vvatchword

[vvatchword]

So my friend suggested two graphic novels to me. One was called Stand Still, Stand Silent. It's about the world being overcome by monsters of Nordic mythology and six Nordic youths going on an adventure.

I got through nearly half of the entire book and they were still doing introductions.

How does that happen.

Also. what is the appeal for literally anyone. Including the artist. Because I can't stress how little happens. Some characters go on road trips and some characters get hired. That's it! That's all!

The beginning of the book is the best part and it isn't that great: the beginning of a plague that will wipe out humanity. One billion boring characters are carefully introduced. At least these characters are grounded in their jobs and lives and the situations feel real. I guess they come back later? i don't know because just when it seems the story is going to focus on the expansion of the plague, it jumps forward 90 years. Like bitch hope you remember all 18 of these characters on page 369

now here's 70 more characters and their home lives and their hopes and dreams and a guy pretending to sleep on a bench and aaaaAAAARGH I just want to see monsters for christ's sake

The bigger issue is that it always seems to be just about to take off, and I feel like a little patience is merited when you have a large ensemble cast, but it's unclear why there are so many characters to begin with.

Panels were overwhelmingly focused on faces and characters all looked extremely similar and few personalities really stood out. The color scheme—a limited color palette of blues and reds—doesn't add meaningfully to the narrative (see Oksi for comparison). I forced myself through for a while because my friend is kickass, but suddenly HIT DA BRICKS memes ran across the backs of my eyelids and I was like.

No

How do you get through 200 pages of work and 200 characters and never reach Act 2??? How do you do that

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man i wish you guys could read this book in my head i haven't finished yet i think you'd really like it

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True

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What

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Little Nas Are You Working On Your Raps

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[vvatchword]

I want to work on something more elaborate but basically what I want to say comes down to this:

Too many people waste their time staying informed about things they'll never change while ignoring the vast amount they could - and that is only to the benefit of everyone they profess to be against.

My recommendations:

Block ads - they track and sell your data on and offline; they're whole goal is to further capitalism/consumerism

Get off of social media entirely (especially Meta platforms) or move to decentralized platforms; decentralized ones at least aren't optimized to keep you on them

Leave streaming platforms (Netflix, Spotify) limit or avoid endless content platforms (YouTube). They have a vested interest in you not feeling satisfied, tiring you out so all you can do is consume them.

When you do consume, switch to more free/low cost media from collective sources like libraries (books, DVDs, music, Kanopy or Hoopla) and direct from creators (indie books, zines, games, etc). This supports your community and cultivates valuing exchanges outside of commercial factors.

Learn about security and privacy issues - consider degoogling, switching to Linux, using a safer phone OS or downgrading your phone, infosec online, etc.

Mask as often as possible with the best quality mask you can afford. This is not as effective at blocking facial recognition as has been reported but it does limit spread of many deadly viruses and saves lives.

Create an archive and back it up of work you enjoy or find useful. Have ways to access it completely offline. Prepare for an internet that is controlled by autocrats or cut off entirely. Make it so you can share it with friends and family if need be.

When you're less influenced by tech and business oligarchies, you're better able to think critically for your own and other's benefits. When you value spending time and consuming outside of their reach, you aren't a cog in their machinery - spending that time feeding them content they can train AIs on and spy on you to sell you to others. When you care about privacy and security and take measures to protect yourself, you help others who have to take those measure to protect themselves because they're targeted - activists, marginalized groups etc - by making it less easy to flag those people. When you mask you protect yourself and others from disease while the health care system is getting attacked and dismantled.

These are meaningful and concrete ways of assisting others that are getting completely ignored in favor of more performative ways of "helping" or not helping at all. And I just...wish people knew it wasn't all or nothing.

You do not have to consent to autocracy. You can resist it.

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fuck it’s august??? what’s next? 2022???? can’t do this anymore

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why did you people come up with russian names for what is supposed to be a movie set in italy. what was the thought process here. why does she sound like she walked out of a tolstoy novel

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[vvatchword]

If at all possible, when you have an issue with someone, whether they're a neighbor, classmate, co-worker, if you feel safe doing so it's always more considerate to try taking up any issues with someone directly before reporting them to any authority figure.

For example, if your neighbor has their TV or music turned up way too loud way too late at night, it's more considerate to go knock on their door and politely ask them to turn it down rather than immediately reporting them to housing authority or calling the cops on them for a noise violation.

Or say your co-worker forgot to fill out a form for something they're supposed to fill out a form for. It's more considerate to talk to them directly and politely remind them, rather than immediately going to your manager and reporting them the first time you notice they didn't fill out the form.

We're all human and we all make mistakes, and we all deserve some grace for our mistakes rather than immediately getting in trouble with authority and/or management. Some people lose track of time and don't realize how loud their T.V. and/or stereo is, and feel bad if a neighbor brings it to their attention how loud it is, and they will feel grateful if you just talk to them instead of immediately trying to get them in trouble.

Maybe someone had to show up to work on only 2 hours of sleep, or is going through a rough patch in their personal life, or is struggling with a disorder like ADHD, and as a result made a careless mistake at work like forgetting to fill out that form. They will appreciate it if you just politely talk to them rather than getting them in trouble with management.

You've probably made careless mistakes yourself, like not realizing how loud you were being, or making a careless error at work. Would you rather someone shows you some grace by just talking to you, or immediately tries to get you in trouble for it?

Of course this is about mistakes that can be solved by just talking to someone. This doesn't necessarily apply to situations where someone is really out of line, or makes you feel unsafe. Say a co-worker keeps harassing you and calling you derogatory slurs, and it's really obvious that they know how hurtful and out of line what they're saying is. In that case by all means, just go straight to management and/or HR.

But otherwise, if they're likely just making an honest mistake with no malicious intentions (like forgetting to fill out a form or accidentally being too loud) why get them in trouble and do something that might risk something like their job, or something else important, when you can just talk to them like a person?

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could he be the lebron of the sea ?

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well life just isnt fucking fair is it humpback whale 85

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would you play ps2 with him