#theres a level of coolness associated with the response

[scatterpatter]

Feeling normal again

[symphorine]

im playing a sword and shield warrior elf rook, nonbinary, warden, on mouse and keyboard

im about 40 hours in rn? about to enter the cauldron and ive done most side and companion quests available to me so far

- combat. im enjoying it! its dynamic and its the first time ive thought of warrior playstyle as fun in da. its the right difficulty for me, it feels rewarding. obviously subjective but its enjoyable

- weisshaupt. fun! i likes the way it was set up, making you feel the urgency and drama, then the confrontation with ghilanain. i enjoyed the boss fight, and i liked what it said abt ghilanain as well in a way. confused as to why ppl dont understand why davrin didnt die? p clearly its bc ghil absorbed the blighted sould before leaving. but now that im typing this i dont remember if the soul thing is warden knowledge or smth morrigan told us in dao...

- responsiveness to background. rly good so far! ive had quite a few warden dialogue options or even sometimes straight up interjections from rook.

- responsiveness to race. ive found that i had a fair amt of options when talking abt the gods, as an elf, though a few hiccups regarding, like, whether or not im included when ppl are like "our gods" (sometimes its fairly clear theyre not including rook). also i used a vallaslin but it seems a non vallaslin elf (so ppl playing as city elves) get the same options... which doesnt super make sense in most places ive seen them. so mixed bag there

- gender... rly good. ive had quite a few occasions to respond with rooks own nonbinary/coming out/etc experience to ppl, esp taash! and its so nice seeing trans characters?? not just the pc

- speaking of taash. gender stuff in their quest? good! cultural stuff? what. are you doing bioware

- actually this is more abt how qunari are handled. theres a few npcs around, plus taash and their mom, that seem to give a more fleshed out and diverse account... but then in general the qun is still presented as stifling and backwards and violent - bc even tho ur reminded a lot that the antaam broke away from the rest of the qun wnd they are the qunari enemies u will deal with, theres also plenty talk of conversion, how they treat mages, etc. in taash's personal quest, i could encourage them to listen to their mother or do whatever they wanted, and i was like cool but theres a pretty clear choice yknow, and its very much designated as so in their narrative. but when I hovered over the options, the "bad" path was underlined as "encourage taash to embrace qunari culture more", which was absolutely not the vibe i got? and the "good" choice was associated with encouraging that to embrace rivaini culture more. like thats such blatant bullshit. AND! a lot of dialogue with taash so far has been abt how they are BOTH! so what the hell is that about! they dont have to choose! like. no the writing is both muddling the point AND being offensive there. its a shame.

- ig irt gender thing other than how its being forcibly tied to culture its good. kinda nonbinary and trans 101 which is good for a wide public but wasnt particularly gripping for me.

- lords of fortune. meh. their outfits? bad and very heavily orientalist imo. like u can see a lot of the inspiration is just... very exotifying?? like ooh shiny riches and barely covering clothes. associated with rivain. ://///////// bad. and the worst offender - WHAT IS ISABELA WEARING. for the love of god let her have pants this isnt fucking funny. other ppl have already spoken on this but oh my god. its infuriating. also criticism applies doubly for the antaam - ur telling me theyre running around in underwear and a mask? it makes me rly uncomfortable in terms of depiction. its like. disney jungle book level imo. and if u add that to how theyre basically just ennemies and fodder for the pc to kill... man i wasn't expecting perfection but its just bad.

- oh yeah cameos from characters - not carrying over any choice other than those 3 makes all writing around them suffer imo. morrigan talks abt her mother, wouldve been great to talk abt kieran there! also the well of sorrows! but no. hawke apparently never existed for isabela or varric. and shes also mostly a set piece (as is varric) so its disappointing. the inquisitor... as far as i can tell its a repeat of hawke in dai. no personality - and i know the inquisitor already didnt have much of it, but if you hated solas you cannot have that come through at all. which sucks! forget any nuance. and its silly how theyll juuuuust not go into details about the inquisition decisions. literally harding talks abt inquisition ppl - including... sera... who u can just Not Recruit. so what does that mean bioware. obviously i love her so im not advocating for not recruiting her but like. what. makes no sense. im still mad about getting rid of decision imports it was bad and stupid. give me back my worldstate.

- yeah varric is basically just saying platitudes. he better have a point bc otherwise he should have been killed off.

- companions. i love them all tbh. i LOVE the voice acting for bellara i think its one of the best performances. ive enjoyed time with all of them and their personal storylines and im excited to have more

-banter. good imo! i do think this is a front on which inquisition did better tho, in that the relationships between companions could be more overtly fraught or antagonistic, and that made it more interesting overall. kinda miss that. but im enjoying what im getting so far still! could trigger more often

- item upgrade system. i like it. im usually not super into crafting tbh so again, subjective.

- misc: theres a lot of... handholding i guess. that i wish i could turn off. a lot of announcing that x decision will have consequences, and y thing is happening bc u made x decision. but in a lot of cases its like... it didnt need to be announced, u could let the game mechanics/narrative do the work perfectly fine. and i dont like that its announced even for the bigger stuff, especially when, again, its obvious anyway.

- i dont rly like the little varric narrations... feels in the same vein of having to. idk. make sure the player is spoon fed whats happening and knows Something Else Is Coming when its pretty clear anyway. im hoping itll have a point later in terms of. hmmmm. narrative structure? like how da2 was yh varric was actually telling. but other than that i dont like it.

- visuals. pretty. hair physics amazing. colorful and varied environments. combat can make the screen very cluttered tho

- music. varies. some parts ive rly noticed and liked but most of the time it doesnt register

- assan. adorable. i love him.

- ive actually rly been enjoying the level design! nooks and crannies to explore in maps but usually u can like, trust the design where u need to if that makes sense? like itll loop back around to bring u where u need once uve explored a part a lot of the time. things arent too far apart, even tho i do wish we could move a bit faster.

- lore things. ill wait to be done with the game for judgement there i think? by itself the elves' origin is cool. in universe + context of how bioware handles them... hmmmm idk

think thats my thoughts for now... i should sleep

can't sleep so gonna jot down some thoughts abt davg under a readmore. itll have spoilers!

[weirdmageddon]

five years too late let’s analyze this. the commentary has gotten me back into gravity falls reigniting thoughts and insights i came to years ago

i love everything about this commentary in general it hits the points of humor, genuine analysis of the characters, but most of all im so glad hirsch addressed that the droid not detecting any fear from dipper here doesnt make any scientific sense because that was a massive CinemaSins moment for me

IDK the fact that dipper can fucking stand after an airship crash because theres a bigger threat at hand is literally one of the defining capabilities owed to adrenaline lol...... IM SORRY im a biopsychology student if i dont point that out iwill seethe and die because that was just . its a grudge ive held for a long time about this episode but didnt rant about because it was something so minor and i’m sure nobody would care.

i was 13 when this episode came out and i’m almost 19 now, i had a special interest in biology and i still do but now i’m actually having college classes in biopsychology so i can give my arguments more oomph now. and i have to say, now that i know more about the brain and autonomic nervous system the more this scene bugs me, if that was even possible. and it says a lot of dipper and ford’s relationship.

if dipper clearly wasnt calm before, why would he be now just because he’s put up an outwardly confident facade? before he was in the flight but now hes in the fight. my boy just rode on top of a spaceship by nothing but a magnet gun that could detach at any time if it failed and then the ship crashed, he sustained injuries, is in emotional turmoil because he thinks his uncle is Fucking Dead and the threat of a security droid that detects adrenaline is on his tail and produces a Big Fucking Gun in response to dipper saying “i hAvE a MaGNeT gUn” and hes screaming and has his teeth clenched but sure there’s no adrenaline coursing through his body in that moment i can totally believe that

when dipper asks what happened, ford says “the orb didn’t detect any chemical signs of fear, it assumed the threat was neutralized and self-disassembled” but i don’t think measuring someone’s heartbeat alone is particularly relevant in detecting ... chemical signs of fear?? they dont really tell you this shit but noradrenaline (and maybe adrenaline too if the acetylcholine from sympathetic outflow always activates the adrenal medulla??, theres two pathways) is always active in small quantities to make sure your parasympathetic nervous system doesnt slow your heart to dangerous levels on its own, regardless of your emotions. it’s just a homeostatic mechanism. your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are CONSTANTLY modulating control of your organs on a see-saw, literally with every breath you take. simply standing upright causes specialized mechanoreceptor neurons in blood vessels to signal your brain to project signals to release catecholamines via the sympathetic nervous system to constrict your blood vessels so that blood is able to reach your brain and not pool in your legs. i have a deficiency in my body’s ability to adapt to this which is why i know so much about it. if i stand up my heart races to compensate. i’m not feeling fear, my body is just adjusting—albeit grossly and incompetently lol.

but what im saying here is that the security system is flawed. it’s a cool idea to have security droids detect fear, but in practice by detecting adrenaline, and not even directly by detecting the molecule itself—it’s done in a roundabout way by reading the heartbeat, could be a recipe for false alarms. like what if someone’s on beta-blockers. that’s not really an adequate way to measure “fear”; there’s so many variables that could interfere with the measurement the farther you abstract from what you’re really trying to detect. and besides, adrenaline is NOT just a sign of fear, it’s just for preparing the body for action. i know the sympathetic nervous system and adrenaline is constantly linked with the “fight-or-flight” reaponse to a stressor, but 99.9% of the time the sympathetic nervous system is used in your life is to balance out your parasympathetic nervous system to maintain homeostatic equilibrium for mundane things.

i think detecting amygdalar activation would be more efficient in detecting fear. the amygdala sends projections to the hypothalamus which then in turn modulates the autonomic nervous systems. but the amygdala is intensely activated specifically in response to a fear-inducing stimulus (it does activate in response to other emotions but they’re mostly negative and is most activated by startle and fear), and wouldnt be highly activated by many other confounding variables like measurement of the heartbeat could be. the amygala is one of the first stops directly from external stimuli.

to show you how integrated the amygdala is as the first step in registering fear after receiving input from sensory stimuli let’s look at the auditory-amygdala connection for example

see how the auditory thalamus projects to the primary auditory cortex and auditory association cortex? the cortex is where conscious awareness of what the stimuli is comes from. this is the “high road”. it goes sensing -> perception -> emotional response. but sometimes you can be startled without even processing what it is you’re sensing, like the startle response of an alarm or a phone ringing in a quiet house before you even register what it is. this goes sensing -> emotional response, without perception happening until after you’ve already felt the startle. that’s when it takes the “low road”. here’s a simplified version:

even if that were the case with these droids though it’s obvious dipper is still fearful on some level here. his body language, voice, expressions all give it away. for the amygdala, aggression isnt too off from fear so it would be detected equally.

the reason this is so important is because ford uses this as evidence for why dipper is special, “i did it?” “you did it. this is what i was talking about, how many 12 year olds do you think are capable of doing what you’ve just done?”

but like....did he really? i’m not saying this to shoot dipper down or make him out to be more of a wuss, he was incredibly strong-willed here and i dont want to take that away from him because it WAS growth on his part. but the underlying psychophysiological reactions of aggression and fear shouldn’t be that different and this was a total asspull. maybe the droid was so old that it fucked up. maybe dipper being covered in grime and dirt made it harder for the droid to measure the correct heart rate through photoplethysmography (im assuming since they use a camera and are non-contact).

and in all honesty everything i just said brings into question the interpersonal healthiness of ford’s judgements, what he thinks, his expectations, and how he communicates that. in this video alex already talks about how ford is projecting onto dipper. and i think ford may be projecting his expectations for himself onto people who are not him, and the fact that it’s on dipper here makes it far more unfortunate. you realize how much this boy idolizes ford, right? how much impressions matter? dipper even tells himself before he leaves in this same episode, “all right dipper, this is your first big mission with great uncle ford. don’t mess this up.”

even though it’s unstated, the implicit message dipper is perceiving from ford based on their dynamic is: “do you have what it takes for me to be proud of you?” and to accomplish this he must be like ford, even though he’s clearly not and he knows this. he says “i don’t think have what it takes. i was tricked by bill, i was wrong about stan’s portal, heck, i can’t even operate this magnet gun right.” then, by simple chance without even knowing what he did, he activates the magnet gun and pulls out the adhesive, which immediately takes the focus away from what dipper was telling ford about his feelings of inadequacy to ford saying, “yes! dipper, you found the adhesive!”

these thoughts of dipper’s hang in the air without resolve or comment from ford. we don’t know what ford would have said. but it then becomes painfully self-evident in the scene immediately after when the droids emerge and ford tells dipper, “they’re security droids and they detect adrenaline. you simply have to not feel any fear and they won’t see you”, to which dipper replies with an exasperated (and rightful) “WHAT?”

dipper goes in a panic trying to indirectly tell his uncle that this isn’t something he can do. and he is completely right and valid to be freaked out by that full stop. that IS crazy. you can’t control your fear. you can control how you interpret that fear in your higher brain regions but the physiological changes will stick around for longer than it takes to cognitively calm down. it’s easy for me to detach from my emotions to analyze them, but being able to do this does not come naturally for everyone. even i have an irrational fear of wasps and i can’t control it by detaching myself, my body is just automatically primed to get the fuck out of there. i know it’s stupid and i know it’s irrational and isn’t helpful to get myself worked up but i literally can’t stop how my body reacts no matter how i cognitively think about it. expecting composure from dipper in a situation like this when he’s being made to consciously be aware of his anxiety is absolutely fucking insane. look what you did, placing these cruel expectations on him, now he’s afraid of being afraid! this isn’t a case where two wrongs cancel out, they just stack on top of each other.

there’s a good reason these scenes were put side by side but it seems up until now it had remained unanalyzed.

what dipper fears from ford is disappointment. not living up to his uncle’s (quite frankly badly placed) expectations for a twelve year old with anxiety. not once did ford say or subliminally communicate “i don’t expect you to be able to do what i can since you are not as experienced as i am and that’s perfectly okay, no judgements”. you don’t put a child on bike before training wheels. you don’t throw a kid into a swimming pool without giving them swimming lessons. the way ford is doing it, there’s no room for trial and error or mistakes that are an opportunity to grow and learn; instead, it’s life or death. he only seems to pride dipper on what he can do while ignoring the underlying struggles that plague him and never making it known it’s okay for dipper to fail in front of his hero and that he won’t think anything less of him for it.

and that’s why i found the ending scene for dipper and ford’s adventure in this episode to feel so.. wrong. on a scientific and social level. because by the sound of it ford focused more on what dipper had done to dismantle the droid (the droid not detecting any fear) instead of how dipper displayed love and protection for him even if he was truly afraid. what if the science was accurate and the droid detected adrenaline while dipper was confidently standing up for his uncle. would ford still be proud of him regardless?

[machinegunbun]

🤘-

What about reader is the manager/assistant and fucks up some bug career opportunity for them?

Mistakes can allways happen but that was something really big

Maybe even gets fired for it?

Fucked It +

TW?: Mostly angst but theres some very slight smut with readers S/O

A/N: Not to age the writing but Im writing this as colson tweets that he’s gonna play at the halftime show in the next few years. S/O= Significant Other. I wanted to keep it kinda gender neutral cause bi people exist i dunno. 

Word count:1.8k A little longer than a blurb, but just as dialogue-y

This year had been stressful, to say the least. There was the release of tickets to my downfall, and along with that the cover scandal, the bloody valentine music video, downfalls high, the snl episode. It was like every second of your day was filled with something, you rarely got the chance to spend time with your S/O.

That’s right, you had an S/O. Being Colson’s manager wasn’t your entire existence, although you’d seemed to have forgotten that recently. Their name is Devin, and they are not very happy with you.

They’d broken down in tears your first full night home, telling you how under appreciated they had felt while you were away. Devin had a life of their own too, though, and considering the pandemic at hand had chosen to go stay with their family to avoid the covid hot spot that was LA. You understood, and as much as you hated to admit it you barely even realized they were gone. You didn’t know what that meant, but you knew whatever it meant wasn’t anything good for your relationship, but, you loved them and you wanted to recreate that spark.

You wanted to put work into them, and you, and most importantly your relationship. You’d gotten through the emotions, but as for the spark there was only so much you could do thousands of miles away. So, you decided to put in the work and devise a plan. Your plan started about an hour and a half ago, beginning with a shower and ending with your favorite lipstick.

You love Devin and you want nothing more than to wrap them up in a soft blanket and kiss them on the forehead and take them on picnics, but you also wanted them to look at you and touch themselves. You could do one of those things in your current situation, and you felt both would help to replenish your spark.

You looked good too, dressed in your lingerie with your hair all done. You felt so unbelievably sexy just looking at yourself in the mirror, you wished they were here to witness it.

You stood in the doorway of your bedroom, your LED lights set to red, your phone set to start recording in 

3…

2…

1…

You tried your best to pose sexily in the small frame, arching your back and playing with your hair, slowly slinking down the wall. You were sure when you sent this Devin would be calling you within seconds. You checked the video, editing it to the length you liked and saving it to your camera roll.

Butterflies began fluttering in your stomach as you looked at your message app. You had seen Devin in so long, what if the spark had really gone? What if they didn’t want you anymore? Or what if they just didn’t want you right now, what if this wasn’t the right thing to do?

You took a deep breath, looking yourself in the mirror and quickly clicking through your messages, sending it before you could think too much and clicking your phone off. You moved from the bathroom, moving to your bed, staring at your phone and waiting patiently for a response.

After thirty minutes you gave up, too nervous to check if they’d seen it. You were cool.

Well, you were cool now that you had cried and and picked yourself apart piece by piece, ending up on the couch in a heap of blankets eating a family bag of your favorite chips to yourself. Family guy played on the TV, the episode only really meant to drain out the noise of your thoughts, and momentarily the bling of your phone. You would’ve missed it entirely if it weren’t for the flickering of your flashlight that you’d enabled to make sure you didn’t.

You rushed from your comfy blanket fort, spilling your chips on the way, your hand wrapping tightly around your phone. You turned it around, seeing that the notification that had popped up was only from Dylan, the guy that got Colson a place at the halftime show. 

Work, great, the thing that started this all. Was this the universe telling you it was over? You read on.

It simply said “Call me.”

Your eyebrow raised, considering waiting until tomorrow. You opened your messages, seeing that you had accidentally sent him the video of you in your lingerie. Fuck, thats why Devin hadn’t responded.

You opened his contact, calling him quickly, each ring feeling like needles being inserted into your brain.

“So I hope you understand why we wouldn’t want to be associated with that unprofessionalism.” He said, you’d zoned out through his lecture

“I understand, I do, but I hope you’d be willing to reconsider as this was a mistake on my part and not Colson’s. And seeing as this isn’t public I hope we can just brush this all under the rug and forget it ever-”

“I hear you, but I don’t think that will be possible. Mistake or not it was unprofessional on so many different levels

“But, sir-” You tried, your fingers thumbing over the buttons of the remote to mute the tv.

“It’s over, I’m afraid.” He responded, a beeping noise signalling the call had ended

Oh, nicer, you thought sarcastically, it wasn’t the universe after all, it was the manager.

Tossing your phone on the couch beside you, you retreated to your blanket fort, unmuting the TV.

Colson and the boys had been looking forward to performing at the halftime show since you’d met them. They’d been so excited when you told them you’d got them a spot. Although it was the last thing you wanted to do right now, you knew you had to break the news to Colson. 

You stared at your phone, willing yourself to reach over and call him, eventually drifting off into an unsatisfying sleep.

“Oh good, you’re here! Okay, so I was thinking for the halftime show-” Colson began, but you cut him off before he could continue

“Oh, yeah, about that.” You say, rubbing your head in hopes it would soothe the dull ache that had begun to rear its ugly head. You opened your eyes in time to watch the excitement drop from Colson’s face.

“I…” You began, not sure how to start “I fucked it.” You began to laugh, taking a moment to acknowledge how ridiculous the situation had really been.

“What do you mean?” He asks, knitting his eyebrows together in confusion.

“Devin and I are going through a bit of a rough patch with them being away and all, so I decided to try and,” You made a vague shimmy movement with your shoulders “spark things up a bit. You know the silhouette challenge on tik tok? I did that, but I got nervous when I sent the video and I was on the couch for like hours crying too scared to see if they even looked at it, next thing I know I’m getting texted by Dylan asking me to call him.” You paused, partly for dramatic effect and partly to let yourself laugh. You buried your face in your hands, Colson watching in amusement, eager for the end of your clearly hilarious story.

“I accidentally sent him my nudes. It was so fucking embarassing, oh my god!” You finish, looking up from your hands to realize no one else seemed amused.

“What’s that got to do with the halftime show?” Rook questioned.

“Oh, right.” You’d completely lost track in the midst of your rambling “He said it was completely unprofessional and he wasn’t interested in working with us.”

Colson remained silent for a moment, looking over to the other boys before responding “He isn’t interested in working with you.” Your eyebrows furrowed at this, looking between the boys..

“What’s that mean?” 

“This is the gig of our lifetime. I’ve- We’ve wanted to play the halftime show since… forever. This was our one chance and because of you we got booted out. And you were laughing about it.”

“I’m sorry, it was a genuine accident, I thought you’d find it funny. Some corporate guy saw my tits ‘cause my relationship is failing, if I don’t laugh I cry.”

 “You’re the one who sent him the nudes. This is your fuck up.”

“Yeah, okay. But I work for you, so by association he won’t work with us.”

“Then you aren’t a part of ‘us’ anymore.”

“Colson, seriously? It was a fucking accident. You’re being ridiculous.”

“Watch your tone, I think you’re forgetting you work for me. I’m a nice guy, but this isn’t my shit to deal with.”

“I’m sorry.” You repeated, your voice lowering. It was easy to forget Colson was your boss, he never treated you like an employee. There was more respect between the two of you than any boss/employee relationship you’d ever seen before. You’d never even seen him mad before today. You were genuinely lucky to have had this experience, to think that it was about to come to an end broke your heart.

“Is sorry going to get us this gig back?” The question was rhetorical, but you shook your head “Then I’m sorry, I can’t let this pass me up because of something you did.” Colson says, staring you down. You stood like a statue in your place, unsure whether or not you should leave. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.

You took it upon yourself to make the decision to turn and leave, driving to the nearest gas station, where you sat in your car, crying in the parking lot.

Everything was fine and in the matter of a week it had all gone to shit. How did this happen?

You were in a happy relationship, and now they were living with their parents for who knows why and telling you they felt neglected. Your career was going amazing and you’d ruined it completely with one mistext.

You started your car back up, settling on the hope that maybe Colson and Dylan would come to their senses, and come Monday morning you would still have a job.

[euphoriecs]

11/11/11 tag !!!

thank u sm for tagging me @yikescomma​, @buckaroowrites​ nd @yikeskimi​ !!!

rules: answer 11 questions, write your own 11, tag 11 people !

under the cut bc its a Lotta questions KSKSKSHK

yikescomma’s questions!!

1. what’s your favourite place to write?

oh this is ?? kind of a tough one bc i feel like i never Branched out in my spaces when it comes 2 being productive,, like a lot of my work is done in my bedroom just bc my desk is there and it’s the most convenient,,,, honestly im jus gonna say my favorite place to write would be from . my desk . bc it faces the window :-)

2. which character(s) from your wip(s) is your favourite?

since i only have wtsf confidently worked out ,, i’ll use those ocs !! but i think , quite Honestlie ,,, that wendy is my favorite character !! im rly in love with how she progresses as a person nd also she’s jsut . she gets it u know .

3. what are some inspirations for your wip(s)?

I TALKED ABT THIS BEFORE but b/ts’ hyyh series, my neighborhood, spring day by b/ts are a few inspirations for wtsf !!! 

4. how did you start writing?

my dad got me hooked on reading when i was really really young !! and being able to read abt all these huge worlds nd being given an opportunity 2 fall in love w them rly inspired me to want to write worlds of my own . plus , i watch a lot of different shows nd animes that feed into my daydreams nd sometimes im like ‘yo,,, that was a good daydream,,,,, time 2 story it’ .

5. which of your ocs is most difficult to write?

uHGHHGHGS ARTHUR ...... trying to capture this like . enigmatic feeling while keeping close 2 his reasons for acting That way is actually ,, rly hard?? hes a tough cookie 2 crack but i will crack it .

6. what aesthetic do you associate with your wip(s)?

for wtsf ,,, quiet towns , lonely beaches , sunset nd sunrise ,,, running through the streets ?? 

7. do you like planning?

YEA !! i see it more as like . being able to explore ur wip and what directions it can take nd its also jsut rly helpful to have a solid foundation .

8. what is your favourite quote from your wip(s)?

i pulled this from my drabbles but: “Slow down.” Wendy grabbed Arthur’s wrist, pulling him down to sit on the sand. “This world can’t keep up with you.”

9. do you like to listen to music while you write?

yes and no ?? im very particular to the kind of music im listening to nd more often than not, i write in complete silence ,,, but sometimes i’ll find a song that i feel rly fits the vibe of what im writing nd i just put it on repeat HGSHJK

10. what do you like most about your own writing?

i think i like the descriptive aspects of it ?? like how i describe places nd feelings ,,,, :-) !

11. what are/were/would be your ocs favourite subjects in school?

everyone except piper in wtsf is graduated from high school but ,, wendy liked english class the best bc it was fun nd she got good grades !! rafael definitely loved psychology nd took it at an ap level ,, arthur liked math nd chemistry .. chemistry he liked More bc he got 2 blow stuff up SKKSKSEH and piper likes world history!! tho shes not good at it . but she likes it!!

buckaroowrites’ questions!!

what is your favorite subgenre to write? to read?

i lov urban fantasy and low fantasy JGHDSHGJKS like its my favorite to write nd read bc like .. o heck ?? ghosts nd ghouls nd just overall supernatural stuff irl ?? that’s the way 2 go

if you had to be trapped on a desert island with any of your ocs, who would it be and why?

if i had 2 be trapped on a desert island ...... i’d probably choose rafael . honestlie he just seems like he always knows what’s up nd my chances of survival would increase w him JHGJKSJKS

what is your favorite medium to write?

definitely novels !! its a format i’ve pretty much grown up w and im more comfortable w this medium than any others GHSHJKS but i’d love to explore like ,, screenplays nd see where that takes me

who was your first oc?

HYLLY SHITTTT THIS BRINGS ME BACK SJHJHJGJKS i used to draw a lot back when i was younger nd so i had this oc JHJS his name was ian and he was meant for the maximum ride universe but he was a dumb dude who was 2% cat . nd he had an adopted sister ,, i forgot her name but she was part bird .

what was your first wip about?

world end club is supposed 2 be abt a group of teens who work together 2 take down a corporation that wants 2 essentially control the artificial island they live on thru engineered soldiers . ITS A CONCEPT ,, nd it requires a little Too Much for my one brain cell to think abt

thoughts on shakespeare?

uhhh no thots bc i never read his work in high school i jus know macbeth is cursed .... wow i rly dont know anything abt shakespeare huh .

poetry or prose?

o this is TOUGH i rly adore both .......... im gonna . im gonna go w prose . i lvoe poetry so much sometimes there are lines that just rly fucken punch u in the face but im gonna go w prose bc its familiar !!

would you ever co-write a story?

nO ..... i wouldnt b able 2 compromise i’d jus b like oH ACTUALLY SKSKKS MY IDEA’S DUMB LETS JUST DO URS 

write what you want to write or write what you want to read/watch?

oh . fuc .... i feel like its important to have a good balance of both but . honestlie im very partial to what i want to read/watch ..

do you like to write violence?

i dont Like 2 write it but its In My Wips !

what is your favorite trope?

oH ,, probably ‘fire forged friends’ or like . mutual pining ... i have too many favorite tropes nd somehow im gonna incorporate them all .

yikeskimi’s questions!!

Tell us about the main character(s) in your current WIP!

oKAY SO im gonna try to not make this too long SJKHJGS !! wendy is a very like . prickly character . shes like a cactus . nd she’s not too fond of letting ppl get close, but the ppl who do manage to get close to her are happie 2 learn she would actually die for them . loyalty is a Huge Huge part of her character, and she cares very deeply abt the people she calls family . shes also v sarcastic nd like . ‘open ur eyes dummy’ .

arthur is a kind of person who lives heavily on false pretenses . like he projects this image bc its an image that he can control nd he jsut Rolls w it , but hes actually someone who likes 2 tease his friends nd be friendly to them ,, hes got Issuez nd is very much the type of person to be like ‘o lol im ok :-)...’ nd prioritize the needs of others 

rafael is , in all honesty , just babey . he studied a lot during high school nd rly pushed himself beyond his limits bc he wants to be able 2 go 2 a good college on scholarship nd get a job 2 support his family , nd hes just ?? very responsible nd sweet but that can also manifest into him taking on more than he should nd burning out . 

piper is a very ,, honestlie kinda sad character kjHGJSJ she spends a lot of time just trying 2 appeal to other ppl bc she knows her interest in the supernatural make her a ‘weird’ person nd she wants to be able 2 have real friends ,, but when she learns 2 let go of this she’s very silly nd always making jokes During The Right time ..

Do you have an all time favorite OC? Tell us about them!

hMMMM i dont think i do ??? my memory of my ocs is rly bad JHSJ so more often than not i just ,, rip i dont remember them </3

If you could be best friends with one of your OCs, who would it be and why?

ms piper chaiyathan !!!! shes a very open nd kind individual nd i feel like our humor nd joking style would match V v v well !!!

Last line you’ve written in your WIP?

Wendy, unlike her brothers Adam and Nate, had inherited her father’s rough touch, and that made them both unwanted in the high stakes setting of a diner kitchen.

If you have a chosen title for your WIP, were there any titles you considered before it? And if not, what are some titles you’re thinking of?

when the sun falls went through SO many titles nd i actually have them all here: where the sun goes / fever dreams / above the sun / where the sun follows / the drowned sun ... as u can see the sun was smth i Needed .

What is an important element in the world your WIP takes place in?

uHHHH the supernatural element is . Very important but i cant be too specific about it but i will tell u it involves a dead tree on the beach .

Tell us an out of context spoiler.

arthur gets a cool new set of eyes.

Any power couples/ships in your WIP?

wendy nd arthur babey ,,,,,, bat nd molotov cocktail duo ,,,, last name central until the important moment nd THEN they use each other’s first names ..

Any music you like listening to while you write?

uHHHH specifically for wtsf i listen 2 a lot of hozier, lorde, conan gray, khalid nd halsey :-)

What would your main character(s) favorite song be?

oH okay i got this in the BAG ... wendy’s favorite song would Absolutely be work place by hozier or more than sorrow by a-lin ,,, arthur would definitely b listening 2 like . free spirit by khalid .. piper, since she p much spent all of middle school nd 2 years of high school in thailand ,, i think she’

Which character in your WIP could you relate to the most?

honestly? all of them !!! a lot of the characters in wtsf have little bits nd pieces of me bc thats how all my ocs come into existence nd theres no One character thats like “oh,,, das me”

and here are my 11 questions !!

Which one of your OCs do you think could survive a zombie apocalypse? Why?

What’s something you’ve been itching to write about?

Share the last paragraph you wrote!

Do you prefer coming up with plots or characters? Why?

Do you have any abandoned WIPs? Tell us about them!

What are some favorite themes/tropes to write about?

How do you get into the zone for writing?

Tell us a random fact for any of your OCs !!!

Are you someone who needs a visual for your WIPs?

What are some influences to your writing style?

If you had to be a character in one of your WIPs, which WIP would it be and what role would you play?

i’m gonna tag @babyreeds @holotones @alejandroistyping @noloumna @faerisms @omniawrites @aslanwrites @ashesconstellation @thegrievingyoung @glittcrpeach @syposium !!! no pressure to do it if u dont want to tho <3

[patriotsnet]

What Do Republicans Believe About Climate Change

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-do-republicans-believe-about-climate-change/

What Do Republicans Believe About Climate Change

Senator John Cornyn Republican Of Texas

Why Do Republicans Deny Climate Change Science?

Recently re-elected as Senate Republican whip

Cornyns view on a possible human role in climate change is insinuated for a Republican and doubly so for a Republican from oil country. Which is adamantly not to say he favors emissions regulations.

I am not one that denies that human beings have an impact on the environment, Cornyn said in a phone call with Texas reporters in May. But I am sure not willing to put the federal government in charge of trying to micromanage the environment for the United States of America, nor for us to drive up the price of energy for people on fixed income, like seniors and people of modest means, by putting restrictions in place that other nations are not.

New Caucus New Opportunity

Even broaching the topic with some political conservatives can be challenging, said U.S. Rep. John Curtis, a Republican from Utah.

He compared the reflexive reaction many conservatives have when it comes to climate change to how Democrats feel when they hear about former President Donald Trumps U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Their chest tightens, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

I think climate has been like that for Republicans, right? Just the word climate has all these agendas, the Green New Deal and Al Gore kind of associated with it, and I think thats turned them off.

Last week, Curtis launched the Conservative Climate Caucus – a group in Congress that already boasts a roster of more than 50 Republicans to try to educate colleagues and brainstorm ideas to deal with climate change.

Curtis said he envisions field trips to look at electric vehicle manufacturing or forest fire damage, a big worry in the western United States right now.

But hes not keen on virtually eliminating use of fossil fuels – something scientists say is crucial to limiting dangerous warming – instead preferring a switch to cleaner ones.

I think theres a role for fossil fuels, he said. If were able to export U.S. natural gas to China and it displaced coal, that would have dramatic impacts on worldwide carbon emissions.

Curtis acknowledged that among a certain set of conservative voters, winning heart and minds on climate change will take much more work.

Figure 9 Party Breakdown Of Opinions On Mitigation Policies On Which The Majorities Of Democrats And Of Republicans Disagree

On the other policies included in the survey, majorities of Democrats and of Republicans do not agree. Minorities of Republicans and majorities of Democrats favor carbon pricing policies and increased gasoline taxes. In general, majorities of Democrats and minorities of Republicans believe that federal stimulus packages should include provisions to invest in the development of new technologies and in maintenance to reduce future emissions.

Don’t Miss: Senate Partisan Breakdown

Same Problem Different Solution

Young conservatives like Smith and Diaz say the existence of climate change isnt up for debate.;Democrats proposed solutions to the climate;change;is where they begin to;diverge.;;

Republicans;say policies like the Green New Deal and the Biden Administrations climate plan are not effective or realistic methods to combat climate change.;

Theres a lot of enthusiasm to talk about it, Smith said. At the end of the day its really performative and it is pointless if the solutions theyre offering arent viable. They need to be ensuring that the United States makes the transition away from fossil fuels in a way that is fiscally viable for the American people.;

In line with Bidens climate plan, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a moderate Democrat,;signed an executive order in November 2020 creating the Climate Initiatives Task Force, aimed at making the state carbon neutral by 2050. But Smith called the task force;money down the;drain. He said the task force is funding research already conducted by other administrations and a;performative action.;

Its very much the case of John Bel kicking the can down the road. The task force is saying theyre going to show us the results in five years, Smith said. But itll be too late at that point.;

The House GOP recently;formed;a Republican-led group on climate change.;;

You think the guys driving a Lamborghini are getting hurt? he;said. Noits the person taking the bus.;

Senator Roy Blunt Republican Of Missouri

Recently re-elected as vice-chairman of the Senate Republican conference

Blunt has acknowledged that climate change exists and said we have a social responsibility to help the environment. He also has said, however, that the human role in climate change is unclear. understands that any energy policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gases should be carefully considered in the context of Americas already fragile economy, a spokesman for Blunt told the Springfield News-Leader in 2011. The worst outcome is that we pass policies so onerous that we drive jobs overseas to countries where they dont care as much about what comes out of their smokestacks as we do.

Recommended Reading: Republicans Wear Red

Why Republicans Still Dont Care About Climate Change

Mary Nichols has been part of the struggle to prevent catastrophic climate change for about as long as anyone in American life. For years, shes directed Californias pathbreaking efforts to reduce carbon emissions as the chair of the California Air Resources Boarda position she held first in the 1970s before taking it up again in 2007. Nichols has also served at the federal level, working as the chief regulator for air pollution at the Environmental Protection Agency under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. And yet even Nichols has never seen anything that crystallizes the dangers of climate change more clearly than the historic outbreak of wildfires scorching California and other western states this year.

Yes, absolutely, she told me earlier this week, when I asked her whether this years fires are the most tangible danger to California that shes seen from climate change. Its not suddenly going to reverse itself to years when theres no fire season, or its not going to happen until October. The changes are going to be real, and they are going to be long-lasting.

What we have now is the absolute environmental demonstration or evidence of just how dramatic the impact of climate change is going to be. This is not going to stop, Browner told me. There is going to be something next year, and the year after, if we dont get on it.

Fundamental Beliefs And Attitudes

For 14 out of 21 survey questions posed to American respondents about fundamental beliefs and attitudes regarding global warming, majorities of Democrats and Republicans alike hold green opinions in 2020.

For example, 94% of Democrats believe global warming has been happening, as do 67% of Republicans. 94% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans think warming will continue in the future if nothing is done to address it. 94% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans believe that if warming has been happening, human actions have been responsible for causing it.

Majorities of Democrats and of Republicans also agree about the likely effects of global warming98% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans believe global warming will be a very or somewhat serious problem for the US if nothing is done to address it. Some 97% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans believe that global warming will be a very or somewhat serious problem for the world if nothing is done to address it.

However, the partisans diverge on whether specific temperature changes have been or will be bad. Whereas 88% of Democrats believe that the warming that has happened over the past 100 years was bad, only 40% of Republicans believe that. And whereas 84% of Democrats believe that a 5-degree Fahrenheit increase in world temperature over the next 75 years would be bad, only 50% of Republicans agree.

Read Also: How Many Republicans Are Registered In The Us

Only 25 Per Cent Of Republicans Believe Climate Change Is A Very Serious Problem

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

A majority of Republicans now admit that climate change does exist, according to a new poll.

The Monmouth University survey revealing a growing number of Americans acknowledge climate change is happening, and that most of them believe its becoming an issue.

Almost two-thirds of Republicans, 64 per cent, believe global warming exists. That number has increased from 49 per cent three years ago.

Climate Change Critics Lack A Consistent Message

Has Marco Rubio flip-flopped on climate change?

Those who have criticized climate change are all over the place. You have those who say were going through global cooling, or that theres nothing going on different with the weather at all, or that any changes occurring are natural, not human-made, or its the fault of other countries.

With such an inconsistent message, its no wonder that the AP-NORC poll showed only nine percent of Americans are climate deniers. While 19 percent say they are unsure, the remaining 70+ percent not only recognize the climate is changing, but most of them also trust the science that says human activity is contributing greatly to this. If climate change becomes an election issue in 2020, it doesnt look so good for the GOP and Donald Trump.

Read Also: What Year Did The Democrats And Republicans Switch

Don’t Miss: How Many Americans Are Registered Republicans

Its All In A Name: Global Warming Versus Climate Change

More people believe in climate change than in global warming, according to a University of Michigan study published in Public Opinion Quarterly. Wording matters, says Jonathon Schuldt, a Ph.D. candidate in the U-M Department of Psychology who co-authored the study with ISR researchers Sara Konrath and Norbert Schwarz.

For the research, Schuldt, Konrath and Schwarz conducted a question wording experiment in the American Life Panel, an online survey conducted by RAND, with a national sample of 2,267 U.S. adults. Participants were asked to report their level of certainty about whether global climate change is a serious problem.

The good news is that Americans may not be as polarized on the issue as previously thought. The extent of the partisan divide on this issue depends heavily on question wording, says Schwarz.. When the issue is framed as global warming, the partisan divide is nearly 42 percentage points. But when the frame is climate change, the partisan divide drops to about 26 percentage points.

Congressman John Boehner Republican Of Ohio

Speaker of the House

Boehner reliably pleads ignorance to punt on climate change. Listen, Im not qualified to debate the science over climate change, Boehner said in May. But I am astute enough to understand that every proposal that has come out of this administration to deal with climate change involves hurting our economy and killing American jobs. That cant be the prescription for dealing with changes in our climate.

Boehner called the US-China deal the latest example of the presidents crusade against affordable, reliable energy that is already hurting jobs and squeezing middle-class families.

Also Check: How Many Registered Republicans In Texas

Figure 10 Party Breakdown Of Opinions On Federal Stimulus Policies On Which The Majorities Of Democrats And Of Republicans Disagree

Majorities of Democrats and minorities of Republicans favor three policies put into place by President Obama that have been rolled back by President Trump: a mandate to power plants to cut carbon emissions from the electric sector by more than 30% relative to 2005 levels; a plan for the federal government to reduce its own emissions; and a mandate to increase fuel efficiency standards of all new cars and trucks made in the United States to get at least 55 miles per gallon by 2025.

Climate Deniers In The 117th Congress

According to new analysis from the Center for American Progress, there are still 139 elected officials in the 117th Congress, including 109 representatives and 30 senators, who refuse to acknowledge the scientific evidence of human-caused climate change. All 139 of these climate-denying elected officials have made recent statements casting doubt on the clear, established scientific consensus that the world is warmingand that human activity is to blame. These same 139 climate-denying members have received more than $61 million in lifetime contributions from the coal, oil, and gas industries.

Read Also: Why Do Republicans Want To Get Rid Of The Epa

Democrats And Republicans Divided On Climate Change

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, speaks as Senator Ed Markey, a… Democrat from Massachusetts, right, listens during a news conference announcing Green New Deal legislation in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

How serious an issue is climate change and what should be done about it? It is not surprising that Democrats and Republicans have different views about these questions as they do about so many issues today. But what is significant now is the depth of their differences on climate change and how much those differences have grown over time. In the April issue of AEIs Political Report, we examined partisans views in recent polls and trends.

When Quinnipiac University asked registered voters in December 2018 about the extreme weather events over the past few years, 90% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans said they were related to climate change. In a similar question asked by Economist/YouGov pollstersin March 2019, 76% of Democrats said the severity of recent weather events were the result of climate change, compared to 17% of Republicans. Seventy-four percent of Republicans said these kinds of events just happen from time to time.

And what about the Green New Deal? In the limited number of polls that we have at this point, most Americans are not very familiar with it. Among those who have an opinion, Democrats are more positive than Republicans.

Figure 11 Party Breakdown Of Opinions On Obama

Of the 24 policies, 17 are favored by a majority of Independents, including the 7 that are favored by majorities of Republicans and of Democrats.

Of the seven policies favored by a minority of Independents, two are also favored by minorities of Republicans and Democrats: tax breaks to encourage nuclear power plant construction and increased consumer taxes on electricity.

Four of the other five policies favored by a minority of Independents are: increasing consumer taxes on gasoline, helping companies prevent leaks and pollution from pipelines, spending stimulus money to advance manufacturing of all-electric cars, and installing charging stations for electric cars. For the proposed policy of helping companies make batteries that are smaller and last longer, 50% of Independents were in favor.

For two policies more Republicans than Democrats are in favor, by margins of 13 and 11 percentage points respectively.

Of the remaining 22 policies, more Democrats than Republicans are in favor by margins ranging from 18 to 58 percentage points and averaging 37 percentage points.

In sum, Democrats are generally more supportive of emissions reduction policies than Republicans, and Independents are generally in between those two groups. And although majorities of both Republicans and Democrats agree with one another about some policies, they disagreed on most.

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Young Republicans See Shift In Gop: ‘from Outright Denial To Climate Caucus’

Twenty-four-year-old Republican Danielle Butcher is watching with anticipation as GOP leaders move from outright denial to now having a climate caucus a move she sees as the first step in integrating climate action into formal party policy.

Butcher, the executive vice president of the American Conservation Coalition , spoke to The Hills Equilibrium on Tuesday, just a week after Rep. John Curtis ;launched the Conservative Climate Caucus and the same day that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy

The partys progress is huge, when you apply the context, Butcher said.; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

This is an excellent first step, she continued. The first thing you have to do in achieving climate action is start talking about these problems.

To Butcher, integrating climate action into Republican politics speaks to her partys historic conservation core the GOP with a deep-seated, rural heritage, was responsible for creation of the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency under former Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon.

I also see this as us reclaiming our heritage, she said.

But with two-thirds of Americans indicating that the government should do more on climate change a stance that Butcher observed is especially true among young people” she said Republicans need to be talking about these issues and involving the younger generation in the discussions.

The GOP has notoriously struggled with young people, she added.

Climate Insights : Partisan Divide

Meet the Conservatives Lobbying Lawmakers to Act on Climate Change

A breakdown of survey results by party shows that although the views of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents differ, they also converge in ways that may be unexpected.

Report byBo MacInnis and Jon A. Krosnick75 minute read Oct. 13, 2020

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Republicans Are Not A Monolith On Climate Change

Republican lawmakers have been attacking the Biden Administrations actions to address the climate crisis. However, not all Republicans align. The party is split and the recent mass power outages during a severe storm in Texas may drive a deeper wedge into the party as Republican lawmakers were seen as having failed their constituents. In Florida, the GOP recently released a $100M+ plan to address flooding caused by climate change, although nothing to halt or reverse climate change itself. Recent polls show the fissure among Republican voters is generational and there is a substantial chasm between Democrat and Republican voters when it comes to understanding the causes and risks of climate change.

No matter what direction the political winds blow, the planet continues on its dangerous path of warming as humans continue to burn fossil fuels at an alarming rate. Scientists are increasingly warning that to avoid catastrophic impacts from climate change, the worlds governments must implement massive reductions of warming emissions and begin a drawdown of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere over the decade ahead.

For a safe and healthy future for all, endorse the;Climate-Safe California Platform;to implement scalable solutions that can reverse the climate crisis.

To learn more about how to vote for the climate, or read below.

[illknight]

i used to hate white noise

it was something i read for a book report at some point early in high school, off a huge list of potential books to read. im sure most of my classmates picked names they heard before, or based their choice off of some amount of research or asking around. i just picked white noise off of the name

sometimes i think about things that must have shaped who i am. was it homestuck? was it my extracirriculars? my teachers? all these things i liked

but i think that most of what shaped me was things i didnt like

at some point my assignment with white noise seemed to drag on, and it became something that i needed to joke about to continue to put up with it. i didnt have any friends who were also reading it, though, and i didnt even wonder whether it had a fandom, let alone look for one

some aspects of it have stuck with me in a way thats turned out to be unshakeable. ive read a lot of books for school, but i think of few of them as much as i think of white noise.

i suppose most books i have read are somewhat rarefied in concept. the ones i think of most are usually ones that had some kind of political commentary, or some kind of aspect that reminded me of myself. the things that seem ever-present and inescapable.

but as i get older and as the specificity of ad targetting and marketing becomes more invasive and granular, the themes of white noise become more and more relevant. everything becomes a generic object in a shopping cart, or a looming threat that everyone is responding to with simultaneous hysteria and apathy, or a television in the background of a conversation-- interrupting thoughts with irrelevant but flow-altering noise. a constant butterfly effect of unacknowledged but unavoidable signal, deviating us further from what we were thinking to intend before we lost our train of though

i guess as i get older i also realize that people, as a rule, are frustrating and bizarre and objectionable and idiosyncratic. the constructs of society reinforce and amplify that.

white noise just feels a lot less stupid every day and all my ungotten jokes about it are perpetually coming back to haunt me

also while i tend to claim internally that my pointlessly pseudoanalytical tirades are a side effect of strilondian stridings, just attempting to Become some characters i enjoyed in a comic once

but i think that, being frank with myself:

my tendency to think in unnecessarily complicated symbolism and rely on a variety of systems of thought and philosophies to justify vast conclusion-jumping all for the sake of intrigue or mild “things that make u go hmm” moments probably derives from my youthful exposure to sermons written by pastors desperate to extrapolate their cultural observations and personal pet peeves into full sermons that will permanently integrate into the views and thought processes of their congregation, all on a weekly basis

however, my tendency to direct that symbolic extrapolation at social and economic constructs and then spout off about that shit for several consecutive minutes with no prompting and no expectation for a response ?

thats all white noise babey

theres something hilariously immature about me fixating on the notable fictional, capitalism-obsessed pedants which comprise the new york professors of the college-on-the-hill, deciding somehow that they were cool despite hating their fictional context, and then carrying their patterns of behavior into adulthood despite the fact that this course of action has never served me well.

at this point it would probably be too difficult to shed this tendency, but while rereading white noise it seems sort of clear that even though they are detachedly analyzing the colorful trappings of a superficial, capitalist world, they are just the same as every other person who is subject to the background radiation of the marketing and culture they so curiously dissect

rereading the early words of siskind about the barn was both like a mirror and a grim reminder. he rants and raves about how nobody sees the barn, only the signs about the barn and the photos take of the barn. it is easy to think at first that his concern is that the barn is lost, but then jack amends his narration, saying that siskind “seems immensely pleased by this”

is there a joy that is derived from criticism of the culture that sucks away the actual critical nature of the analysis? does our investment in describing, cataloguing, and naysaying this society’s workings cause us to become subconsciously invested in its persistence?

there is something clearly off-putting about jack’s hitler studies. it seems clear that, while it is assumed that jack is aware that hitler was an atrocious figure, the meticulous cataloguing of hitler’s life and the lives of those around hitler, as well as the enthusiasm for that life necessitated for jack to name his kid fucking Heinrich, seem like they must derive from some kind of inappropriate affection for these figures. it like critical obsession is only the acceptable cousin of admiring obsession. like the person who studies a subject is not immune to the psychological contagion which eminates from that subject

the american cultural studies are housed in the same building as hitler studies and with this sort of retrospective glance at the subject, it seems like the new york professors have an almost inappropriate attachment to their field of expertise. but how else do you become an expert, but through fascination and some level of sincere admiration? do the new york professors see beauty in marketing rather than treachery?

for some reason, (maybe it was my raised-jaded, “it was recently the 00s” brain) i read their discussions as inherently critical when i was younger. this was likely just because they were pointing out the oddities and details of something i had already accepted as ubiquitous. however, pointing at something that is ignored isn’t the same thing as taking a stance on that thing. being aware that there is a trick is no better if you’re still being tricked

all this is sort of to say that rereading this book makes me wonder about how my behavior may be patterned, if not after, at least the same as these characters. my awareness of certain issues is only based on my prior enthusiastic involvement in those issues. some of my awareness in certain issues is based on my current involvement in those issues. does my close examination of these latter issues draw me nearer towards them, like a moth to flame? do i complain about the punishment only to repeat the punished behavior to receive the associated punishment as a sort of backwards reward?

do i go to starbucks just so that i can more effectively gripe about their poor working conditions and their shitty playlists and the alarming late capitalism of their company structure? or do i just go because my friends go there? should i stop spending money there? or would that be a pointless gesture?

i complain about the school system, about workaholicism, about corporatism, about cultish religion, about pedantry, and so on, but i don’t take any meaningful action to distance my own functioning from these things. is it for research’s sake? no. i dont even try to justify it like that. and i don’t think that my willingness to discuss the details of these things distances me from them. i know that i am in the barn photo’s aura. i know that i can’t unsee the signs. but i’m still standing here, eagerly talking down about the people snapping their cameras at the barn

i kind of love white noise

[stahhr-blog]

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But Emily Browning, who plays the recently deceased Laura Moon in TV s latest must-see series American Gods, couldnt be more content. Why? Well, for a start American Gods isnt the kind of show to let a little thing like a fatal car crash get in the way of a good character arc, but its more personal than that. I mean, obviously theres the fact that I used to plan my own death when I was five, the Australian actress tells me within 10 minutes of us meeting. Sometimes my mind goes to a really unnecessary place. Most telly connoisseurs would disagree with the unnecessary part at least. Early reviews for Amazon s darkly delightful new series suggest its the kind of ambitious escapism we need now. Based on the multi-award-winning Americana fantasy novel by Sandman author Neil Gaiman, American Gods tells the story of a brewing war between Old World deities and New World obsessions such as technology, celebrity and media. Trying to make sense of it all is Shadow Moon, an ex-con played by Ricky Whittle, of Hollyoaks fame but dont let that put you off, hes great. Ian McShane is perfectly cast as a shady conman, Mr Wednesday scholars of Old Norse mythology may notice some significance in that name who hires Shadow Moon as his bodyguard. Browning plays Shadows doomed and unfaithful wife. Lauras kind of awful.

The Mott boasts the longest serving publican in Melbourne suited our needs. The GLEN INN Motel is conveniently located families agitated for a school which was finally opened in 1927. I was late for check in could live there in Belgravia style at lower prices. This was part of a general clean-up of the area which had become known as the Potteries and Piggeries. 19th century close to Monash Uni Clayton Campus. It is conveniently located, are a number of hotels just a stone's throw from the action. TRANSPORT - Bus stop in front of flat building Route 693 Belgrade - Oakleigh via Ferntree Gully, Brandon Park - to the BCD and the Box Hill and Chad stone Shopping Centres. The disturbance escalated and over 100 police officers were injured. 37 Two notable participants in this recommend it to anyone who likes a cony place to stay. Notting Hill also covers the NW10 postcode of Kendal.The local historian Florence Gladstone, in her much reprinted work “Notting Hill entrance and plenty of parking available.

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[narcisbolgor-blog]

Charlottesville Hate Marcher Elected by Republican Party

An affiliate of a pro-white group who marched in Charlottesville last year was elected to a Republican Party post in Washington state last week, part of his campaign to take over the GOP for the alt-right.

James Allsup, 22, attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white supremacists chanted anti-Semitic slogans and one allegedly drove a car into a crowd, killing a protester and injuring more. Allsup was filmed marching with Identity Evropa, an anti-immigrant alt-right group. Fallout over the rally led to Allsup stepping down as president of the Washington State University College Republicans, a group he once boasted of taking over. Now he claims hes on the way to taking over the local GOP.

Immediately after his election Allsup said he was attending a Spokane GOP dinner headlined by former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (who did not return The Daily Beasts request for comment), and claimed he or an associate were scheduled for a private meeting with an unnamed congressperson.

On June 2, Allsup posted a picture of a certificate on Facebook. As of today I am officially an elected official in the state of Washington and Republican party, he wrote. Cool!

The piece of paper certified that Allsup was now a precinct committee officer for the Whitman County, Washington Republican Party. Allsups certificate declares that he was awarded the post after his candidacy remained uncontested for four days. The countys auditor confirmed the certificates authenticity to The Daily Beast.

Allsups post is a small one on its face, but its influential.

If you want to take over a political party in this state, the best thing to do is to start at the PCO level and get a whole bunch of people who agree with your views elected as PCOs, Hugh Spitzer, a professor of law at the University of Washington, told The Daily Beast.

PCO races are usually uncontested, and write-ins are not allowed, Spitzer said.

From the partys perspective, the responsibility of PCOs is to visit every house and apartment if they can, meet the people, and then determine [how they might vote], Spitzer said, adding that PCOs also carry campaign materials for their partys candidates, and vote for members of their partys county central committee, who influence the selection of party officials on a more statewide basis.

The Republican National Committee denounced Allsup.

We condemn this individual and his hateful, racist views in the strongest possible terms, a spokesperson for the RNC told The Daily Beast. Theres no place for it in the Republican Party.

The Washington State Republican Partys chairman told The Daily Beast the party doesnt condone identity politics, in any form, whatsoever, adding, We condemned this hateful ideology before, we condemn it today, and will continue to condemn it in the future.

Shortly after posting a picture of certificate, Allsup appeared on a podcast by Identity Evropa where he encouraged members of the far-right to push their way into more mainstream conservative politics like he did.

I happen to be involved in the Spokane GOP. I am now actually an elected official in the Whitman County GOP down here where I live, Allsup said. You have a seat at the table. And thats the most important thing, getting that seat at the table, and you can get that seat at the table by, yes, showing up, yes, by bringing people in, and again this doesnt necessarily only have to be IE members.

Allsup clarified that he planned to push our political agendanot the GOPs.

Of course Im not the GOP shill here. Im not going to tell you that knocking doors for a Republican congressman is going to save the West or save European Americans, he said. Thats not at all what Im saying, but it is a means to an end. This political involvement is a means to our political ends.

Im not going to tell you that knocking doors for a Republican congressman is going to save the West or save European Americans. This political involvement is a means to our political ends.

James Allsup

This isnt the first time Allsup has tried entryist tactics.

A month after Charlottesville, Allsup told white nationalist podcast Fash the Nation that he tried to take over WSUs College Republican club with fashy goy (fascist, non-Jewish) friends.

If you are a college guy, or a college girl, and you are on a college campus, if you have three or four fashy goy friends, you can take over your schools College Republicans group and move it to essentially being an alt-right club, Allsup said.

You can easily do that and it gives you access to so many more resources. It gives you political credibility. It gives you all of these things that come along with the name of being a Republican.

The entryist tactic worked for Allsup for a while in WSUs College Republican club. As president of WSUs College Republican club, he clashed with members who denounced his Trumpist tone and xenophobia, The Spokesman-Review previously reported. But Allsups attendance at Unite the Right, where he said he was invited to give a speech and filmed himself fawning over white nationalist Richard Spencer, was a step too far for some college Republicans. Allsup resigned from the group.

But he stayed close to Identity Evropa, the group he was filmed marching with in Charlottesville.

If you have three or four fashy goy friends, you can take over your schools College Republicans group and move it to essentially being an alt-right club.

James Allsup

Founded in 2016, Identity Evropa lifts its messaging from Europes identitarians: a movement that uses pro-white innuendo to push a racist reactionary message, particularly against immigrants. Identity Evropas founder Nathan Damigo entered the white nationalist movement reading a book by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke while in prison, where he was serving time for drunkenly robbing a Arab cab driver of $43 at gunpoint.

Damigo stepped down after Unite the Right, to be replaced by Elliott Kline, an alt-righter who goes by Eli Mosley and who bragged on a podcast of supposedly killing Muslims while in Iraq.

I work in HR firing n----rs and spics all day, he said during a March 2016 podcast. Before that, I was in the army and I got to kill Muslims for fun. Im not sure which one was better: watching n----rs and spics cry because they cant feed their little mud children or watching Muslims brains spray on the wall. Honestly both probably suck compared to listening to a kikes scream while in the oven.

A New York Times investigation revealed that Kline had lied about his military record, and had never been to Iraq. Kline left Identity Evropa in late November to be replaced by the groups current leader, Patrick Casey, who recently described the groups goal as a white super majority in America and a halt to all immigration.

On the Identity Evropa podcast, Allsup said he hopes to streamline the groups anti-immigrant rhetoric with that of the broader Republican Party. He used the example of a hypothetical alt-righter landing a community board seat and teaming up with more subtly racist members to steer funding and approvals away from pro-immigrant applicants.

We could certainly be advantageous in helping those people express their perhaps more deep-seated or implicit biases about immigration, perhaps, toward a larger audience, Allsup said.

The Whitman County GOP, of which Allsup is now a minor official, is the countys largest political organization. Spitzer said Allsups uncontested election acts as a wake-up call to the local GOP, whom he described as more traditional Republicans: farmers and businesspeople.

While many of them are conservatives, Spitzer said, theyre not fascists.

Original Article : HERE ; This post was curated & posted using : RealSpecific

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[allhailmikki]

Address of Lehigh County Commissioners

Topics :Commerce and Law

Dear Commissioners Lehigh County; Commerce and District Attorney J Martin

In the most recent weeks of the spring term at Lehigh Carbon Community College,

I have been witness to a novice and divisive misuse of the campus's Ombudsman service by administration. At such time as servicing case 2323, “Inquiry to the creation of hand off procedure of

advisor position for previously approved clubs” , staff Peggy Heim and Donna Williams, purposely avoided the topic and made use of the meeting to slander my person with retaliatory false assertions that I had falsified my identity to campus. Clearly Heim does not understand that a use of a Ombudsman meeting is for mutual respect and reaching positive solutions. While the campuus and I are in disagreement to the reality that upon a time a) a Cannabis Legalization Club had been approved by Student Government Association ,b) that the access to that constitution and its former advisor contact information were restricted from access on multiple requests ; 4 + for the constitution and 2x for the advisor..

Sirs and Madams , among this correspondence, the misuse and retaliation tactics of the ombudsman service must be recognized either as an angry devolution of Lehigh Carbon Community College's quality of service or that Peggy Heim has come to disfigure and smear the ombudsman venue as a guardshacking and defensive affair that undercuts the students reliability to seek it out for fair response and consideration of their values.  When “Dean of Student Success” Peggy Heim opted to cite my correspondence to the FEC with a petition inclusive of student signatures in promotion of the group reactivation, we are not debating that I have association to the re activation of that group and that my name was squarely known to be in process of reactivating the group. A trickery and pressure tactic of lying  had exploited a previous  unbothered matter as an ‘incidence’ at that March 8th meeting leads to the summary Lehigh Carbon Community College is an administration centered fixture whose dwindling student enrollment is partially its own fault of inaccessibility to be represented by the administration.

Look at the Student Government page for example. https://www.lccc.edu/student-experience/student-government-association. Theres' no images of the student government . The campus is infected by mother hen egoists who've gotten cozy with their disenfrancised average student archetype as needing a pat on a back instead of learn to be adults. Being an adult is voicing opinion and having a platform of demands by which social integrity should not fall below. LCCC's integrity , visible to the conduct of the Ombudsman service is low. At this time, lacking visible indication of an ethics code, I am requesting the Campus President Bieber adjudicate the lack of an open ethics code by administration , toward administration that bring them up to speed on the professional decorum of enabling students to address their wants without pretexts of what the administration will expect or retaliate upon them

I will briefly summarize what was used to slander me at the March 8th meeting and following correspondences. In fall term of 2016 I was a member of the film club and contacted the literary agent of Stephen King to request permission to use a character. My professional degrees and personal experience make this type of thing very commonplace. Any student has the access to do this as long as in mention of the reason of request that they don't intentfully smear the institutions name they are assoicated with.  Such negative contexts would summarize as “Der , me from Lehigh Carbon Community College. Me like your It Clown and want it for my film club pwa.. prog.. project. Something like that. Praw-ject (fonetic) is what I meant. If you want to come to campus that would be so cool , come next week. Byebye”.  

My correspondence included my request for permission, the reason I was asking ( having been a club member of LCCC) and then some matters about Gender Studies and Columbine that could generally also context my letter as arising from my LCCC email but neither being a club or enterprise related inquiry. I did invite him to campus as my personal interest . This is not uncommon but due to my 'we this and we that ' type terms am being misconstrued as presenting myself as an officer of the club rather than a team member of a film project. I did say in that letter I was new to the group. On face value I have not changed any matter of my identity and my name is on the paper.. In the latter portion of Fall term when this email was already known I had a  previous meeting with Dean Heim about a misleading on campus assurance of being hired and then not. This misleading statement and being strung along for an unreasonable time was neither apologized for or even concerned serious. The customer service on this campus, as a theme among Peggie Heim, is poor.

If my letter to the FEC was considered insulting or due repercussion , then it was not addressed earlier I in the term compared to the meeting. While the identity of my person is not in dispute and the originality of the group being approved by the Students is not in dispute, Peggie Heim and Gene Eden would contend their current policy to make clubs impermanent is the only string they have in slandering me as 'falsification' and it was the reason we were meeting. The real issue is , and I am accusing this.. they are burnt out on being two year college people. Maybe some students stay longer but in this case 'its the people that 'come and go' and they don't want to get in touch with this loss cycle with themselves. I want to be clear here the students signing the petition were not signing said petition to become members as support of group. This was a preliminary ' putting sharp teeth in the mouth of the club” so that when I do present it , that I have clout as a legit leader of the club. My ultimate determination of the campus is administration is novice at politics and they don't want their students to grow to be adults in this capacity. If the student features a disagreeable position that the state or federal government doesn't like.. its not for administration to get brow beaten about it.. Enable the student to defend their points. Thats the process of maturing and curing the mold of the individual as an education process.

I am enjoying my extended vacation since my effective address of the business department at LCCC still resulted in a campus expulsion until further notice. I presented a sign to the business dept as a presentation and demanded Peggie Heims and Donna Williams resignations. Also If the Campus would oblige their unprofessional use of the ombudsman system that I would then request President Ann Biebers resignation as well. Donna Williams , HR , has been found to be falsifying staff performance records in the level of this debate and possibly others. For Heim to believe an Ombudsman meeting is the appropriate place to retaliate is a clear indication HR is ineffective at curbing negative practices that wouldn't fly at any reputable four year school. If Heim and company are inferring LCCC is their own little drawbridge and bedroom campus to act as they please for a role of policy by proxy of indifferrence to the customer, they do require a wakeup.

In the process of placing me on probation for bringing 2323 to them and their inclusion of two correspondences to pretend opinions they disagree with are falsification.. . Compound to defamation of my record by slander and libel. My student record is libeled by their refusal to play the topic for what it is. I then took out another Ombudsman case against Heim for Slander , the number is 2341. and their Ombudsman service is MyHRPartner (Allentown). I am again requesting Peggie Heim and Donna Williams resignation formally , now publicly, and the campus to a) acknowledge the defemation of my record happened and b) that Ann Bieber assure that all students will not be intimidated, called to confidentiality with the campus to protect administration  tactics or EVER that an Ombudsman meeting will resort to  retaliatory efforts. That an ethics code will be addressed openly for the administration whether in disciplinary roles or not.

My association and intent to reactivate the Cannabis Club have never been obscured from administration ie Brian Delong. I asked him to be an advisor because of his disciplinary proximity to be in fair view.  That I was accused of asserting the intent to found a tokers lounge on campus is both an already conceded topic/idealism and not realistic for Gene Eden to bring up in the context of the meeting. The Campus Student life organization needs a new leader since divisivism is no leader quality and now I see it. The first time I simply asked to see over top of Gene Eden to inquire if anyone else was restricting the constitution access. Now I see Gene Eden herself takes a cheap line on her self protection. The Usage I am addressing Still had in first letters be divided from campus activities to its own quarters and I feel this point being glossed over is also divisive mischaracterization. The dry campus matter is already a fact. Sometimes you have to press the line hard to make sure they get the values of the otherside. We see this all the time with congress. Make a strong front line and then see what best mutual benefit arrives in the center. They just want to be sour bitches and thats not cool.

Unlike what you might hear from the security , the reason i am not on campus now is because I have motivation to demand my record be corrected from Peggie Heim’s libel. Whether my tactic of addressing the business office with unarmed demands is approved is not my concern but do know that opting non mass student channels was to avoid accusation of manufacturing a riot. My decision to demand justice against administration led defamation is acceptable at all times. I request your assistance to delist Lehigh Carbon Community College from Lehigh County as penalty for unprofessional conduct toward its student customers. I’m enjoying my extra weeks of spring break. can LCCC even muster explain what penalty I experience with more vacation? NOPE.

Thank you for your time.

Michael Bench , MEP GCERT

Exercise Physiologist

Gender Studies.  

returning student Freshmen. Stoner with Honors

[chrishurstabs]

How America Kills Black Men Without Lifting A Finger

In 1996, hip-hop trio A Tribe Called Quest released Stressed Out, the tale of a black man looking to remain optimistic while dealing with the repercussions of his criminal record, trying to provide for his family, and doing his best to not be a victim of neighborhood violence. For many African-American men, this narrativewhether in part or in fullis gospel. Environmental concerns keep African-American men in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight, and studies show that this chronic stress has led to health disparities, with diabetes being one of the most insidious.

Theres substantial evidence to demonstrate the environment we live in has direct impacts on our health, says Rebecca Hasson, an exercise physiologist and director of the Childhood Disparities Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan.

About 13 percent of African-Americans age 20 and older have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. About 9 percent of all Americans are diabetic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. African-American men are 1.7 times more likely than white non-Hispanic men to have diabetes.

When Protective Hormones Harm

Hassons findings point to cortisol, a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands, as a contributing factor in stress-related onsets of diabetes. Cortisol temporarily increases energy production required for immediate survivallike running from a bear, or escaping a house fire. For the average person, cortisol levels begin high in the morning and taper off as the day progresses, fluctuating appropriately. In African-American men living in socioeconomically depressed communities, cortisol levels start and remain highthe bear is always chasing; the smoke alarms always screeching.

Debra J. Barksdale, professor and associate dean of academic programs at Virginia Commonwealth Universitys School of Nursing, has been examining stress in African-American men for three decades. Like Hasson, she cites cortisol and its role in chronic stress, stating that its like having your stressors turned on all the time.

The fight-or-flight response is more of an acute reaction, she says. Whether its related to the pressures from society, increased chances of being stopped by the authorities, trying to provide for their families or trying to find a job or sustain a job, when a stressor occurs, there are physiological processes that occur in the brain that trigger the release of cortisol. What we have found was in certain people who are constantly stressed, cortisol levels do not go down throughout the day. It will remain high.

The Broken Thermostat

When cortisol levels remain high without the presence of imminent danger or without some physical activity to offset the effects of chronic stress, Type 2 diabetes may be the consequence. According to the American Diabetes Association, higher cortisol results in higher insulin resistance, forcing the pancreas to produce more insulin to get a response. With ongoing insulin resistance, the insulin-producing beta cells wear out, causing Type 2 diabetes.

Briana Mezuk is an associate professor in the division of epidemiology at VCU who has studied the relationship between stress and blood sugar. She explains it this way:

Think of stress like a hot summer day. Your thermostat has to keep working harder and harder to keep your house cool. Eventually, it cant get the temperature back down to where you want it anymore; it cant get back down to 68 degrees. It can only get down to 69 degrees, (because) the system is worn out. Sixty-nine degrees is not bad, but then it keeps creeping up and eventually the body isnt able to respond because its chronically activated. Those are the folks who are going to be more likely to progress to diabetes, she says.

Mezuk partners with the YMCA of Greater Richmonds diabetes control and diabetes prevention programs. The diabetes control program helps adults living with Type 2 by providing education, support and care management. The diabetes prevention program is for those at risk for Type 2 diabetes. They learn how to make lifestyle changes to reduce their chances of developing the disease.

Know Your Status

Learning to identify and manage stress positively is the first step to a healthier outcome. That can be exercise, playing in mens sports leagues, practicing yoga, or seeking talk therapy. If no change occurs, African-American men run the risk of epidemic levels of diabetes diagnoses50 percentby 2050, according to the diabetes association.

Caroline Fornshell, a registered dietitian and diabetes fitness and nutrition expert in Williamsburg, calls those who catch the disease before its onset the lucky ones.

They are the ones that got the warning. So often, people are walking around with undiagnosed full-fledged diabetes, and so it is really an exciting opportunity for individuals who find out they have pre-diabetes to take control, she says.

Pre-diabetics can exercise more and evaluate their diet. They also should reduce stress, get the proper amounts of sleep and seek out supports, whether its through a program or even some sort of wellness buddy, says Fornshell.

Mezuk encourages African-Americans who think theyre at risk due to family history or who live with chronic stress to consult a physician. Many men dont know that they have the disease and when left untreated, it can lead to a host of other health problems, including hypertension, heart disease and kidney failurethree more conditions that African-American men suffer at higher rates than their white and Latino counterparts.

Its really scary to go to the doctor [and find out that you have] diabetes. People call it denialabetes for a reason. People dont want to believe that theyre sick, says Mezuk. But there is good news. We can take what we are learning about how stress and depression affect the body and actually turn that into improved health for people in terms of managing this condition better and hopefully being able to prevent this condition better.

Originally published in Richmond Magazine

Related…

From Welfare Queen To Black Girl Magic: How Black Women Flipped The Script

When White People Profit Off Of Black Pain

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/is-stress-killing-black-men_us_58c2b6f8e4b0c3276fb783c8

[adambstingus]

A Sugar Scientist Reveals 6 Ways To Kick Added Sugar Out

#ad_sharebox_260x60 img {padding:0;margin:0;}

The Food and Drug Administrations new recommendation that Americans eat no more than 10 percent of calories from added sugar is a giant leap in the right direction, according to sugar scientist Laura Schmidt of the University of California, San Francisco. But confusion about the difference between added sugar and naturally-occurring sugar, as well as the way foods are marketed and labeled, have created a food environment in which people arent quite sure how much added sugar theyre actually eating — much less how to strategize ways to lower those numbers.

Naturally occurring sugar refers to the sugar that naturally comes in whole foods — say, the fructose in whole fruit, or the lactose in milk. Added sugar is the extra sugars and syrups that are added in the manufacturing of a food, like the white table sugar added to fruit to make jam, or the brown sugar in cookies and other baked goods.

Joining the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association, the FDA made its 10 percent recommendation for added sugars in order to help folks avoid developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, which affects about one-third of American adults and roughly one in five children and teens. 

In theory, it’s a great guideline, Schmidt explained. Practically, it means youre going to have to figure out how much is best for you. The AHA says the 10 percent rule converts to no more than 100 calories of added sugar, or six teaspoons, for women, and no more than 150 calories of added sugar, or nine teaspoons, for men. 

For kids, those numbers are even lower. Preschoolers should eat no more than four teaspoons (16 grams), and children ages 4 to 8 should eat no more than three teaspoons (12 grams) a day. Finally, pre-teens and teens should eat no more than five to eight teaspoons (20 to 32 grams) of added sugar a day. 

Unfortunately, the average American eats much more sugar than whats currently proposed about 16 percent of daily calories come from added sugar, according to the FDA, and its really easy to go over the limit considering a normal treat like a 12-ounce can of soda has 10 teaspoons of added sugar. Thats more than any person should consume in one day. 

But if we can all get ourselves off the sugary drinks, we would be lowering our total sugar consumption, on a population level, by almost half. Dr. Laura Schmidt, sugar scientist

At TEDMED, a three-day conference focusing on health and medicine, we asked Schmidt, a professor of health policy, how we can cut down on sugar intake and create a healthier world for ourselves and our children.

Strategy 1: Stop buying sugary drinks.

Youve probably already heard this, and the rest of the U.S. is getting the message, too. Sales of soda are down more than 25 percent over the last 20 years, and sales of orange juice are down 40 percent since the late 90s. Schmidt says this should be the first step for anyone who wants to cut down on their added sugar intake: draw down slowly, and then use diet drinks if you have to in order to kick that final soda out of your life. As for juice, Schmidt suggested theres nothing healthier for kids than a piece of fruit and a glass of water.

For many people that can mean a lot of craving, and it can be hard, Schmidt said. But if we can all get ourselves off the sugary drinks, we would be lowering our total sugar consumption, on a population level, by almost half.”

Strategy 2: Get it out of your environment.

Schmidts research roots are in alcohol addiction, and she first began to get interested in the impact of sugar on diets when she learned one of the top reasons for liver transplants is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition linked to obesity and diabetes — not alcohol abuse. Consequently, although the research is out on whether sugar truly is an addictive substance in the traditionally scientific sense, Schmidt isnt afraid to use for sugary foods the same public health tactics she learned studying alcohol addiction. 

That means people who struggle with added sugar consumption should clear their pantries of sugary offenders and commit to stop buying them in the first place.

“We call it harm reduction in addition treatment, Schmidt explained. “If I were an alcoholic, I dont spend a lot of time in bars. If I have a soda problem, then I dont have it in my house, and I try to avoid contexts where its highly available. Practically, that means if you have the financial means, shop at a farmers market or supermarket, not corner store bodegas where sodas and other junk food are front and center of the display.

Strategy 3: Delay age of first consumption for kids.

Another principle straight out of addiction treatment is to delay the first time a child has a food or drink with a lot of added sugar, Schmidt explained.

The goal should be to delay the age at which a kid first has a soda.

The goal should be to delay the age at which a kid first has a soda, Schmidt. And a child does not need juice its better to give kids whole fruit or maybe blend fruit up in a smoothie.

The theory behind this tactic, just like the principles that encourage parents to delay a teens first cigarette, alcoholic drink or sexual experience, is that the child grows up enjoying the way they feel without that cigarette and beer, or makes more mature and informed sexual choices as a young adult. 

Schmidt said this idea shouldn’t be taken overboard — say, by telling all the parents in your social circle not to offer your kid soda — because it makes your child a pariah and that drink forbidden fruit. But your house, where kids spend most of their time, should be the healthiest environment it can possibly be.

Strategy 4: Be wary of foods that come in boxes, bags and cans.

Lets say youve kicked sugary drinks out of your kitchen and your everyday meals. The next step, said Schmidt, is to start hunting for that hidden sugar, usually found in highly processed foods that come in boxes, bags and cans. The more youre cooking from raw ingredients like whole foods, the less youre eating what Schmidt calls organijunk — snacks labeled organic, healthy or fortified with vitamins and nutrients, but full of hidden sugars.

Manufacturers have figured out that mothers know if sugar is in the first three listed ingredients, they dont buy it, Schmidt said. Now they just put 10 different kinds of sugar in the product.”

Be suspicious if a products ingredient list is long, she continued. Unless youre reading ingredients that you yourself would put in a homemade dish, dont buy it.

Strategy 5: Build a supportive community that cares about healthy eating.

Schmidt is impressed at how Crossfits company leadership united against selling sugary sports drinks at their gyms after an impartial review of the scientific evidence. She said she doesn’t know too much about the exercises that make up CrossFits core program, but she wishes other organizations — say hospitals, schools or workplaces — could have the same sense of responsibility toward community members. 

Thats whats cool about what CrossFit did; they said, if were about health, lets look into this and actually decide whether we should be advocating Gatorade for our people, Schmidt said. Thats where I think the health sector needs to go; the hospitals need to stop giving unhealthy food to patients, because its our responsibility.

In the same way, she said, you can create a community that celebrates healthy choices in your school, church or parent-teacher associations.

As a sociologist Ive always been told real social change comes from civil society, she concluded. When you look at these organized entities, together they could get together and form a social movement — and thats when Washington starts to listen.”

Strategy 6: Get politically active.

You might not think attending political meetings or donating to campaign finance reform causes is part of a healthier diet, but in fact these steps are actually the most vital to create change on a national level. Politicians often don’t make the decisions that are best for the health of their constituents because theyre in the pockets of big donors from the food industry, Schmidt explained. The sooner we can pass campaign finance reform, the sooner politicians can get back to advocating for the health of their communities instead of looking for ways to do their jobs while still appeasing their donors.

A special 2012 analysis by Reuters noted that some of Big Foods greatest lobbying accomplishments include getting Congress to declare pizza a vegetable so it could remain on cafeteria menus, defeating soda taxes in dozens of states and killing a plan to make foods marketed to kids healthier. 

The first thing we need to do is put pressure on our elected officials to stop taking money from corporations, and lobby our government agencies — the [National Institutes of Health], [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and every health organization — to stop, too said Schmidt. A lot of this is public information, so we should be using that to call people out.”

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/a-sugar-scientist-reveals-6-ways-to-kick-added-sugar-out/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/181562985312

[samanthasroberts]

A Sugar Scientist Reveals 6 Ways To Kick Added Sugar Out

#ad_sharebox_260x60 img {padding:0;margin:0;}

The Food and Drug Administrations new recommendation that Americans eat no more than 10 percent of calories from added sugar is a giant leap in the right direction, according to sugar scientist Laura Schmidt of the University of California, San Francisco. But confusion about the difference between added sugar and naturally-occurring sugar, as well as the way foods are marketed and labeled, have created a food environment in which people arent quite sure how much added sugar theyre actually eating — much less how to strategize ways to lower those numbers.

Naturally occurring sugar refers to the sugar that naturally comes in whole foods — say, the fructose in whole fruit, or the lactose in milk. Added sugar is the extra sugars and syrups that are added in the manufacturing of a food, like the white table sugar added to fruit to make jam, or the brown sugar in cookies and other baked goods.

Joining the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association, the FDA made its 10 percent recommendation for added sugars in order to help folks avoid developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, which affects about one-third of American adults and roughly one in five children and teens. 

In theory, it’s a great guideline, Schmidt explained. Practically, it means youre going to have to figure out how much is best for you. The AHA says the 10 percent rule converts to no more than 100 calories of added sugar, or six teaspoons, for women, and no more than 150 calories of added sugar, or nine teaspoons, for men. 

For kids, those numbers are even lower. Preschoolers should eat no more than four teaspoons (16 grams), and children ages 4 to 8 should eat no more than three teaspoons (12 grams) a day. Finally, pre-teens and teens should eat no more than five to eight teaspoons (20 to 32 grams) of added sugar a day. 

Unfortunately, the average American eats much more sugar than whats currently proposed about 16 percent of daily calories come from added sugar, according to the FDA, and its really easy to go over the limit considering a normal treat like a 12-ounce can of soda has 10 teaspoons of added sugar. Thats more than any person should consume in one day. 

But if we can all get ourselves off the sugary drinks, we would be lowering our total sugar consumption, on a population level, by almost half. Dr. Laura Schmidt, sugar scientist

At TEDMED, a three-day conference focusing on health and medicine, we asked Schmidt, a professor of health policy, how we can cut down on sugar intake and create a healthier world for ourselves and our children.

Strategy 1: Stop buying sugary drinks.

Youve probably already heard this, and the rest of the U.S. is getting the message, too. Sales of soda are down more than 25 percent over the last 20 years, and sales of orange juice are down 40 percent since the late 90s. Schmidt says this should be the first step for anyone who wants to cut down on their added sugar intake: draw down slowly, and then use diet drinks if you have to in order to kick that final soda out of your life. As for juice, Schmidt suggested theres nothing healthier for kids than a piece of fruit and a glass of water.

For many people that can mean a lot of craving, and it can be hard, Schmidt said. But if we can all get ourselves off the sugary drinks, we would be lowering our total sugar consumption, on a population level, by almost half.”

Strategy 2: Get it out of your environment.

Schmidts research roots are in alcohol addiction, and she first began to get interested in the impact of sugar on diets when she learned one of the top reasons for liver transplants is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition linked to obesity and diabetes — not alcohol abuse. Consequently, although the research is out on whether sugar truly is an addictive substance in the traditionally scientific sense, Schmidt isnt afraid to use for sugary foods the same public health tactics she learned studying alcohol addiction. 

That means people who struggle with added sugar consumption should clear their pantries of sugary offenders and commit to stop buying them in the first place.

“We call it harm reduction in addition treatment, Schmidt explained. “If I were an alcoholic, I dont spend a lot of time in bars. If I have a soda problem, then I dont have it in my house, and I try to avoid contexts where its highly available. Practically, that means if you have the financial means, shop at a farmers market or supermarket, not corner store bodegas where sodas and other junk food are front and center of the display.

Strategy 3: Delay age of first consumption for kids.

Another principle straight out of addiction treatment is to delay the first time a child has a food or drink with a lot of added sugar, Schmidt explained.

The goal should be to delay the age at which a kid first has a soda.

The goal should be to delay the age at which a kid first has a soda, Schmidt. And a child does not need juice its better to give kids whole fruit or maybe blend fruit up in a smoothie.

The theory behind this tactic, just like the principles that encourage parents to delay a teens first cigarette, alcoholic drink or sexual experience, is that the child grows up enjoying the way they feel without that cigarette and beer, or makes more mature and informed sexual choices as a young adult. 

Schmidt said this idea shouldn’t be taken overboard — say, by telling all the parents in your social circle not to offer your kid soda — because it makes your child a pariah and that drink forbidden fruit. But your house, where kids spend most of their time, should be the healthiest environment it can possibly be.

Strategy 4: Be wary of foods that come in boxes, bags and cans.

Lets say youve kicked sugary drinks out of your kitchen and your everyday meals. The next step, said Schmidt, is to start hunting for that hidden sugar, usually found in highly processed foods that come in boxes, bags and cans. The more youre cooking from raw ingredients like whole foods, the less youre eating what Schmidt calls organijunk — snacks labeled organic, healthy or fortified with vitamins and nutrients, but full of hidden sugars.

Manufacturers have figured out that mothers know if sugar is in the first three listed ingredients, they dont buy it, Schmidt said. Now they just put 10 different kinds of sugar in the product.”

Be suspicious if a products ingredient list is long, she continued. Unless youre reading ingredients that you yourself would put in a homemade dish, dont buy it.

Strategy 5: Build a supportive community that cares about healthy eating.

Schmidt is impressed at how Crossfits company leadership united against selling sugary sports drinks at their gyms after an impartial review of the scientific evidence. She said she doesn’t know too much about the exercises that make up CrossFits core program, but she wishes other organizations — say hospitals, schools or workplaces — could have the same sense of responsibility toward community members. 

Thats whats cool about what CrossFit did; they said, if were about health, lets look into this and actually decide whether we should be advocating Gatorade for our people, Schmidt said. Thats where I think the health sector needs to go; the hospitals need to stop giving unhealthy food to patients, because its our responsibility.

In the same way, she said, you can create a community that celebrates healthy choices in your school, church or parent-teacher associations.

As a sociologist Ive always been told real social change comes from civil society, she concluded. When you look at these organized entities, together they could get together and form a social movement — and thats when Washington starts to listen.”

Strategy 6: Get politically active.

You might not think attending political meetings or donating to campaign finance reform causes is part of a healthier diet, but in fact these steps are actually the most vital to create change on a national level. Politicians often don’t make the decisions that are best for the health of their constituents because theyre in the pockets of big donors from the food industry, Schmidt explained. The sooner we can pass campaign finance reform, the sooner politicians can get back to advocating for the health of their communities instead of looking for ways to do their jobs while still appeasing their donors.

A special 2012 analysis by Reuters noted that some of Big Foods greatest lobbying accomplishments include getting Congress to declare pizza a vegetable so it could remain on cafeteria menus, defeating soda taxes in dozens of states and killing a plan to make foods marketed to kids healthier. 

The first thing we need to do is put pressure on our elected officials to stop taking money from corporations, and lobby our government agencies — the [National Institutes of Health], [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and every health organization — to stop, too said Schmidt. A lot of this is public information, so we should be using that to call people out.”

Source: http://allofbeer.com/a-sugar-scientist-reveals-6-ways-to-kick-added-sugar-out/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2018/12/30/a-sugar-scientist-reveals-6-ways-to-kick-added-sugar-out/

[allofbeercom]

A Sugar Scientist Reveals 6 Ways To Kick Added Sugar Out

#ad_sharebox_260x60 img {padding:0;margin:0;}

The Food and Drug Administrations new recommendation that Americans eat no more than 10 percent of calories from added sugar is a giant leap in the right direction, according to sugar scientist Laura Schmidt of the University of California, San Francisco. But confusion about the difference between added sugar and naturally-occurring sugar, as well as the way foods are marketed and labeled, have created a food environment in which people arent quite sure how much added sugar theyre actually eating — much less how to strategize ways to lower those numbers.

Naturally occurring sugar refers to the sugar that naturally comes in whole foods — say, the fructose in whole fruit, or the lactose in milk. Added sugar is the extra sugars and syrups that are added in the manufacturing of a food, like the white table sugar added to fruit to make jam, or the brown sugar in cookies and other baked goods.

Joining the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association, the FDA made its 10 percent recommendation for added sugars in order to help folks avoid developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity, which affects about one-third of American adults and roughly one in five children and teens. 

In theory, it’s a great guideline, Schmidt explained. Practically, it means youre going to have to figure out how much is best for you. The AHA says the 10 percent rule converts to no more than 100 calories of added sugar, or six teaspoons, for women, and no more than 150 calories of added sugar, or nine teaspoons, for men. 

For kids, those numbers are even lower. Preschoolers should eat no more than four teaspoons (16 grams), and children ages 4 to 8 should eat no more than three teaspoons (12 grams) a day. Finally, pre-teens and teens should eat no more than five to eight teaspoons (20 to 32 grams) of added sugar a day. 

Unfortunately, the average American eats much more sugar than whats currently proposed about 16 percent of daily calories come from added sugar, according to the FDA, and its really easy to go over the limit considering a normal treat like a 12-ounce can of soda has 10 teaspoons of added sugar. Thats more than any person should consume in one day. 

But if we can all get ourselves off the sugary drinks, we would be lowering our total sugar consumption, on a population level, by almost half. Dr. Laura Schmidt, sugar scientist

At TEDMED, a three-day conference focusing on health and medicine, we asked Schmidt, a professor of health policy, how we can cut down on sugar intake and create a healthier world for ourselves and our children.

Strategy 1: Stop buying sugary drinks.

Youve probably already heard this, and the rest of the U.S. is getting the message, too. Sales of soda are down more than 25 percent over the last 20 years, and sales of orange juice are down 40 percent since the late 90s. Schmidt says this should be the first step for anyone who wants to cut down on their added sugar intake: draw down slowly, and then use diet drinks if you have to in order to kick that final soda out of your life. As for juice, Schmidt suggested theres nothing healthier for kids than a piece of fruit and a glass of water.

For many people that can mean a lot of craving, and it can be hard, Schmidt said. But if we can all get ourselves off the sugary drinks, we would be lowering our total sugar consumption, on a population level, by almost half.”

Strategy 2: Get it out of your environment.

Schmidts research roots are in alcohol addiction, and she first began to get interested in the impact of sugar on diets when she learned one of the top reasons for liver transplants is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition linked to obesity and diabetes — not alcohol abuse. Consequently, although the research is out on whether sugar truly is an addictive substance in the traditionally scientific sense, Schmidt isnt afraid to use for sugary foods the same public health tactics she learned studying alcohol addiction. 

That means people who struggle with added sugar consumption should clear their pantries of sugary offenders and commit to stop buying them in the first place.

“We call it harm reduction in addition treatment, Schmidt explained. “If I were an alcoholic, I dont spend a lot of time in bars. If I have a soda problem, then I dont have it in my house, and I try to avoid contexts where its highly available. Practically, that means if you have the financial means, shop at a farmers market or supermarket, not corner store bodegas where sodas and other junk food are front and center of the display.

Strategy 3: Delay age of first consumption for kids.

Another principle straight out of addiction treatment is to delay the first time a child has a food or drink with a lot of added sugar, Schmidt explained.

The goal should be to delay the age at which a kid first has a soda.

The goal should be to delay the age at which a kid first has a soda, Schmidt. And a child does not need juice its better to give kids whole fruit or maybe blend fruit up in a smoothie.

The theory behind this tactic, just like the principles that encourage parents to delay a teens first cigarette, alcoholic drink or sexual experience, is that the child grows up enjoying the way they feel without that cigarette and beer, or makes more mature and informed sexual choices as a young adult. 

Schmidt said this idea shouldn’t be taken overboard — say, by telling all the parents in your social circle not to offer your kid soda — because it makes your child a pariah and that drink forbidden fruit. But your house, where kids spend most of their time, should be the healthiest environment it can possibly be.

Strategy 4: Be wary of foods that come in boxes, bags and cans.

Lets say youve kicked sugary drinks out of your kitchen and your everyday meals. The next step, said Schmidt, is to start hunting for that hidden sugar, usually found in highly processed foods that come in boxes, bags and cans. The more youre cooking from raw ingredients like whole foods, the less youre eating what Schmidt calls organijunk — snacks labeled organic, healthy or fortified with vitamins and nutrients, but full of hidden sugars.

Manufacturers have figured out that mothers know if sugar is in the first three listed ingredients, they dont buy it, Schmidt said. Now they just put 10 different kinds of sugar in the product.”

Be suspicious if a products ingredient list is long, she continued. Unless youre reading ingredients that you yourself would put in a homemade dish, dont buy it.

Strategy 5: Build a supportive community that cares about healthy eating.

Schmidt is impressed at how Crossfits company leadership united against selling sugary sports drinks at their gyms after an impartial review of the scientific evidence. She said she doesn’t know too much about the exercises that make up CrossFits core program, but she wishes other organizations — say hospitals, schools or workplaces — could have the same sense of responsibility toward community members. 

Thats whats cool about what CrossFit did; they said, if were about health, lets look into this and actually decide whether we should be advocating Gatorade for our people, Schmidt said. Thats where I think the health sector needs to go; the hospitals need to stop giving unhealthy food to patients, because its our responsibility.

In the same way, she said, you can create a community that celebrates healthy choices in your school, church or parent-teacher associations.

As a sociologist Ive always been told real social change comes from civil society, she concluded. When you look at these organized entities, together they could get together and form a social movement — and thats when Washington starts to listen.”

Strategy 6: Get politically active.

You might not think attending political meetings or donating to campaign finance reform causes is part of a healthier diet, but in fact these steps are actually the most vital to create change on a national level. Politicians often don’t make the decisions that are best for the health of their constituents because theyre in the pockets of big donors from the food industry, Schmidt explained. The sooner we can pass campaign finance reform, the sooner politicians can get back to advocating for the health of their communities instead of looking for ways to do their jobs while still appeasing their donors.

A special 2012 analysis by Reuters noted that some of Big Foods greatest lobbying accomplishments include getting Congress to declare pizza a vegetable so it could remain on cafeteria menus, defeating soda taxes in dozens of states and killing a plan to make foods marketed to kids healthier. 

The first thing we need to do is put pressure on our elected officials to stop taking money from corporations, and lobby our government agencies — the [National Institutes of Health], [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and every health organization — to stop, too said Schmidt. A lot of this is public information, so we should be using that to call people out.”

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/a-sugar-scientist-reveals-6-ways-to-kick-added-sugar-out/

[nchyinotes]

Alt-Age: Designing Belief

May 19 2018

https://designmuseum.org/whats-on/talks-courses-and-workshops/alt-age-designing-belief

Thoughts: I found the first session on conspiracy theories fascinating (because I knew nothing about it beforehand, and the Trump analysis was very cool too), I liked Daniel Keller’s crypto starter kit profiles (and he was super nice, I had a great conversation with him after his talk!), and I thought Timandra put an interesting perspective to data profiling.

Trumped Up: The President and Conspiracy Theories

DR CLARE BIRCHALL

which conspiratorial theories are successful and which fail at explaining contemporary ?

conspiracy theory: speculative story that fashions historical/contemporary events as outcome of a conspiratorial design. often sits at odds with official story. it asks who benefits, and points the finger.

Richard hofstadter’s paranoid style:

all of history is a conspiracy

perpetuates the idea that conspiracy theories are totally other and unhinged

clinical paranoia vs paranoid style

conspiracy theorists are naive people who can’t really engage in the public sphere because they’re so irrational and ??

fredric jameson: conspiracism is often a symptom of something else

marxist

narrative is a v flawed attempt to map out the ever elusive social totality

system of overwhelmingly subjugating and repressive landscape

conclusion is wrong - it’s the faceless system of capitalism that is to blame

doesn’t take the form the left wants politics to take

lived experience of social injustice gets turned into a conspiratorial narrative

historical precedent informs the turn to conspiracy as explanation

justified fear that black people have about the way black bodies have been used and abused (ie. tuscany syphilis study) - institutional supported

ie. impotence, AIDS

—> tools of resistance used to galvanise a community - this is their social function or cultural work that they do  (tanya??)

example of popular knowledge that puts on display undecidable nature of all knowledge. exaggerated version of modes of knowing. so share a lot with legitimised forms. risks showing us how all knowledge is ever theory, and legitimacy is conferred by mystical constructions. so this binary is drawn to secure our own position.

Trump

what kind of conspiracist is trump? He seeks to target and delegitimize three targets:

particular political opponents

institutions (liberal media, federal reserve)

any knowledge that threatens his interest (climate change)

trump’s style:

not as the sustained narrative that hofstader way, but uses conspiracist fragments to highlights gaps/doubts and dispenses with necessity of evidence.

never quite takes responsibility over theories, just repeats others.

“some people say”, “many people say”

meme friendly format

uses it as one tactic to disorientate and disarm

helpful ideas:

conspiracism can be employed for ideological reasons

conspiracism is often a symptom of something else

proliferation of conspiracy theories is due in part to fact that so many actual conspiracies have been uncovered during the 20th century

problematic ideas in age of trump

conspiracy theory is a pejorative term

identity of president, at white house, legitimises

conspiracy theories are tools of resistance for historically marginalised people

trump isn’t a minority lol

arise because it is not possible to limit interpretation or safeguard knowledge

idkkkk post truth era stuff

concept of fully agential, sovereign, cartesian individual who believes with their whole body and soul

fragments enter upon a thoroughly networked sphere, so they circulate virally

belief becomes distributed and exists within the network through method of circulation

belief without believers?

for many trump supporters, believing the theory may be of little importance. what builds is the impression of a figure that isn’t beholden to elitists, who says the unsayable. mode might be most important.

to understand role of trump here:

this isn’t the first time conspiracy theories have been expressed from positions of power but the info environment is different

languages of disenfranchisement can be mimicked and appropriated

must think about trump’s conspiracy fragments within whole range of post truth tactics

we might need to rethink the nature of belief in a digital, networked era

The Nouveaux Cryptoriche: A Consumer Profile

DANIEL KELLER

GINI coefficient - measurement of de/centralisation, all bitcoin and ethereum stuff is actually very centralised and unequal (wealth disparity of owner of wallets, etc)

within crypto: huge gender divide, white/male/millennials

all fairly libertarian and right wing in orientation - neo liberal logic that behaviour must be incentivised economically for anything altruistic to happen (ethereum, bitcoin, ripple)

motivation through economics = neoliberal + reactionary worldview

who are the cryptorich?

richest: white men, some asian men

starter kits: caleb, priscilla, andsprei, elijah, roger

PANEL DISCUSSION

With Daniel Keller and Michael Dieter. Chaired by Natalie Kane

spiritual/magical terminology in describing technology

manipulation as neglect (malice)?

no, intention in business model to maximise profits and attention, so no not neglect because its intentional

CA = great “accident” of this business model

mindless logic that goes into all the platforms we use today, addictive nature (brains have been completely rewired in the last 15 years)

digital dependency

neglect - politics of care ?

history of the whole science and technology studies being ignored

digital mindfulness - theres a genealogy to it

cyber culture + counterculture new ageisms

subversive tactics ?

florian kramer - subversive media

angela nagel - think of alt right in terms of subcultures and critiques of subculture theory

thinking more about continuities

platform capitalism fosters these communities - reaction of no platforming them? can further radicalise + alienate them

legitimate claim at being the alt bc of the monopoly on liberal terminology  

understanding truth is based on an understanding of what non truth is or are ?

forms of behavioural economics were embedded into platform design - promoting mode of behavioural design. tracking, nudges, in the context of business propositions.

tokenising all possible economic activity, market of IOT

politics of attention - extreme edgelord ism results on 4chan

critique of behavioural dimension on platforms as being very causal

by saying these mechanisms actually work and lead to addiction, there may be a chance to launch stronger critique against platform monopoly and get them to bear more responsibility for certain dynamics we associate with them

is this a mistake, bc do we really know to what extent these mechanisms actually work?

micro targeting

distracts us from thinking through what type of longer term social issues/conflicts/antagonisms are being manifest through these types of dynamics (algorithm is revealing something that’s natural, given too much credit for this stuff)

these things work we need to regulate them vs ^

deemphasising determining role software may have in this (is ignoring the possible slippery slope tho, negligence)

targeting: sub culture of people who feel like you’re be targeted + tracked constantly by government, mental health, communities that reinforce mental illness

philosophical regulation (speculative design theory) being seen as against innovation

level of ignorance they’re trying to preserve

reinvestment of desktop as focused productivity, minimise work dimensions of mobile devices (redesign of mobiles)?

people who aren’t on social media right now aren’t shaping the cultural discourse ? - national and international influence

foam space app - decentralised proof of location, micropayment constantly for that

steem it

conspiracy vs speculative design

hyperstition

epistemology of reductionism

Was It Big Data That Won It?

TIMANDRA HARKNESS

resources diverted by govt in targeting voters - 2 types of people, bc otherwise its a waste of time (ie. already have a strong affiliation + go out to vote)

daniel scarvaloni - obamas campaign

how politics ad targeting works now - tailor messages etc

profiling, data brokers, inferred data

easily misprofiled / inferring is not loads better than chance

we’re calling everyone else the “gullible fools”, we’re not the gullible fools

problem is this model of humanity - people that can be measured, predicted, nudged in ways (more complex lab rats) vs people with whom we have to engage

Beyond Belief: Being Converted in a Post-Truth Era

DR MICHAEL DIETER

digital well being strategies part of new behavioural design paradigm to deal with distraction, scandals

wellbeing.google

managing unconscious user and guiding them into habitual behaviours/habits even when it may actually be contradictory to their intentions

“conversion”: language

obfuscation is part of the business model

sleepwalking into new forms of exploitation

targeted if you share traits with other fragments of users (segregating into segments) - dominant ??? of captivation

james bridle + youtube as the great radicaliser - targeting children on youtube

UX conversion

alt right conversion

like attracts like

center for humane technology (humane tech.com)

new design politics to be articulated? realignment of tech with humanity’s best interests. who decides on what these interests will be? these structures or dependant on this type of behaviouralism.

paternalistic rather than exploitative nudging

Detecting Fake News and Misinformation: Spotting the Common Themes

BARNEY JACKSON (FACTMATA)

fake news spreads faster than true news

creating a quality score for content, to serve to advertising platforms

creating community driven AI, automated algorithms for detecting 5 things

author credibility, publisher credibility, headline analysis, ad/media analysis, content analysis

^ how did you come up with the criteria?

“toxic content”

hyperpartisanship

[apsbicepstraining]

How America Kills Black Men Without Lifting A Thumb

In 1996, hip-hop trio A Tribe Called Quest secreted Emphasized Out, the anecdote of a pitch-black human looking to remain rosy while dealing with the repercussions of his criminal record, trying to provide for his family, and doing his best to not be a casualty of place savagery. For many African-American soldiers, this narrativewhether in part or in fullis gospel. Environmental fears hinder African-American people in a everlasting position of fight-or-flight, and studies show that this chronic stress has led to health disparities, with diabetes being one of the most insidious.

Theres substantial manifestation to substantiate the environmental issues we live in has direct their effects on our health, supposes Rebecca Hasson, training exercises physiologist and administrator of the Childhood Disparities Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan.

About 13 percent of African-Americans age 20 and older ought to have diagnosed with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. About 9 percent of all Americans are diabetic, in agreement with the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. African-American beings are 1.7 times more likely than grey non-Hispanic beings to have diabetes.

When Protective Hormones Harm

Hassons receives point to cortisol, a steroid hormone generated by the adrenal glands, as a contributing factor in stress-related onslaughts of diabetes. Cortisol temporarily increases vigour yield required for immediate survivallike ranging from a birth, or escaping a home ardor. For the average person, cortisol ranks inaugurate high in the morning and taper off as the working day progressions, fluctuating appropriately. In African-American beings living in socioeconomically depressed communities, cortisol heights start and remain highthe digest is always chasing; the smoke detector always screeching.

Debra J. Barksdale, prof and associate dean of academic programs at Virginia Commonwealth Universitys School of Nursing, has been examining stress in African-American gentlemen for three decades. Like Hasson, she cites cortisol and its role in chronic stress, stating that its like having your stressors turned on all the time.

The fight-or-flight response is more of an acute action, she articulates. Whether its related to the pressures from culture, increased the possibility of being stopped by the authorities, trying to provide for their families or trying to find a job or sustain a job, when a stressor arises, “theres” physiological processes that occur in the brain that trigger the handout of cortisol. What we have found was in certain people who are constantly stressed, cortisol heights do not go down throughout the day. It will remain high.

The Broken Thermostat

When cortisol heights remain high without the presence of imminent hazard or without some physical pleasure to offset the effects of chronic stress, Type 2 diabetes is a possibility the consequence. According to the American Diabetes Association, higher cortisol outcomes in higher insulin defiance, obliging the pancreas to produce more insulin to get a reaction. With ongoing insulin fight, the insulin-producing beta cadres wear off, making Type 2 diabetes.

Briana Mezuk is an associate professor in the divide of epidemiology at VCU who has studied the relationship between stress and blood sugar. She explains it this acces TAGEND

Think of stress like a red-hot summer period. Your thermostat has to keep working harder and harder to keep your live cool. Eventually, it cant get the temperature back down to where you miss it anymore; it cant get back down to 68 degrees. It is simply get down to 69 grades,( because) the organizations of the system is worn out. Sixty-nine degrees is not bad, but then it stops sneaking up and eventually the body isnt able to respond because its chronically initiated. Those are the kinfolks who are going to be more likely to progress to diabetes, she says.

Mezuk spouses with the YMCA of Greater Richmonds diabetes limit and diabetes prevention programs. The diabetes ensure program facilitates adults living with Type 2 by providing education, carry and maintenance management. The diabetes prevention planned is for those at risk for Type 2 diabetes. They learn how to acquire lifestyle changes to reduce their chances of developing the disease.

Know Your Status

Learning to identify and manage stress positively is the first step to a healthier aftermath. That is also possible usage, playing in servicemen athletics conferences, practising yoga, or seeking talk care. If no change follows, African-American humen run threats to epidemic levels of diabetes diagnoses5 0 percentby 2050, according to the diabetes association.

Caroline Fornshell, a registered dietitian and diabetes fitness and nutrition expert in Williamsburg, calls those who catch the disease before its onset the lucky ones.

They are the ones that got the telling-off. So often, people are walking around with undiagnosed full-fledged diabetes, and so it is really an exciting opportunity for individuals who find out they have pre-diabetes to take control, she says.

Pre-diabetics can exercise more and assessing their food. They likewise should increase stress, get the proper quantities of sleep and seek out supportings, whether the government has through a program or even some sort of wellness chum, speaks Fornshell.

Mezuk fosters African-Americans who think theyre at risk due to family history or who live with chronic stress to consult a physician. Many humen dont are well aware that they have the disease and when left untreated, it can lead to a multitude of other health problems, including hypertension, heart disease and kidney failurethree more plights that African-American humen stand at higher charges than their grey and Latino counterparts.

Its really scared to go to the doctor[ and was discovered that you have] diabetes. Beings call it denialabetes for a conclude. People dont want to believe that theyre sick, announces Mezuk. But there is good information. We can take what we are learning about how stress and depression feign the body and actually make that into improved health for parties in terms of managing this statu better and hopefully being able to prevent this circumstance better.

Originally published in Richmond Magazine

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