity was about 800 years ago—during that time, eruptions occurred regularly for decades. With the peninsula’s recent spike in eruptions, experts predict that the region might be facing another extended period of volcanic activity that could last decades or even centuries.

Modi touts India’s roaring economy as he seeks reelection, but many feel left behind (AP) Narendra Modi swept to power a decade ago on promises to transform India’s economy, and it would be hard to argue he hasn’t made strides. As he seeks a third term as prime minister, the country’s economic growth is the envy of the world, its stock markets are booming, and new buildings and highways are popping up everywhere. There are cracks in the facade, though, that his political challengers hope to benefit from, including high unemployment, persistent poverty and the sense that only a small portion of India’s 1.4 billion people has been able to cash in on the good fortune. “You have a booming economy for people higher up on the socioeconomic ladder, but people lower down are really struggling,” said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

‘Unbearable’ heat in Delhi is testing limits of human survival (Washington Post) India’s capital territory of Delhi experienced some of its hottest weather on record Tuesday and Wednesday, with highs in some neighborhoods near the landmark threshold of 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). The exceptional heat has closed schools, endangered outdoor workers, stressed water supplies and infrastructure, and reached levels that would test the limits of human survival if sustained. “The intense heat has sharply increased the number of fires in dwellings, heatstrokes and trips to emergency rooms. It has made just going outside—a necessity for many who depend on manual labor for their daily wages—simply unbearable,” Ramanan Laxminarayan, president of One Health Trust in India, said in an email. “The rise in temperatures comes alongside water shortages, and together are making many areas simply unlivable.”

Australia’s new ‘men’s behavior change’ secretary (Washington Post) A state in Australia has taken a new step aimed at tackling domestic violence—appointing the country’s first official responsible for “Men’s Behavior Change”—as the prime minister has warned violence against women is “a national crisis.” The new role—called the parliamentary secretary for men’s behavior change—has already generated some controversy—with the politician tasked with the job acknowledging it is “not easy work.” Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan announced the role this week, appointing state lawmaker Tim Richardson to what she called “the first position of its kind in Australia.” The role “will focus largely on the influence the internet and social media have on boys’ and men’s attitudes towards women and building respectful relationships.” Some Australians took to social media to criticize the move, while radio host Ben Fordham dubbed the decision “collective punishment” that is “treating all men like an enemy.”

Egypt Faces Hard Choices After Israeli Seizure of Gaza’s Southern Border (NYT) When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel announced plans late last year to occupy a sensitive corridor of land in the Gaza Strip, along the border with Egypt, the response from Cairo was public, explicit and ominous. “It must be strictly emphasized that any Israeli move in this direction will lead to a serious threat to Egyptian-Israeli relations,” the Egyptian government said in a statement in English in January, weeks after Mr. Netanyahu announced plans to occupy the so-called Philadelphi Corridor. Egypt said that an Israeli military presence there would violate the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries. This week, the Israeli military announced that it had seized “tactical control” of the corridor. Yet despite the Egyptian government facing domestic pressure to take a harsher stance on Israel following its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, there has been no public Egyptian comment on the seizure of the corridor. The silence may be a reflection of the dilemma Egypt finds itself in after nearly eight months of war in Gaza.

South Africa heads for coalition as ANC support plunges (Reuters) South African parties geared up for coalition talks on Friday as the governing African National Congress (ANC) looked set to fall well short of a majority for the first time in 30 years of democracy. With results in from 57.3% of polling stations, the ANC had 41.9% of votes, a precipitous drop from the 57.5% it secured in the last national election in 2019. The pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) was in second place on 23.4%. uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, was at 11.3% and eating into ANC support, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma’s home province.

Stuck at sea for years, a sailor’s plight highlights a surge in shipowner abandonment (AP) Abdul Nasser Saleh says he rarely got a good night’s sleep during the near-decade he spent working without pay on a cargo ship abandoned by its owner at ports along the Red Sea. By night, he tossed and turned in his bunk on the aging Al-Maha, he said, thinking of the unpaid wages he feared he’d never get if he left the ship. By day he paced the deck, stuck for the last two years in the seaport of Jeddah, unable to set foot on land because of Saudi Arabia’s strict immigration laws. Saleh’s plight is part of a global problem that shows no signs of abating. The United Nations has logged an increasing number of crew members abandoned by shipowners, leaving sailors aboard months and sometimes years without pay. More than 2,000 seafarers on some 150 ships were abandoned last year. Shipowners often abandon crew members when they are hit by rising fuel costs, debt or unexpected repairs they can’t afford. Some owners vow to pay when their finances turn around. But those promises can mean little to the men on board, who often resort to handouts for food and basic supplies. Many are also supporting families back home and risk losing everything if they step off their ships.

Writing by hand (NPR) In our screen-dominated world, text messages, Google calendars and Notes app grocery lists have largely replaced handwritten letters, physical planners and sticky notes. Many schools have started to introduce computers as early as preschool—meaning kids learn how to type before they learn how to write by hand. A growing body of research shows that giving up this slower, more tactile way of expression may have consequences. Handwriting is one of the most complex motor skills the brain is capable of. It requires a more fine-tuned connection between the motor and visual systems and more deeply engages our brain than typing. Handwriting is one of the most complex motor skills the brain is capable of. It requires a more fine-tuned connection between the motor and visual systems and more deeply engages our brain than typing. For adults, writing by hand can force you to slow down and process information better.

[kingdomsofarcanon]

Kingdoms of Arcanon - Development Journal: Overview & Basic Rules

Development Journal Entry #1

GAME OVERVIEW

Kingdoms of Arcanon is a Trading Card Game (TCG) designed and developed by Kieran Ponsonby and Published by RealmCraft Studios. Kingdoms of Arcanon brilliantly fuses elements of traditional TCGs with those of battle-strategy and tabletop war games to bring a unique and dynamic gameplay experience. 

In a game of Kingdoms of Arcanon players will choose to play as one of nine kingdoms, all locked in a gruesome war with one another, and battle it out for victory. Each kingdom has its own unique play style and player race as well as banner colour, ideology, and resource export, offering a multitude of choices for players to utilize. 

At the beginning of each game, players will choose their battlefield and draw a starting hand of six cards from their Player Deck. The Player Deck is a player-constructed deck of 60 cards (in a standard format game) and contains their kingdom’s heroic and mighty Character Cards that make up their army along with other cards such as; Attack, Defense Cards, and Item Cards. Each player also has a player-constructed Resource Deck of 40 cards which they draw from to add to their Resource Pool to pay the cost of cards from the Player Deck. 

Kingdoms of Arcanon is a turn-based game, meaning players take turns drawing a card from their Player Deck, rolling their Resource Die and adding to their Resource Pool, and attacking and defending against one another. The objective of the game is to defeat your opponent in battle in one of three ways; life drain (reducing your opponent’s total Life Points to zero), resource drain (depleting your opponent’s Resource Deck to zero), and ruler knockout (attacking the Ruler Card when no other cards are in play). In Kingdoms of Arcanon, players will create and execute diverse and dynamic strategies to get the upper hand in battle and defeat their opponent. 

With its complex and unique mechanics and gameplay, Kingdoms of Arcanon is a game that combines strategy, tactics, and luck, while providing an engaging and challenging experience for players. With nine kingdoms to choose from, each with its unique playstyle, and a vast selection of cards, players can experiment with different strategies and approaches to achieve victory.

INTRODUCTORY NOTES

Like many new Tabletop Game Developers and Designers, I started Kingdoms of Arcanon at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic back in 2020. After being laid off from work and forced into isolation, I began and created the first renditions of the game. The first iteration of the game was called Quest TCG, and then Abaddon's Gate, before eventually landing on Kingdoms of Arcanon. There were also many iterations of the card templates (see below), rulebook, website, etc. which is totally normal for any new game or game designer (or so I'm told). 

Over the years, the game evolved into what it is today. And it's still evolving. Sometimes months go by without much change or evolution, and sometimes there's so much that gets done in a week that it seems to be an entirely new and improved game! 

Today we will focus on the basics on how to play the game, and will mostly be an excerpt of the Rulebook along with some development notes and a quick overview. But every week, sometimes multiple times per week, I'll be providing more and more Game Development Journal updates for Arcanon, so keep checking back in for more updates and info on the game and its production.

To be honest, I started with the first version of the rulebook, a 30-ish page document typed up over a couple days after a dream led me to come up with the initial game concept. This rulebook has currently been through about fourteen solid and thorough revisions to become what it is today, which is "Version 1.0" (The first publicly published version of the rules, but I'm sure they'll be revised another fourteen times).

Next, I was quick to hop on Photoshop and start playing with ideas. I knew there would be Nine Kingdoms, therefore, nine colours of character cards. As you can see, the card layouts have changed drastically over the years into what I have decided on to be the final templates. 

There will be standard (bordered) base cards, borderless artist cards and other rare variants such as holographic foil and limited edition chase cards to improve collectibility and rarity among cards.

The final design features a unique border and template to it that fits the game's theme and lore quite well. I'm quite happy with how the cards turned out, even though I'm always tempted to try and make yet another rendition of the card templates just for good measure...But! Until then, this is what we're sticking with!

RULES OVERVIEW

Objective

The objective of the game is to emerge victorious in battle against your opponent. There are three main ways to do so, as well as some powerful cards and combinations that can also end the game. The three main ways to win are life point depletion (life drain), war of attrition (resource drain), and ruler knockout.

Life Drain

The most common way to win is to make your opponent’s Life Points (LP) reach zero while defending your own. Each player begins with 3,000LP in a standard format game. The first player to reach zero Life Points loses the game. If both players reach zero Life Points at the same time, the player with the most Character Cards on the battlefield wins. 

Players lose Life Points every time one of their Characters Cards is defeated and discarded. Players lose Life Points equal to that of the discarded Character Card’s Defense Level. For example, if you started the game with 3,000LP but your Character Card with 300 Defense was defeated in battle, you would have 2,700LP remaining.

To defeat a card in battle, the attacking card must overpower the defending card. To do this, the attacking card must have a Damage Total (DMG) that is higher than the defending card’s Defense Level. For example, if the attacking card has an Attack Level of 50 and an Attack Die of 1xd4, and the result of the die was a 3, the Damage Total (DMG) would be 150. If the Defense Level of the defending card was 150 or lower then that card is defeated and discarded. If its Defense Level was 200 or higher, the card would remain intact and on the battlefield.

Resource Drain 

The second most common way to win is to deplete your opponent’s Resource Deck. This is called a Resource Drain or a War of Attrition. If a player has no more resource cards to draw from their Resource Deck at the beginning of their turn they lose the game. There are several ways to drain your opponent’s resources including special items cards and certain abilities and effects. 

Ruler Knockout

A ruler knockout happens when there are no more Character Cards on the battlefield to defend the Ruler Card in play. Players may choose to attack their opponent’s Ruler Card directly if there are no other cards in play on their opponent’s side of the Battlefield, including the Holding Line. You cannot perform a Ruler Knockout until turn 6 or later. You keep track of turns using a turn counter (d6 die). 

SETTING UP A GAME

Basic Setup

At the beginning of the game players will start by choosing their battlefield and setting it up with their Player Deck and Resource Pool. Players then shuffle their deck thoroughly and draw a starting hand of six cards. Players flip a coin to see who goes first. The player who goes first does not draw on their first turn. 

Mulligan’s (Redrawing Your Hand)

If a player does not like their starting hand they may take what is called a “mulligan,” in which they may shuffle their hand back into their deck and re-draw a new hand of cards, however, they must draw one less card per mulligan that they take.

CARD TYPES

In the world of Kingdoms of Arcanon, there are six main types of cards that players can utilize in battle. These are Character Cards, Attack Cards, Defense Cards, Item Cards, Resource Cards, and Ruler Cards.

Character Cards

These are the cards that players use to attack and defend against their opponents on the battlefield. Character Cards are divided into three Classes: Fighters, Spell-Casters, and Creatures. Each card has unique attributes, such as Attack, Defense, Level, and Resource Cost, as well as an Attack and Ability as indicated on the card. Additionally, each card has Movement and Range Levels that determine that card's ability to move and attack from a distance.

Attack Cards

These cards are used to add an Attack Bonus to a Character Card, increasing the Damage Total (DMG) dealt when attacking. Attack Cards can be attached to cards on the battlefield, excluding the Holding Line, and each Character Card can only have one Attack Card attached to it at any given time. There are three main types of Attack Cards: Weapons, Spells, and Special Attacks. Weapons can only be attached to Fighter-type Character Cards, whereas Spells can only be used by Spell-Casters and Special Attacks can be used by any Character Card. Creature Cards cannot use Weapons or Spells.

Defense Cards

These cards are used to boost a Character Card's Defense when blocking enemy attacks. Like Attack Cards, Defense Cards can also be attached to a Character Card on the battlefield, excluding the Holding Line, with each Character Card only able to have one Defense Card attached to it at any given time. There are three main types of Defense Cards: Armor, Barriers, and Dodges. Armor can only be equipped and worn by Fighter-type Character Cards, whereas Barriers can only be used by Spell-Casters and Dodges can be used by any Character Card. Creature Cards cannot use Armor or Barriers.

Item Cards

In a game of Kingdoms of Arcanon, players can make use of a variety of Item Cards to gain an advantage in battle. These cards can provide bonus actions or powerful effects, as well as allow players to draw additional cards, add resources, and restore Life Points. Each Character Card on the battlefield, excluding the Holding Line, can have up to three Item Cards attached to it, and there are three main types of Item Cards: Tools, Artifacts, and Potions. Tools are only able to be attached to Fighter-type Character Cards, while Artifacts can only be attached to Spell-Caster-type Character Cards. Potions, on the other hand, can be attached to any type of Character Card. Creature Cards cannot use Tools or Artifacts.

Resource Cards

Resource Cards are a crucial component of gameplay in Kingdoms of Arcanon. These cards are used to pay the Resource Cost of other cards, such as Character Cards and Item Cards, and enable players to bring them into play on the battlefield. There are nine different types of Resource Cards, each corresponding to a specific kingdom and region in the world of Arcanon. Players must have exactly 40 Resource Cards in their deck to play the game, with a maximum of three of any given Special Resource and one of any Legendary Resource that adds more than one resource cost to the Resource Pool.

Ruler Cards

Ruler Cards play a central role in the gameplay of Kingdoms of Arcanon. These double-sided cards represent the official ruler of a kingdom on one side and the leader of a rogue faction within that kingdom on the other. When playing the game, players must choose which side of the Ruler Card they wish to use, each of which has its own attributes and abilities. You can choose whichever side of the card you please, however, if you are facing off against a deck of the same colour as you, one player must play as the kingdom’s ruler and the other as the rogue faction leader.

Ruler Cards also grant unique benefits and abilities that can be activated once per game. These abilities can range from defensive measures to offensive attacks and can provide a significant advantage in battle. Players must carefully consider which side of their Ruler Card to use, as it will shape their strategy and approach to the game. Ruler Cards also determine the Resource Cost for building barricades.

BATTLEFIELDS

Preparing For Battle

In Kingdoms of Arcanon, players have access to a variety of battlefields to choose from when playing a game. With a variety of battlefields at their disposal, players can tailor their strategy to the specific conditions of each match and strive for victory.

Deck 

Each player must have a deck of exactly 60 cards at their disposal. In addition to this deck, players also have a Ruler Card. Before each game, players must shuffle their decks thoroughly and place them face-down on the battlefield.

Discard Pile 

The Discard Pile is where players place any cards that become defeated or discarded during gameplay. This pile is kept face-up on the battlefield for easy reference.

Resource Pool 

The Resource Pool is a separate deck consisting of 40 Resource Cards that players can draw from to pay the Resource Cost of other cards. The types of Resources included in this deck are determined by the kingdom and region that a player is representing in the game.

Ruler Card 

The Ruler Card is placed on the side of the battlefield and represents the leader of a player's kingdom or the leader of a rogue faction within that kingdom. Rulers do not advance or retreat on the battlefield and remain in this location for the duration of the game. Players may activate their Ruler's special ability once per game.

Lines of Combat

Front Line

This is where players should place Character Cards that have only one Range Level, as they are not able to attack from a distance. This line is also suitable for powerful creatures and any other cards that players wish to engage in close combat.

Defense Lines

These two lines are suitable for Character Cards with higher Range Levels, such as two or three, as they can attack from a distance. Players must also advance from the Holding Line through the Defense Lines to get to the Front Line.

Holding Line

Cards in the Holding Line are being prepared for battle and cannot attack or defend until they are advanced onto the battlefield. Players may place up to six Character Cards in their Holding Line on their turn, but may only advance one card from the Holding Line per turn. To play cards into the Holding Line, players must first pay the Resource Cost associated with that card by discarding the indicated amount of resources from the Resource Pool. If you do not have enough resources to pay the cost of the card you cannot place them into the Holding Line. Additionally, cards must remain in the Holding Line for one turn, unless otherwise noted, until they can advance onto the battlefield.

RANGE & MOVEMENT

Range Levels

The Range Level of a Character Card determines how far it can attack from on the Battlefield. A Character with a Range Level of one can only attack from the Front Line, whereas a Character with a Range Level of two or three can attack from the Defense Lines or the Front Line. Each Line of Combat counts as one Range Level.

Movement Levels

The Movement Level of a Character Card determines how far it can advance or retreat on the Battlefield during the Movement Phase of a turn. A Character can move forward or backward lines of combat equal to or less than its Movement Level. When moving through spaces on the Battlefield, each space takes one Movement Level to pass through unless there is difficult terrain activated in that space, in which case it may take more than one Movement Level or restrict movement altogether.

Retreating

Players may move cards back Lines of Combat, which is called Retreating. When Retreating the Character Card can only move back Lines of Combat equal to that of its Movement Level. Additionally, when Retreating, the Character Card must discard all attached Attack, Defense, and Item Cards equipped.

Barricades

During the Build Phase of combat, players may choose to build Barricades using any remaining resources in their Resource Pool. To do so, players must refer to their Ruler Card, which determines the Resource Cost for building Barricades. Different Ruler Cards have different Resource Costs associated with building Barricades. 

For example, if a player enters the Build Phase with 4 resources remaining and wants to build a Barricade and their Ruler Card indicates a Resource Cost of 3, they may build a Barricade and place one Barricade Token in any unoccupied space on the battlefield. It is important to note that Barricades take up a card space on the battlefield. You may discard your Barricade at any time on your turn.

Barricades provide an additional 100 DEF (Defense) per resource card paid to build it. For example, if the Barricade cost 3 resources to build, it would provide an additional 300 DEF. Players may also pay additional resources to “fortify” their Barricades (add more Defense) or repair them if they are damaged at the cost of 1 resource per 100 additional DEF with a maximum of 1,000 DEF.

Unlike Character Cards, which must have their Defense Level beaten outright in combat, Barricades take damage over time. Players may have to keep track of their Barricade’s Defense Level as it goes up and down throughout the game. To do so, players may choose to write it down or use 1xd10 as a Barricade Token and adjust accordingly. 

ATTACKING & DEFENDING

Attacking Your Opponent

During their Attack Phase players have the option to attack their opponent. Players may only attack with one Character Card per turn unless otherwise stated, such as an effect or ability. 

To attack players must first decide which card they are attacking with as well as which card they are attacking. The attacking player then rolls their Attack Die and multiplies it by their Attack Level to determine their Damage Total (DMG). If the DMG is equal to or higher than the defending card’s Defense Level, that card is defeated and discarded. If the result is less than the Defense Level, the defending card remains intact and on the battlefield. 

You’ll usually want to attack your opponent at some point in the game, but it may not always be wise to attack at every opportunity you can. Players must strategize and decide when is the best time to attack.

Defending and Countering Enemy Attacks

When you are being attacked by your opponent there are a few ways you can defend yourself or even counter enemy attacks. Certain Attack, Defense and Item cards allow you to deflect, counter or disarm your opponent’s attacks. Barricades also provide an extra level of defense when guarding against your opponent.

TURN PHASES

Draw Phase

All cards in the Resource Pool return to the bottom of the Resource Deck.

Draw a card from your Player Deck

Roll 1xd6 Resource Die

Draw cards equal to the result of the die roll from your Resource Deck and add them to the Resource Pool.

Prep Phase

Use the available resources in your Resource Pool to pay the cost associated with playing cards from your hand.

Character Cards must be placed in the Holding Line first and spend one turn there before advancing onto the battlefield.

Attach upgrades such as Attack and Defense Cards or use Item Cards. 

Movement Phase

Advance Character Cards forward on the battlefield.

Retreat Character Cards back on the battlefield.

Build Phase

Build and fortify Barricades on the battlefield.

Attack Phase

Attack with the Character Card of choice.

Counterattacks (optional).

End Phase

Resolve all attacks, counters, and abilities.

Special Condition damage to added.

Bonus Phase: Ruler Actions

Activate Ruler Action or Ability

Opponent’s Turn

During your opponent's turn, they will follow the same phases of combat. You will also have the opportunity to use various counterattacks and effects to disrupt their strategy and protect your Character Cards on the Battlefield by using special attack cards, dodge cards, and barriers. It's important to anticipate your opponent's moves and plan to effectively use counterattacks and effects to your advantage. Keep in mind that your opponent also can use counterattacks and effects to defend against your attacks and protect their Character Cards.

Damage Totaling

Players use their Character Cards to attack and defeat their opponent’s Character Cards on the battlefield. When attacking a player must first find out their Damage Total (DMG). To do so, multiply the Attack Level or Base Attack by the result of the Attack Die roll. For example, if the Character Card attacking has an Attack Level of 80 and rolls a 6 on their Attack Die, they would do 480 DMG in total. (80x6=480).

Resource Costs

In Kingdoms of Arcanon, each card has a specific Resource Cost that must be paid to play that card onto the battlefield. These resources are determined by the region and kingdom that the card belongs to, and can be found on the top banner of the card. When playing a card, you must discard the indicated number of Resource Cards from your Resource Pool equal to the Resource Cost of the card you wish to play. For example, if you wanted to play a Dwarven Barbarian from The Sunstone Empire on the battlefield, you would need to pay a Resource Cost of 3 Stone Resource Cards. 

You may also sacrifice cards that are already on the battlefield to pay the Resource Cost of a new card. When a card is sacrificed, you may draw cards from your Resource Pool equal to half of that card's Resource Cost, rounded down. This allows you to strategically play and sacrifice cards to obtain the resources you need to play your most powerful cards.

Special Conditions

In the world of Kingdoms of Arcanon, special conditions can arise during gameplay, altering the trajectory of battle and shifting the advantage between players. Some of these conditions are beneficial to the character experiencing them, while others can be detrimental to their opponent.

SUMMARY NOTES

I already feel like I could go on so much more, but I'll have to do that in another update. This one's getting kind of long. But please check back for more updates. I'll post them as often as I can!

- Kieran Ponsonby