#some reddit communities are delightful

[centaurianthropology]

The Critical Role reddit is wild, man.  Every now and then I check over there, and I am consistently amazed by how ... out of touch that entire community feels?  I know it’s a reddit thing that no one hates a thing quite like the reddit community for that thing, but damn do they really not like CR.  Most of them seem to have not liked it since, like, C1, but they keep tuning in every week for 4+ hours?  It’s bananas!

There is also a definite vibe of really wanting Senpai Travis to notice them.  He and Sam get rained with praise.  The girls are mostly ignored, except occasionally Marisha, which I feel like might be compensation from the old days when she was the favorite punching bag.  Taliesin is now the favorite punching bag.  They fucking loathe him for no reason in particular, but every post praising his work is inevitably filled with people hating on him.  They also seem to forget Liam exists most of the time.

They hate C3.  They’re divided on C2.  They love C1.  They seem to think that there’s no way Imogen and Laudna are getting together because they’re Gal Pals.  Even after the last episode, when it was more or less confirmed that was the direction Laura and Marisha are going with the relationship, they dismissed that and talked about when Laudna and Ashton were going to hook up, because if an even-sort-of-male-presenting person and a woman talk in depth, they have to hook up.  But god forbid lesbians exist in this not-at-all-queer TTRPG show.  Another apparently popular theory over there is that Matt is going to kill off the C3 characters to bring back the C1 characters for this campaign, which ... huh?

It’s like they’re watching this show, but reacting to it like it’s a 90s network television show rather than a live-play series filled with actors who are both very progressive and at least two of whom are openly queer, and all the others seem intensely supportive of that and interested in exploring their own sexualities and identities through roleplay and acting.  They have this weird, warped view of the cast wherein the ‘normal’ jocky and funny men (Travis and Sam) are the obvious protagonists of the group (this is completely ignoring the actual unhinged and delightful personalities of Travis and Sam and instead slotting them into these weird stereotypes), Laura’s okay because she’s with Travis but is rarely acknowledged to be her own person, Marisha is the girl who got a glow-up (they no longer acknowledge how they treated her pre-glow-up), Liam and Ashley are ... there, and Taliesin is the weird guy that everyone else secretly hates.

They cling to C1, I think, because it’s ‘traditional’ fantasy, with clear tropes and a bunch of non-colorful, potentially straight-presenting characters (most of the characters were, in fact, bi, but most also ended up in opposite-sex relationships).  Queer and ‘weird’ and ‘cringe’ characters were the least prominent in C1, so C1 to them is the best one.  C2 is ‘edgy’, and C3 is ‘cringe’.  And despite all this, they still watch every single week just to complain?  Do they not have anything better to do?  That sounds fucking miserable, but then again, maybe they’re into being miserable. 

Sorry to rant, but every time I go over there I am promptly reminded of why I tell myself NOT to go there.  It’s like watching the worst wildlife documentary.  The Twitch comment section may be the biggest cesspool for CR, but the Reddit is the most persistent.

[muffin-man-marq-lynch]

I've only been a wrestling fan for a few months but I have to say with the nervous flutter about wrestlers lurking on Tumblr and fic sites and other traditionally closed-off fandomy spaces? I get it. On both sides.

But if I was a wrestler with the natural inclinations and curiosity to poke my nose into what people are saying in my industry outside of the dirtsheets, I would get really, really tired of the same six talking points regurgitated over and over on Twitter and Reddit threads arguing about ratings, whether X is washed up, the same fucking wank over and over floating to the top. I say this because I have tried to stick my nose into the wrestling Twitter and Reddit communities a few times as a new fan and it exhausts me already.

So yeah, I can see the appeal as a lurking wrestler on Tumblr for the exact same things we do.

Look at that! HD Gifsets of the matches! Showing off the moments that really made people pop and the moves that were incredible in more than just YouTube clips, filled with tagged commentary.

Oh fun, longer form commentary on where matches might go, pulling together histories of feuds and reigns, lighter hearted debates and shitposts all around.

A tagging system that actually allows some muting once in a while that people sometimes use?

And yes, fic, art, and objectification. Cheers, I have been working very hard on my pecs, my tits did look amazing tonight, thank you for noticing my costume details change.

Yes, we're horny, we're ravenous, we're transing your genders, foaming at the mouth, etc etc. But we've been here doing this for a while. I was doing this shit with a community on LiveJournal for Kayfabe Jon Stewart & "Stephen" Colbert back in 2009 and they knew and played it up for us too.

The weird pervert who is harmless but a good friend trope has gone way down lately, which makes sense given the current climate post #MeToo, but Kenny Omega on Being The Elite was a great example: in a sea of other dick jokes he was the ulti-perv they all still chose to hang out with. We on Tumblr are for the most part not bashing, harassing, haranguing, or spreading misinformation. We're just making art, noticing details, supporting work, and throwing out lewd jokes.

It's entirely up to the wrestling community if they want to hang out with us while we do those things, but it seems pretty clear that that is a vibe a lot of them are comfortable with, and some are happy to dig deeper into the weird shit we're making.

I just see a lot of people getting self-loathing about what they've been posting and I wanted to offer a different perspective. I've seen actors lose their minds being delighted at body pillows of themselves or mousepads of their supple tits. Adults are all different and none of this should be forced on anyone at conventions or tagged at them etc, but if they seek it out and like it? Well then, welcome to the Devil's Sacrament. Have fun, and personally I'm glad Tumblr is also your happy escape space.

[fl00mie]

you know underverse/xtale is criminally underrated when its most popular video has no +20mil views and the rest of 'em don't exceed 10mil

considering how MASSIVE undertale au community is this is straight up unacceptable??

let's remember only THREE PEOPLE work on this series: Jael Peñaloza as the animator/writer, NyxTheShield as the musician and Strelok as the sound designer (although searching up a bit the first result that pops up is a reddit post pointing out they don't appear on credits in the last uvs episode, i just hope they're ok), they truly need more recognition and support

yeah everyone says good thing about this show but they're mainly superficial stuff, as statements from a first glance and that's fine, they know how to identify it as a well-written, structured and animated work despite having seen it only once, but i don't think that's enough

these people work hard to get the chapters out in the shortest time possible and it's impressive; every bit of detail is a delight and a hug to the soul for undertale fans, xtale in itself is an au that knew how to use every resource of the original game very ingeniously (i will probably talk about this in another post); the songs know how to capture the essence of the characters perfectly and add a lot of life to the scenes, it is truly incredible how immersive it is thanks to the ost; and the sound effects just make everything feel surprisingly real

the quality of this series is indescribable and it seems unfair to me that it doesn't get the support it really deserves like other works that achieved much more for some reason

please go support these community folks! they make a lot of effort to offer us quality content without disappointing, and although it's true their names resonate in everyone's heads, they deserve much more support of any kind

[fairykukla]

Have we lost the ability to throw a drink in someone's face? Have we lost the ability to say, "I don't think so, bud" or "No, thank you" or, "This vibe is rancid, I'm going to leave"?

There was an incident at a party recently, where an older man was being friendly with a nonbinary person young enough to be his child. And when I say, "Friendly" I mean that he was being flirty and getting into their space.

Some of the breakdown in communication was that the younger person, being nervous and uncomfortable, responded with smiles and giggling. I'm not blaming the victim, here; the older man really should not have been trying to foster intimacy with a person that young, someone in a relationship with the child of his best friend. *This was not cool.*

But I worry that these youngsters aren't being taught the art of saying no, clearly and concisely. It's a really important skill. When a pushy salesman tries to bulldoze you, you need to know how and when to put down a hard stop. When a friend tries to get you to do something that you think is dangerous or just hits you with a Bad Vibe, you need to know how to say "No" in a way that doesn't nuke the friendship. (You also need to know when to nuke the friendship, but that's another story for another time.)

Creeps exist, folks. People we don't expect to be creepy will pull creepy stunts. People we do expect to be creeps will meet our expectations. Sometimes you see the creep coming, sometimes you don't see it until the behaviour occurs. And creeps can be any gender! I've met some spectacular female creeps! But it does seem to infect the Cisgender male population more intensely.

And for all you know, this might be Dudebro's first, bashful foray into using creepy pick up strategies he read on some disgusting reddit thread.

You have an opportunity to stop Dudebro right here. At the very least, you need to alert the other person to the fact that you are uncomfortable.

1. You don't owe creeps anything. Even if it's someone you know, you still don't owe the creep anything.

2. Don't feed the creep. If this person creeps on you, anything that encourages the creep just makes the creeping stronger.

3. Calling out creepy behaviour doesn't mean destroying a relationship. Just like calling out a racist comment, a transphobic attitude or ableism, it's absolutely possible to tell someone that they need to check their behaviour from a position of love and respect.

4. Your boundaries are important. This includes personal space, conversational boundaries, and physical boundaries.

5. In order for your boundaries to be respected, you absolutely HAVE to express them, clearly and unambiguously.

6. High pressure sales tactics basically boil down to straight up trickery. It's about hacking into a person's head to manipulate them into doing something they don't actually want to do. Educate yourself about sales tactics, please please please. These tactics are used by con artists, salespeople, recruiters, and guys looking to score.

Here's a thought exercise: There's a person out there who loves to be touched by strangers, is delighted by threatening jokes, and really does want a potential partner to be very pushy. That's a super rare person, but imagine that the Creep's only social experience is with this person. You have to be clear about your boundaries and never assume that your needs are obvious or "normal." None of your needs are unreasonable, but they are unique to you.

So:

DB: (Creeps on you.)

You: No, thank you.

DB: I just wanted to talk to you

You: You're in my personal space. Please leave me alone.

DB: Well, that's rude.

You: No, you're being rude. I didn't invite you to talk to me. Please don't be a creep.

DB: You're being a bitch!

You: (to friends, the bartender, the bouncer, to any other potential ally in the room) Excuse me, this guy's being a real creep, can you help me out?

This is a scary situation, for sure. You can be brave, and you can express yourself clearly, and you can pull in allies if you need them. Here's another:

Creep: You know, you're really mature for your age.

You: Oh, that's the trauma.

Creep: trauma? What happened to you? Can you talk about it with me?

You: when guys creep on me it makes me have to act very mature for my age. It's because they're being really immature and I have to compensate for it.

Creep: That sounds really tough.

You: I saw this in an old movie once. This super mature woman threw a drink in the face of this guy who was being really creepy to her.

Creep: Wait. You mean me? I'm not a creep.

You: Yeah, actually you are. Can you please give me my personal space back?

I know what you're thinking. You're worried that things will escalate quickly into violence or threats, right? The important clue I have for you here is to get out early, get out often, don't let someone corner you or separate you from your support structures. If you identify someone as being a threat early on, and say so to the people around you, it's less likely for the creep to morph into an asshole.

So what if it's your friend? If you witness creepy behaviour in one of your friends, it's ok to call them out on it. "Hey, watch it, you're getting a little bit creepy there." Friends don't let friends get creepy! Don't wait until it becomes a big problem!

So here's the TL:DR

Dealing with creeps 101:

Step 1: stop smiling. Don't offer any encouragement.

Step 2: establish boundaries. (You're too close, I wasn't talking to you, I'm here with my friends, I have work to do.)

Step 3: involve assistance. (Ask your friends, an adult in the room, security personnel, etc.)

[goldkirk]

Places I’ve successfully used my rollator so far

• some of the sidewalks, not all, and they’re usually not equal quality on both sides of the street if sidewalks even exist on a street at all

• Target (except the numbers inside the elevator don’t at all match the numbers of the floors in the shopping center? They’re off by like 3 in any direction? So that went wrong the first couple of times, and it wasn’t just me who hit the wrong floor lol). I was able to get everywhere but some areas were tight maneuvering and I caught my wheels on edges. Idk how people get through those spots on the borrow-able scooters that are wide and long

• QFC. No notes. Zero issues using the rollator there or in its parking lot. Thanks QFC

• the construction zone detour, which led through some spots with no curb cuts and also narrowed sidewalks in places due to fencing and equipment

• Barnes and Noble, which was fully accessible and had a surprisingly huge elevator (I assume for loading book carts and pallets from the shipment-receiving basement level or something)

• the creek walk outside the retirement community that’s wide and fully paved with even smooth concrete. Delightful except for that one guy who stared directly in my eyes for the whole seven seconds I walked into and out of his view from his living room (I assume?) window while I kept checking to see if he was in fact still staring me down. Like what do you think I’m doing that requires you to watch without even a break. Do you think I’m gonna rob you or something just because I’m doing something weird for my age dude

• the intersection by my apartment building. yeesh. Those crosswalks are bad on foot so it was an extra-rattle-y ride with the rollator (but less work thab crossing without it!)

Places I need to try using it still

• the Light Rail, I just am waiting till I need to use it to run an errand next

• the bus system, I already need to run an errand via it but I cannot for the life of me find an answer to what you’re supposed to do if you’re not specifically in a wheelchair but you’re using a wheeled device that’s bigger than a tiny wire mesh rolling shopping bin. So at this point I’m just hoping and praying for a minimally full bus when I do go and a bus driver who can tell me if I need to strap it in or fold it or just hold it or what. Like it’s not a wheelchair or a baby stroller. What are the rules. What is the expectation. I have searched websites and YouTube and Reddit and tumblr and I still haven’t found an answer 🥴.

• Eliott Bay Book Company. This place has internet sites saying it’s wheelchair accessible. I’m confused. I haven’t seen an elevator in it and there’s steps to get in and steps to get up to the second floor and the aisles seemed like some of the corners might be hard, and impossible when it’s crowded. I have doubts. I’d love to find a secret elevator or something but I can’t find the information anywhere on their actual website or Yelp or whatever, it just says “accessible” sooo?

• Parks. I need to figure out which parks are passable with a rollator and which trails or paths are too narrow for it.

• the library. I know it’s accessible already, so it should be simpler than many places. they’re still dealing with that ransomware attack though so I’m not using them frequently aside from though Libby rn

• Pike Place Market. Internet says it’s accessible. my personal experience says I’m willing to be surprised and I’ll be happy if I do see full accessibility. But also that I’ve had a hard time navigating that place when it’s not like, empty, just on two feet soooooo. I’m guessing it’s going to be very hit or miss despite there being some elevators just because of tight areas and weird floor changes and stuff. I do hope I’m pleasantly shocked though when I go!

• the craft store. any craft store. I need yarn and I haven’t been able to make my mind up about it so I need to just go in a store and physically experience the yarn skeins and choose. I don’t expect to have issues there but it might be an adventure in terms of bussing and walking over lol, we’ll see

[voxofthevoid]

I'm so sorry you get so many hate messages. You're always so cool about it and don't let them get to you but I know it must suck anyway. So I just want to say I think all of your jjk opinions are correct. But seriously, your characters are always on point and I especially love how you write Yuji. People are crazy for complaining about something you chose to write and share with the world. Anyway, you're a really skilled writer and I love all of your fics and ideas, so please keep sharing them!

Thank you, anon 💗

I do appreciate the support, especially because I've been in a bit of a shit mood the last few days. This was a nice pick-me-up.

I won't deny I've been very lucky. Half of it is my internal workings; the hate messages piss me off, but they don't affect my confidence or creativity. However, I've been at this for well over a decade now, and my brain chemistry was never prone to things like imposter syndrome. Newer authors or authors who struggle with self-esteem issues often don't have that internal scaffold.

The external support I get from you guys is the other half. It's the community aspect that makes a fandom worth staying in for me, and if I were to be treated solely or mostly with hostility, I'd have packed up my bags and found a new home a long time ago. I have no control over which ship/show I fall in love with, but a hostile fandom is the greatest killer of passion. The reason I stayed so long in the MCU was that its people were wonderful and vocally so. JJK isn't quite that pleasant overall (younger, more drama-prone fandom, I suppose), but the vast majority of my readers are amazing, supportive, and very kind. That's why I'm still here.

I had an exchange with another author on Reddit the other day, and they were saying that the reason they quit writing for their current fandom was that, when they got harassed, the larger fandom's reaction was to ignore or actively dismiss the harassment. I see plenty of posts/discussions in fandom spaces, from subreddits to blogs on here, about people getting bullied out of fandoms because of the toxicity of a few bad actors and the apathy of the rest.

I don't post/share all of the hateful messages I get because some of them straight-up don't deserve to be inflicted on human eyeballs, and they're blatant, unrepentant attempts to actively hurt my confidence as a writer and my dignity as a human being. I do not have sufficiently harsh words for the kind of filth who'd do that.

I hate that people have the fucking audacity to try this and that it's distressingly effective most of the time. Nobody wants to spend their hobby hours fending off assholes. I don't know if fandom as a whole has become more hostile recently, but I do find the overall atmosphere more toxic and downright violent than it was when I started actively participating in fandom in 2014. For all our sakes, I hope it gets better and soon.

Sorry, that got way longer than I intended 😅

On a cheerier note, I'm delighted to hear you enjoy my takes on JJK and its characters! And nothing makes me happier than hearing you like how I write Yuuji in particular. Thank you again 🥰💗

[softness-and-shattering]

Two mini reviews, partly brought to you by tumblr autosaving - Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. I wasn't sure what to expect; I really liked The Sunbearer Trials (Ive not yet read the sequel), and DNF'd Lost In The Never Woods because it was the wrong type and intensity of dark and spooky for me at the time. Cemetery Boys is a freaking delight. Maybe my least favourite part was the villain reveal, it made sense but either it wasnt foreshadowed enough or I just wanted better for that character? idk. But this isnt primarily a plot book, its a romance, and its a story about community and acceptance, and figuring out how you fit into the world when you're not the shape you're expected to be. And it did really well with both those aspects. I also appreciate that with so many stories, real and fictional, about people who have to leave their communities to find themselves, I appreciate a story of someone who never once thinks maybe I need to leave, and instead forges on to create space for himself in his community and his heritage. That's not everyone's story and thats totally fine. Our experiences are diverse and we deserve diverse stories. Its all good. As for the romance, its really believable. Its quite an opposites-attract situation, from Julian's aggressive queerness and non-issue with Yadriel's transness making his albeit and unexpected presence a breath of fresh air to Yadriel, to their growing understanding of each other's lives and admiration for the strength of each others convictions. (When Julian is upset about his friends and Yadriel nevertheless pauses to set that boundary about ghost-safety, that was hot.). And the ghost aspect! (this is not a mini review anymore lol). I was not really sure how that was going to go, and then cheering for them, and then wondering what the heck they were gonna do about ongoing ghost-itude and the finiteness of that situation, and actually I really liked how it went. The romance and how they push each other and grow to understand each other is fun, romantic, sexy, heartfelt. Remarkably sexy given that one of them is a ghost who cant be touched. (Spoilers for a sec - the scene on the car where Yadriel reaches for Julian's jacket to pull him closer and there's nothing there to grab? Oh that feels like grief.) The book is quite a bit about grief. Missing parents, missing support networks, missing opportunities to be yourself and be accepted. Its about a guy who can communicate with ghosts and its set around Dia de Meurtos, there's grief themes.

I also really love Maritza, showing off another aspect of (gender) non-conformity, that its not only trans people who have trouble fitting fairly strict defined roles. (Julian's friends do so similarly). Almost all the Spanish I picked up from context, but how Julian refers to Yadriel at the end I knew I had to look up that word specifically and oh my heart. Overall really enjoyed. probably 9/10 second, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I havent read the books/comics, I have seen the movie. This show....for at least the first half I had no idea what the rules of the universe were or what exactly was going on or what themes exactly were being explored. I was definitely entertained though. The last few episodes manage to make sense of the first few and deliver on those themes in ways I quite liked. I liked that Ramona is the "manic pixie dream girl" and then almost immediately gets upstaged for that role by Envy Addams. I normally am annoyed at stories in which some boring guy "gets" the manic pixie dream girl and certainly doesn't appreciate her - you know the kind who goes on reddit and complains that she wont stop talking about slugs or decorates their whole house in anime? And I know scott pilgrim is a comment on that trope. I like how its about scott but its not really about scott. Largely its about Ramona and her friends (and her exes). And the others recognise that scott isnt so great, or so smart, and also that if Ramona likes him thats cool. He can be a "lovable idiot" and shes not automatically making a mistake with him. If they're happy they're happy. (and of course the ways that *could* go wrong, but arent destined to). Plus the music is fun, the visuals are bright and pretty. It might lean overstimulating for some people, I had to stop and think about my spoon levels between episodes. Thats what I got for today. Two very different fun stories I recommend like 8-9/10, not perfect but a damn good ride.

[coolcherrycream]

The other night, I was watching The Marx Brothers movie At the Circus (1939). There’s a scene where a character named Mrs. Dukesbury is throwing a party. As she enters the room, there’s some music playing (about 1:08:30 into the movie), and it sounded awfully familiar. I soon realized it was the same song that plays in Head when the Italian army surrenders to Micky (about 21:35 into the movie, or at 5:01 in this video).

I always kind of figured this song was Italy’s national anthem, but after listening to it, I now know it is not. Unfortunately, IMDb didn’t have a credit for that song in either At the Circus or Head, so I started looking through my Monkees resources to find out what it was.

SOTCAA contains an analysis of Head’s original script, but the script didn’t seem to mention the music in that scene. The analysis mentions the song:

A delightful patriotic march from Ken Thorne - which sounds like he was channeling some kind of John Wayne movie score - accompanies their collective surrender.

The Monkees, Head, and the ’60s had this to say about the scene:

...while the deeper meaning of this little interlude may be lost on a contemporary audience, the point isn’t - lest we miss it, a slice of faux-Italianate opera sings out over the scene until the last soldier lopes by. (pg. 176-177)

I couldn’t find any reference to the song in The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story (although, to be fair, I didn’t look through all 739 pages), The Monkees Film & TV Vault’s Head page, or the Monkee Magic Head review. So it would seem the identity of this song isn’t currently well-known in the Monkees community.

Next, I tried using some websites that claimed to be able to identify songs by uploading a snippet, and after a few sites failed to identify it, one gave me the answer:

Triumphal March (Marcia trionfale) from the opera Aida by Giuseppe Verdi

Coincidentally, Micky appeared in the musical Aida from 2000-2004.

The only other online reference I found to this song and the Monkees was a comment on Reddit from a few months ago. Anyway, IMDb’s Head soundtrack page has now been updated, so the identity of this song shouldn’t be such a mystery any more.

[crimeronan]

might be wrong bc i'm not american but portland is in oregon right? and you live in oregon? look at this, this is the funniest thing i've seen today

https://www.tumblr.com/stars--and--shadows/740185964644810753/okay-am-i-the-asshole-if-i-call-out-my-roommates?source=share

hope you're feeling a little better!

JUST RBED THIS POST IF PPL WANNA SEE IT WITHOUT C&PING THE LINK.....

this is so fucking delightful. i wanna reassure anyone thinking this is a real post that it is 100% not, the OP heard about portland queers being cultist hipster nightmares & ran with it. they may in fact live in portland (i love the MAX though. the MAX slander is truly tailored to my ragebait buttons), but if they do, they just heightened their own friend drama or drama they saw on PDX queer housing instagram for fun.

it is the most beautiful ragebait i've seen on tumblr's AITA to date. i subscribe to a subreddit called AmITheDevil, which is where all the ragebait AITAs on reddit get crossposted, and i think OP has studied there. GLORIOUS.

person after my own heart, as trolling goes. god i fucking love everything happening here.

and yes, i do live in the same portland oregon that this OP claims to!! we DO have some nightmare queer cults and housing drama that plays out Just Like This, but we also have a bunch of perfectly reasonable very fun queer people & a thriving queer scene. the thing about any subculture / community is that if it's large enough, you're gonna find some completely fucking unhinged people in it. that's just how things go.

so this is like, typical portland as portland is perceived by people not from portland. every single Bad Portland Queer (TM) stereotype makes an appearance here. god i love portland for facilitating this and i love OP for making people so so so mad.

[ink-stained-clouds]

hi!! what are some of your favorite readings, books, essays, articles, etc on sociology? i’d love to maybe see what class readings you’re doing

Hi anon!

I have a whole bunch of recommendations, no books, unfortunately. Actually, scratch that, I have one but it's actually a history book! I found it to be sociologically fascinating, though. It's The Origins of the Modern World by Robert B. Marks. It's a really interesting take on decolonizing the study of history and our understanding of how the west became the global superpower

To be honest, I don't know what book chapters I was reading for my theory class, our professor only sent us pdf scans. If you're interested in the philosophic origins of sociology, I am happy to try to hunt down the reference for you. Personally, I'm not a big philosophy fan so I can't speak to how good it was lol

Scholarly articles

Clover, Carol J. 1987. “Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film.” Representations, 20: 187-228. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2928507.

Sowles, Shaina J., Monique McLeary, Allison Optican, Elizabeth Cahn, Melissa J. Krauss, Ellen E. Fitzsimmons-Craft, Denise E. Wilfley, and Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg. 2018. “A content analysis of an online pro-eating disorder community on Reddit.” Body Image, 24: 137-144. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.01.001.

Berbrier, Mitch. 1999. “Impression Management for the Thinking Racist: A Case Study of Intellectualization as Stigma Transformation in Contemporary White Supremacist Discourse.” The Sociological Quarterly, 40(3): 411-433.

Kwate, Naa Oyo A. 2008. “Fried chicken and fresh apples: Racial segregation as a fundamental cause of fast food density in black neighborhoods.” Health & Place, 14(1): 32-44. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.04.001. (I read this one in a class years ago and it's always stuck with me, highly recommend)

Snow, David A. and Leon Anderson. 1987. “Identity Work Among the Homeless: The Verbal Construction and Avowal of Personal Identities.” American Journal of Sociology, 92(6): 1336-1371. Doi: 10.1086/228668. (a really interesting application of identity work, which is one of my favorite sociological frameworks)

West, Candace and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. “Doing Gender.” Gender and Society, 1(2): 125-151. doi: https://www.jstor.org/stable/189945. (a classic! essential sociological reading, you may have come across it already)

Non-scholarly articles and essays (that are all very sociological in my opinion)

Being an Honorary White Person Doesn't Make Us More Powerful

How the '5-Minute-Face' Became the $5,000 Face

Why We Should Talk About What Kyrsten Sinema Is Wearing (Tressie McMillan Cottom is a phenomenal sociologist! I recommend all her writing)

Selfies, Surgeries, And Self-Loathing: Inside the Facetune Epidemic

“ain’t i a woman?” on the irony of trans-exclusion by black and african feminists (one of my personal favorites)

Poor People Deserve To Taste Something Other Than Shame (I return to this one often)

Violent Delights (a really interesting commentary on the cultural fascination with true crime)

Podcasts

Sage Sociology

Give Theory a Chance

Maintenance Phase (not technically sociology but very sociological in my opinion)

Unfortunately, I don't really have any books to recommend but if anyone else does I'd love to get some recs too!

I also try to post a round-up of all my reads under my monthly reads tag if you're looking for more suggestions, though it seems I haven't been particularly consistent ope

Thank you for the ask, anon. It was fun going through my notes and finding all these!! Please feel free to reach out with any recommendations of your own :)

[hawkepockets]

Hello I am secretly Zelda Lore Nerd and I must know your thoughts on like. The story progression and plot beats and how it's all put together in Twilight Princess because I've only ever watched playthroughs I haven't played it myself and I'm invested in your liveblogging of this now.

omg hi yaaaaaan

^ u n me rn

ok so im ONLY on the death mountain dungeon right but so far in terms of story structure & level design i love this game. i feel like it hits a real sweet spot of being a little perplexing but never punishing yk like u get to use your noggin but it’s easy to progress.

like i mentioned already i LOVED the tutorial ramping you up for a horseback adventure to hyrule castle as a human guy with a sword & slingshot and the power of speech only to take it all away with the wolf transformation and hurl you directly to the twilit castle so the journey you were promised is instantly fulfilled, and stolen, and given back much harder, darker, more complicated.

you haven’t spent much time with/as link atp but it HITS like. his screentime as a guy has been so well spent in establishing his relationship with ordon village, both animals & people, and hyping you up for him to prove himself and see the world in a way that he then isn’t allowed to. the transformation feels authentically violating—it’s fun to play as the wolf, but the first time you try to talk to a familiar npc and they scream, or to open a door and find it’s an unnavigable barrier to you in this form, the realization that just as link doesn’t know how to move through the world in this body, you don’t know how to move through the game without most of the mechanics you just learned… like it hits it hits!

the spirit cleanse 🐺 -> dungeon 🧍 -> spirit cleanse 🐺 -> dungeon 🧍 pattern works really nicely. keeps things fresh, means you didn’t really waste your time in the tutorial, and also alternates the dimly lit, easier but utterly lonely wolf phases with the brighter, more social and challenging human phases in a way that characterizes the twilight itself as a threat imo? it’s melancholy, it’s peaceful, it consumes without killing, it’s vast and feels like a natural disaster… but it’s also easier to reverse than more mundane instances of greed, corruption, and violence. the motif of link with and without a community is repeated over and over. it’s yummy!!

i like that the dungeons seem to have their own characters beyond just the set dressings too. the forest temple felt a bit like a memory pair matching game with a lot of backtracking to previously explored rooms with new context for what you found in there. the goron mines seem to be a lot more timing based, with a lot of speed checks and, so far, more linear forward progress. so the elemental character of each region goes into like. what’s the most challenging quality of each dungeon, instead of just everything getting harder across the board. wood & air for flow, growth, renewal, return. metal & fire for enthusiasm, impulse, persistence, and rhythm. YUM!

midna of course is a nonstop delight. it’s not always clear when she’s available to help mechanically, like it took me forever to realize she’ll only warp during twilight phases, but that’s ok—i’ve never regretted hitting the button to talk to her extra times. (ㅅ´ ˘ `)♡ to me, she’s the perfect fusion of TP’s dark and silly elements. it was love from the first time she yanked on link’s ears and told him to be a good boy. um. mm. hhehe.

literally my only game design complaints are that the day/night cycle isn’t explained in game and isn’t very intuitive (time doesn’t pass in every map), and since it does determine enemy activity & merchant availability i feel like that shouldn’t be smth you have to ask reddit for… and on the wii soooo many things are bound to the A button, and the console is NOT good at interpreting which function makes the most sense for a given situation. it makes some tasks a lot harder than they should be. ah well. forgiveable!

#1 best feature without contest or dispute:

that’s my 2 cents up to this point!

[daytura]

Bro I'm not asking you to dox yourself but what online communities did you come up in that have you speaking this fancy

Hi anon, I have a lot of influences.

My first social media site was reddit. Specifically /r/ThinkPad, where the hottest advice was around the 7-row keyboard and the X220 or T420 laptops and coreboot and IPS displays and oh my goodness those 51nb motherboards look wonderful. 2015, 2016. When I got my Pixelbook in 2019 I would later apply this same vigor to /r/ChromeOS. I think this forms the core of my tone. Lying, giving disingenuous advice; I can do it, but it feels inefficient. It is much easier to be helpful. And of course I could not say anything if I don't have anything to say.

Word choice gets a bit tricker. The words I use are dependent on the interests and hobbies I'm most interested in at the time, but some metaphors carry over. I'm not as interested in PKM as I was in 2022, but I still think about molecularity and growth and evolution and information. It's a bit arbitrary. If I were a touch more focused on neuroscience you might hear me mention, oddly specifically, about networks and connection weights and gross vs. microscopic anatomy. So you have to be willing to be specific.

Discord provides the gift of editing. Long DMs with a best friend. Group servers. It's really incredible how much the experience changes when you commit yourself to writing one or two sentences at a time. It feels serious at first but you gain a sense of complexity, of nuance. So I edit on the fly, and often. It's a bit inefficient but good enough for my thought patterns, which would otherwise be quite messy.

Nowadays I'm adjacent to Twitter's TPOT, but even before then, I had this striking feeling of being not just helpful but also truthful, and relevant, and essential. (Those three attributes are lifted from a certain Seer in a certain Epilogue of a certain webcomic.) And so I would fit as much complexity as possible. I think it still carries over now.

As for Tumblr, I was lurking and observing mcytblr starting early 2021. I had plenty of time to see behavior patterns and cultural shifts. Eventually I crystallized my observations in an impromptu amateur ethnography on the fandom. Naturally I had to define some new concepts and come up with specific phrasing. But I've also gained a taste for shitposting and levity and evaporated humor from the recirculating reblogs. It feels oddly familiar.

Nowadays I just use this new blog as a traditional blog. Longerform. There was this guy -- an author on Tumblr, I know him, just can't remember the name -- who said that Tumblr blogs and classic blogs were analogous to really nice junk food and a glass of wine respectively. I think there's still room on Tumblr for wine...letting your thoughts rest and ferment for a bit into something slightly different but altogether delightful. Which, I think, could've been the essence of blogging to begin with.

[teddybrand]

Why Revenge of the Squid by Teds Budz is Rated High

Revenge of the Squid is renowned for its potency, a major factor contributing to its high rating. With THC levels often exceeding 25%, this strain delivers a powerful high that appeals to veteran users. At the same time, it is versatile enough to cater to those seeking therapeutic benefits. Many medicinal users find Revenge of the Squid helpful in alleviating:

Chronic pain

Anxiety and depression

Insomnia

Stress

This strain’s balanced effects make it a go-to choice for users looking for relief without completely being “couch-locked.” The euphoric head high combined with a relaxing body high helps patients manage pain while staying mentally sharp.

A Flavorful Experience

Teds Budz strains are known for their complex flavor profiles, and Revenge of the Squid is no exception. This strain has a sweet and earthy taste, with subtle undertones of spice and diesel. Its complex terpene profile includes myrcene, caryophyllene, and limonene, which together create its signature aroma and taste.

Terpene Breakdown:

Myrcene contributes to the earthy and musky scent, which many associate with calming effects.

Caryophyllene offers a peppery, spicy bite, adding a subtle kick to the flavor.

Limonene imparts a citrusy, uplifting vibe, which balances the heavier, more sedative qualities of the strain.

This combination of flavors makes Revenge of the Squid a delight to smoke or vape, appealing to cannabis aficionados who prioritize flavor as much as effect.

Customer Reviews and Popularity

On cannabis forums and review sites, Teds Budz reviews for strains like Revenge of the Squid are consistently positive. Consumers praise the strain's potency, flavor, and versatility. Here are some common remarks about this strain:

"Revenge of the Squid left me feeling relaxed yet mentally alert—perfect for evenings."

"This strain is incredibly potent, a little goes a long way!"

"The flavor is amazing, earthy with a sweet aftertaste that keeps me coming back."

On Teds Budz Reddit and other cannabis-focused communities, users frequently share their experiences with the strain. Some even compare it to popular strains like the Amazing Spidey Ted strain or the Teds Gas strain, noting how Revenge of the Squid holds its own in terms of potency and overall experience.

Where to Find Revenge of the Squid

Due to its popularity, Revenge of the Squid is not always easy to find. Cannabis dispensaries in states like California often carry Teds Budz strains. Checking with local dispensaries or using online resources like "Teds Budz near me" searches can help locate the strain. Keep an eye on dispensaries' menus, as it’s typically listed as a top-shelf option. Additionally, certain dispensaries offer Teds Budz seeds, making it possible for experienced growers to cultivate this strain themselves.

Why Teds Budz is a Leading Cannabis Brand

The high ratings of strains like Revenge of the Squid also reflect the overall quality of Teds Budz products. Teds Budz is known for selecting the best genetics, offering strains like:

Incredible Ted Weed Strain: Known for its strong indica effects, this strain delivers a calming, relaxing high.

Teds Budz Spidey Ted Strain: This hybrid is highly praised for its energetic and euphoric effects, perfect for daytime use.

Super Teds Strain: One of the brand's heavy-hitters, with an intense high that is not for beginners.

Cherry Popperz Teds Budz: A sweet, fruity strain that delivers a balanced high with uplifting effects.

These strains, along with Revenge of the Squid, help cement Teds Budz as a premier name in the cannabis industry. Whether you are looking for pain relief, a way to relax, or simply want to experience the best cannabis has to offer, Teds Budz provides a wide selection of options to choose from.

Key Highlights of Revenge of the Squid

Potency: With THC levels often over 25%, Revenge of the Squid is one of the stronger strains available.

Flavor: A balanced combination of sweet, earthy, and spicy notes that provides a unique smoking experience.

Effects: A mix of mental euphoria and physical relaxation, perfect for users seeking both recreational and medicinal benefits.

Genetics: Though its exact lineage is under wraps, it’s clear that the strain benefits from a carefully selected genetic pool that gives it a well-rounded effect profile.

Conclusion

The high ratings of Revenge of the Squid are a testament to its premium quality. From its potent effects to its complex flavor profile, this strain has earned its place in the Teds Budz hall of fame. Whether you're a seasoned cannabis user or someone looking for a reliable strain to help with stress or pain, Revenge of the Squid delivers an experience that's hard to beat. With a growing number of fans and a consistent presence in top-tier dispensaries, it's no wonder this strain is one of the highest-rated offerings from Teds Budz.

[digitalhelpltd]

What Is Content Composing? Plus 6 Tips to Take Your Web Content to the Next Level

Material writing is the procedure of writing, editing, and posting content in an electronic layout to involve your target market. That web content can consist of post, video or podcast scripts, E books or white papers, press releases, product group summaries, landing page or social networks copy and even more.

Material development is a critical element of most businesses' advertising techniques-- as of 2024, 70% of marketing experts currently actively buy web content advertising and marketing.

This implies the duty of a content author is more in-demand than in the past. However, the duty differs depending upon both industry and business needs.

For instance, some companies invest heavily in a social media approach, while various other companies choose creating web content in the layout of blog posts or e-books.

No matter style, a material writer is essential for creating top notch web content that stands for and enhances a brand's voice while drawing in, involving, and delighting the ideal audience.

Put simply, content authors are the storytellers of their brand name. They communicate purposeful, useful, and informative messages to influence and move a target market to do something about it-- that action being a last sale.

When done right, material writing can convert visitors right into potential customers and prospects into paying customers. So, you must consistently produce useful, interesting web content for your company's bottom line. Yet that's easier stated than done.

To assist take your web content to the following level, allow's dive into a few of my favored content composing pointers.

6 Material Creating Tips

1. Write unique and original content, and exceed and past what you discover on-line.

Whenever I begin a new post like this one, I start with a lot of on-line research-- yet that's not where it ends.

After Googling pertinent topics, consisting of "content writing suggestions," I start creating a rundown making use of a few of the information I locate online.

Nevertheless, your piece will never rate if you just copy-and-paste the very same information that currently exists online-- and, even if it does, when your viewers catch on (and they will certainly), they'll lose trust in your brand name as an authority within the industry.

When I complete my rough outline (consisting of regarding 60% of the details I found via online research), I complete the continuing to be 40% with one-of-a-kind, original insights.

Mean I know about a subject directly (just like "content writing" considering that I'm a material writer). In that situation, I'll fill out the overview with original narratives, ideas, or personal instances.

Nonetheless, if I recognize extremely little concerning the subject, that does not mean I simply utilize what's currently on the internet. Rather, I'll call inner Center Spotters that are specialists on the subject or make use of various other original interior company sources.

I'll likewise conduct external outreach via my social media networks to locate a trusted source going to offer tips, quotes, or initial instances to increase my item.

Furthermore, I'll search for material regarding the topic throughout a wide range of sources-- consisting of YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Quora, and podcasts-- to guarantee that when viewers encounter my web content, it's thorough and distinct.

Why should they remain on your web page if they can find the very same info somewhere else on Google? As a great web content author, it's your work to take your material to the following level.

2. Write a good hook to grab your visitor's focus.

Occasionally, writing a great hook is easy-- particularly if the subject is appealing or amazing to you as the writer.

Often, composing a good hook requires drawing back and considering the larger photo.

For example, while rel= nofollow isn't the most remarkable subject (in my opinion), what is interesting to me is SEO and how search engine optimization can straight affect a firm's capability to reach new audiences-- plus, just how Google has needed to transform guidelines in recent years because of a boost in illegitimate sites.

This means when I started creating 3 Reasons Why SEOs Are Distressed Regarding Google's Rel= nofollow News, I used that angle to inspire my hook and suggested: Myself as a Wikipedia editor, writing about zebras, and getting paid $500 to link to a phony news web site.

( Now you're interested, aren't you?).

My creative writing background helps in this case, and I want to wager your interest for writing will certainly additionally assist you produce exciting hooks.

The introduction and hook are usually your best possibility to utilize your creating skills to inspire, move, shock, and thrill your readers. Capitalize on that area by reasoning: What would make me and my friends intend to maintain analysis?

3. SEO-optimize your web content for internet search engine. Your writing can be spectacular, but no one will certainly ever before read it if it's not SEO-optimized.

As a content writer, you must come to be familiar with SEO when it comes to composing.

An SEO-savvy writer can help you guarantee your material ranks on whichever systems you publish, including YouTube, Google, or perhaps social sites like Instagram.

And also, you can utilize search engine optimization to guarantee you're writing about one of the most prominent subjects associated with your services or products and covering the best sub-topics when you're discussing a provided subject.

As an example, "material writing tips" is a keyword phrase I located when performing keyword research study on the topic of "material writing" all at once.

It's not always a sub-topic I would've thought about covering in this article had I refrained from doing the study to identify HubSpot viewers are seeking that info.

Knowing crucial search engine optimization strategies will certainly aid you become a writer a lot more attuned to your viewers' difficulties and guarantee you produce material that extra properly solutions those obstacles.

4. Consider how you can attract an audience throughout a wide array of systems. While search engine optimization is critical for ensuring your content ranks on search engines like Google, it's not the only opportunity for circulation.

To get to a bigger audience, finding out how to compose material that does well on various systems such as Instagram, Linkedin, or email is practical.

Plus, you might be a content author whose single work is to write e-newsletter content or social media sites copy, relying on your business requirements.

To guarantee your material gets to and influences audiences regardless of their liked system, you need to consistently consume web content using email and social media to grab composing ideas certain to those resources.

5. Integrate multimedia elements to separate the text. Attempt integrating videos, photos, graphs, or other multimedia content to break up the message and make it less complicated for your visitors to consume-- mainly if it's long-form web content, like pillar pages or white papers.

Take into consideration, for instance, the post I created: "How to Develop a Web Content Strategy: A Start-to-Finish Guide.".

That blog post is long, with over 3,000 words. To break it up, I installed video clips and various other multimedia aspects (like blockquotes) to maintain the visitor involved throughout.

This is also an outstanding chance to increase web traffic to your business's marketing products.

For example, if you have a new firm podcast, attempt embedding episodes in appropriate article to drive audiences to the podcast while providing added worth for your viewers-- a win-win.

6. Segue into proper and pertinent calls-to-action. As a content author, your work isn't just to develop excellent web content (that's what storytellers are for). It's also to inevitably transform those viewers, audiences, or audiences right into prospects and clients.

Therefore, you have to discover just how to properly consist of relevant CTAs throughout your material, specifically if those CTAs can assist your visitors discover more concerning the subject at hand.

[proosh]

hi proosh! just wanted to quickly ask how you find history books to read? the small blurbs you've posted seem rlly interesting and i'd love to get to know how you discover all these books and read some myself.

Hi anon, I’m really delighted to hear that you’re enjoying the occasional excerpt I post!!

The way I find books is a mix of:

direct recommendations from friends and colleagues

having them recommended or used as reference in online circles

occasionally coming across something in a used book shop

Recently I’ve moved to a place with a library near by so I’ve been just trawling through their history section and when I spot something that piques my interest I’ll give it a quick google search as “[book+author] Reddit” because while it is a circlejerk at times, Reddit is often good for giving a heads-up to if the book or author has any Issues. r/askhistorians remains one of the best places for this (but being Reddit, still has its issues at times lmao)

(Still the funniest incident was when I searched for a book related to the gulag system and r/communism was decrying the author as a hitlerite meanwhile r/askhistorians was like “yeah some of the info is outdated and it’s not 100% ‘scholarly’ but it’s a cromulent book otherwise”)

[artesianalpondscum]

When will everything stop being a community?

Sorry for this being a run on sentence, i treat internet posts as a stream of concious less a university dissertation, but why does everything that everyone is or does in any form have to automatically assign them to be in a "community".

I like polaroid film and suddenly im assigned to be in a polaroid community where i have to take delight in interacting with others on my interest of polaroid cameras, no user weaselstompingbitchboots i have never once interacted with anyone in taking polaroid photos or getting information from or sharing anything with outside of he camera store owner when i asked him if he had a used SLR 680 in stock and the target clerk to unlock the $80 box of film so stop giving me "community recources" like i signed up to work for a 501c3

I am L(G)BT(Q)IA(+) and yet im in a community? where is my invite to whatever community gatherings where is my invite to discussion in this community that i am apart of?

whenver you see any one asking for help online its "can someone from the waking up in bed on the side you do not want to wake up on community help me with waking up on the side i want" and then you go into post with the related tags and all the related posts are overinflated egos grifting off people by panhandling some 5000% inflated temu grade shit in whatever associated apps store page pretending its a solution to a problem, when it never is.

And i know reddit is to blame because everything on reddit is a "community" and its just brainrot but omg its so horrid now

okay rant over hello to the one person who read this all the way through i hope the next time you put your socks on they go on perfectly and fit just like they were new .