#terms no longer relevant in today's world

[tomorrowsgardennc]

if invasive, then why so pretty?

[dann-art]

I know that vampire chronicles aren't meant to be historical accurate. Like you read this and you know that all this events can happen in literally any time and space. Like really. The times doesn't really matter there, there are no nuances.

Listen, I'm not a historian, by any means. It's just like a hobby, but I have millions of them so I don't even learn that much.

Also I usually don't give a shit about accuracy in media, like whatever, until it's science do what you want, whatever suits your story

But sometimes it's time to say enough is enough.

So, we need to talk about Armands origin in Kievan Rus'. Okay, that's cool, we don't really explore it, but well whatever, at least we're not messing this up, right? Right?

While I was reading I ignored it. I was reading TVA in polish translation I thought like okay, names and nuances probably got lost in translation. It's a really bad translation tho.

But out of curiosity today I opened the book in English, because this was sticking in my head.

And it appears it wasn't translators fault.

So well, it's like kinda huge mistake. Like no one really checked it? But this book constantly claims that like Kievan Rus' was then in Russia. And suprise, suprise: that's simply not true. Well the term is kinda not right and can mean anything, like back it existed as state it was huge, but (judging on the mention of Kiev itself) that it was like somewhere in that area.

So I'll spare whole history, it's not relevant. We're stop around 1480's, when Armand was born (based on my calculations). And in that time the region was called Kiev Voivodeship (hope I got it right in english), and it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and stayed there until 1569, when it passed to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (when the Polish-lithuanian commonwealth was created, but both countries were in union since early XV century)

So in the book we have some lines like this

Armand, bestie, I don't know how to break it to you, you're not russian. You never were. You've never lived in Russia (or back then I would use rather the name Moscow, but again I'm not a historian). More of a Ukrainian if so, but also not the world I would use. Most accurate would be rusyn (I think, or ruthenian???? I'm not sure how it works in English, anyway not russian).

Then we have this, and well... Oh boy. Something went really wrong with geography here. First of all, you've never been to Russia (or better say Principality of Moscow, like it wasn't even called Russia, from what I know, but i might be wrong).

So okay, Moscow and Novgorod were in part of Moscow indeed but Cracow!?!?!?? (Known also as my absolutely favourite city in the world). Like Cracow like Never ever has been a part of Russia. Okay, I get confusion with Kiev if you really really don't care about basic research. But Cracow???

Here's the map. Unfortunately it like administrative of Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth in 1619, but well you'll see my point. That doesn't make any sense

Cracow always was polish. Like it's our second capital. And look how far from Russia it is. Even during the partitions it goes to Austria not Russia.

Last thing I want to point out is this one

Like, man, maybe you speak russian, I do not doubt, like during travel to Moscow you could learn I guess.

I'm not entirely sure, but I guess the language there is ruthenian not russian. Like ruthenian is old language which is base for slavic languages such as Belarusian or Ukrainian. And what is also important it was not the language used in the Principality of Moscow, so it's definitely not russian.

Okay, thanks for reading if anyone is still there. I won't bore you any longer. It just was sitting in my head and I had to throw it out because we'll, basic research I guess.

[centrally-unplanned]

In my list of orphaned projects is a big damn essay on the fertility transition , which I never wrote. I had this in the docket for almost a decade, back when worrying about fertility rates was still a hot take. But alas the ship has sailed, everyone is talking about it now and has written it all out already, and I have mountains of projects, so I will just outline it quickly, sans graphs and footnotes. Maybe doing that will incentivize me to write up a full one someday, and it also gets my cohesive viewpoint out there.

The Future Is Exowombs & the Global Fertility Transition

The Trendline

The fertility transition has long roots - going back to 19th century France, originating in metropoles like Paris and culturally exporting itself to the countryside.

It seems broadly linked to material prosperity in ways that are load-bearing, one implies the other.

It is a 'sticky' cultural transition - once a country begins to move towards lowered TFR it never recovers outside of temporary blips.

It is not related to "western" cultural norms or specific contingencies of religion or ethnicity - those can matter at the margins, but rarely make a huge difference.

Starting in the 1990's, following sharp increases in A: global economic growth and B: global cultural diffusion/global monoculture, a trendline that used to be reserved for wealthy countries has rapidly accelerated, affecting countries at almost every income level. The fertility transition is now fully global.

The Cause

The primary driver of this phenomenon is the positive realization of desires - and by that I mean it is not something forced on people due to a lack in their lives.

It is not primarily caused by growing singleness; the number of people having any kids at all today is lower but overall pretty similar to the number of people who did a hundred years ago. It makes a marginal difference but not a huge one.

It is not linked to money, or housing prices, or other economic issues - fertility rates do not notably change with income levels or other price factors. At the margins, sure, but not at relevant ones.

It is not linked to specific technologies like contraception. People have understood how to prevent pregnancy for centuries - though like many things they do contribute at the margins. Additionally, you can’t uninvent them.

It is by a large majority linked to the death of large families. It was previously common for there to be families with 5 or more children, sometimes way more. 10+ children was not that rare in the past.

These families were disproportionately engaged in agricultural production; cities have always been fertility sinks.

In a world of manual household labor, rural living, low rights for women, low economic opportunities for women, and high death rates for children, these large families made sense. The 'opportunity cost' of the endless pregnancies & sicknesses was low (economically, not gonna handwave the immense personal toll)

All of these reasons have vanished. People want to have families, and love their children. But enduring multiple painful pregnancies, putting your career on hold, and spending huge chunks of your lifespan on child raising no longer tracks. The experience of having ~2 children is superior, along almost every metric, than the experience of having ~5 children for most people. This is what I mean by positive desires - the family structures of the past were built on misery and necessity, and will not return willingly.

The Problem

Many will point to the economic & social consequences of the Fertility Transition. They are very real, particularly at sub-1.0 fertility rates. If you are South Korea today, you have no plan for how your economy will truly support itself 50 years from now - you will vanish as a country in a few generations.

The focus on nearish-term crises also misses the opportunities lost - economic growth is premised on specialization, and specialization is premised on scale. A smaller world is a poorer world per capita, and a less innovative world, problems which have compounding effects. The difference in the long term is orders of magnitude.

But, far more importantly than any of that, is that we are nowhere close to the capacity of the earth to support humans. Supporting double or even triple the current population of the earth is trivial; a 10-fold increase would be quite easy, particularly once innovation is factored in. Being alive is a good of worth incomparable to anything else - the 'future' is literally defined by it. Time only meaningfully passes through the eye of one who can behold it.

The Failed Solutions

Money cannot buy lifespan or reclaim lost time - all attempts to throw money at the problem of fertility can help at the margins, but won't change the fundamentals. Some people want to have 2 kids, but can only afford 1. Or are prioritizing a career, but will work part time to have 3 kids. But the current policy crop of tax benefits or subsidized child care has not found a way to make someone truly want a larger family size, just mitigate gaps between desire and ability - and only barely.

Could radically larger amounts of money solve this problem? A professional career track in giving birth, 100k+ salaries for full-time mothers? I am open to the idea - but society isn't. The fiscal transfers needed are too radical for the current political environment, no one is proposing this.

Immigration was frequently proposed as a stop-gap, but its a 90's idea, premised on the idea that the Fertility Transition was a western problem that other countries did not face. It is not and never was; as every country's fertility declines, immigration becomes a zero-sum solution.

Turning back the clock on cultural change is A: impossible, the material logic of modern industrial production broke the need for it, and culture is downstream of material constraints. And B: its barbaric - if your answer to humanity's obstacles to greater flourishing is to condemn half of it to misery, we are better off dead.

So population levels will either stagnate or decline - unless something intervenes.

The "Future" Aka Getting Rationalist On Main

Exowombs, aka artificial wombs, allow you to grow a human child outside of the need for a person to incubate it. The baby (hah) step they let you do is strongly lower the cost of having a child; this is time & health given back to a mother, it will make having larger families easier.

But that won't fundamentally, shift the reality - that most people only want 1-2 kids, they don't want to raise more than that. However, with exowombs, you don't need to; you can make children outside of a family's desire for one. You can do that pretty trivially, actually. A society, if committed to solving its fertility issues, could mass-produce people with exowombs. Which would be very good to do ethically, because living is good and I personally don't think kids at orphanages should be euthanized to end their suffering, they are fine.

If some society, somewhere, did this, they would rule the world in a few generations. No one else is solving this problem, and meanwhile the human capacity to live on Earth is being woefully underutilized. Before natural human growth would solve this eventually - now it seems that will never happen, so anyone who actively tackles the problem wins. They literally win the future, by being the future.

Now, no one is going to do this soon - proposing this idea is not my point. Exowomb research is harshly regulated or illegal everywhere, modern society hates the idea of this kind of experimentation. We are, in so many ways, allergic to the idea of solving this problem. It doesn't even have to be exowombs, maybe we do the salaried mothers idea. My point is just the illustration - the future where there is 100 billion people dwarfs any current trendline future. That hypothetical dominates the worldline space, because arriving there organically seems to have faded away. The fact that we are not going to take that future, that it is probably gone now, is really, really sad.

But of course there is the other solution, the reactionary specter - instead of the technological solution, we choose the social one, of cultural regression and expanded reproductive control. I am not so worried about this, personally? Because I think it would unsustainable and result in a lot of bleed to liberal societies. It should not be taken lightly though - in a world where everyone has 1.0 fertility, and the social and economic consequences are becoming dire, I wouldn’t discount the willingness for radical solutions. I myself prefer the technologist side. But I think odds are we don't get either, just the long decline.

TL;DR - don’t let the Mormons win. Build exowomb factories.

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

I'm always fascinated when someone at the club rants about "how they just invented T'au to cash on them anime weebs", completly oblivious to the time and culture of their creation. So T'au came out first in 2001, and were obviously conceptualized some years prior, which puts them into the late 90s in their original design. This is slowly hitting "the majority of the populance has no relevant internet access whatsoever" levels of "barbaric analog ages".

So imagine where GW sits in the late 90s - its a small studio somewhere in England barely coming to touch with the first elements of the internet, with the most dominant medium being television which... is not really about "exotic" shows from the other end of the world? Those get ported over when they have proven to be a hit in their own country mostly.

And without the internet as we know it today, the anime community just... did not exist. You have to understand that the whole concept of online anime culture centred around piracy, fansubs, fanart, and the creation of the term "weeabo" was a mid-to-late 00s thing, and it took almost another decade before "weeb" was somewhat reclaimed and no longer an online-slur.

There was a whole generation that grew up with (often horribly localized) japanese shows on TV (Pokemon, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon) which came over with some delay to their release in Japan. By the time this generation came to congregate into online spaces and form any sort of fan-identity and culture, the T'au and their battlesuits had already been a design over a decade old.

"But wait isn't Gundam from the 70s"? Yes, that is totally correct. However, this is the one glaring mistake people make: you cannot compare modern day media content circulation around the globe to the analog ages. Those of us who remember these barbaric analog times know how it was: you just did not know stuff existed. If it was not in the newspaper or on the telly, it might as well not exist unless you knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy.

Sure, the Internet was slowly becoming a thing that found widespread use, but it would still take a while - not to mention the technical limitations. No streaming episodes. You start the download (if you can find someone who hosted the file of a series you had to know even existed first) somewhere around lunch, to hopefully get something to watch in the afternoon. Oh and also that blocked the household's phone-line and if the download cancelled for whatever reason then it was back to square one. Under such conditions, the online community we know today could simply not exist, as the alternative was importing stuff from the other end of the world for quite the money, or hoping a really shoddy localized VCR-tape ended up at your Blockbuster-equivalent.

Of course there was anime before that time, even those regarded absolute classics in the west, but those mostly achieved that rank over here in retrospective. When in the late 00s people wanted to watch stuff and had the ability to do so they shared what was considered "the classics" first (shared to the best of their ability with one episode cut into 5 parts on youtube with sometimes very questionable subtitles).

So even if we assume there was someone at GW in the 90s who was a total "proto-weeb" and Gudam-fan, there was literally no reason to "make knock-off Gundams" because the miniscule western wargaming audience SIMPLY DID NOT KNOW THE STUFF.

You can't make a marketing ploy to reference something your average consumers have never heard off. If anything, the creation of the T'au as a robotic-centred faction was inevitable: they needed a design that could hold their own in the setting, but Necrons hogged the full-robot niche, Imperials were weird cyborgs, Orks the "madman-scrap-tech", and Nids the "biotech". The only thing left here was "not full robot but also very clean and efficient" - and just like that, the Battlesuits and Drones were born.

It was only in later years when the Internet had come into full swing where they decided to go full-suit with releases such as the Riptide, but if we talk about the OG design of T'au and the first decade? Nothing to do with anime or "fishing for weebs". The fish would not be coming to that spot for almost a decade, and it would take a bit more before their numbers were plentyful enough to make it worth casting a line out.

[yuri-is-online]

10. Getting a visit from him while you're sick and thinking it was a dream.

I AM SO SORRY I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED YOUR ASK BY POSTING IT TOO EARLY (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

I really really hope you like this friend, I am very grateful for your support <3

notes: they/them pronouns used for Yuu, typical best friend pining for Deuce, references to fainting from exhaustion for Jack. Check out the other requests on my masterlist here.

Silver

"Golden hour" is a funny term when you are forced to think about it under the influence of Twisted Wonderland Benadryl. Which is to say that you feel very grateful to be hallucinating an image of Silver and not the hat man. Rook would be much too willing to entertain this line of thought.

"I just think that it's kind of funny," you try to justify to not-Silver who has kindly allowed you to rest your head in his lap "that your name is Silver and you sort of look like that y'know." He blinks, an intense look of concentration knitted over his lovely face.

"Not really." He says, genuinely remorseful. "I'm just not that imaginative I'm sorry." He idly strokes your hair, the ghost of a smile growing the longer he looks at you. It flutters into your heart and briefly halts your train of thought; you don't know if you should be happy it's the weekend so this can't interrupt your classes or mad you can't enjoy your day off. But then, what about this dream? Silver doesn't really go out of his way to hang out with you, if you had not been running a fever...

You had been reaching for him, pausing only when you realize in a desperate effort to stay in the illusion. What had you been talking about? You wonder ignoring the way Silver leans to follow your hands. Oh right, golden hour.

"It's super pink and purple," you mumble "and it's just- it's supposed to be the prettiest thing in the whole wide world and there it is trapped in your eyes." Sliver takes a deep breath, almost like he is trying to restrain something, before slowly, gently, caressing your eyelids in an effort to convince them to close.

"I think you need to go back to sleep prefect." You want to tell him that's a silly suggestion because you are already asleep, but something about finally closing your eyes makes you just that much more comfortable. As you drift into the darkness, you feel someone pick you up, cradling you bridal style as they begin to walk up the Ramshackle Dorm staircase.

"The prettiest thing in the world, huh. I wonder what that says about you, when you are what's reflected in them?"

Deuce

Today was not a good day for the only plot relevant members of freshmen class A. Both of your friends had forgotten to charge their phones last night, and while Ace had been smart enough to slip his into his pocket, Deuce had left his charger back in their dorm room. That hadn't really been anything other than an inconvenience at first, but then the rain had started.

"I'll be fine, you two should worry about yourselves, I know Varags isn't canceling your club practices for this."

You really should not have said that. Maybe you haven't been feeling well for a while now or maybe the rain + no central heating + no parental figure had been what put you down. It didn't really matter what caused it, you feel like death and none of your text messages are making it through to either of your friends. At least Grim was kind enough to bring you a bunch of blankets and pillows from your room, there was no way you were giving him free reign in Sam's with your wallet no matter how badly you needed medicine. The only thing left to do is try and sleep it off and that's what you do, tossing your phone onto a chair Grim had propped up next to the couch.

~~~

Deuce had been sitting in the library before Trey kindly told him that you were out sick. He had not bothered asking where Ace had gone off too, assuming that by the time he made it to Ramshackle he would already be there and laughing at him. But that was not the case and now that he is sitting here wondering if he should try to wake you up or just let you sleep he can't decide if he is angry at Ace or happy to be alone with you. He does know he feels disappointed for even needing to ask.

"Yuu?" He decides to try and whisper, that way if you're deep asleep you won't react. You are curled up on the couch so tightly you might as well be a cat, the way you nuzzle into his palm when he tries to take your temperature does not help. You open your eyes but don't say anything at first, you just... smile? Smile and reach to hold his hand with a contended mrrp. Every muscle in Deuce's body is painfully tense, he desperately wishes he knew what he was supposed to do in this situation.

He knows what he wants to do, but that has to be the one thing he is not supposed to, right? You are his best friend, there is nothing more than that. It's with friendly intent you reach to hug him, it's with friendly concern he pulls you into his embrace and holds you tightly so you don't crash onto the floor.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He whispers and you shake your head into his chest before looking up into his eyes with pure friendly adoration.

"I wish you were here," your eyes close, sending you back into sleep and Deuce into a spiral "I want to wake up in your arms just once."

"Me too..." he relaxes, gently moving you back to your couch before you can do more harm. "I- I hope you can remember I want that too."

Jack

Jack adjusts the position of your arms around his neck and makes sure he has a firm grip on your thighs.  He has given piggy backs before but never to an unconscious person.

"You need to be more realistic about your limits."  The words taste like sandpaper on his tongue, for someone so invested in the opinions of his seniors Jack sure had been determined to ignore them when it came to how hard he pushed you.  He couldn't, well he could have helped it.  He could have done some research about how to safely start working out, or asked you if you were even interested in training with him.  But no, he did neither of those things, instead he just told you that your stamina was pitiful and that you were going to start training with him immediately.  Knowing him he probably threatened to leave you alone if you couldn't keep up, some friend he was.  "Sorry," he expected the word to feel heavier, maybe sting a little, but his pride doesn't feel any worse than it had when you fainted "I don't like seein you hurt."  Maybe it's because you're asleep and he doesn't actually have to worry about coming off too soft, or maybe it's because you stir in that sleep to bury your face further into his hair signaling that you still feel safe with him on some subconscious level, but he feels like he can just... talk.  Like even though you aren’t awake your heart will listen.

"I know I talk a lot about how if you're weak you'll get left behind, or that I don't need friends but that's just second nature y'know?  It's not like I don't want to be around you, and I definitely don't want you to get sick."  Again you move, but your steady breathing confirms you are still asleep as Jack nears Ramshackle with his precious cargo.  “When you wake up I’ll say sorry the right way, and make sure to get you some water… ha I wonder why you even came out today in the first place?  I’ve been a pretty shitty friend-”  

You take a deep, deep breath at the back of Jack’s neck, exhaling as your arms tighten around his neck in a way that could choke him if you had been angry but now feels more like a hug.  Hot air tickles him from his neck all the way down his spine as his stupidly keen ears pick up on a sleepy murmur he knows has to come from somewhere deep in your dream-addled mind.  Don’t be stupid, I wanted to spend time with you.  Why?  You know why!  And even if you don’t-

“It’s a secret~”  You actually say out loud, speeding up Jack’s heart rate and his steps.

If he doesn’t put you to bed soon he’s going to be the one who’s dehydrated. 

[thecurioustale]

The "Middle West"

I was recently watching Trump speak (not something I typically do 🤢), and the most interesting thing he said had nothing to do with anything he was actually talking about: It was that he used the term Middle West to refer to that generally north-central part of the United States, centered on the Mississippi River, that is neither the South nor the Northeast (nor the Mid-Atlantic, but that's really just a subcategory of the Northeast that Northeasterns use to not get lumped in with each other).

We all know it today as the Midwest. But in times past it was much more commonly known as the Middle West.

(Tangent: It is also one of many geographical region-name reminders of our national East Coast beginnings, as America has like six different kinds of "West": the Midwest, the Southwest, the (Pacific) Northwest, the Mountain West / Interior West, the West Coast / Pacific West—and that's not counting the deprecated terms (such as "Far West," i.e. distinguished from the Midwest) or the old Northwest (which would've referred to places like Ohio and (what we know as) West Virginia)!)

Over the course of the 20th century, "Midwest" became an increasingly common form of the term, eventually overtaking "Middle West" in popularity and, by our lifetimes, completely replacing it. The only people who still use "Middle West" today are very old. I'm only aware of the term's existence because I'm a fan of midcentury media and if you go watch (for example) old Dragnet episodes from the 1950s you'll hear the term used.

I was looking at the Google Ngram Viewer to get a sense of the relative usage frequencies of these terms, and I noticed something interesting: Not only has "Middle West" been driven almost extinct from active usage, but "Midwest" itself has also declined precipitously in the 21st century. People today are not calling the Midwest the "Midwest," at least not with the frequency and relevancy they once did. I was curious if this was another permutation of the usage, so I also looked up "Midwestern" (which I included in the link above), thinking that maybe people nowadays are calling it the clunkier "the Midwestern states" / "the Midwestern US," but the adjectival has declined in step with "Midwest." It really does seem to be that people are just using this geographical category less often.

Perhaps unsurprisingly: the sociopolitical cohesiveness of the Midwest has significantly diminished over time. I think most Midwesterners would still recognize and affiliate with the term if you applied it of them to their faces, but increasingly I think many of them do not think of it in their daily lives as a personal or cultural identifier. Which has many fascinating implications that I'm not going to get into.

(Another Tangent: I feel like I've talked about specifically this "Middle West / Midwest" thing on Tumblr before, but I feel that way about half of everything because after all I've been writing down my thoughts for over 20 years and I've been having thoughts for considerably longer than that, and it's often not clear to me what I've talked about publicly and where.)

Anyway, this entire post is really just me scratching the itch of verbal brain noise about the orange guy using a term in a public address that I never hear people use in the present day. A little piece of lost language, hearkening back to a completely different era and world.

[enarei]

( this is a response to this zine [link]. the intent of this is not to offer some prescriptivist counter-position for only using "transgender", I don't personally have an issue with people using "transsexual" either way, and use it for myself occasionally, I just think the way in which that message is being conveyed is, like, incredibly misleading and reductive at best, and seems like a fantastical rewriting of history to justify transmisogyny at worst )

Focusing on the fact "transsexualism" was coined by Magnus Hirschfeld to argue against it being shunned by parts of the trans community, at least as an umbrella term (in contrast to "transgender"), does a disservice to the history of how the term "transsexual" was actually used in English for most its existence. We can't attribute the decades old controversy surrounding these terms exclusively to the individuals who coined them (neither of which were trans themselves), and ignore the context in which they were actually introduced and applied to the trans community, what relationship they fostered with the people they were trying to describe, and which segments of the population were discouraged from using them.

"Transsexual" emerged, in the English language, as a strongly pathologized term. The concept of the "transvestite" (cross-dresser), which the zine also references, was used in contrast to it, to highlight the difference between patients deemed "trans" enough to be allowed to access hormones and medically transition, and those whose "transness" was deemed merely a temporary ailment, or one deemed not serious enough to intervene. This wasn't a proactive distinction, emerging internally from the community itself, but rather from doctors who started to gatekeep access to the newly created field of medical transition based on arbitrary characteristics, with very little input from the patients they were supposed to be helping

The concept of the "true transsexual", which was simultaneously defined and reified in various typologies over the years, was fundamentally exclusionary in nature. Irrespective of who coined it, the reason "transgender" largely replaced transsexual in scope is because of this, because the category of people it was intended to describe was impossibly insular and stratified in terms of race, class, and sexuality, "transsexual" as a medical label was afforded on the basis of one being allowed to, rather than having a desire to undergo some form of medical transition. To those with the authority to actually prescribe hormones, it was never remotely as inclusive as it is being suggested here, and it should be immediately clear to anyone who has been denied access to any form of trans healthcare in the past.

It's extremely misleading to pretend the reason it is a less common term nowadays is just because it's perceived as "outdated". The very reason "transsexual" is undergoing a revival today is because the original basis for the exclusionary way in which it was employed has lost some significance due to the mechanisms used to enforce it losing relevance in the part of the world where it originated: informed consent practices have become increasingly common in the United States, despite all the setbacks in conservative states, a growing number of trans* people have only known an environment where medical gatekeeping is not as extreme; to most people a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria is no longer seen as a requirement for someone to describe themselves as trans or be addressed with their preferred identity, because transness is no longer seen as an exclusively medical phenomenon, both by medical institutions, and society at large. Therefore, in the English language, in 2023, "transsexual" can ostensibly be used by anyone, regardless of conforming to a medical diagnosis, and regardless of strict conformance to gender roles.

However, this is a very, very recent phenomenon. It's important to remember easy/informed consent to hormones is far from being the norm in the majority of the world, even the English speaking one (or the US for that matter?), and a majority of trans people still have to grapple with performing "true transsexuality" as a fact of life to access trans healthcare, while dealing with incredibly shit doctors who believe all trans people are straight, hate their genitals—and particularly of transfeminine people—that they must pass to begin with to be allowed to transition. None of the examples cited here would be eligible for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria under existing criteria in the vast majority of practices, be allowed to medically transition, and be considered "transsexual" in the sense OP is implying, and this is more pertinent as to why the term has waned in use relative to "transgender" or just "trans" than what the individual who coined it may have originally intended—Magnus Hirschfeld, despite his contributions to trans people in Germany, did not have much influence in how the concept of "transsexuality" continued to be employed after his death, David Oliver Cauldwell, in reintroducing it to English as a "psychopathy", did; Harry Benjamin, Kenneth Zucker and Ray Blanchard, those who contributed to the WPATH, DSM and other bodies used to categorize transness and which types of bodies should be allowed to access gender affirming healthcare, had far more influence in trans people's actual experience of the term.

What many people seem to miss about the term becoming popular again, is that its very use by people who obviously do not conform to its original meaning in medical institutions & academia is "cool" today because it is somewhat ironic in nature: the trannies who top and exclusively fuck other trans women, would never, ever, be allowed to call themselves "transsexual" by any respected sexologist involved in the dissemination of the term in medical journals and across the world, we would be labelled autogynephiles, transvestites, and faggots instead. It's very telling how easy it is for CAFABs to argue people weren't victimized by its use and they only remember it as something "comforting", given they were generally never subjected to the same stringent criteria to be allowed to transition.

Omitting this, to argue instead that "transsexual" was never employed in a harmful way, that people dislike it simply because it's old, imo does a huge disservice to trans people who actually have had to put up with being told they aren't "transsexual" enough to have agency over their bodies.

[longlistshort]

Charles Ray “Family Romance”, 1993, and Ashley Bickerton “F.O.B.:Tied (White)”, 1993/2018

Charles Ray “Family Romance”, 1993

Maurizio Cattelan “WE”, 2010

Tishan Hsu, “mammal-screen-green-2”, 2024

Work by Josh Kline

“Untitled”, 2008-9, and “Two Breasts”, 1990, by Robert Gober

Mike Kelley, “Brown Star”, 1991 (left) and “The Judge”, 2018, by Jana Euler (painting on right)

Wanghechi Mutu, “One Cut”, 2018, (center sculpture); photographs by Cindy Sherman, 2010/2023

“Pep Talk”, 2024, by Cajsa von Zeipel and Jamian Juliano-Villani, “Women”, 2024, (painting on right)

Post Human, the current group exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch’s Los Angeles location, continues an artistic investigation of humanity that began with the 1992 exhibition of the same name. Some of the over forty artists (and even some of the works) were in the previous iteration, but now their work is placed alongside others made more recently. Seeing them together offers viewers a chance to  contemplate the shifts and continuations in culture, technology, and what it means to be human.

From the gallery-

“Post Human was virtually a manifesto trumpeting a new art for a new breed of human,” wrote the art historian and curator Robert Rosenblum discussing the impact of the exhibition in the October 2004 issue of Artforum.

In 1992, Post Human, curated by Jeffrey Deitch, brought together the work of thirty-six young artists interested in technological advancement, social and aesthetic pluralism, and new frontiers of body and identity transformation. Through their art, these artists were exploring the same questioning of traditional notions of gender, sexuality and self-identity that was—and still is—taking place in the world at large. Capturing a developing social and scientific phenomenon, Post Human theorized a new approach to the construction of the self and interpretation of what defines being human. The exhibition set the agenda for the 1990s, and its influence on artists and philosophers led to a new field of academic study.

In her book Posthuman Feminism (2022), the philosopher and feminist theoretician Rosi Braidotti credits Deitch for capturing “the avant-garde spirit of the age by foregrounding the role of technology in blurring binary boundaries between subjects and objects, humans and non-humans.” She adds, “Post Human showed also that art assumed a much more central role as it merged with science, computerization and biotechnology in further re-shaping the human form and perfecting a flair for the artificial.”

The catalogue of the 1992 exhibition, with its visual essay and innovative design by the late Dan Friedman, also proved lasting relevance. Deitch’s influential essay predicted many of the scientific and sociological shifts that have since shaped our cultural and social environment, even the pandemic.

More than thirty years later, Post Human at Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles, revisits the theme of the exhibition, bringing the discourse into the present. The show includes several of the key figures who participated in the 1992 exhibition in dialogue with some of the most interesting artists continuing the exploration of these themes today. In keeping with the social and technological trends that inspired it, the interest in figuration of the original artists and the younger generations presented in the show is conceptual rather than formal.

Much of the then-new figurative work was descriptive of the “real” world but cannot, in fact, be called “realistic” in the conventional sense. That is because so much of the “real” world the artists were reacting to had become artificial. With the concept of the real disintegrating through an acceptance of the multiplicity of reality models and the embrace of artificiality, Realism as it was once known was no longer possible. This new figurative art may have actually marked the end of Realism rather than its revival.

Fully integrated into our pop psychology, the term “posthuman” is now used in everyday conversations and has come to primarily identify with the trope of the cyborg. This exhibition, like the 1992 show, however, examines multiple declinations and aspects of the postmodern construction of personality and the engineering and transcendence of the human body. The artists in the exhibition embrace notions of plurality, metamorphosis and multi-beingness. Cyber-futuristic, surgically improved, commodified, stereotyped, and politicized, the “cultured body” lends itself to reflect on a variety of concerns that define our age.

Several works in the exhibition will embrace the biometrical aestheticization of the human body to address the decay paranoia, the social conflict over genetic engineering and the use of biotechnologies, and the conversation around the limits of “natural” life.” Artists have long engaged with the threats of biometric surveillance, the possibility of virtual reality overtaking our physical one, the accelerating real-time consumption of experience, and the automation of the workforce. As AI’s ability to fulfill our creative and specialized needs has reached mass fruition, artists are confronting the impact of what was once considered speculative science fiction, an everyday reality.

Post Human was first presented at FAE, Musée D’art Contemporain, Pully/Lausanne (June 14–September 13, 1992) and traveled to Castello di Rivoli—Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli/Turin (October 1–November 22, 1992), Deste Foundation, House of Cyprus, Athens (December 3, 1992–February 14, 1993), Deichtorhallen Hamburg (March 12–May 9, 1993), Israel Museum, Jerusalem (June 23–October 10, 1993). A number of the works shown in 1992-1993 are now in international museum collections. Matthew Barney’s REPRESSIA (decline) (1991) is now in the collection of LACMA, where it was on view in 2023. Posthumanism has since been the subject of countless books, movies and high-profile exhibitions.

Artists in the exhibition: Isabelle Albuquerque, Matthew Barney, Ivana Bašić, Frank Benson, Ashley Bickerton, Maurizio Cattelan, Chris Cunningham, John Currin, Alex Da Corte, Olivia Erlanger, Jana Euler, Rachel Feinstein, Urs Fischer, Pippa Garner, Robert Gober, Hugh Hayden, Damien Hirst, Tishan Hsu, Pierre Huyghe, Anne Imhof, Alex Israel, Arthur Jafa, Jamian Juliano-Villani, Mike Kelley, Josh Kline, Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy, Sam McKinniss, Mariko Mori, Takashi Murakami, Wangechi Mutu, Cady Noland, Charles Ray, Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, Hajime Sorayama, Anna Uddenberg, Cajsa von Zeipel, Jeff Wall, Jordan Wolfson, and Anicka Yi

This show closes Saturday, 1/18/25.

[read-alert]

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria E Anzaldúa

This is a collection of essays, poems, art, letters, and in one case, an interview by various women of color discussing race and racism as a feminist issue written in the early 1980s.

I immediately saw why this book became one of, if not the definitive, foundational text of third wave feminism and is cited and referenced in modern writings all the time. The book centers on intersectionality and the need for it in the women's movement, primarily of course in relation to race, but also class, ethnicity, and queerness*. And it is still disturbingly relevant today- most of it, anyway. One of the many forwards to this edition (the fourth one) did acknowledge that some of it has not aged amazingly, but that even those parts are important as historical pieces of feminist writing and as examples of feminist thinking of the time.

Unfortunately, it is not just an example of the roots for the branch of feminism I subscribe to. The word "radical" in the subtitle did make me hesitate given the modern meaning of radical feminism, but I figured it was the 80s, the cultural context was different and the phrase wouldn't mean the same thing then. And I was right, it is different and I don't have a good understanding of the cultural context, but some of the essays in here, if they were written today, I would immediately identify as TERF shit. Again, I recognize that I do not have an understanding of the context in which these written and that I am not equipped to judge them because a modern lense will inherently distort the intention, so I am not saying that these authors are TERFs, but some of the essays do seem to provide some of the foundations for modern radical feminism. Which is exacerbated by the fact that there are no trans women included- at least none that identify themselves as such- which is why that asterisk is on queerness up there, and by the fact that I recall two total mentions of sex work, both of which were included to conjure images as a negative point of comparison. As referenced earlier, it is still important to see those roots and to gain a greater historical understanding, but it certainly made this read less enjoyable.

It is also interesting to see how certain ideas around race have changed in 40 years. The majority of the contributors refer to themselves as Third World Women rather than women of color- some even imply a distaste for the latter term- despite the fact that most of them are USAmerican. I had never heard the term in reference to USAmericans prior to this book, but it is all throughout it and used by a wide array of contributors, so I have to assume it was common, and possibly the preferred, term in the 80s. But this categorization is interestingly open. One contributor repeatedly refers to herself as "white-skinned," and while I'm not entirely certain whether she means light skinned or straight up white but considering herself a Third World Woman because she is a Cuban immigrant, given how she refers to women of color in her essay, I do think it's the latter. Which makes me uncertain why she is included in the book, unless ideas of race have changed so much in the intervening time that a white Cuban- who I don't think would be considered a woman of color today, though I guess correct me if I'm wrong about that- would be included.

On a different note, the book is very well constructed. Some of the contributors have a writing style that was a bit difficult for me, but most were very easy to read; I think it would be very accessible even for people who are less well read on feminist theory. And the writings were arranged nicely so that the longer pieces were still able to fit in and flow nicely without disrupting the pacing.

Despite my quibbles as a modern reader, it is an incredibly important and frightfully still necessary text; I recommend everyone read it. 4⭐️

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Extinction Today:

If we want more people to connect with crucial news about the climate and nature emergencies, we have to stop over-complicating the message. In pretty much everything we say…

Have you ever considered the words we use on a daily basis in an attempt to wake people up? We are causing them to hit the snooze button for longer.

As a journalist, one of my tasks is to translate difficult concepts into words and phrases that anyone on the street could understand.

Yet the media is complicit in bamboozling its audience with terms which leave most people none the wiser about how important they are.

I’ve written a list below of common environmental terms, and suggested alternatives. Some may surprise you - for example, even the word ‘climate�� is included as being too complex.

But remember that most people are fairly simple folk, most haven't got science degrees, most will use shorter words in place of longer alternatives.

To effectively communicate a message, we have to speak in the language and tone of those we are aiming at. Not the language of scientists and politicians.

The Hit List

Environment

A word that encompasses so much, it’s difficult to develop a personal connection with it. Try natural world, or even our surroundings.

Climate

We’ve had fun with this one, haven’t we? When the leaders of the world confuse climate with weather, it must mean it is difficult to understand - or perhaps, the word is purposely being skewed to send a biased message of misinformation to an uneducated base of followers. Perhaps…

So why don’t we actually talk more about the weather? When it comes to climate change in particular, explain more about a dangerous increase in extreme weather.

Biodiversity

Communicating the importance of the biodiversity crisis and its link with the climate crisis is crucial, but again, it’s an all-encompassing term that is difficult for a lot of people to understand.

Try using terms like all life on Earth, and the wide variety of plants and animals.

Sustainability

The buzzword which has seen increasing prominence in recent years, yet can be a difficult concept for mass audiences to understand.

Try talking about living in a way that protects our natural resources and living within our means for a better future.

Carbon Footprint

This has never been an easy one to measure, quantify or explain, and is by now associated with too much negative messaging about personal vs corporate and government responsibility.

Just talk about our impact on the planet instead.

Greenhouse Gases

Many of us can understand the reason for using the word ‘greenhouse’, but maybe explain more often that carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are heat-trapping gases - using more of them traps heat in the atmosphere.

Fossil Fuels

This term should be largely understood, but don’t shy away from writing or saying coal, oil and gas - the fact that they are formed from ancient organic matter is not really relevant.

We’ve come up with another great term there, haven’t we?…. Renewable energy is a difficult concept for many to grasp - instead perhaps call them endless energy sources.

Net Zero

As this term is all over politics, many people don’t trust it, never mind understand it. And a lot of politicians don’t seem to understand it, either.

Talk about achieving a balance between the amount of heat-trapping gases emitted and those removed from the atmosphere, or balancing emissions to zero. ‘Net’ is the word that confuses a lot of people.

Deforestation

Again, this should be largely understood, but it’s a word that removes the horror. Let’s communicate more about cutting down forests - for animal farming, logging, or development.

Desertification

Another word which has all serious consequences removed. It actually sounds quite appealing…We’re talking here about turning land into desert, due to human-caused climate change.

Rewilding

A nicer word, and perhaps more easily understood, but let’s move away from all the media scare stories of wolves being introduced into every community in the world, and focus on bringing back nature.

Circular Economy

For the green movement, an economic model based on reducing waste and reusing resources is central to achieving transformative success.

It’s not a sexy term though - just talk about the importance of recycling and reusing everything.

Biodegradable

Another scientific word that is becoming more understood, but still requires explaining to most people.

Let them know the product or material in question breaks down naturally, decomposing without leaving any trace of plastics etc and therefore not causing any lasting harm.

[sfenvs3000w25]

"Keeping History Whole: Edward Hyams on Memory, Integrity, and the Relevance of the Past"

In Edward Hyams The Gifts of Interpretation, the argument posed relates to the significance of historical memory where he suggests that despite antiquity possessing itself no sense of special integrity, in seeking to keep things whole, an awareness of the past is required. Hyams utilizes a railway station as a metaphor in an effort to offer a critique on the ideology that history is no longer relevant after it has passed.

Photo of Edward Hyams Himself

Hyams reveals that integrity is more than simply about ideas of morality and honesty and instead are centered on a cohesion of values and ideas over a period of time. Where history becomes forgotten or fragmented, individuals are no longer capable of maintaining a coherent understanding of both the present and the future. Thus history memory is in essence separate from nostalgia for things of the past but rather centers on ensuring a sense of continuity in frameworks established along an ethical, intellectual and cultural landscape. 

The analogy of the railway station provided by Hyams emphasizes the notion that simply because a person leaves a station does not mean it no longer exists, as the presence of the station remains a tactile part of the journey. Similarly, one’s past both personally and collectively does not vaporize once they move along and in essence it offers a shaping factor to the path whether it is chosen to be acknowledged or not. Ignoring history, Hyams argues, is to pretend that it at no point had an impact on where the individual or group stands today. 

The Railway Station I Envision, however, this one was actually located in Oakville, ON.

Hyam’s perspective reiterates arguments posed in Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World by Beck, Cable, and Knudson. In chapter 14 of this text. an exploration into how the written word provides a vital service in the preservation of historical integrity is offered. These authors highlight that written interpretation is less a task of sharing facts and more so about creating narratives which allow audiences to connect with the past on levels of both emotion and intellect. These narratives are pivotal and without them historical memory can succumb to ineffectiveness in molding and shaping our collective understanding.

Chapter 15 of Interpreting History reiterates Hyam's belief that history is an evolving interplay rather than a set of solidified records. This chapter focuses on the necessity of contextualizing historical events in an effort to allow their relevance to remain intact. This is allied with in Hyam’s writing which illuminates the concern of observing history as an act that is over with which ultimately leads to broken perceptions of reality. The authors reveal that holding an effective interpretation actively engages the audience and pushes them to seek purposeful reflection whereby they can learn lessons that can be applied to modern issues. 

Both Hyams and the authors of Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World highlight the need for our responsibility is to remember and learn from history rather than worship its moments of glory and that in doing so we maintain the integrity of our knowledge collectively. Interpretation of history by means of literature, museums and public conversation facilitates maintaining sight of the past’s influence on both the present and the future.

I decided to do a Google Search for the term "nature history", and stumbled across this photo taken at the Royal BC Museum. I found it interesting how this focuses solely on animals, rather than plants as well or other natural artifacts.

What do you think? Do you agree with Hyams’ perspective on historical integrity? How do you see the past shaping our present?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

[sukimas]

Heyya, I wanted to ask one question. I remember in a lot of the older windows games Gensoukyou is often referred to having been around for much longer before the Hakurei border maďe it its own world (at least I remember so from the english translations implying it to be like a 1000 years or so). I wanted to ask is there any relevance Gensoukyou had before the Hakurei Border made it acting as the refugee for all Youkai?

That is from the PCB prologue, specifically! The PCB prologue is written by one (or multiple) of the shrine maidens, not any of the youkai. ZUN says this about it:

The Gensoukyou we know (a refuge for youkai who are being forgotten) has existed for about 500 years.

But Gensoukyou likely has existed for a fairly long time as a "creepy area full of youkai". Why else, after all, would the main shrine in the area be one with a blessing of youkai extermination?

Though considering Reimu's recent comments in CDS, it almost certainly wasn't referred to as Gensoukyou back then:

Which of course makes sense— Gensoukyou (幻想郷) is a pun on the word risoukyou (理想郷)— "Utopia". It's a paradise for illusions, or an illusionary paradise. It was thus certainly given its name by the illusions, not by the humans who fought youkai within it. And it was likely given that name when those illusions had nowhere else to go.

The slow transformation of Gensoukyou into what it is today began about 500 years ago, and the Great Hakurei Barrier was of course erected in 1885. But that doesn't mean that this place was uninhabited by the supernatural before that. (I'd certainly bet that Yukari, at least, has been living there the whole time.)

So it's not wrong to say that the area we know as Gensoukyou is similar to how it was a thousand years ago (in terms of the fact that it's remote, full of monsters, &c.) but it wasn't Gensoukyou in the most important sense until around 500 back.

[salora-rainriver]

We're talking about Ads Again

Context for those followers of mine who weren't there: I made a post about tumblr ads being weird back in 2016 and it's literally still getting notes to this day. People responded GREAT to it. honestly, despite being like. ass old at this point and written by a literal high schooler, it's still pretty good! I thank my dad being in advertising helped significantly. I had an expert witness.

Tonight, I'm writing the sequel to that post. the sequel is this post.

let's just fucking dive into it or whatever.

why am I doing this?

okay for starters I made that post in goddamn 2016 and I refuse to believe my insights into the marketing world have not improved since then.

Also, the marketing world has CHANGED. Huge swaths of my old post are no longer relevant. What we saw with tumblr ads in 2016 was in some parts a passing fad, and in other parts the harbinger of a new wave of influencer marketing and corporate parasociality (I coined that term just now).

Honestly I've been thinking for a while that I should make an update post, but what with, yanno, adulthood, that's been kinda hard!

Well, I've missed a train, and it's Christmas, so I've finally found the time to do that.

What has Changed?

in my personal life... dad got fired! yeah it fucking sucks. the good news is he and his wife are working towards their retirement now, shifting away from the industry overall. Good news as far as life is concerned, but it does mean I no longer have as clean a connection to the Industry as I used to.

but more importantly, why he got fired. The fact is, dad's old! I know, shocker. More than just being old, though, his field (and my stepmom's field - they both did the same work) represents an older paradigm of advertisement. he did TV spots and posters, not ad reads for Raid Shadow Legends. He was great at his work, but we're in an era of data-driven, maximalist, google adsense, low-barrier-to-entry, super-fast and super-cheap digital advertisement.

Well, more specifically,

We're on the cusp of an extinction event poised to bring said era crashing to the ground.

Pictured: the current vibes in the ad world

Siberia is on Fire and Everything is Dying

So given that my typical source on stuff like this is currently unemployed, I decided to hit good ol google (well, google and duckduckgo. fitting given what we're talking about) to see if I could get any insights into what the current state of advertising is.

and the short of it is that everyone says the end is nigh. check this out:

Digital is dead, and so is TV. God fucking damn. BY THE WAY, I loved these two articles. Chris Gadek, a man I only learned about today, is clearly an excellent writer and his professional insights are probably gonna be way better than my amateur synthesis of the half-dozen different articles I read today, including his.

blatant shilling for random article writers aside, let's get on to my half-baked synthesis, starting with:

What Set Siberia on Fire

In small part, it's the same issues facing most major companies and industries in our late capitalist world: Hubris.

As this New York Times article points out, we've got a low barrier of entry into a gargantuan industry that's increasingly pumping out slop to follow a strategy of 'more is more'. And we've all seen the bizarre mobile game ads and shady scams that have resulted from THAT.

On top of that, we've also got the fucking digital privacy issue shaking up the entire world as consumers increasingly don't like being spied on (imagine that), and the EU starts rolling out heavy restrictions on the data harvesting that was fueling a bunch of this advertisement bubble.

There's also the ad fraud. Oh, you didn't hear about that? Well, it's nothing much, just that lots of bots are clicking ads to falsify click metrics, artificially inflating the effectiveness of said ads. look, it even has a wikipedia article

oh and Facebook did it. Facebook did ad fraud. :)

and I'm not even getting into everything that works to shake up or demolish basically every advertisement channel out there - the decline of cable tv and print newspapers, the increasing use of ad blockers, the crisis of consumer trust, etc etc.

In short we are looking at a multitude of micro-crises all working together to make the environment unlivable for most current forms of advertisement.

in other words: an extinction event!

Who's Gonna Survive

And just like in a real extinction event, whether or not you survive depends on how good you can adapt to the brave new world you've found yourself in. Old school advertising needs to drastically rethink their everything if they're gonna stay afloat, and every field of the industry needs to recreate itself. As my new favorite writer Chris Gadek says,

"These crises show that there are no safe havens. You can’t substitute one advertising medium for another. Rather than pivot, the advertising industry must adapt and learn to effectively use the channels at their disposal (TV included), factoring in the seismic societal and technological changes that have occurred over the past decade and beyond."

and what is that going to look like? what's going to be the new face of advertising?

The field seems torn, at first... but also aligned, at least when it comes to the core principles:

privacy is a big issue. Seems like a lot of advertisers are seeing an end to wanton consumer surveillance, and looking into less invasive ways to gather important and meaningful data

companies that rely on selling ad space and propping up their engagement metrics are going to be relied on less, probably, because the metrics themselves are being seen as less reliable (for good freaking reason)

regaining consumer trust is going to be a massive priority in the future.

overall, we're probably going to look at a massive downturn in ads, as people turn to a quality-over-quantity strategy in an attempt to stop flooding the attention marketplace.

that's the gist I'm getting from reading oh so many different articles of varying quality from so many different sources.

So, yanno, there may be some hope out there. If smart people start leading this industry (lol), we may get to actually enjoy ads.

Yeah. Enjoy ads.

Unironically.

I know, it's crazy.

PS: if you start seeing affiliate links on mainstream TV ads, thank our lord of excellent business analysis Chris Gadek for calling it early. God, that's such a crazy left-field idea and I really want it to actually happen.

[redwineconversation]

Eugenie Le Sommer Contract Extension (May 23, 2024)

Me (jokingly): oh haha Lyon's bonding activity is burying poor innocent souls in the woods. They're actually lovable sociopaths once you get past the whole murder thing haha

Le Sommer (during the interview): I'm not going to give away all our secrets because there are things no other team does and it will always be like that. I'm not going to say why but - but you feel something.

Me:

@Timothee Please come back, I've felt a hole like this never before and never since.

If there's ever a player who truly embodies the concept of "let's sit down, split a bottle of wine, and just talk" it's Le Sommer. This is why I both hate the new "omg let's reach out to an international audience" format Kang has taken for Lyon on the rare occasion she remembers they exist, and why the I feel the old format worked so well. This team was never meant for dumb TikTok's. You really want to know this team? Sit down, pour yourself a glass of wine, and watch them play. Lyon's purest form is when you take their muzzle off and let them be who they are. You don't need to be parked on their social media page to get to know this team. You just need a dodgy stream or a rainy day trip to be like oh, I get it now, I like the taste of blood, too. Stop putting a muzzle on them and let a sociopath be a fucking sociopath.

This interview was done before the Olympics so obviously that discussion is no longer relevant.

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; @OL Comms Dept pls pls pls help me pay my AC bill I am dying in this heat wave; Jesus fucking Christ would some of you just go outside, breathe some fresh air and pretend you are capable of being a normal functioning human being; y'all know the speech by now.

Tl:dr version of Le Sommer's interview: monsters recognize monsters

EUGENIE LE SOMMER OLPLAY INTERVIEW

Timothee: Euge[nie], we're really happy to see you today because you have good news for us, it's one of the outstanding questions towards the end of the season: were you going to extend for one more year? And the answer is yes.

Le Sommer: Yes, I'm staying. It's true that it's a question I was asking myself as well, but yeah, happy to continue writing history with Lyon, and happy to stay.

Timothee: You've said before it's quite a long history between you two. Was it important to you to continue being a part of this [club's] history in terms of consistency?

Le Sommer: Yes, but it must be said I needed time to think about it because - because I'm not someone who makes decisions spur of the moment. I needed to really, really think about it, to make the best decision for myself and I think that's what I did. So it took a while but at the same time I'm really happy and I've experienced some good moments this season and I wanted to continue having those.

Timothee: How does it work, when you need to think about it? Is it something rather personal, do you talk about it with others? How does the process work? Is it something you keep to yourself?

Le Sommer: No, I don't really talk about it with those around me. It's something I really keep to myself, I try to think about myself and my team but without really talking to them about it. I have a lot of things to take into consideration. There's what's going on on the field but also what is going on off of it, in your personal life. There's family, there's my husband. There are things I have to consider outside of football which still have an impact on football. Beyond that, you have to weigh the pros and cons to try and make the best decision for myself.

Timothee: And what were the arguments which convinced you this was the right decision?

Le Sommer: Well first of all we're one of the best clubs in Europe, in the world. Lyon is at the top of women's football [but for how much longer if we turn into an academy development club?] It's a really big club and I'm really happy to have played with Lyon and continue playing with Lyon. We've won a lot of titles, obviously that's a factor as well. I feel good here, the team is extraordinary. There's a quality team on the field and off of it as well. The club, everything. It's the whole thing which makes it that I feel good here. My decision wasn't directly related to the club itself because I already know what to expect but it was more a decision I had to think about myself. I know I'm closer to the end [of my career] than to the beginning. So it was also having to make the best decision regarding my career. But in any case of the reasons was that Lyon is a big club and I'm happy to stay for that reason. Beyond that there are obviously other reasons. There was this season as well, playing in the UWCL [final], having high ambitions, those are things I like. And having a talented team like I said on and off the field, having fun on the field even if there are difficult moments at times. But at the end of the day we make it through, we continue to advance and continue winning trophies. That's what matters. And yeah, I'm really happy today.

Timothee: You were talking about the season. It's a season where you showed you're still here, it's not the end for you just yet. You still have something to prove, notably at the start of the season where you were pretty much unstoppable. It's a season where I want to say you showed you still have a lot of things to bring to the team.

Le Sommer: Yes, of course. It's true that I was a little hurt when last season I was criticized, when I heard some things. I don't think some people expected me to be at this level this season. I knew why I was staying with Lyon, I knew I had my qualities, I knew what I could bring to this team. So I never doubted in myself. But it's true I heard a fair amount of things from the sidelines. Now it must be said that my season started off well with the World Cup because I think it was the starting point in this 2023-2024 season. And it's true that having done a good season at Lyon, that already confirmed my choice in wanting to stay and wanting to continue writing this story with the club.

Timothee: Your relationship with Lyon goes way back. It started in 2010, is that correct? It must be important to stay somewhere where you feel at home.

Le Sommer: Well yeah, I feel at home here. It's true that after all these years, of course I feel at home. Being at the best club in the world, in Europe, and be at home, I don't think there's anything better. So yeah, I learned a lot here. It's true that I learnt a lot about myself as a player and as a woman. It's the longest relationship I've had with a club. That counts for something. And I didn't want my last game to have ended with an injury. So there were really a lot of reasons which meant that I couldn't see myself leaving. So yeah. I'm happy to continue [with Lyon]. Of course Lyon is a special club to me, having spent all these years here is extraordinary. I've won a lot of things here, all the trophies in France, we've won eight UWCLs, I hope there will be a ninth. But in any case for me, I'm at the best French club.

Timothee: There's also the aspect of being in a stimulating environment precisely because there are competitive clubs like the English teams, Chelsea, there's Barcelona. Being at a club where you have to defend your place, it pushes you to be at your best.

Le Sommer: Yes, of course. And I've said throughout my career, competition makes you grow, the competition makes you be better. Whether it be on the field, having competition as a player there isn't anything better. It pushes you to give your best and perform as best as possible. And of course the competition with other clubs, it's important as well to be able to ask questions of yourself after each game, after each season in order to continue to improve and to grow, continue winning trophies. You can't rest on your laurels. We saw it in France with PSG who is pushing us to always be better and stay on top. And on a European level for several years now, there are some really good teams who are able to push us to the maximum in order to win the UWCL.

Timothee: We're starting to know what the recipe of success is at Lyon. It's a recipe based on transmission [of knowledge]. It's a transmission - do you think it's important for the club to be able to count on players like yourself who are in a way to keepers of Lyon's mentality, a mentality that's pretty special and which means that year after year, team after team, no matter the changes, no matter the opponents, you remain at the top. It's important to have players like you in the team, no?

Le Sommer: I think so. But beyond that, can I answer it? Not really. I think the future will speak for itself. But in any case I think it's important to have a certain stability but also with players who know how to ask questions of themselves, who try to continue to perform at the top level. It's not about being at the top for the sake of it. When I say I want to continue wanting to be the best and playing those games, it's because I want to stay at the level of performing at your best. I still have objectives. So yeah. The team is special. This club is special. I don't know if that's the recipe to success but in any case it's certain that there is something in this team which gets passed on from recruit to recruit you could say. It's something which was embedded before I came and it's something which I continued to pass on, to share. I think there's a lot of good intentions within the team but at the same time we're not nice for the sake of it. It's just that we know where we want to go, we know what we need to do and everyone is focused on the same goal. But there's a lot of due diligence, there's a lot of hard work because you might think it's easy because when you look at all the titles we've won you're like "how hard can this be?" But each season you have to go back and question yourself. There were some really difficult games, there were some very complicated wins. But the only thing that matters in the end is lifting the trophy. Today we remember the trophies and we forget the difficult games we experienced. Well, I don't forget. That's what makes us stronger, it's what makes you look within yourself after a loss, after you fail. You have to know how to bounce back. That's another strength of this team.

Timothee: Beyond your role on the field, do you feel a responsibility to pass on what you have learnt to the younger players?

Le Sommer: Yes, it's important because I know it matters. It's something which matters in terms of performance on the field. You can't just tell a player - we saw it, putting the best 11 players on the field doesn't mean you will win. You have to build on other things. There's something in place here and we have to keep building on it. Of course I try to bring something to it as well but just like everybody, even the recruits. Everyone has something to bring to this team be it the oldest [player] or the youngest or the one who has been at the club the longest or the newest at the club. So we try to do it so everyone has their place on the team both on the field and in the locker room. That's important.

Timothee: It dates back a bit but who took you under their wing when you came to the club? Some may be in the staff today [Bompastor and Abily at the time]. But how was it when you were the young new player? Which Lyon player took you under their wing and taught you about Lyon's DNA and winning mentality?

Le Sommer: It's true that when I arrived I was really impressed because I was coming into the best French team made up of entirely international players. So there was a lot of investment and they were really experienced. But at the same time I was really welcomed. Of course I was the new young player who had just arrived but the players and pretty much the entire team really made me feel welcomed. It's maybe because of that that I want to do the same thing today because I want to copy what helped me in my career. But I think that was part of Lyon's identity before. But yeah, the players really made me feel welcomed, they helped me integrate the team even better, they gave me advice. When you talk about Lyon's forwards, it's true that all the forwards I've played with, they've all helped me in some way. Some of them was just by talking with me, giving me advice, some were when I was watching them play or when I was watching them during practice. I learned a lot from that. So that transfer of knowledge is important as well because that's what gives a team strength. I'm not going to give away all our secrets because there are things no other team does and it will always be like that. I'm not going to say why but - but you feel something. You can't see it, you can't reach out and touch it. You can't - experience is a part of it. There are other things, like in the way the team lives, the way the locker room works, the way it works on the field. Those are things you also feel. But you can't reach out and touch it.

Timothee: You said you had objectives. What are they? There's not a lot left for you to accomplish.

Le Sommer: [laughs] To always win. Always win. And - you know, I almost don't understand the question "Aren't you tired of winning?" or "You've won everything, what still motivates you?" It's winning. That's it. When you're here [at Lyon], you just want to win, really. That's the mentality of the whole team. So you don't even have to question it, it's normal. I even saw it when I was injured. I only wanted one thing and that's to be back on the pitch, to be play the big games. Those big games, it's so hard to watch them on television or from the stands. I want to play them. So it confirms to my decision to stay at Lyon and play at the highest level.

Timothee: Is there a form of satisfaction to know that despite the changes, like the transfer of power between Jean-Michel Aulas and Michele Kang, just watching the club evolve, is that one of the factors? Like when you saw the staff get bigger, like when you saw all the changes due to Michele Kang becoming the owner, did that play a factor in your decision?

Le Sommer: Yeah, of course it matters. It matters. The fact that the club stays at the top, be it in France or Europe [Ed: not gonna happen with this recruiting class!!!] Well, I hope. And obviously it was a factor because I want to be a part of a project where you have the means to obtain the objectives. We want to be the best in every aspect [Ed: so why the fuck are we putting an emphasis on giving academy players playing time???] That's something I liked. It's true that Michele [Kang] has a really good project with a lot of ambition. It falls in line with what Jean-Michel Aulas had put in place. And actually the transition was pretty smooth. You can say we took it in stride and that we want to continue with her without forgetting the past, of course. The past matters. We don't forget. We know. That's also something we try to pass on. Michele didn't come in and start from scratch. It's something that it is built on, and I'm really happy to continue playing in a club where I guess you're looking forward and not towards what you have accomplished in the past.

Timothee: Another point of satisfaction when it comes to you, and that's seeing you in a French jersey again. We got to follow you all season with the French National Team. It's coming up quickly and Lyon fans are hoping to see you in the Olympics. What are you approaching that hurdle?

Le Sommer: It's something that is both at the forefront and also at the back of my mind. But in any case it's one of my objectives. From the moment my season was over with the club regarding the injury, my first thought was about the Olympics. I told myself I needed to get ready and that I needed to try to do everything to be there. So today my rehab is being done with regards to that. So I hope we manage to take each step at a time with regards to that goal. I mainly hope that I am ready. But of course it's an important competition for me and the French jersey is important to me. So I hope I get to play in thee Olympics. In any case I'm giving myself every chance. And also it's here. There are two games in Lyon. So the fans could come and support us with France like they did against Germany in the League of Nations.

Timothee: Do you think it has had a big impact on your career, returning to the French National Team, being called back? From the outside we got the impression it gave you a second wind. Well maybe not a second wind, but that it - you became the player you used to be. We got the impression you were whole again, that it was really important for you.

Le Sommer: Yes, of course, and I've always said that. It was a difficult time for me, not being selected for the French National Team. Not only that, it wasn't just not being called up, it was not being called up and not even being considered. So for me it was difficult because of those two reasons. I thought it was unfair and also it happened from one day to the next. With everything I had done for that [French National] team, I didn't really understand the reasoning. And I was performing well with the club when I was left off and not being called up. [Le Sommer sighs] So it was a difficult period, and maybe when I was called back again, it gave me a boost. That being said the French National Team also puts a spotlight on us, so obviously I was a bit more in the shadows when I wasn't being called up. When I went to the NWSL people forgot about me for a bit. So I don't want to think about what if I hadn't come back, etc. But in any case I'm really happy to have been called back and that it went well, because I could have been called back and two games later it's done and dusted, one call-up and then I'm home and that's it. So I was able to seize the opportunity, I think. But I also needed to show strength of character, that I still had the level because I spent two years without playing any international games. So experience matters, too. So when you talk about experience, I think that was a factor. That I had played a lot of games in the past really helped me when I came back and perform better. Then I really gave myself every means to stay [in the team], I gave it my all. And I know what it's like to not wear the national jersey so yeah, I wanted to continue wearing it. But to do that you have to play well. So that's what I tried to do be it with the club or with the national team.

Timothee: You talked about experience. Sometimes that word is a little abstract. Sometimes it's a little bit difficult to really understand everything that it comes with. And sometimes there are moments when it's really concrete, you can almost see it on the pitch. I feel like that's what we saw this season, that this Lyon team just knew what to do to win, even when it was complicated, even when there this player or that player wasn't there, there was still that capacity to show up in big games, that continuity in winning. Is that not what experience really is in the end?

Le Sommer: Yeah, to an extent. When you say that, I think back to some seasons where we had major players out injured [2020-2021; 2022-2023]. We still had to go out and win titles. It's not the case in every club. We don't hide behind injuries or players who aren't there. We know that when you're able to play and you're wearing Lyon's jersey, you owe it to yourself to play your best and to win. There's something about this team that makes you do that. And we saw it as well this season, we had Wendie [Renard] out injured and that was a big loss, but the team had to pull itself together and play without Wendie. And I think that's one of our strengths at Lyon. We don't rely just on one player. The team is bigger than one player, than each individual. Now of course if you're really good individually you're going to help the team but the most important thing is always the team. The team is the pillar. The players come after that.

Timothee: So what can we wish for you [personally]?

Le Sommer: To come back well. For rehab to go well. Those are one of my objectives. I'm really focused on that right now because I know it's important. And of course to play in the Olympics. We'll catch up next season on the pitch.

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Well, I was gonna take longer on this post, but I went to reblog something today and came to the frankly startling realization that some of you clowns already have me blocked? Babes, I haven’t done anything yet. At least let me do something first. 

Anyways, here’s why there isn’t any moral greyness in the Avatar franchise villains, you guys are just horny:

I know I said it a bajillion times on this blog, but the point of Avatar is to make a direct statement on colonialism, genocide, and ecological harm. It touches all these interconnected themes; militarism, imperialism, racism, colorism, and it comes at them in a way that is supposed to give you an unbiased view of this. We are not watching a movie about Earth and about the genocide of our indigenous peoples because a lot of people already have preconceived notions about these topics. Please see my lovely studious deracination post for more detail, but essentially; Sometimes it’s easier to approach these issues when you (white people) don’t feel like they are targeting you (white people).

You are supposed to sympathize with the Na’vi. You are supposed to see things from their perspective, and maybe gain the ability to understand the complexity and harm that caused by all these big themes I mentioned above. A prevalent theme in The Way of Water is this long lasting trauma felt in these communities, especially displayed in Neytiri and her subsequent treatment of Spider. You are supposed to See, understand? That is moral greyness, something you the viewer knows that is wrong in a protagonist character, but you understand why and how they ended up there. You are torn. 

And sometimes, the way you read or view a narrative that employs studious deracination allows you to look at yourself and your own biases more. Basically what I’m saying is sympathizing more with the recoms and Quaritch is more of a you thing, guys. 

I’ll say this again, there is nothing wrong with finding them hot, villains are fun. I am a huge fan of Quaritch in the first movie, especially the scenes where he holds his breath to shoot at Trudy’s Sampson. He’s a great villain! But he is not redeemable. Quaritch not only is our main representation for all the genocide, colonialism, imperialism, and racism present in the themes and inspiration behind the script, but he also doesn’t do anything to deserve redemption? 

For real world issues such as the ones Quaritch represents, there should be direct addresses and attempts to unlearn behaviors and make amends in order to redeem that character without presenting those issues as non-issues. Think Zuko in A:TLA. Direct amends, directly addressed, and no one has ever excuses his actions because he is the first to condemn them. What people think makes Quartich redeemable is being (questionably) nice to his son. That is entirely unrelated to what he needs to be redeemed for, and is therefore not relevant. Not to mention the mountains of Stockholm Syndrome, trauma, damage, and harm he actually did to that kid, but oh well. Don’t get me started on Quartich’s Lima Syndrome. 

He still kidnaps and tries to kill many innocent children (even unrelated children, he didn’t know who the Sully’s were at first just random Na’vi kids and a human that he also kidnaps before knowing him, and he takes Tsireya captive at the end too) just to get to their dad, kidnaps Spider and takes him to be tortured (yes that’s his fault), manipulates Spider into helping the recoms (telling him he can stay and be tortured or come with them is not a choice, that is a manipulation tactic), kills the ilu to torture the Ta’unui, has the tulkun killed and displayed specifically to bait Jake and the Metkayina into a war, burns down the Ta’unui village, and tries to kill the Tsahík of the Ta’unui (important to note he had to have learned what a Tsahík was likely from Spider to have used to term, knew what she was to the clan and how important she was and choose her to target) and only didn’t because Spider begged for her life. I feel like I shouldn’t have to say this, but guys. If he doesn’t kill a defenseless and random unrelated woman just because his own kid asks him not to, thats actually not good! It’s not a good reason! That’s not developing a moral compass actually! We can say all we want that old human Quaritch wouldn’t have stopped because of Spider: you don’t fucking know! Dude could have loved his kid so much and that was his whole driving reason to burn Hometree to the ground, so he could make it all nice for his kid. It actually just doesn’t make it okay or redeemable. It’s not morally grey, his morals are clear. He does not feel bad for what he’s done, that’s clear. Bad people can also like their kids, and also have slutty waists. 

For the other recoms, I hope I do not have to explain that not a single one of them does a single thing to even suggest they could be redeemed. The fact that they were brought back does not bode well for their records. Lyle Wainfleet has now killed two named Avatar characters, he killed Seze in Avatar as well as Neteyam. Dude was pissed when Trudy didn’t let him help shoot at Hometree lol. The military industrial complex doesn’t need ur help with their image lol. 

Again, go crazy go stupid for them all. But let’s remember the point of this whole thing here. The military genocide boys are not getting redeemed in Avatar, guys, and they are certainly not raising that kid. 

[farfarahleeya]

With the rise of Instagram Reels and TikTok videos, it seems as though blogging has become a thing of the past... or has it? Let's see if blogging is still relevant in the age of Instagram and Tiktok.

The Early Days:

Blogging first became a thing when Justin Hall created what he called his "personal homepage" on Links.net, where he reviewed HTML examples from other online links (Zantal-Wiener 2020). 3 years later, Jon Barger, a fellow blogger, coins the term "weblog", reflecting the process of logging the web. Another 2 years later, Peter Merholz, a programmer, shortens the term "weblog" into "blog", to which Merriam-Webster would declare as the word of the year in 2004 (NDMU 2018).

~ TLDR ~

1994 - Justin Hall's "personal homepage" on Links.net

1997 - Jon Barger coins the term weblog

1999 - Peter Merholz shortens "weblog" -> "blog"

2004 - Merriam-Webster declares "blog" as their word of the year

The prime time of internet exploration (for the masses) between the late-90s and early-00s are also home to the births of iconic blogging platforms such as Blogger and WordPress (NDMU 2018).

These early days were the chance for the readers and writers of the world to digitalise their bibliophilic habits as they ventured new ways to connect with bookworms across the globe.

The Evolution:

Right in the midst of blogging's mainstreaming years, the public launching of YouTube in 2005 sparked the evolution of blogging. With that, the wonders of blogging were no longer confined to the wordsmiths of the world.

YouTube's culture of video blogging, or vlogging, appealed to those who preferred audio and visual stimulation, thus continuing the reach of blogging as a whole (Maslanka 2017). This video blogging culture brought forth most of the blogging cultures still in tact today, such as the aforementioned Instagram Reels and TikTok videos, which are forms of blogging that invoke creativity in a different medium than what blogging first started as.

The Question:

lyrics captured from Spotify

So blogging evolved from choosing the right writing style to choosing the right background music, but what does that mean? Does no one do the former anymore? Is everyone just trying to accomplish the latter?

Take, for instance, you feel like cooking something new. Some people would turn to a cooking channel on YouTube, while some prefer clicking on the recipe blogs that their search engine compiles for them. My friend would rather watch a video about the newest technology, whereas I would like to read about it in a blog post instead.

It all comes down to personal preference.

Numerous blog platforms are still around and are home to a growing number of blog accounts that cater to different genres of digital communities; because just as many people there are on this planet, exists a vast range of interests, preferences, and personalities. These aspects result in the creation of digital communities that almost anyone can find a seat in. These different groups then evolve within themselves to create their own set of cultures, norms, as well as trends.

So perhaps someone who spends their days watching Instagram Stories and TikTok Lives may seem to think that blogging is a dying flame, but to someone who replies to tweets and writes fantasy fiction on Tumblr, would disagree. In fact, posting short snippets of your day or sharing your thoughts in a tweet is a form of blogging in itself, specifically known as microblogging. Microblogging is an example of blogging cultures trickling down to make room for the readers and writers of the world who enjoy doing so, but in a more casual setting.

It is also important to note that personalities are not a black and white thing. Preferences are not an either or situation. There are many people who enjoy both reading blogs and watching videos.

・・・・・・

Besides leisure pursuits, blog accounts can also be used professionally. Setting up a portfolio blog could serve as a digital gallery of one's work (ThemesKingdom 2019). For example, a programmer's portfolio blog could include the programs they have coded or their experiences with different programming languages. The inclusion of a portfolio blog to a resume helps future employers grasp the personalities, morals, and ethics of the potential employee.

And along the lines of career-oriented blogs are money-making blogs; a solid option for the adventurers who seek a non-conventional career path. These type of blogs often rake in revenue through brand partnerships, affiliate links, premium content or private consultations (Polner & Bottorff 2023).

The Answer:

Definitely! I would confidently say that blogging is still relevant in the midst of Instagram and TikTok's uprising.

While there is no denying that Instagram and TikTok may be more popular amongst certain demographics, the future of blogging continues to march on, because as long as there are bookworms around, blogging will remain relevant ⋆｡⋆☂˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆

︵‿︵‿ References ‿︵‿︵

Maslanka, M 2017, The Vlog Blog: History of Vlogging, MotionSource, 28 July, viewed 27 September 2023, <https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/history-of-blogging>.

NDMU 2018, History of Blogging, Notre Dame of Maryland University, 22 March, viewed 27 September 2023, <https://online.ndm.edu/news/communication/history-of-blogging/>.

Polner, M & Bottorff, C 2023, How To Start A Blog And Make Money In 2023, Forbes, 31 July, viewed 29 September 2023, <https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/start-a-blog/#:~:text=Blogging%20Is%20a%20Fast%20Way,can%20start%20earning%20any%20money.>.

ThemesKingdom 2019, 5 reasons why you should include a blog in your online portfolio, ThemesKingdom, 29 May, viewed 29 September 2023, <https://themeskingdom.com/blog/reasons-to-include-a-blog-in-online-portfolio/>.

Zantal-Wiener, A 2020, A Brief Timeline of the History of Blogging, HubSpot, 19 October, viewed 29 September 2023, <https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/history-of-blogging>.