#what the first article could be in german but the second couldn't?

[aliksims]

And of course it wouldn't be the Holidays without a few extra Holiday-themed decor recolors (goodness knows there's enough in the catalog). First is this lovely tiny candle stand. The tiny wooden arms on the right were super annoying to track down and NOT recolor, but I did it because I love you. And me.

This comes in all 110 colors of the AKS Object Rainbow 4 (1). A few colors/actions are borrowed from others; each individually packaged recolor file is labeled with the original creator, palette, and name, but it’s all abbreviated so check the included documentation to fill in the missing letters.

If you would like all 110 recolors individually packaged, you can download them here: http://simfil.es/4302905/

If you would like all 110 recolors in 1 package, you can download it here: http://simfil.es/4302906/

The preview picture, swatches, and color info are included with both downloads. I own nothing so you can’t sell it. :)

(1): https://aliksims.tumblr.com/post/713353318051856384/

[concerningwolves]

god I'm reading Devon Price's latest substack essay on burnout, and it's.. it's confirming and crystallising something that I've suspected for a long time, actually.

See, all throughout school, I would have days – roughly every month or so, sometimes two months – where I became Unwell. The symptoms never really fit anything, but I'd be exhausted, irritable, headachey, sometimes feeling kind of feverish. Most importantly, i'd just Know that I couldn't cope with school that day. I can remember these starting in middle school and getting more frequent and pressing into high school. When I did take the day off, I'd watch TV or films and sleep a lot, and then by the evening – if it wasn't a weekend night – I'd be in this weird place of feeling rested but also crushingly anxious with the knowledge that i'd just be back at school tomorrow. Holidays weren't truly restful either, except for maybe the middle two weeks of the six-week summer break. The two week Christmas and Easter breaks? I'd start to feel a bit better towards the end of the first week, then the dread would build up again throughout the second week. By my GCSEs, I couldn't keep up my academic drive, so I picked the subjects I most wanted to do well in (English, German, Biology, and History + maths because I needed to pass it so I could be done with it), focused my revision on those, and coasted by with perfunctory revision on the other seven subjects. It's honestly shocking to me that I got a full 12 GCSEs. People tell me that my results were good, and I know that logically they're right, but it took me a long time to be proud of them because I always knew that I hadn't really tried. It took me even longer to accept that if I had given every subject my all, it probably would have broken me.

As it was, I made it into my first term of college before I hit breaking point. Three A Levels (English lang & lit, history, psychology), dreams of a career in psychology or psychiatry, writing in all my spare time. I'd been very mentally unwell all through high school, but I'd always imagined that college would be my escape. First I was going to study philosophy, history, and English literature – but then that college had to drop the philosophy course. My next chosen college was an incredibly competitive college that held students to very high standards. I had the grades to get in, and I was dithering between a selection from English literature, history, classical studies, sociology, philosophy, or psychology. But I never made it in, because I missed the induction day. Students who missed the induction day automatically forfeited their placement. In hindsight, that was the first warning, but instead I felt wretched for a few days, then decided, fuck it, I was going to my final last choice college instead.

And in less than six months, I had an absolute breakdown. Anyone who was following me circa 2018 may remember the fallout. Skill regression. Low mood. Weeks spent just watching Supernatural or sleeping. Panic attacks. I never truly got my feet back under me. I dropped down to one a level and abandoned all thoughts of university, and scraped by college until I could just get out of there.

And reading this article, looking back at the trajectory of my life since 2018, it's... Eye-opening, to say the least. I don't know if I'm recovered or still recovering, or adjusting to my new baseline, nearly seven years later. Sometimes I wonder if an autism diagnosis earlier might have helped – might have given me the language and the tools to understand what was happening to me on all of those Unwell Days. So I grieve for that potential. I don't hate my life now, it's just.... I have to wonder, you know? What might have been. Could I have caught the burnout sooner? Headed it off? I don't know. I can't know. all I've got is where I'm at now, which is certainly something to be proud of, because I made it, even if I'm not anywhere near what's "normal" or "expected" of a 23 year old. and I have my whole life ahead of me yet. 23 years is nothing, in the grand scheme of things. Remembering that is always a balm.

But still I wonder. I grieve. It's hard not to.

[jackoshadows]

The Return of Ta-Nehisi Coates

A decade after "The Case for Reparations," he is ready to take on Israel, Palestine, and the American media.

It is in the last of these long, interconnected essays that Coates aims for the sort of paradigm shift that first earned him renown when he published "The Case for Reparations" in The Atlanticin 2014, in which he staked a claim for what is owed the American descendants of enslaved Africans. This time, he lays forth the case that the Israeli occupation is a moral crime, one that has been all but covered up by the West. He writes, "I don't think I ever, in my life, felt the glare of racism burn stranger and more intense than in Israel."

He was astonished by the plain truth of what he saw: the walls, checkpoints, and guns that everywhere hemmed in the lives of Palestinians; the clear tiers of citizenship between the first-class Jews and the second-class Palestinians; and the undisguised contempt with which the Israeli state treated the subjugated other. For Coates, the parallels with the Jim Crow South were obvious and immediate: Here, he writes, was a "world where separate and unequal was alive and well, where rule by the ballot for some and the bullet for others was policy." And this world was made possible by his own country: "The pushing of Palestinians out of their homes had the specific imprimatur of the United States of America. Which means that it had my imprimatur."

That it was complicated, he now understood, was "horseshit.""Complicated" was how people had described slavery and then segregation. "It's complicated," he said, "when you want to take something from somebody."

What matters to Coates is not what will happen to his career now — to the script sales, invitations from the White House, his relationships with his former colleagues at The Atlantic and elsewhere. "I'm not worried," he told me, shrugging his shoulders. "I have to do what I have to do. I'm sad, but I was so enraged. If I went over there and saw what I saw and didn't write it, I am fucking worthless."

The first inkling that Coates might want to write about Israel came around the time he was leaving The Atlantic. He was partly spurred by criticism he'd received over a passage in "The Case for Reparations" in which he cited reparations paid by the German government to the State of Israel after the Holocaust as a potential model. "We did an event when 'Case for Reparations' came out, at a synagogue in D.C., and I remember there was a woman who got on the mic and yelled about the role of Palestinians in that article," he told me. "And I couldn't quite understand what she was saying. I mean, I heard her, but I literally could not understand it. She got shouted down. And I've thought about that a lot, man. I've thought about that a lot." It hadn't occurred to him that Israel might itself be in the debt of a population that it had oppressed, a blind spot that remains a source of regret to this day. "I should have asked more questions," he told me. "I should have done more. I should have looked around and said, 'Do we have anybody Palestinian who's going to read this before we print it?'"

On the ground in the occupied territories, he saw the segregated roads, the soldiers with their American-made weapons, the surveillance cameras, and the whole archipelago of impoverished ghettos. "I felt a mix of astonishment, betrayal, and anger," he writes. "The astonishment was for me — for my own ignorance, for my own incuriosity … The betrayal was for my colleagues in journalism — betrayal for the way they reported, for the way they'd laundered ethnic cleansing, for the voices they'd erased. And the anger was for my own past — for Black Bottom, for Rosewood, for Tulsa — which I could not help but feel being evoked here."

One of his first encounters with the Israeli state is a soldier stopping him on the street to ask him his religion, a confusing question for an atheist. It becomes clear that if he does not give the correct answer — "Jew," "Christian," anything but "Muslim" — he will not be allowed to pass. "On that street so far from home," he writes, "I suddenly felt that I had traveled through time as much as through space. For as sure as my ancestors were born into a country where none of them was the equal of any white man, Israel was revealing itself to be a country where no Palestinian is ever the equal of any Jewish person anywhere."

In Coates's eyes, the ghost of Jim Crow is everywhere in the territories. In the soldiers who "stand there and steal our time, the sun glinting off their shades like Georgia sheriffs." In the water sequestered for Israeli use — evidence that the state had "advanced beyond the Jim Crow South and segregated not just the pools and fountains but the water itself." In monuments on sites of displacement and informal shrines to mass murder, such as the tomb of Baruch Goldstein, who gunned down 29 Muslims in a mosque in 1994, which recall "monuments to the enslavers" in South Carolina. And in the baleful glare of the omnipresent authority. "The point is to make Palestinians feel the hand of occupation constantly," he writes. And later: "The message was: 'You'd really be better off somewhere else.'"

By the time Coates returned to New York, Palestine was his obsession. Right away, he began sending work and research to group chats of various friends. "You wake up and Ta-Nehisi has overnight written four different walls of text and posted three different e-book screenshots and highlighted things," Ewing told me. "We have probably talked about Palestine pretty much every day since returning." Later that summer, just after he returned to the U.S., Coates introduced himself to the Palestinian American historian Rashid Khalidi at Columbia, who invited Coates and his wife to dinner to discuss his trip. "I think he felt that he had been conned," Khalidi told me. "And I think he felt he had to — I don't think atone is the right word, but make up for what he had mistakenly believed." So Coates began his education in earnest with Khalidi guiding him through the literature in a running dialogue that lasted months. It was a process not dissimilar to his preparation for "The Case for Reparations": Coates leaned on friends, family, and experts, Jews and Arabs and others, to stress-test and expand his ideas. "He's a very public learner," Ewing said.

While The Atlantic has certainly published some dissenting views in these areas, the central pillars of its perspective are unshakable. In November 2023, as Israeli forces were beginning their decimation of Gaza, Yair Rosenberg predicted that a new moral authority in Israel would rise from the rubble of Netanyahu's failures. Amid news of Israel bombarding schools and hospitals, the magazine's April cover story, by Franklin Foer, claimed that the left's sympathetic response to the October 7 attack had augured the end of "a golden age" for Jews in America. In May, in an article quibbling with the U.N.'s estimate of the death toll in Gaza, Graeme Wood wrote, "It is possible to kill children legally, if for example one is being attacked by an enemy who hides behind them." When Hamas murdered six Israeli hostages in late August, Foer wrote a wrenching obituary for one of the victims, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, treatment that is rarely afforded to Palestinians who have been killed in the conflict. And as student protests against the ongoing assault on Palestinian civilians took hold across the U.S., The Atlantic applied a full-court press: The demonstrations were "heartless" (David Frum), "oppressive" (Michael Powell), "threatening" (Judith Shulevitz).

[pollymorgan]

Oh my God, how embarrassing... I did it and translated my German fanfiction into English... into bad English! Don't be too harsh on me, but rather make suggestions for improvement: So now a little phone sex with Coach Negan. 🙈😌

Warnings: arrogant Negan, frustrated woman, explicit phone sex

Today is one of those days again, where nothing seems to work as it should. Just like so often lately. Why couldn't I transfer those damn photos to the laptop? I've never been very tech-savvy, but the modern world practically forced me to. I'm actually a cookbook author and used to be quite successful with it. Some of my books were bestsellers and I even had my own cooking segment on a nationally broadcasted morning show. But then I was suddenly replaced by a younger, "cooler" colleague and ever since then, I've been struggling to keep afloat with social media, more or less. If only the technology would cooperate..

Even in my personal life, I have been replaced. Four months ago, my husband left us. By us, I mean my three children and me. After 19 years of marriage. But love goes where it goes, right? Nothing can be done against that. At least, those were his words when he got into his Porsche with a blonde woman who could be his daughter and disappeared.

Since then, he has managed to do something with his children exactly twice. But in exchange, he has already disappointed them seven times by canceling the meetings at short notice. Yes, I'm keeping count. At least for now.

My oldest daughter Penny is 15 years old and fully immersed in puberty, and it seems that this situation is hardest on her. She and her father were always a unit, his little princess. But there's no trace of that at the moment. Most of the time, he doesn't even bother to answer his damn phone when she tries to reach him.

I see her suffering. She's lost interest in school, and her circle of friends is dwindling visibly. I would love to help her, but how? At the moment, I just can't seem to reach her. Our communication mostly consists of doors slamming.

But back to my current problem. These damn pictures! The article is supposed to go online today. I cooked an Indian dish and had to drive halfway across town to get these damn spices. Thursdays always bring an international post, and now, of all times, nothing is working again. My laptop doesn't recognize the memory card, and the camera won't connect either. I keep plugging and unplugging the cable, hoping the error will magically resolve. Which of course it doesn't. Suddenly, I glance at the small display in the lower right-hand corner. Damn it! So late. I won't be picking up the kids on time again, the second time this cursed week. Annoyed, I close the screen. Grabbing my purse, I walk quickly to the garage. Where's the damn car key? Nervously, I rummage through my chaotic bag, spilling half of its contents on the floor. Finally finding it, I get into the car and speed out of the driveway.

The first stop is the kindergarten to pick up my youngest. She's a real bundle of nerves, but so sweet that you can forgive her anything. Of course, she throws a tantrum right at pickup. It's a real struggle to get her into the car. Like a madwoman, I drive on to the elementary school to pick up my 9-year-old son. He is the calm one in our family and thankfully waits with his best friend relaxed in front of the school. At least one who's not mad at me. Lucky me. And off we go, heading to my daughter's high school. From a distance, I can see her and immediately know that - once again - something is wrong. She stands all alone and pretty annoyed on the street, looking out for me. When I park the car right in front of her feet, she angrily drops onto the passenger seat.

"Penny, I can explain, you know what a loser I am when it comes to technology..." I try to justify myself.

My eldest rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Mum, this time, for once, it's not your fault..." I see tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and automatically, I feel a lump in my throat.

"Mister Smith... he..."

She doesn't need to continue speaking; just hearing that name fills me with such anger again. Right from the start, there have been issues with her physical education teacher, Negan Smith.

I've only seen him twice so far, at parent-teacher conferences, but Penny's stories are enough for me to know that he's an absolute failure as a teacher. He has his favorites whom he praises to the skies, while the less athletic students suffer under his authoritarian ways. My daughter already feels uncomfortable in her own skin, and that jerk doesn't even realize the impact his remarks have on the young girls.

A few years ago, his wife passed away from cancer. A terrible tragedy, but apparently that did not make him more empathetic; quite the opposite.

I'm currently looking in the rearview mirror to avoid hitting anyone in the chaos outside the school. That's all I need on this crappy day. Then I catch sight of none other than Penny's physical education teacher.

"Isn't that him?" I ask excitedly.

My daughter buries her face even further into the backpack in her lap. "Yes, Mom, it's okay, please just drive..."

The anger that had been building up recently had just found a good release.

With the words "Nothing is good...", I yank open my driver's door and head purposefully towards my daughter's physical education teacher, who is just stowing his bag in his car.

"Who do you think you are?" I stand behind him with arms crossed, eagerly awaiting his reaction.

Confused, he turns around to face me and suddenly a big grin spreads across his face. "Negan Smith, nice to meet you, and who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

What a cocky jerk!

"The mother of a rather offended young girl, because of you..."

Can't he just drop his arrogant smile for once? Quite unimpressed, he closes the door of his car.

"Penny has so much potential and she's wasting it on the damn bench..."

Such an idiot, he clearly knows who I am.

"Maybe you should listen to the young students as well, instead of just spouting off random remarks at them?"

Amused, he shakes his head. "I did... her excuse for skipping today's P.E. class was menstrual cramps..."

"And in your opinion that's not a valid reason or what? How dare you even pass judgment on that? Your students' bodies are going through changes and such discomforts should be taken seriously..." I respond a bit too loudly, causing some students to turn towards us.

Resigned, he raises his hands. "Of course, but not every damn other week. Maybe you should give your daughter some biology lessons again and explain to her that her P.E. teacher isn't completely from another planet."

Oh God, what does this man think he is..

"And you should work on your teaching skills... Otherwise, maybe I should consider contacting the school board!"

„Oh wow, you're actually a bigger drama queen than your dear daughter!".

Did he really just say that? Did he just seriously insult me? My daughter's teacher. I look at him in disbelief, but he just grins.

"And now she's quiet... I really have to go now, but I'm pretty sure we'll meet again soon." With these words, he jumps into his car and drives off.

Completely perplexed, I walk back to my car and am greeted by my daughter with the words "That was soooo embarrassing.."

7 hours later

Finally peace! Why does it always have to be such a struggle to get the kids to bed? Isn't it unfair that you are a thousand times more tired than the dear little ones? What a crappy day! I'm glad to be freshly showered in my bed and finally have some time off. Just me and my phone, no one else. No more whining, arguing, and crying. As much as I sometimes curse technology, I also love being able to connect with people over the internet. It's fun to respond to comments, the direct exchange with like-minded people is the only positive thing about social media. As I scroll through Instagram, I suddenly see comments coming in at a rapid pace. Confused, I open them. From "Do you always look so good when you cook?" to "Can you cook that for me sometime?" to heart emojis, and they all come from the same account. As I read the name, a shock runs through me. Can this be for real? "Coach Negan" is he not only a tactless asshole, but also a real psychopath? Excited, I click on his account, but apart from a profile picture where he is clearly recognizable, there is no further information.

I quickly open the messaging function and type "What is this???" into my phone. It only takes a few seconds and I receive a response.

"I am a fan 😉"

For a while, I stare at the screen, unable to believe what is happening here.

Suddenly, he sends me a picture. I open it and see a photo of me from my highlights, showing me from my post "Valentine's Day." I had cooked a three-course meal and written a pretty cheesy text back then. It's one of my most liked posts.

"Red lipstick suits you. Matches your fiery nature.." he writes.

What does he want to achieve? Did the confrontation before school hurt him so much that he is trying to provoke me? But to be honest, it seems like he's the one giving me a warning. Well, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the best defense is a good offense.

"Oh, do you think so? Most men say I look better without wearing anything...I mean, without lipstick, of course.. 😉".

"Are you already in bed?" he asks next. What a bizarre situation? Why does my daughter's teacher want to know where I am? The same teacher who called me a ‚drama queen‘ just a few hours ago.

I keep trying to type a suitable response on my phone and then delete it again. Finally, I write briefly, "Yes, and you?"

"Yes, and I'm studying your profile. Do you realize how crazy you can drive a man with these pictures? Why am I even asking, of course you do. 😉"

The feeling of small electric shocks runs through my body. The whole thing feels strangely forbidden. Maybe what I'm doing here is damn wrong, but right now, the consequences seem pretty irrelevant to me.

"How mean, you can look at my pictures, but you don't have any online yourself."

"That's true, but how about you hear my voice instead?" Attached to this message was his phone number. Okay, this is all moving pretty quickly, in a pretty strange direction. I'm so excited that I can feel my heart pounding wildly in my chest. But what do I have to lose? I haven't felt like this in the last 20 years. Okay, it's a damn bizarre situation, but I'm an adult and single. So I can finally talk to whoever I want. Even with the biggest jerk I've come across lately.

Feeling totally tense, I dial the number and as it rings, it gets even worse. I take a few deep breaths, and suddenly the deep voice on the other end answers with a "What took you so long to decide?" and I can practically feel his grin.

"Well, I had to think for a moment about what would be so sensible about calling my daughter's narcissistic gym teacher in the middle of the night," I say calmly.

"And what would be sensible about that?" he asks with interest.

"I haven't really found a solid reason yet, but maybe you can tell me?"

He thinks for a moment, and I imagine him lying in his bed. A slight tingling sensation spreads in my stomach, which is intensified by his response.

"Well, I can make sure you feel a little better... forget all the everyday crap that's weighing on your pretty shoulders right now."

I briefly close my eyes to focus more on his voice, which really manages to relax me a bit with just that simple sentence.

"And how do you plan to do that?" I ask softly.

"When was the last time you were really well fucked?" As soon as he says it, my lower abdomen tightens, and I automatically press my legs together.

After I take a moment to collect myself, I honestly respond, "That was much too long ago..."

"Oh, poor girl," Negan provocatively replies, but instead of getting upset about it, it triggers completely different feelings in me. "Tell me about what you imagine when you stroke your lonely pussy at night."

I have to swallow briefly to get rid of the extremely dry feeling in my throat.

"I can tell you what I think about when I do it in a moment..." I say softly but firmly.

And his tone changes too. His breathing becomes heavier. "Then tell me, come on," he commands.

"I imagine it's your fingers running over my body and finally sliding my panties to the side and penetrating deep into me..." My cheeks feel like they're glowing. I've never talked like this with anyone before, and now I just did it with a man who is actually a stranger to me.

"Come on, sweetheart... touch yourself for me and tell me if you're wet," he interrupts.

Without thinking, I click on the speaker icon on my display and place the phone next to me on the pillow, then I slide my right hand under my nightgown into my panties and I'm surprised at how aroused I already am, how swollen my clit is, and how sensitive my whole intimate area has become. I sigh softly.

"Fuck, the sweet little sounds you're making... they make my damn cock twitch in my hand with joy..."

Just the thought that he's so aroused by me on the other end sends waves of pleasure through my body.

"I'm already so wet because of you, Negan..." I admit breathlessly.

"You dirty, pretty lady, if I were with you right now, I would slowly penetrate deep into you... you need that now, don't you?"

"Yes!" I can only whisper.

"Okay, now do everything exactly as I tell you, understood?" he demands.

"Yes, please tell me what to do.." I focus solely on his voice, completely tuning out everything else.

"Take off your panties. Use your index and middle fingers to gently stroke over your mons pubis and then slowly over your outer labia, but not more, just right there.."

Immediately, I follow his instructions. The air feels cool on my bare lower abdomen. I feel strangely exposed, even though I am alone in my bedroom, but it's not uncomfortable, quite the opposite. I begin to caress myself gently.

"How does that feel?" his voice breaks the silence again.

"Good, but I want more.." I plead.

"I already knew that.. Bend your legs and spread them wide.. as far as you can.." He gives me a brief moment to comply with his instructions. "Now push your pelvis even further forward.. Imagine I'm between your legs and you want to present me with your beautiful pussy, you would like that, wouldn't you?"

"Yes.." I say and nod vigorously, even though no one can see me.

"Such a good girl.. and now run your index finger through your slit, spread your juices.."

I can't and don't want to hold back my moans now. There is silence for a while at the other end, then I speak heavily.

"Are you also pleasuring your cock for me?" I ask as I continue to touch myself.

"Oh, sweetheart, so your thoughts are currently only about that.." he says snappily. "Yes, I am, and if you keep moaning so sweetly into the phone, it won't be long, so it's time for you to start massaging your clit, but don't be too timid, circle it with two fingers and use some pressure, even if you're very sensitive now, you can take it.."

Oh God, that was exactly what I needed right now. My body felt like in ecstasy and I could feel the orgasm slowly building up.

"Don't come yet," he commanded, and on cue, I immediately removed my fingers from my most sensitive spot.

"Now, bring your knees close to your body!“

"Yes," I replied, completely exhausted. "You're doing it perfectly, how much I would love to see you in this position right now, just the damn thought!" I could clearly hear him softly moaning. This sound made my body twitch with excitement.

"Penetrate yourself with two fingers... nice and slow. Focus entirely on the feeling of stretching your pussy wide... Tell me when you're all the way in!"

"Now," I whispered, already quite spent.

"Then add your ring finger, once you've done that, you can come intensely as a reward, I promise."

Slowly, I press the third finger into me, which initially causes a bittersweet pull, but I'm so wet that it's not a problem.

Without me telling him, Negan knows that I fulfilled his request.

"So perfect, sweetheart! And now, pleasure your clit! Bring yourself to climax and don't hold back any sound, I want to hear every sweet noise from you."

With the first gentle touch, my body twitches like crazy.

"Negan, please come with me," I stammer into the phone.

"Yes, I promise, beautiful," he replies breathlessly.

And these words are enough for me to come as intensely as I haven't in the past years. My thighs tremble uncontrollably and my heart almost jumps out of my chest. My lower abdomen contracts in waves and I can barely breathe. It feels like I am weightless for a few seconds.

"Do you feel good?" he asks after a short pause.

"Perfect.." I reply and can't gather my thoughts yet.

"Okay, then I expect you tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. for a parent-teacher meeting at the school, and, by the way, without panties.. Good night!" After these words, I only hear a beep on the line.

[geekyglot]

Um, basically I've got ADD? And bilingualism was not my actual goal when I started studying German.

I grew up wanting to learn multiple languages, and I completely blame Steven Spielberg for this influence (just watch Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to see what I mean), but reading a biography about Lady Jane Grey didn't hurt. Unfortunately, the only language taught at my podunk high school was Spanish and I didn't really do very well studying languages from a textbook. Language learning got put on the back burner until I revisited it in college.

My second to last semester of uni, I developed bell's palsy. There was an infection in my right ear which compressed the nerve that communicates between my right brain and the right side of my face for all movement. As a result, the right side of my face was frozen for about six weeks but, even more frustratingly, I lost the ability to write and speak at my normal level of intelligibility and developed aphasia within a day or two of this beginning.

(If you're wondering what kind of aphasia, it was Anomic with some mild Broca's thrown in there for good measure.)

As an English major with an emphasis in Writing and Editing, I was accustomed to writing a lot and often! I would usually write 4 pages within an hour, but with the aphasia, it was suddenly more like 1 page in 4 hours. I also couldn't taste food as well as usual, speak clearly (my lips and tongue were also partially paralyzed), do kakuro puzzles anymore, would start falling asleep if I tried to write, and would find myself typing the wrong homophone for the sentence at hand (I had been on top of homophones since elementary school). I had a headache the entire time, and what I think the why of this really was is my brain going into overdrive, screaming down language connections, trying to find any way possible to reestablish a connection with my face, and, in the process, it damaged or overwrote some of my language connections (math and piano skills were affected by this as well as it turned out).

I never really spoke to an expert about my sudden issues, but I was taking a glorified speech class at the time called Linguistic Systems in Linguistic Diversity. I think it was in my reading for that class that I discovered that there are typically a limited number of connections between the left and right hemispheres of your brain, but if you are bi- or multi- lingual you develop more connections. Or maybe it's broader connections? (This all happened twelve years ago, so I don't have that article at hand.) But basically, the more languages you know, the more connections and the better your brain hemispheres can communicate and (most importantly) retrieve information.

I also found out that the way we file words away in our head is by sound, which is why I would reach for a word and, mid-conversation or mid-typing, would get this feeling of:

*I know this word, it means X and sounds similar to Y*

...but I would not be able to retrieve the word I was searching for. It felt like running into an impenetrable wall. My thesaurus function was working but I had lost my access to the word database. This is because one language feature (how a word sounds) happens on one side of the brain and the other language feature (what a word means) happens in the other.

I gradually grew more skilled at finding synonyms more quickly, and my speech improved eventually so that no one notices, and I don't always fall asleep when I start writing fiction anymore, but all of this still happens to me! It's just to a lesser extent. I still come to a halt mid-stride and am not able to recall specialized terms, names, or the word that I want to use.

It was my effort to recover from my aphasia is what led me to finally pursue learning multiple languages! I also did crosswords and sudoku at first, which I have to admit was very frustrating because I could do them, but just like with the writing, not at my former level of speed and accuracy. I do not think I will ever fully recover the level of skill I had before the Bell's Palsy when it comes to writing, grammar, vocabulary, and... I can't find the word I'm looking for! Let's just say analytical and persuasive ability.

I would like to be fluent in multiple languages someday, but the reason I am learning German, and Spanish, and Scottish Gaelic, and dabbling in other languages is not only about my love or travel or even my Bell's Palsy. It's something I enjoy studying: even when I hit roadblocks when it comes to learning certain new concepts! I think one of the issues is that my brain has never gotten to the point where I start thinking or dreaming in my target language; my brain sees languages as a puzzle or a code with a 1:1 exchange in meaning that simply does not always exist. So I am still trying to break through a barrier that prevents me from reaching the level of fluency that I desire.

something i've been curious about lately: for those of you with many target languages, what is your motivation / reasoning behind learning so many at once? i've always been one to have only just a few, so i'm really interested in hearing your perspectives

[letswrites]

Piece of art- SHM

Inspired on "See through by The Band CAMINO"

Listen to it here:

He never had any problems in keeping himself on the line. He could date if he wanted to, but no one really caught his attention or made his heart pump faster than play a full-time football match in a bursting stadium, with a whole crowd screaming his name in a perfect chore. So, he picked football because, well, it made adrenaline run through his veins. But since he laid his eyes on her, damn, he felt something. Something he refused to give attention to. Something he refused to try to figure out what it was. A "something" that he liked to feel, even secretly, just for himself. That little something. She made a joy grows in him (and not only in his pants), when she was around, even when she was just saying or doing some shit with Del or mocking him and laughing with them. And smiling (his personal favorite one). Which was delightful to see, it warmed his body from bottom till the top. But she never gave him a tip, never looked at him and tried to flirt, even both being single, even both feeling a sparkle on their chests...

Matchday:

She was focused on her computer, editing some stuff she wrote, completely focused and completely lost inside her own mind. He was looking at her, his hands tucked into his pockets, standing at the stands just observing the girl tapping the keyboard of the MacBook. She suddenly stopped, chewed a fingertip that was resting on her face a second ago, and sighed before mumbling "it's not working...". He barely know her, but he knew that seeing her like that wasn't something that made him happy. It took a few minutes more but she noticed him "oh... hi! Sorry I haven't see you there before, I am a bit distracted, as you can see" he smiled "no, no. Is fine" she smiled too "so, what's up? What's the trouble?" "Hum... No troubles, I... Just saw you there and wanted to say hello, but you looked so concentrated that I didn't want to get in the middle" she smiled again "you're so sweet" he blushed "are you going to watch the game or just want to see Dele? Cause I can find him for you" "no! Actually, I..." she looked at the computer screen again and her mind started to work again. Wasn't fair that she caught everyone's attention but catching hers was the most difficult thing to do. He sighed, frustrated "I will let you do your stuff in peace. See you around" she was losing him "Son, wait!" he stopped and looked at her, her eyes on him for the first time since he came there "I am so sorry, is just..." she took a deep breath "yes, I will watch the game. Don't need to look for Del, thanks" he half smiled "okay" "why don't you sit here so we can talk?" she tapped the seat next to her and how could he say no? So he walked towards her and sat at her side "well, what is so interesting that you couldn't give me a bit of attention?" she looked at him, blushed "I..." "I am just teasing you" he smiled "well, I am embarrassed. You deserve more attention." he blushed "But, I am writing this report to present to my chief editor and if he likes it, I will get this whole article just for myself. But I can't find the last piece that completes the puzzle" "wow! Huge, no?" "Enormous" her eyes ran through the words "what is the report about?" "Is confidential, you can't know" "I do! Come on!" "Fine. Is about Brian May" "who?" she looked at him, incredulous "you don't know who is Brian May?" "It's not a very common name" "he is Queen's guitarist, man! Or was" "alright, alright! What about him in your article?" "I interviewed him by the phone and he talked about his career and some never-told-before things about the Queen and Freddie" "oh! That sounds interesting... right?" she shook her head and chuckled "didn't you learn anything about it at high school?" "I was struggling to learn German watching a talking sponge when I was a teenager" she laughed "sorry" "is funny" "but seriously you need more culture" "maybe you can teach me" she felt the flirter content on his words "yeah, anytime, just tell me and I will teach you about anything I know" "you seems to know about a lot of things" she arched an eyebrown "I do" she was finally flirting, he couldn't believe "what would you teach me?" she stared at his smiling lips, she never noticed how inviting it was before "arts" "I like art. What kind of art?" "How much geometrically perfect our lips seems to fit on the other and how it would be if they were in contact" he blinked "The mixture of colors would be so balanced and full of harmony" she moved her gaze to his eyes, none of them believing in what she just said "sorry, guess my thoughts were a little too loud" she blushed and he chuckled, running his fingertips through her delicate and soft skin from her cheek to her chin and neck, tilting his head next and moving it closer to kiss her, doing exactly what her words described. A true piece of art.

[rigelmejo]

An interesting bit from the Listening Reading Method article http://users.bestweb.net/~siom/martian_mountain/!%20L-R%20the%20most%20important%20passages.htm#What_you_expetct_if , since I'm rereading it:

---

I read a page in Polish, I listened to German and looked at the German text, I paid attention to the meaning, grammar, and letters-phonemes correspondence.

Then another page, and so on, until the end of the book. I understood almost everything.

It was the first day.

The second day:

I only read in Polish and listened to the German reader and the same time. I understood everything.

The third day – I only listened to the German reader. I understood almost everything.

I worked ten to twelve hours a day. I made 15-minute breaks every 45 minutes. I did some physical exercises.

I had three meals a day. I slept eight hours a day. I was healthy.

And then I tested myself:

I took a recording in German – it was The Snow Queen by Andersen. I hadn’t read the story before, so I knew nothing about it. And... I understood it...

I noticed something very interesting about intensive L-R (and then natural listening) – after a while (two-four weeks, 10-15 hours a day), speaking (and writing for languages with alphabet) come naturally, there are only two conditions to activate the skills, phonetic training and repeating after the recording here and there while listening to something you understand and enjoy.

ONE MORE THING:

if you’re unable to attach the (or at least some) meaning from what you’ve just read to what you’re LISTENING to, you cannot say it is L-R. I would consider it pointless.

Let me say it once more: L-R is not mechanical.

If you know hardly anything about the language, the first 3 to 5 hours need to be translated word for word with some grammar commentary, the way I did for French, English, and German for Polish learners of the languages. Examples of literary texts for zero beginners. To download:

http://users.bestweb.net/~siom/martian_mountain/mL-R/ai.7z

---

My notes:

I'm of the belief Listening Reading Method works. I tried it for chinese, I did about 20 hours of it one month so I did a slower version of the steps, rather than doing 10 hours each day like the person above I instead did 1-2 hours a day (20 minutes of audio for each chapter so 40 minutes per chapter to do L R Method with the chinese text then English text).

After ~20 chapters doing Listening Reading Method with zhenhun by priest, I was able to go and read stuff that was a bit easier. I was also able to go listen to children's audiobooks and had much better Listening comprehension - before the 20 chapters of L R Method I couldn't follow any audiobook, afterward I could follow the audiobooks of easier reading level stuff like Alice in Wonderland. So i did notice an improvement in "natural listening" skill for easier texts. With some re-listening of chapters I'd done L R Method with (re-listening 5-15 times), I noticed I was able to start following the main plot and many details when Listening to the zhenhun audiobook. So I could listen to the audiobook for main story now (including chapters I hadn't read yet). I also noticed I was able to go from needing to intensively read zhenhun, to after the L R Method experiment being able to extensively read the novel and follow the plot (and a portion of details) fine. So after the L R Method experiment I extensively read 100 pages of my print copy of the novel.

L R Method was by far the fastest way I'd picked up new vocabulary and improved my listening and reading comprehension level. I think if I had stuck with it and done ~40 hours like the person did (so twice as many hours as I did), then I would've noticed my reading level come up to the actual books level detail comprehension and and all, and I would've noticed my natural listening significantly better (as in most to all details) for easier audiobooks (whereas I only improved to "main story gist comprehension" of easier audiobooks after the 20 hours of L R Method I did).

I also think the total-beginner version of L R Method works well with Pleco app. For zhenhun, I would click the loudspeaker button and listen to the TTS as I looked at the English definitions popping up for each word. Then I'd click the loudspeaker again, listening to TTS as I followed along with only the text and ignored the English pop-up definitions. I did these 2 steps, along with re listening to the audiobook chapters using Avenuex's audiobook instead of TTS in the background during work, for 20 chapters of zhenhun. It worked well. And using Pleco gave me a word-for-word translation which made it easier to learn new words and follow the audio initially. So yeah, I definitely think L R Method can work as good as implied if given a proper chance.

[lesbianakaashi]

The Forgotten Shounen: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

This is not a “Why you should watch/read khr” or anything like that. This is just me going into the deep dive and throwing my findings at you. I’m making this because khr used to be my favourite series when I was 15 (I had plushees, posters, tradingcards, the art book etc) and now as an adult I constantly find myself baffled at how unknow it seems to be.

1. Okay first what is khr?

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or just Reborn! is a series by Akira Amano which was published in Weekly Shounen Jump from 2004 to 2012 (with 42 volumes) and got an anime adaption which run from 2006 to 2010 on Tv Tokyo (with 202 episodes and one OVA).

2. What’s it about?

Khr is a parody of the italian mafia and plays in a world where the mafia is heavily influencial. The protagonist is the japanese middle schooler Sawada Tsunayoshi who is known as “No good Tsuna” because of his failing grades, general weak and cowardly personality and weak physics.

He becomes aware of the mafia world when a 2 year old baby called Reborn arrives at his house claiming to be the greatest hitman and declaring himself his home tutor. Reborn was send by the 9th head of the Vongola famiglia who is ready to retire and looking for a new heir. Which of course, is supposed to be Tsuna and now it's Reborns job to shape him into a worthy sucessor.

Tsuna rejects the violence of the mafia world and refuses the position as the 10th. Thanks to Reborn and his general craziness Tsuna meets different people and starts to make real friendships. Reborn wants 6 of those friends to be Tsuna's future guardians, basically a group of people which will be closest to him in the vongola famiglia. Tsuna might have no interest in those positions but the friendships he builds with them become really precious to him.

Reborns arrivial also brings in the enemies of the Vongola family which leads to Tsuna being forced to engage in battles. Generally Tsuna openly avoids fights and prefers to run away but will put himself in danger for his friends' sake or because of something Reborn did.

Through out the series Tsuna matures and gains strenght but he never becomes a power fantasy. He's just a guy with many flaws who grows through the human connections he makes.

Personally I think the relationship between Reborn and Tsuna is one of the best student teacher reltaionships in all of manga only topped by Mob and Reigen from Mob Psycho 100. Especially the last arc really underlines their unique relationship to me.

Furthermore, khr offers a new and unique battle system: The flames. I'm not gonna go into to too much detail but the general idea is that one fights with their dying will flame which basically turns off your the savety switch so you can fight with everything you have. The flames are seperated into different categories such as: sky, storm, mist, rain, sun, lightning and cloud and have different attributes asigned to each one. Tsuna's use of the sky flame and his transformation when using it is still one of my favourite shounen transformations to this day.

3. What happened?

The series did really well and then not so well over the course of its serialisation. After the manga got an anime adaption it increased in populairty and video games, light novels, and other products such as CDs were created based on the series. Reborn is one of the best selling series of Weekly Shōnen Jump and has sold around 30 Million volumes overall. It was and still is very popular in Japan but rather unknown in the west.

According to the article "The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shonen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump" khr was the 10th bestselling series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, with a total of 7 million copies sold in 2007.

This number increasing to 15 milion in 2008. Which placed khr into the 4th best selling series of 2008 in Japan.

Between 2008 and 2010 those sales declined but still kept strong with khr as the 6th top selling manga in 2009, 8th best selling in 2010 and then 24th best selling in 2012.

In November 2014, readers of the Da Vinci magazine voted khr number 17 on a list of Weekly Shōnen Jump's greatest manga series of all time.

After the anime came to an apprupt stop in 2010 for unknown reasons the manga sells took a visible hit. (Apparently the studio wanted to put the anime on halt because they were busy with other projects and give Akira Amano time to develop her story but I couldn't find any source for this claim) Furthermore, the rushed last chapters of the manga in 2012 declined the popularity of the series even more. There's no offical statement as to why the manga was ended in such a way but it's reasonable to assume that Jump either cut it considering the decreasing sales or Akira Amano choose to end it for personal reasons.

Nontheless, Tsuna not being included in Jump Force (a fighting game where you can play as different characters from Jump) in 2019 even tho he made it in earlier Jump Stars games also underlines the decreased interest in the series.

Rumors on a reboot or anime adaption of the last two arcs surface from time to time but are genereally unlikely. Artland the studio which made khr has gone bankrupt around 2015-2016. It might be taken on by another studio but rather uncommen especially with such an old series.

4. Art style

The khr anime ended over 10 years ago and the old art style might not be appealing to newer audiences.

Especailly because the anime adaption follows Akira Amanos old art style which heavily developed within the years. Here a picture comparing characters in the new art style:

A modern anime adaption in the new art style would be aesthetically pleasing. It would probably look similiar to Psycho Pass since Akira Amano did the concept art for this series.

(My personal art student hot take is that both art styles are unique and fun. Up to this day Akira Amano still has my favourite art style and even if the amount folds in the characters clothing is a little extreme I love it dearly.)

5. Criticism

The show is not without flaws and even if I greatly enjoy it it wouldn't be right not to adress them.

Daily Life Arc:

A lot of people view the first 20 to 25 episodes as fillers and quickly lose intererst in the series. This is due to the fact that Akira Amano inteded the series to be a gag manga and focuses the first chapters on world building, character introduction and comical narratives. It's rumored that the decision to develop the story into a battle shounen was made because the sales weren't doing well enough at first. So the first chapters/episodes may seem titidious but are necessary for the story and the development of the characters. The tonal shift from a more gintama like gag manga to a darker battle focused story can also be offputting to some viewers.

Either way a lot of people blame this arc when discussing why khr never got an english dub or didn't end up on Toonami. I've also read that the manga never finished serializing in the north america. However, it finished in other western languages like german and spanish.

Censoring:

The anime censors A LOT. From Gokudera's smoking habit, Yamamoto's whole character arc which deals with heavy themes such as depression and suicidal thoughts. The general bloodiness of the manga was censored and sometimes whole chapters and characters were left out even if those were important to the devolopment of others.

Filler episodes:

Out of the 202 episodes the anime has around 29 filler episodes which makes roughly 14 %.

Sexism:

Even if Reborn was written by a woman most female characters are rather flat and their storylines often tied to a male character in one way or another.

Genereal things:

Khr, like many other long running series, is sometimes criticised for a lack of world building or unpopular narrative choices.

6. Hope?

Khr isn't exactly dead. As stated before the series is still very popular in Japan and still gets new merch pretty regulary. There are also petitions floating around for a reboot or a new anime season but those never get a lot of traction. Furthermore #Reborn2期アニメ化 (#Reborn2ndAnimation) used to get some traction on twitter not too long ago. Last year the Anime News Network did a poll on which anime the readers would like to see a rebooot of and khr placed second.

Either way here's a collection of recent khr things I could find.

- In 2018 a new bluray set was released in north america

- The khr stage play reached yet another new season

- A mobile game was released last year

- Currently ongoing anime cafe event called "Concerto di Vongola"

- Last month there was an event with the former VAs and stage play actors where they discussed their favourite khr episodes.

- There has been an increase in blind reacts to the openings on youtube which might bring in a new fan base. The biggest one I could find had around 90k views and was made in 2019. On this note check out the soundtrack. The first openeing Drawing Days by SPLAY still makes me go insane (but I'm biased of course)

There also renewed hope for a new season/reboot because Shaman King, Inuyasha and Bleach got anounced for new seasons after a long hiatus. It's important to keep in mind that the circumstances for those series are differnt tho. For example bleachs new anime is often tied to the immense success of the gatcha game.

7. Conclusion

Khr is a series which used to be a flagship for Weekly Shounen Jump and is deeply beloved by it's fans, especially in Japan. It influenced other shounen series like bnha. It would be nice to see it gaining a bigger fanbase in the west :)

[prome-th3us]

Runes for beginners: introduction

In this grimoire I'm going to go through runes and their meaning in a way that is accessible to everyone. I'm gonna make a post for every rune so it's gonna be a long serie. I hope you will find this useful and if there's something unclear or wrong, please let me know!

I decided to avoid runes magic because I just want to help to get to know the runes a little better. Before practicing magic, you have to understand what this powerful tool is.

Introduction

Runes are not only a writing system, but they were also used as a magical, divinatory and spiritual growth tool. Rune (norse: rún/rúnar) means "segret, mistery". The characters used to engrave the rune, symbol of a certain energy in this world, were called runstafas (runic sticks).

They are an oracle and we can ask them to guide us: they work better if our question is specific and detailed. The lecture of Runes sometimes is obscure: the petitioner must interpret the details and understand them. Runes give us a way to analize the path we are on and to understand one of his possible outcomes: the future isn't static, we can change it with everything we do.

each rune has a phonetic value and a name that identifies its function and meaning; then it has a very specific history behind it and is associated with a diety.

Historical origins

I'm not gonna say much about the historical origins of the Runes because there are so many different theories about them and we could write an entire book just about this topic.

This is what you have to know:

the ancient futhark comes from the alphabet used by the Celts of Lugano (leoponzi) which has Greek origin. The Greek alphabet would have been absorbed by the Etruscans in the 12th century BC. and then by the Celts of Lugano in the VII. From here, thanks to trade, it would have arrived in the far north, with the necessary changes.

The Greek alphabet influenced the Gothic one and then the Germanic peoples adapted it (we can see how the Gothic alphabet is actually similar to both Greek and Runic, then the Othala rune resembles the Greek Omega).

it originated from the Roman alphabet, given the many relationships that different peoples entertained.

Mythological origin

"I know that I hung

On the wind-blasted tree

All of nights nine,

Pierced by my spear

And given to Odin,

Myself sacrificed to myself

On that pole

Of which none know

Where its roots run.

No aid I received,

Not even a sip from the horn.

Peering down,

I took up the runes –

Screaming I grasped them –

Then I fell back from there."

from the Old Norse poem Hávamál.

In Norse mythology, it's Odin who brought the Runes to the other gods. He wanted to know everything and he was envy of the Norns, who already knew them. He went to the Well of urd, the home of Runes, and since they reveal themselves to any but those who prove themselves worthy of such fearful insights and abilities, Odin hung himself from a branch of Yggdrasil, pierced himself with his spear, and peered downward into the waters below. He forbade any of the other gods to grant him the slightest aid. He survived in this state, teetering on the precipice that separates the living from the dead, for no less than nine days and nights. At the end of the ninth night, he at last perceived shapes in the depths: the runes. He's also lost his eyes for the wisdom.

Other important concepts

First of all, to truly understand how runes were used, you have to know at least a little of Norse mythology (I will tell you some books and links in the last paragraph). Then you have to understand what Orlog and Wyrd mean.

Orlog

This is basically karma but without reincarnation. Every person is born completely responsible for everything they do in their life since the first second: positive actions bring positive results, bad actions bring bad results, even in the afterlife. Who did positive things will go to Valhalla (where the heroes and the people who died in battle go) or to Sessrumnir (the halls of Freya). Who doesn't die in an honorable way or who did bad thing will go to Helheimr (the realm of Hel, this means that even who died in a normal way and who had a normal life will go there) or to Nilfheimr (the world of ice and cold, where the Ice Giants live).

Basically we decide where we are going with every choice we make.

Wyrd

A giant cobweb that extends in space and time: each thread is made up of a different manifestation of energy and all together it constitutes the very fabric of the universe. Since we are born, we are in some part of this web so we are also part of it.

Wyrd and Orlog are intertwined: who does good things and has a good Orlog, he will be on a good thread of the web. Wyrd is the fabric of life as well, so the world will be influenced by the positive energy of the man and will give him back this energy.

If each strand is a different manifestation of energy, each type of energy must have a name: the runes. In runic divination, what we see is a reflection of the energies in and around us (or around the person we are divining for). When we want to modify the Orlog, the process is different: we use the Runes as a channel for the energies that we need. We can say that the practice related to the runes is of two types: passive (divination) and active (healing, protection, etc ...).

Aettir of Runes

In the ancient futhark, there are 24 runes divided in three aettir (sing. aett, sets) of 8 runes each. Every aett is dedicated to a different diety:

Aett of Freya. She is of the Vani lineage and is therefore linked to fertility and harvest. She was welcomed with her twin brother Freyr in Asgard at the end of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir (basically the "wae" between the Norse people and the invaders). She can use the Runes, so she's a goddess of magic but also of love, associated with death (she is the leader of the Valkyries) and sexuality. The runes in this aett are: ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚨ ᚱ ᚲ ᚷ ᚹ.

Aett of Heimdall. Of the Aesir lineage, he is among other things the guardian god of Bifrost and Asgard: he has hearing and sight that reach everywhere. Following a spell of Odin, he was born of nine waves and for this reason he is called "son of the wave". The runes in this aett are: ᚺ ᚾ ᛁ ᛃ ᛇ ᛈ ᛉ ᛊ.

Aett of Tyr. Of the Aesir lineage, he is known as the "Father of Heaven". He sacrificed one of his hands to be able to bind Fenrir and is a god linked to justice, loyalty, heaven, defense, war and law. The runes in this aett are: ᛏ ᛒ ᛖ ᛗ ᛚ ᛜ ᛞ ᛟ.

Last things

Ok so for this first post it's everything! I will continue in the next posts to explore every single rune. I just wanted to suggest some links and books if you want to go deeper into the fascinating history of runes.

Here you can find an interesting article about everything I just said, with so many references and here they also give a list of good books (if you can't afford them you can download their pdf from this site)

Anyway if you want to dig into norse mythology you can read:

Poetic Edda

Prose Edda

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs by John Lindow

(other good books can be found here).

And of course, if you still didn't realize this, I fricking love the website Norse Mythology for Smart People, even tho everything I wrote in this post is from "Le Rune" by Marco Massignan (I couldn't find the English Translation sorry).

[bopinion]

2021 / 27

Aperçu of the Week:

He who goes his own way grows wings (Zen wisdom).

Bad News of the Week:

"Small measures, big impact" is the headline of an article on the Tagesschau website about a study by the German Institute of Economic Affairs (Institut der Wirtschaft / IW) that shows four ways Joe Sixpack could reduce his personal carbon footprint. And the numbers are impressive. If German households threw away only half the food they do now, that would save 6 million tons of CO2. A fifth less meat consumption would save almost 10 million tons. Buying one-fifth less new clothing per year would save as much as 12 million. And eliminating domestic flights in favor of rail would save another 2 million tons.

Wow! So why am I telling you about this under "Bad News"? Because these numbers are far less impressive in a different context. Because they would only reduce the CO2 footprint per capita and year by 0.6 tons from the current level of about 11 tons. But to limit global warming to the generally accepted minimum target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, a reduction to less than one ton would be necessary. And not even a complete renunciation of meat, throwaways, fashion and air travel would be enough to achieve this.

In order to spare future generations this enormous sword of Damocles, not only are many radical cuts in our accustomed everyday comforts necessary, but also a fundamental paradigm shift in practically every area of life - from consumption to mobility to the world of work. Driving to the organic market in an electric car and taking the old glass to the recycling center won't be enough. And not even Bill Gates will surprise us next week with an invention that converts greenhouse gases into a clean energy source at the push of a button. Likewise, Elon Musk's Mars colonies will be a little while in coming.

So what it would take first is radical honesty. The admission that all these small, well-intentioned symbolic measures, such as abolishing plastic cups for coffee-to-go, are simply by far not enough to maintain a planet worth living on. But there is no alternative. It's a shame that humanity's change management has failed in almost every significant task in history. The problem is quite simply the prioritization. For example, the military budget of the USA alone would be sufficient to sustainably abolish hunger worldwide - three times over. Or a single month's profit on Wall Street to end child labor and give all children access to education. Who knows, maybe if one of those children from Uganda had attended a school instead of slaving in a mine and had been given a hot lunch instead of malaria, he or she would become the genius who has the crucial idea for the miracle at the push of a button. But we idiots will reliably know how to prevent that. Congratulations!

Good News of the Week:

The pandemic has once again proven how important the so-called "state capable of acting" is for the well-being of its citizens. Especially in contrast to failed states such as Mali, Afghanistan or increasingly Haiti. An essential basis of a such capable state is its financial strength, in order to be able to cope with crises of any kind or, ideally, to prevent them from arising in the first place (social peace etc.). These crises must increasingly be seen in an international context - from Corona to climate.

The financial scope, in turn, is determined by the balance of expenditures and revenues - and the latter are fed almost exclusively by the taxes levied by the states. And this issue, too, must increasingly be seen in an international context, since companies, unlike citizens, are literally boundless in their tax-relevant actions. Which, to put it mildly, gives them room to maneuver - or more clearly: to avoid taxes. As a result, the well-known representatives of Economy 2.0 such as Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook have come in for criticism.

Therefore, the news from the summit meeting of the G20 finance ministers in Venice yesterday can be absolutely welcomed: after a long struggle, an agreement had been reached on a global minimum tax for large corporations. An agreement providing for a 15% minimum tax is to be implemented as early as 2023. Under the umbrella of the OECD, 131 countries have already agreed to this - including the key heavyweights in this respect, above all the USA.

One aspect in particular is worth mentioning: companies are to pay taxes not only in their home country, but above all where the profits are generated. This benefits emerging countries in particular. On the other hand, companies will no longer benefit fully from doing business in low-tax countries, as the difference will then be levied at the company's legal domicile. Sounds good. And fair.

Personal happy moment of the week:

The day before yesterday was my daughter's high school graduation. After her 18th birthday, the second big step into the adult world. And the proud dad wavered between melancholic and tears of joy. There she is on stage getting her "certificate of maturity" - the world is open to her. I was also particularly pleased with her confident demeanor from organizing the event behind the scenes to making speeches to the audience up front. And the respect she received: from classmates, but also from teachers and even from other parents. Yes, the world really is open to her. You go, girl!

I couldn't care less...

...that England will lose to Italy tonight. After all, the final of UEFA Euro 2020 will be played in London - and the famous "Wembley goal" still has an effect... ;-)

As I write this...

...we are waiting for the next storm and hailstorm. And we know that we are much better off here than for example in the northwest of North America. Who still doubts the man-made climate change: look out of the damn window!

[sternvonafrika]

Since you know how to express yourself in more than a language, i want to ask you this question that is pestering me for quite some time now: did it ever happen to you that you managed to write something truly breathtaking not in your mother tongue, but when you wanted to replicate that sensation in your first language you just couldn't do it because you never learned how to do it properly? Thanks in advance for answering this.

ehy! interesting question, i could give you two different answers to this: a linguistic one and a more personal one!

linguistic: linguists and socio-linguists have been concentrating on the way bilingual/multilingual people speak in relation to their perception of the languages they are fluent in and they have also been trying for ages to understand what the different relationships between one’s native language and one’s second languages are when it comes to conversations. there are some interesting papers out there, i am sure about it, but most of the academic ones (written by scholars and not by some amateur linguists who write their article on some random magazine) are behind some paywalls and i cannot access them right now to support this with some more specific and scientific pieces of information. however, in general, studies provide insights into how emotions are important in life of multilinguals when they switch between their languages and the results usually show that speakers of several languages are emotionally attached to their first language or their dominant languages (if they know more than one by birth). in general, anyway, the way one uses languages is very connected to the culture of their native language (how open to showing feelings or dealing with other topics they are) and, of course, to personal sensibility

personal, which means, my opinion and some rambling on how i perceive my connection with italian (native language) and english/german/spanish: first there’s something we need to acknowledge: emotions can be scary to utter in our predominant language, the one which permeates our own lives in every single aspect, because they feel more heavy and very strong, sometimes. that’s why some people tend to be able to write their deepest (and maybe darkest) feelings or fears in a language they feel more detached to or in a language they are fluent in but which isn’t part of their daily life, and thus appears to be less emotionally and personally connoted. i don’t know if you ever did this, but the classical example i have seen around here a lot is the example of “reading nsfw fanfiction of pieces of fiction in english (second language) is fine but reading nsfw works in my native language feels strange/embarassing/wrong/funny” or even the “saying “i love you” in english feels very superficial and fun but if someone said “i love you” to me in my native language i’d probably have an heart attack”. of course, this can also happen when it comes to both negative and positive emotions (see the strong “i love you” example). by writing down (or ever think about!) your feelings in a second language you may be trying to feel more detached from your daily-life and this other language may help you writing down all the emotions in a very self-forward way. then, when it comes to translating all the spontaneous feelings you wrote in the language you are more attached to (your native one, for example) the same reaction of “oh, this feels heavy, very dramatic, very strange” may occur, depending on your sensibility, your relationship with your own feelings, your language and how open it is to accept and describe the expression of personal feelings. for example, some people feel that some cultures (and languages) have more taboos for expressing emotions (like, some emotions are considered “bad” or it’s shameful to openly talk about negative ideas or feelings). so some feelings and situations are hard to describe in one native language also because it is not a habit to talk about them and one may feel at loss of words. of course, in this case using a second language will make talking about their feelings much easier for people who feel this way.

[discospinach]

Mighty Nein Live Action Cast

Cause what the fuck else am I gonna do at 4am.

Alright fuck it. These are some choices I've made for what actxs I've chosen to represent the Mighty Nein. This is just for shits and giggles, and I'd love to hear some more ideas from other people.

Caleb - Daniel Brühl

I've chosen this picture because of the facial hair. I think it's perfect for Caleb. Brühl has almost everything I want. Ability to use a thick German accent, capable of praying more thoughtful low key characters, and solid general facial construction. The one thing I'm missing is the red hair, but that's an easy change. Plus finding a different suitable German actor who also has red hair wasn't super easy. I'm not trying /super/ hard here.

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Nott - Pixie Davies

I had a lot of... choices... to make here. I'm not incredibly familiar with child performers, so I just had to look at lists. My first immediate assumption was Millie Bobby Brown, but I think I'll save her for Twiggy, if I ever do a side character version of this post. I considered also just using very short adults, but it was difficult to find anything under 5 feet. I really wanted to hit that 3-4 foot mark, and I think it's insulting to just exclude child performers. I couldn't find Pixie's exact height, and I felt kinda gross looking for it. This was just an odd experience. Anyways, I watched a couple interviews. She's pretty well spoken, and seemed to be able to joke around enough. I only hope she'd be comfortable cursing and portraying an alcoholic.

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Beau - Karen Fukuhara

This was hands down the most research I did. Trying to find Asian actresses that a) had martial arts training, b) spoke English, c) were in their mid-late 20s, and d) had a relatively similar skin tone to Beau want easy. Karen fits all of these, other than being born in Los Angeles, and I think it'd be silly to be that elitist. She also seems to be a little paler in every other photo besides this one. As a side note, I had another really solid choice, Rina Takeda, who also fit all of these except one. I could not find any records of her speaking English. No interviews, no imdb, no Wikipedia. I thought she at least deserved an honorable mention.

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Fjord - Idrissa (Idris) Elba

Did you know his first name was actually Idrissa? I didn't. I don't know if this is the case for him, but I really despise when people are forced to "Americanize" their names for Hollywood. Or any reason I guess, if there are other reasons. Anyways, holy shit I love this man, although this role almost went to Daniel Kaluuya, who's another actor I love. The main reason I chose Idrissa though is the accents. According to articles on the internet he's an incredible accent actor. I wouldn't know, I don't actually watch a bunch of movies hahahaaa.... Considering he's playing a character with *spoilies* two accents, I think that's incredibly important. He's also buff as fuck, and has solid facial construction for the role. My only issue with this pick is his height. He's 6'2". I wanted him around 5'11", since Daniel Brühl is only 5'9", and the actress I chose for Yasha is only 6'. I don't think Fjord should be taller than Yasha, but I also think the performance is more important, so here we are. To be fairly honest I could've looked harder for someone who fits that description, but did I mention how much I love him?

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Jester - Nikolina Dobreva (Nina Dobrev)

Yay another case of Americanization. I chose her because she's Bulgarian, and I find Jester's accent closely related to Bulgarian, or maybe Slovenian accents. Now just because she's Bulgarian doesn't mean she can do the accent, I don't actually know if she can. Searching up "actresses that can do Bulgarian accents" is pretty niche, ya know? I decided it'd be better to just shoot for national accuracy, and hope for the best. Also, she's pretty funny. She's 5'7", so she matches up pretty well with the other choices. She also has a solid face for the character, and in this specific picture has Jester-esque hair. Cool? Cool.

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Yasha - Claudia Katz Minnick

While for the most part I've been looking for people who match nationalities, I couldn't reeeeeally do that here? I prioritized height and face over nationality. I mean I'm sure I /could've/ pulled it off, but again, I'm not trying super hard. That being said, if there's any of these choices I'd say could benefit the most from a second look, it's this one.

Pardoning that intro, I actually love this choice. She's 6', and it's pretty difficult to find actresses past that. I strongly considered Gwendoline Christie, but she doesn't really have the sharp jaw that Yasha has. I think with some more muscle, Claudia can pull off the visual easily.

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Caduceus - Jeff Goldblum

This might've been my favorite character to do this for. Searching for male actors above like 6'4" is NOT hard. I had a lot of options. I considered Jason Momoa. I thought Joe Manganiello would be funny because /critical role/. I thought Dwayne Johnson would've been HILARIOUS. However, I needed someone who was way skinnier than that. Eventually it came down to Armie Hammer vs. Alexander Skarsgård. I ended up going with Armie Hammer because he had an easier time pulling off Cad's deep voice. It was only then that the holy light of the Blum shown upon me.

If the pure memeage of having Jeff Goldblum playing Caduceus isn't enough to sell you, I'll give some more details. He's 6'4", which is two inches taller than the next tallest on this list at 6'2". He's lanky as all fuck. He's got the perfect personality to play such a casual weirdo. His voice is also perfect for the role. Good enough?

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Lastly:

Molly - Colin Farrell

Seriously why the fuck would I not choose Colin Farrell.

[torentialtribute]

Formula One news: Seven things you missed from the F1 German Grand Prix

Robert Kubica gets the first point in NINE YEARS, one Leclerc wins, while Daniil Kvyat has a double reason to celebrate in Hockenheim … SEVEN THINGS YOU MISSED from the German Grand Prix

Against Dan Ripley for the Daily Mail

Published: 19:02 BST, July 28, 2019 | Updated: 20:26 BST, July 28, 2019

the victory of Max Verstappen at the German Grand Prix will perish like an all-time classic after an afternoon of total chaos in Hockenheim.

The Dutchman remained calm while others lost theirs to claim his second win of the season for Red Bull.

] With so much to keep track of it was easy for events to slip under the radar, the Sportsmail looks at six things that you may have missed from the German Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen celebrates with his Red Bull team after winning the German Grand Prix 2019

One Leclerc happily goes home

While Charles Leclerc ended the race in a barrier after slipping off the track, his younger one enjoyed it brother Arthur a more productive day in Hockenheim.

Competing in the morning ADAC F4 support race, he won the victory and was greeted by the Ferrari star in parc ferme after the race where they hugged with a warm hug from their brothers and sisters

Charles Leclerc (right) embraces his brother Arthur after his victory in the ADAC F4 support race

] The Ferrari star (left) embraced his brother firmly in the run-up to the German GP

Home fans enjoy Schumacher throwback

Even before the race, there was enough for German fans to cheer, with Mick Schumacher behind the wheel of his father Michael & # 39; s all-conquering 2004 Ferrari

Mick performed a demonstration while wearing a half-crash helmet, with his father & # 39; s design, the supporters gave him a standing ovation as soon as he climbed out of the cockpit.

Mick Schumacher again got the chance to drive his dominant Ferrari F2004

To be controlled

The F2 driver was emotional left behind after he got out of the car and got a standing ovation

Double pleasure for Daniil

Kvyat enjoyed what was one of the best weekends of his life and not only because he only secured his third F1 podium, as well as the second ever for Toro Rosso.

The Russian, who only returned from F1 this season, revealed after the race his wife had given birth to their daughter on the eve of the race.

Talking about an unforgettable weekend!

Daniil Kvyat celebrates his podium success with Toro Rosso just hours after his wife gave birth to

Pressure increases on Gasly

It was not all joy for Red Bull. While Verstappen tasted glory, his struggling teammate thought about another tough weekend.

Pierre Gasly & # 39; s substandard results this term have already questioned his long term future and awkward crashing against Toro Rosso Alex Albon fighting for the sixth will not help his case.

He must bring it together or risk being removed from his chair.

Pierre Gasly rode in the rear of Alex's Toro Rosso Albon three laps of the end

The Red Bull driver fought for the sixth, but the crash damaged his front wing to turn it off

Civil war in Haas continues

M after they had ruined each other's race after colliding with the British GP fourteen days ago, you would have thought that Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen would like a new jumble would like to avoid the circuit.

Instead, the drivers drove each other again for small points fights, causing team boss Guenther Steiner to admit that he & # 39; bewildered & # 39; was about how he could end the feud.

The two Haas drivers collided again with Hockenheim as they competed for small points

Setting up a show

Pre-race shows are nothing new to the start-straight, but Hockenheim's idea of ​​warming-up acts is perhaps one of the most bizarre ever.

In the pouring rain, a band with elegantly dressed members, ranging from medieval fools to clowns, marched across the track, to the great welfare of fans in the stadium.

A fanfare dressed in various costumes performed in the run-up to the race

Not even the rain could drop them off their display during their performance on the Hockenheim circuit

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