#I associate it most with the summer I was 25 and living with my parents for the summer for a grad school internship.
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Life almost disappears, those summer afternoons spent reading in the park, your head half-leaning on his shoulder. Those mornings in the spring, a little late for work.
It didn't matter then, the way he took two sugars in his coffee. The way you let your hair grow out too long.
But these, the memories we keep, crammed in a shoebox full of polaroids, saved somewhere on a half-forgotten hard drive, they're what remains behind. They're what your sister finds, the weekend that she helps you pack your life.
And then it's sitting on the couch, your kitchen stuff already wrapped in paper. It's styrofoam containers, soda cans. It's wine that she's already drinking from the bottle.
And you can't figure out whose silhouette that was, who showed up to your party with a boa. And she is pretty sure her ex has kids.
But maybe that's why you and I keep postcards. Somebody's bow tie, paperclips, that bit of string.
They don't remind us of some other time, exactly. They're pieces of the people that we were, they're feelings that we'd wanted to hold on to.
#June 12 2023#I've had 'Spin' by Lifehouse stuck in my head all day.#Is it about some girl? Is it about god? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Who the heck even knows.#I mean that's like a very large percentage of Lifehouse's musical output.#Well this one could also be about parenthood I guess.#And I'm pretty sure 'You and Me' is definitely about Jason Wade's wife and 'Hanging by a Moment' is about god per comments he's made.#But it's a fun party game isn't it?#Speaking of 'Hanging by a Moment'. Even though it came out when I was like 12 and I hadn't yet realized the whole religious thing.#I associate it most with the summer I was 25 and living with my parents for the summer for a grad school internship.#I remember driving my mom's car to work after dropping her off along the way and cranking up the radio.#Unfortunately my options were limited to the pop station (too many commercials) or the Spanish station (I don't speak Spanish)#or the Christian rock station (the one I usually listened to despite my uncomfortable relationship with religion especially at the time).#And the first time I heard them play Lifehouse I was like wtf? Why is the Christian rock station playing something I actually like?#And then I really listened to the words of 'Hanging by a Moment' and I was 'Oooooh.'#And that was how it took me like 13 years to realize a band I liked and owned cds of may or may not have written a bunch of songs about god#Which honestly would have turned 12 year old me off a lot because like it's not fun being an atheist when almost everyone's a dick about it#And I'm not sure it was the healthiest coping mechanism for the whole having my heart shattered by a religious dude when I was 25...#Actually that's not true. That year I mostly played the fuck out of Emmylou Harris's and Bob Dylan's most depressing hits. ('Gold' anyone?)#Followed by Royal Wood's divorce album when that came out.#But blasting the Christian rock station in the car? Definitely kind of intentionally masochistic. But also I really hate radio commercials.#I did listen to a lot of Lifehouse that summer.#So regardless of what the songs are actually about they all remind me of the highway and my mom's old car and carpooling to work.#Except 'Blind'. 'Blind' still makes me cry.#That was a really pointless aside because I don't feel like writing or going to sleep and will probably stay up listening to Lifehouse now.#I guess the moral of that story if it needs to have a moral is:#If you're a godless heathen and someone makes you feel like shit because they act like there's something wrong with you for it#you're much better off not wasting your time trying to understand why they think like that and living your best heathen life instead.#Or something like that. Idk.
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I was curious, you are a prolife activist, a teacher, and becoming a doula as well correct? So clearly you have a passion for children, if you don't mind me asking, Where did that passion come from and do you plan on having kids of your own?
Thanks for asking!
I’ve always liked working with children, so teaching made sense. What’s funny is I thought I would love teaching early elementary, but while it might be fun to read books to a couple kindergartners, managing 25 at one time was a little tougher lol
Middle school works for me because the kids are a bit more independent and they can have rational discussions about their behavior. I also like having 50-minute class periods rather than the same group of kids all day.
All of that I guess ties into my passion for pro-life activism - I care about children and don’t want to see them hurt, including preborn children. That activism started in 2013 when then-Texas State Senator Wendy Davis did her filibuster against a pro-life law being passed in Texas. I had never before seen someone so passionately argue for the destruction of innocent children. It boggles my mind that anyone could be pro-abortion. Prior to that, I saw abortion as some terrible thing that happened in other places, not something that I would ever have to deal with. Then I learned there was an abortion facility less than 10 minutes from where I lived at the time. That was it- I was now involved. I became a sidewalk advocate, started a pro-life group on my campus, interned and then worked for Students for Life. I’m still involved with my local pro-life advocacy group doing sidewalk advocacy and 40 Days for Life.
The doula thing was a natural extension of my pro-life beliefs. I read statistics that showed having a doula reduced complication rates for both moms and babies, and I found an organization in my area that provides free doula services. I got my initial training with them and attended my first few births as a volunteer doula. They were really woke/leftist however, and eventually I realized I didn’t want to actually be associated with them. The final straw was when they put out a call to their volunteers asking who could offer abortion doula services for Jane’s Due Process, a group that helps minors get abortions without their parents’ knowledge/consent.
So now I’m an independent doula and I got my certification from Stillbirthday. I’m certified as a birth and bereavement doula, which means I support moms and babies even when there’s a situation where the baby may not survive or has already died in the womb. That was important for me, because part of that involves recognizing the humanity and personhood of babies in the womb, including those miscarried very early. Because I recognize their humanity, I can validate the grief that the parents feel. They lost a child, not just a “potential baby” or a “pregnancy.”
The trouble right now is that I would love to be a full time doula, but I can’t afford to give up my current salary in the hopes of being able to make a living as a doula. So that limits how many clients I can take and when I can take them (mostly during the summer).
As for having kids of my own…without going into a lot of personal details, it would take a miracle (literally an act of God) for that to happen. And I’ve made peace with the reality that it most likely won’t happen. I enjoy my work, and I enjoy being “aunt” to a lot of my friends’ kids.
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By Alexandra Alter
For about as long as he’s been a published author, John Green has faced efforts to censor his books. His debut novel, “Looking for Alaska,” a coming-of-age story that includes references to drug use and sex, has been challenged in schools for at least 15 years, and has frequently landed on the American Library Association’s most banned books list. Last year, it received more than 50 challenges in schools across the country.
But a recent dust-up over whether his books are appropriate for teens feels more personal, and like an escalation of a growing movement to ban and restrict access to books, Green said.
A public library in his home state of Indiana implemented a new policy earlier this year requiring library staff to remove any books with sexually explicit content from the children’s and teens section and re-shelve them in the adult collection. The decision at Hamilton East Public Library in Noblesville meant more than 1,800 young adult books were moved, among them classics like “Forever” by Judy Blume and “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, as well as two of Green’s novels, “Looking for Alaska” and “The Fault in Our Stars.”
“I love Indiana so much, and it breaks my heart to see that kind of radicalism in a public library,” said Green, who lives in Indianapolis.
The mass relocation of Y.A. titles at Hamilton East has drawn intense public scrutiny in part because Green’s beloved books were swept up in the purge. But it’s hardly an isolated incident.
Efforts to ban books have soared across the United States in the last two years, driven by conservative groups and lawmakers who have targeted books they view as inappropriate, most often titles that address race and L.G.B.T.Q. issues. Lately, a growing number of public libraries have responded to complaints by moving books out of the children’s section, or placing them in a restricted area where parental permission is required.
In Montgomery County, Texas, commissioners voted in July for new library policies that bar people under the age of 18 from accessing books with “explicit” content, including many L.G.B.T.Q. themed works. A library board in Campbell County, Wyo., passed a measure this summer requiring librarians to weed out any books with sexual content from the children’s and teens sections, and fired the library director after she refused to move the books.
In Crawford County, Ark., the library system removed children’s books with L.G.B.T.Q. themes and placed them in a separate age-restricted “social section,” a policy that is being challenged in a lawsuit. And after residents in Marion County, Miss., complained about L.G.B.T.Q. content in the popular Y.A. graphic novel series “Heartstopper,” a library board agreed to move it to the adult section, and to conduct a review of all the books in the young adult section.
Librarians and free speech advocates say that such practices, while not new, are rising, and can amount to a form of censorship.
“I see this as censorship, because it is removing access from the intended audience,” said Emily Knox, the board president of the National Coalition Against Censorship. “No one wants to be called a censor, so one of the ways you do that is by impeding access.”
At a moment when conflicts over books have divided communities, the debate over Green’s novels has been especially charged. His blockbuster novel “The Fault in Our Stars,” which follows two teenagers with cancer who fall in love, has sold around 25 million copies, and has particular resonance in Indiana, where most of the novel takes place.
As a literary celebrity with a massive online following, Green has now become a somewhat reluctant conscript in a raging culture war over what books are appropriate for young readers, and who gets to decide.
“This is an escalation on the part of those far right groups that want to control what kind of information teenagers have access to,” Green said. “‘Looking for Alaska’ has been removed from dozens and dozens of school libraries just in the last year, so the public library is the next logical step.”
The controversy over young adult books in the East Hamilton library started in early 2022, after the library had received challenges to 11 books that patrons viewed as inappropriate, including nonfiction titles for teens about sex education. Following a caustic public debate about whether such works belonged in the children’s section, the board instituted a new policy that would restrict all books with explicit references to sex to the adult section. In the spring, they added new restrictions, requiring library staff to review Y.A. titles not only for sexual content but also for certain profanities and criminal acts.
By mid August, library staff had reviewed more than 3,500 young adult titles, and moved more than 1,000 books, drawing widespread complaints from community members who opposed the removals.
Public outcry against the policy intensified last month, after Green posted messages on social media slamming the policy as “ludicrous” and sent an incensed letter to the library board.
Last Thursday, after weeks of pressure, the library board voted to suspend and re-evaluate the policy. The books that have already been moved to the adult section will remain there while the policy is paused, but could be returned to the young adult section pending decisions by the board, the library director and board president said in a statement to The Times.
While many residents who attended last week’s library board meeting criticized the policy, some spoke in favor of moving books with explicit content. One speaker who supports the removals, Julie Boyd, brought a stack of books that she said had explicit content, and read a sex scene from Courtney Summers’ novel “I’m the Girl.” “I don’t want kids reading this,” she said.
Moving books so that they are inaccessible to their intended readers could constitute both a breach of the First Amendment and a lapse in a librarian’s professional duties, said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the office of intellectual freedom at the American Library Association.
“If you are re-shelving John Green’s books because you don’t like the content, that could rise to an unconstitutional act,” Caldwell-Stone said.
In the past, courts have ruled that such practices violate the First Amendment. In 2000, a judge ruled that the city of Wichita Falls, Texas, had violated residents’ right to receive information after the city implemented a library policy that led two children’s books about L.G.B.T.Q. characters to be removed and placed in the adult section.
For now, the status of Green’s books and hundreds of other titles that have been moved at the Hamilton East Public Library remains unresolved.
Green said he will never grow used to having his books, some of which feature teen romance and intimacy, labeled pornography. But it was especially jarring to hear such accusations being lobbed so close to home.
“It’s always pretty tough for me,” he said. “But it’s certainly a little harder when it’s in your hometown, and you’re conscious of the fact that you have to walk around the grocery store with those people.”
Green, who has spoken and written about his struggles with anxiety, said he was reluctant to get involved because the controversy makes him “super extra anxious,” but he felt compelled to do so because the librarians who are bearing the brunt of the criticism were unable to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.
“I believe very strongly in the freedom of expression and in teenagers’ rights to read, and I feel very strongly that other parents shouldn’t have any say in what my kids get to read,” he said. “As long as that fight goes on, I feel obligated to lend my voice to it.”
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Text
By Alexandra Alter
For about as long as he’s been a published author, John Green has faced efforts to censor his books. His debut novel, “Looking for Alaska,” a coming-of-age story that includes references to drug use and sex, has been challenged in schools for at least 15 years, and has frequently landed on the American Library Association’s most banned books list. Last year, it received more than 50 challenges in schools across the country.
But a recent dust-up over whether his books are appropriate for teens feels more personal, and like an escalation of a growing movement to ban and restrict access to books, Green said.
A public library in his home state of Indiana implemented a new policy earlier this year requiring library staff to remove any books with sexually explicit content from the children’s and teens section and re-shelve them in the adult collection. The decision at Hamilton East Public Library in Noblesville meant more than 1,800 young adult books were moved, among them classics like “Forever” by Judy Blume and “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, as well as two of Green’s novels, “Looking for Alaska” and “The Fault in Our Stars.”
“I love Indiana so much, and it breaks my heart to see that kind of radicalism in a public library,” said Green, who lives in Indianapolis.
The mass relocation of Y.A. titles at Hamilton East has drawn intense public scrutiny in part because Green’s beloved books were swept up in the purge. But it’s hardly an isolated incident.
Efforts to ban books have soared across the United States in the last two years, driven by conservative groups and lawmakers who have targeted books they view as inappropriate, most often titles that address race and L.G.B.T.Q. issues. Lately, a growing number of public libraries have responded to complaints by moving books out of the children’s section, or placing them in a restricted area where parental permission is required.
In Montgomery County, Texas, commissioners voted in July for new library policies that bar people under the age of 18 from accessing books with “explicit” content, including many L.G.B.T.Q. themed works. A library board in Campbell County, Wyo., passed a measure this summer requiring librarians to weed out any books with sexual content from the children’s and teens sections, and fired the library director after she refused to move the books.
In Crawford County, Ark., the library system removed children’s books with L.G.B.T.Q. themes and placed them in a separate age-restricted “social section,” a policy that is being challenged in a lawsuit. And after residents in Marion County, Miss., complained about L.G.B.T.Q. content in the popular Y.A. graphic novel series “Heartstopper,” a library board agreed to move it to the adult section, and to conduct a review of all the books in the young adult section.
Librarians and free speech advocates say that such practices, while not new, are rising, and can amount to a form of censorship.
“I see this as censorship, because it is removing access from the intended audience,” said Emily Knox, the board president of the National Coalition Against Censorship. “No one wants to be called a censor, so one of the ways you do that is by impeding access.”
At a moment when conflicts over books have divided communities, the debate over Green’s novels has been especially charged. His blockbuster novel “The Fault in Our Stars,” which follows two teenagers with cancer who fall in love, has sold around 25 million copies, and has particular resonance in Indiana, where most of the novel takes place.
As a literary celebrity with a massive online following, Green has now become a somewhat reluctant conscript in a raging culture war over what books are appropriate for young readers, and who gets to decide.
“This is an escalation on the part of those far right groups that want to control what kind of information teenagers have access to,” Green said. “‘Looking for Alaska’ has been removed from dozens and dozens of school libraries just in the last year, so the public library is the next logical step.”
The controversy over young adult books in the East Hamilton library started in early 2022, after the library had received challenges to 11 books that patrons viewed as inappropriate, including nonfiction titles for teens about sex education. Following a caustic public debate about whether such works belonged in the children’s section, the board instituted a new policy that would restrict all books with explicit references to sex to the adult section. In the spring, they added new restrictions, requiring library staff to review Y.A. titles not only for sexual content but also for certain profanities and criminal acts.
By mid August, library staff had reviewed more than 3,500 young adult titles, and moved more than 1,000 books, drawing widespread complaints from community members who opposed the removals.
Public outcry against the policy intensified last month, after Green posted messages on social media slamming the policy as “ludicrous” and sent an incensed letter to the library board.
Last Thursday, after weeks of pressure, the library board voted to suspend and re-evaluate the policy. The books that have already been moved to the adult section will remain there while the policy is paused, but could be returned to the young adult section pending decisions by the board, the library director and board president said in a statement to The Times.
While many residents who attended last week’s library board meeting criticized the policy, some spoke in favor of moving books with explicit content. One speaker who supports the removals, Julie Boyd, brought a stack of books that she said had explicit content, and read a sex scene from Courtney Summers’ novel “I’m the Girl.” “I don’t want kids reading this,” she said.
Moving books so that they are inaccessible to their intended readers could constitute both a breach of the First Amendment and a lapse in a librarian’s professional duties, said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the office of intellectual freedom at the American Library Association.
“If you are re-shelving John Green’s books because you don’t like the content, that could rise to an unconstitutional act,” Caldwell-Stone said.
In the past, courts have ruled that such practices violate the First Amendment. In 2000, a judge ruled that the city of Wichita Falls, Texas, had violated residents’ right to receive information after the city implemented a library policy that led two children’s books about L.G.B.T.Q. characters to be removed and placed in the adult section.
For now, the status of Green’s books and hundreds of other titles that have been moved at the Hamilton East Public Library remains unresolved.
Green said he will never grow used to having his books, some of which feature teen romance and intimacy, labeled pornography. But it was especially jarring to hear such accusations being lobbed so close to home.
“It’s always pretty tough for me,” he said. “But it’s certainly a little harder when it’s in your hometown, and you’re conscious of the fact that you have to walk around the grocery store with those people.”
Green, who has spoken and written about his struggles with anxiety, said he was reluctant to get involved because the controversy makes him “super extra anxious,” but he felt compelled to do so because the librarians who are bearing the brunt of the criticism were unable to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.
“I believe very strongly in the freedom of expression and in teenagers’ rights to read, and I feel very strongly that other parents shouldn’t have any say in what my kids get to read,” he said. “As long as that fight goes on, I feel obligated to lend my voice to it.”
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Text
MASTERLIST Updated 03/20/2021
COMPLETED AO3 FICS [Kim Taehyung/Park Jimin]
1. The Sound of Your Heart
Summary: There was something so easy about it, it was almost scary. Taehyung didn’t want to feel this way, didn’t want to feel this overwhelming fondness; but not unlike his head, his heart was hard to persuade once it had decided a path. And Taehyung was scared that it had decided on the mute new boy with pretty features and a warm smile.
Words: 144,014
2. All the King's Men
Summary: Castle servants Jimin and Taehyung find themselves involved in a game with the Crown Prince.
Words: 52,531
3. golden haze
Summary: Taehyung watches Jimin’s mouth twist into a pout, forming the word ‘fucking’ with his thick lips before he’s whipping out his translation device again. Taehyung doesn’t have time to stop him when various pornographic images pop up on his holographic screen, Jimin’s eyes widening with intrigue, his mouth falling open at the suggestive images in front of him.
(or: lonely college student taehyung harbors an alien fugitive in his apartment. nothing goes as planned.)
Words: 34,850
4. Drag'on Together (Love Is Its Own Magic)
Summary: “I swear to God, Taehyung if you stop to pick up one more rock because you think it might be some sort of rare stone, I’m leaving you here,” Jimin huffs as he tries to sound intimidating.
“Jiminnie, we both know you wouldn’t survive a minute without me, so stop with the empty threats, okay?” Taehyung replies, happily ignoring his dark-haired friend.
Jimin would argue, he would, if it wasn’t for the fact that Taehyung was right.
or
The time Taehyung and Jimin finds a blue rock and it turns out to be so much more.
Words: 30,554
5. even the weariest river
Summary: It's moments like this that make Taehyung panic. The open derision on each courtier's face, the scorn of his brother as he turns from his prey. The slit of Park Jimin's eyes, just barely open and dark and hateful, as Taehyung swallows and squares his shoulders and says—
"I want to claim him."
The tides of war change, and sweep Taehyung and Jimin along with them.
Words: 152,979
6. i fell in love with the pizza delivery guy (and then i blew him in the bathroom)
Summary: Send your best delivery guy. Preferably cute, preferably packing.
“You're the one who ordered me,” Taehyung says. Not exactly a question; more of a statement.
“Well, I ordered pizza; you just happen to be a delightful bonus,” Jimin clarifies, lips drawn up in a smirk that sets Taehuyung’s blood on fire in a most delectable way. “Although, had I known a pretty face like yours was working there...maybe I would have been more specific with my instructions. At least I know for next time.”
(or, Jimin orders pizza and a little something extra, and Taehyung delivers without really knowing what he's signing up for)
Words: 18,438
7. Grand Jeté
Summary: Refusing to spend another night alone, Taehyung surprises his perfectionist of a boyfriend Jimin at his dance studio with the intent of dragging him home. But their pent-up emotions from spending time apart has the visit ending with a lot of kissing and a little experimenting.
Words: 8,200
8. Already Midnight
Summary: On New Year's Eve, Taehyung is drunk. So drunk that he doesn't recognize Jimin as his boyfriend. When Jimin kisses him at midnight, Taehyung threatens to call his man- aka Jimin.
Words: 3,951
9. Worth The Risk
Summary: The rules are simple: no kissing on the lips, no petnames, no cuddling after sex, no sleepovers, no labels, and no catching feelings.
It should be simple. In fact, it would be simple, if it weren’t for one tiny thing...Taehyung is pretty sure he’s in love with Jimin. And that’s absolutely against the rules.
Words: 23,645
10. Common Ground
Summary: Taehyung is rich, a little bit bratty, a lot a bit spoiled, and failing calculus. Jimin works full time, tutors, and is a straight-A student. There's a rulebook somewhere that states very clearly that people like Jimin should never associate with people like Taehyung. But rules are meant to be broken. And opposites always, always attract.
Words: 44,136
11. This is not a dream
Summary: He would think they were ships in the night if not for the fact that every night, Jimin lays his head in Taehyung’s lap and Taehyung runs fingers without nerve endings through his hair. If they didn't have this false, teasing closeness long enough to learn every detail of each other's lives, long enough that Jimin is the person Taehyung spends the most time with by a mile.
(Jimin leaves. Two months later, he falls in love with Taehyung.)
Words: 12,370
12. Shooting Stars and Silver Moons
Summary: Yoongi and Jimin make a bet, Taehyung makes bad decisions.
(Or: "I'm kind of pissed you didn't choose me to fake date, I'm your best friend")
Words: 20,206
13. the whole world is blue
Summary: Taehyung is not going to confess. That kind of thing never ends well. The movies are wrong. It doesn't always turn out to be mutual. Real life isn't so romantic like that.
Words: 10,829
14. Swipe Right
Summary: As a best friend, Jimin will do anything for Taehyung. This includes being his fake boyfriend to ward off the unwanted attention Taehyung is receiving after using a dating app and agreeing to meet someone.
Words: 26,085
15. Define Me in Terms of You
Summary: This is either Taehyung's greatest idea, or his worst.
“So, let me get this straight. You want me to teach you how to play guitar, join a fake band and enter a competition just so that you can impress a guy you like?"
Words: 9,808
16. i just adore you asking for more
Summary: Taehyung is a successful model looking for a discreet release. Jimin is a professional dom who won’t judge his browsing history.
Words: 90,201
17. Sirius
Summary: "Dude, our entire relationship could be an Ed Sheeran album."
Words: 16,955
18. it's your heart i wanna live (& sleep) in
Summary: The first time Jimin sleeps over at Taehyung's, it's an emergency. The other times after? That's a different story.
Words: 22,658
19. kissing up on fences (and up on walls, i don't want to fall)
Summary: They’ve always been close, Taehyung and Jimin. Where one went, it would be rare to see them without the other. This is a fact Namjoon knows better than most, having coexisted with them in close quarters for such a long time.
Namjoon had not, however, for all his proclaimed wisdom and prudence, had the foresight to see that they’d become this close.
(or: the five times the other members thought they were dating, and the one time jimin starts to wonder if they really are)
Words: 8,738
20. The Usual
Summary: Alternatively titled: The Regular
Jimin will date anyone, except for boys who serve coffee.
Words: 27,935
21. i'm so sorry but it's fake love (tbh, not really)
Summary: when chaebol/commitment anti-fan park jimin learns he's being married off, he does the smartest thing in the world: hire a fake boyfriend he found on the internet (aka Craigslist's personal ads)
all he needs is just three months with said fake boyfriend to convince his parents to leave him alone. after that, he'll get back to his regular programming.
except, not really.
Words: 209,565
22. Gravity//Oxygen
Summary: He already lost his parents.
He'll be damned if he loses Jimin's smile too.
We stay together.
Always.
Taehyung is out for revenge. And he'll do anything to get it.
Words: 180,321
23. A Screenshot of Youth
Summary: There’s a sharp intake of breath, Taehyung’s grip tightening over Jimin’s with a gentle squeeze. “Jimin,” his voice is serious, and Jimin watches him, strangely endeared. “Let’s be friends.”
And it’s like this, that they begin as friends in the heat of a sweltering summer, twelve years old and too young to think much of it, hands twined together under the blanket of a setting sun.
(In which Jimin and Taehyung grow up together.)
Words: 18,496
24. i'll take the desert, you take the coast
Summary: “Everyone I know is a candlestick nearing its demise. They’re afraid of bringing meaning into their lives, of cultivating that glow. But you, prince Park Jimin, you are different. You glow with the passion of more than a thousand suns.”
Words: 30,973
25. just to get a taste
Summary: The one where Jeongguk dares Jimin and Taehyung to kiss and it unravels a lot of feelings. But mostly more kisses.
Or the one where Jimin's heart is stupid and Jimin's best friend is actually irresistible. Who'd've thunk, huh?
Words: 24,375
26. tell them it's the end
Summary: Five months after Taehyung suddenly walked out on him, Jimin finds out that Taehyung has yet to inform his family, who absolutely loved Jimin, about their split.
Jimin tries to swallow his feelings as he once again “dates” Taehyung.
Words: 13,802
27. stay with you
Summary: Taehyung wondered why he always see this blonde man, getting wasted every night. Its such a shame seeing his pretty face wasting every single night of his life in this bar.
Until he saw his eyes, and he understood why.
(Or Jimin is broken and he wanted his happiness back.)
Words: 12,875
28. ring the changes
Summary: That's the nature of one-sided confessions. Things change.
Words: 45,248
29. summer, winter, spring (i'm falling for you)
Summary: The school starts to take notice of Jimin.
Taehyung has always noticed.
Words: 41,786
30. Make Me-al
Summary: In which Jimin starts to work at Jin's restaurant and there he meets Taehyung, the new rookie waiter that kinda gets him off his nerves (the feeling is mutual). Yet, the tension between them is hotter than the ovens from the kitchen...
Words: 26,886
31. such stuff as dreams are made on
Summary: "sir no one, may i have this dance?"
or: kim taehyung, a kitchen boy, sneaks into a royal masquerade. park jimin is the prince he never expected.
Words: 38,753
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Apollo Devotion in Uncertain Times
Tomorrow (May 25 2020), the U.S. will celebrate Memorial Day, which many consider to be the "official" start of summer.
Summer is my absolute favorite time of year, but things have been so unpredictable and unstable both in my personal life and in the global community over the past few months.
And while the world is beginning to come out of total lockdown, there's still a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about the future. To be perfectly honest, I'm desperate for the world to get back to normal, and I'm struggling to accept that there is no going back. The world as we knew it before the pandemic no longer exists.
Which is a really troubling thought for everyone, let alone a young adult with pre-exisitng anxiety disorders rapidly approaching a major life event (earning my bachelor's degree and entering the "real" world) while feeling completely unprepared to do so.
Universal anxieties aside, I compiled a quick list of devotions I'm working into my daily routine. Most of these are simple/subtle, as I'm banished to the broom closet while I stay with my parents. Summer is the season of Apollo, the sun, growth- and I want to do my best given the circumstances.
Incorporating music into daily tasks- simple enough. I am always listening to music, but lately I'm trying to expand my genre interests, singing, and practicing my ukulele more.
Dancing- this goes along with music, but it has a distinct significance to me. I love all forms of exercise, but dancing is my favorite. I feel better about my body, I feel more optimisic about the day's challenges, and I feel more connected to Apollo if I devote my dancing to him.
Gardening/Libations- Since Apollo's domain is the sun, I associate all things green and growing with him as well. I have a ton of plant babies, and checking on them gives me a good excuse to spend time outside in the sunshine and it feels good to help a little life grow. Gardening is also a good way to offer libations, or an offering of liquid to the Gods. I have a libation jar on my window sill, but I can also make libations while caring for my plants. Since Apollo is associated with birds, I maintain a birdfeeder and bird bath for my local winged friends.
Journaling- I think every witch should make journaling a part of their daily practice, but I want to incorporate a devotion ritual into my existing habit. My plan is to light a candle I've already dedicated to him while I write, and end my journal entry with a word of graditude to Apollo and the day's blessings.
Art- Traditionally, Apollo is associated with poetry, but I use all forms of art (writing, drawing, painting, sewing) as a means of devotion. The important thing I have to remember is that I want to create art for the purposes of enjoying and expressing- not for a technically perfect outcome. The technical skill comes through practice, and enjoying the process of creating because it makes me happy.
Glitter- this one might be considered silly, but I associate all things sparkly with Apollo. Wearing jewelry dedicated to him, or gold eyeshadow or glitter makeup is another form of showing my appreciation.
Honoring Artemis- While I am not a devotee of Artemis, I think it's important to acknowledge and make occasional offerings to her, since she's Apollo's twin sister. I hold great respect for all the Theoi, and I make sure that I'm acknowledging the power and importance Artemis has on her own, not just because she's Apollo's sister.
Quiet- this is by far the simplest, but it's something that is underestimated. I can spend 1 minute just silently acknowledging Apollo's presence. Sometimes I'll express graditude, other times I'm stuck and I need his guidance. I love doing big, complicated rituals, and expressing my faith in that way- but these little moments mean just as much.
So those are just a few of the things I'm working into my daily routine to maintain my practice and work through these difficult times. I'd love to hear how other Hellenic worshippers practice, even if you're not devoted to Apollo! It's always nice to learn, especially since I'm new to the Hellenic aspect of my path.
Though we live in dark times, I wish you the brightest of blessings! May the Divine bring you peace; have faith that each day brings a new hope of positive change. -Kate
#apollo devotee#apollo worship#apollon#hellenic pagan#witchblr#hellenic witch#pagan#witch#witchy#witchcraft
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i can’t sleep so here is my shingeki no kyojin/attack on titan modern AU dump
1. Levi, Hanji and Erwin live in the same apartment complex and they also share a dorm
2. Mikasa’s parents survive in this AU and her mother manages to give birth to her younger brother, whom they name Touta
3. Eren’s parents aren’t usually around as his father moves up the ranks in pharma and his mother works late shifts at the diner to save up for a family car
4. Reiner forced Annie and Bertolt to helo him mess with Marco’s entrance exam score. Marco got expelled due to this and he left behind a note before moving away with his family, which the class misinterpreted as a s*icide note
5. Annie works part-time at the local coffee shop on mondays, wednesdays and fridays.
6. Historia and Ymir are the school’s power couple
7. Hanji sometimes helps Dr. Jaeger with getting chemicals for formulating medicines
8. Levi and Hanji and her other friend Mike are in a band together
9. nobody visits Armin during the winter months. this is because his hypersensitivity to cold causes him to get terribly sick, and Armin is like a demon when he is sick. his eyes swell up and are bloodshot, his nose is blocked and he can only breathe through his mouth, which somewhat contributes to his involuntary salivation. he is covered from head to toe with sweat from wrapping himself in one too many blankets and his hair is unkempt from him moving about and scraping his uncut nails against it in rage. in addition to this, he also gains unknown herculean strength, which, Jean theorizes, is powered entirely by spite and bean soup, as demonstrated when he throws Jean out the window with one hand after he snuck in trying to find out what was wrong against the warnings of Eren and Mikasa.
10. Armin can switch from a generally nice and friendly personality to a sassy one in a matter of minutes, due to the amount of time he spent with Historia in middle school
11. Mina Carolina was in love with Marco so after his apparent “death” she sent his parents flowers every other day she can. it is later revealed that he had donated some flowers to his local orphanage and kept the rest to plant in a meadow out back and took lots of photos with them.
12. Jean is a star athlete and is often picked for sports day activities, most notably the 100m hurdle race and pole vaulting
13. Armin is able to forge many of his classmates’ handwritings and as such has taken a liking to sending random love letters to others to make it seem like someone else sent them just to start some drama. he’s only been caught once by Annie but as she always says. “its none of my business.”
14. Thomas Wagner sells hot dogs so he can afford consoles his parents don’t want to buy from him (”ZIS ARE ZE BEST FRANKFURTERS IN ZA DISTRICT!!!”)
15. when Marco pays them a visit at a skate park one summer afternoon, Reiner devises a plan to get rid of him for good. he is immediately kicked by Annie and suplexed by Bertolt
16. Levi sleeps with a large dolphin plush that Hanji won for him at a boardwalk fair
17. Erwin is usually up first followed by Levi, so Erwin is normally on breakfast duty.
18. Eren’s friends are a top priority to him. if he finds that someone hurt even one of them he would destroy anything and/or anyone associated with the perpetrator before the perpetrator themself. Armin feels like a sudden neglect from his parents is too much for him to bear so he takes it out on others any way he can. Mikasa looks at him and sighs. maybe she knows something???
19. Eren and Armin have a slogan they tell each other before doing something reckless. “believe in you i’ll believe in me. believe in me and i can count on you!”
20. Armin can’t have strawberries. his body is sensitive to certain chemicals in food and the aphrodisiac will just make him erratically horny :/
21. Mikasa and Levi sometimes like to go to the park for some quality Ackerman bonding time!
22. Levi’s softer, somewhat childish side only ever comes out when he’s around his mother. she lets him do that since she barely got to spend time with him when he was younger.
23. for the longest time Levi thought Kenny was his dad
24. Kenny wants a secret powers that lies with the government yet for some reason Levi doesn’t care anymore.
25. Jean used to get horrible grades in class but Marco had inspired him to do better. now when anyone catches him slacking off they use the phrase “remember Marco” to help get him back on his feet.
26. whenever Armin is feeling stressed he turns off all the lights and has himself and 80s dance “party”
27. sometimes Mikasa and Eren have strange arguments but quickly change the subject whenever someone else enters the room
28. Sasha and Connie love watching football and they often bet their snacks on which team will win which match
29. Sasha’s father is a chef who taught her his expertise at a young age. her love for cooking grew and she wanted to spread the joy of food to many others. she has plans for starting an NGO to give healthier meals to starving kids around the globe
30. Armin is a softcore weeb/otaku but a hardcore gamer.i mean seriously if you saw his setup you’d be soaking wet
31. Bertolt never actually confessed to Annie. he just started calling her names like “sweetie” “dearie” “bay-bay” and “muh princess” and she just sorta went with it
32. Erwin and Hanji teach at Eren’s school
#attack on titan#shingeki no kyojin#AoT#snk#AOT headcanons#snk headcanons#attack on titan headcanon#Eren Jaeger#Eren Jäger#aot eren#snk eren#armin arlert#aot armin#snk armin#armin headcanon#Mikasa Ackerman#snk mikasa#aot mikasa#hanji zoe#hange zoë#aot hanji#snk hanji#levihan#levi x hanji#LEVI ACKERMAN#rivaille#erwin smith#commander smith#mike zacharias#mina carolina
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⟨ DANIELLE ROSE RUSSELL. CIS FEMALE. SHE/HER. ⟩ though the mist might prevent some from seeing it, ADELAIDE CROFT is actually a descendent of H Y P N O S. it’s still a question of whether or not the TWENTY-TWO year old CREATIVE WRITING MAJOR from SALEM, USA has taken after their godly parent completely, but the demigod is still known to be quite VENTURESOME & VAIN.
*jennifer coolidge vc* hi a google doc + pinned post are tbd but until then here’s perhaps an equally extensive intro, she’s a menace ty
name: adelaide jane croft
nickname: ads, addie (if she likes you), aj (if you want to die)
age: 22
dob: august 1, 1998
zodiac: leo sun, ?????? everything else
mbti: entj, the commander
powers: hypnokinesis, shapeshifting, seeing gods in dream, memory retrieval (minor)
positive traits: venturesome, creative, hardworking, independent, ambitious
negative traits: vain, cunning, bossy, stubborn, overcritical
works: front desk associate at the library
clubs and sports: member of book club, chess club, herpetology club, women in leadership club, creative writing club, captain of the debate team, president of feminist alliance, and captain of the cheerleading squad
character inspo: blair waldorf (gossip girl), jackie burkhart (that 70′s show), catherine the great (the great), cheryl blossom (riverdale), audrey horne (twin peaks), amy march (little women), cordelia chase (buffy the vampire slayer), fran fine (the nanny), daphne blake (scooby doo)
MENTIONS: alcoholism, coma, neglect
born in salem, massachusetts, adelaide croft is the daughter of sherry croft and hypnos, a product of an affair her mother has on her husband, senator richard croft-- sherry is a bored housewife trapped in a seemingly picturesque but loveless marriage when she meets hypnos, one thing leads to another, nine months later, adelaide is born
richard knows from the get-go adelaide is not his child, it doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out and despite the obvious strain this infidelity puts on the croft marriage, they remain together, richard claiming to the public that adelaide is his daughter while the disdain for what her mother did bubbled into resentment towards the young girl-- growing up she believed he was her real father
the crofts have one other child, an eldest daughter, prudence, and she is the pride and joy of the croft family, things came effortlessly to prudence, who received praise and attention from her parents for the slightest thing-- from a young age, she was actively pit against her older sister, who was as cruel as their father was at times, their relationship founded from rivalry
adelaide struggled for approval from her parents, who often brushed her off or ignored her. while her father was too focused on work, her mother too focused on drinking, and both too focused on prudence, it didn’t help that she developed strange habits from a young age, like claiming to speak to strange people in her dreams or how the world grew drowsy around her
found out she was a demigod at eleven, hypnos came to her in a dream, she laughed in his face, but very quickly realized this was real shit, when he offered the chance to go to a camp where there were other people like that she jumped at the chance-- attended camp halfblood during the summers of 2009-2016
trained pretty extensively during that time, was a casual quester, chosen usually because of her enthusiasm and hypnokinesis abilities, they did not all end well, she lost some people along the way, got some stuck in some sticky situations, will eventually go into more depth with these
when she wasn’t at camp, she was climbing the social ranks back in massachusetts, winning academic awards, prom queen, staying on top of sports, practically anything in an attempt to make her parents acknowledge her, then when she realized they never would, specifically to spite them, simply trying to survive the rest of her high school career
started writing at a young age, journaling originally, but eventually, it grew into short stories, then novellas, etc.
always knew she was going to eonia, however, the process was sped up a little after an incident involving hypnokinesis, prudence, and a five day coma, adelaide denounced the crofts essentially, and using her memory retrieval power successfully for the first and only time, wiped herself from their memories (how long that will last, she is unsure), she went to live with a friend for a bit until she was accepted into eonia
studies creative writing with the intent to write horror fiction based off the nightmares and dreams she has witnessed and influenced, currently in her fourth year here with intent to go to grad school afterwards
TL;DR: the younger daughter of sherry croft and hypnos, adopted by senator richard croft, grew up in a loveless, neglectful household that was seemingly perfect in public eye, had a sadistic older sister name prudence who was always in the spotlight, big queen bee vibes but went to chb and quested a bit, eventually came to eonia to study creative writing.
some headcanons
actually an insomniac, that kind of fuck things up for her, but she finds ways to fall asleep eventually
coffee fiend
chaotic bisexual
weapon of choice is a longsword she got from a quest, affectionately nicknamed tallulah, however she’s proficient in throwing knives and crossbows
has an albino ball python named boris after boris karloff
LOVES halloween and all things horror, surprisingly morbid when you actually get to know her
favorite author is shirley jackson!
will astral project to you to bug you if she’s bored
the gods she has seen the most in her dreams beyond hypnos is hecate, apollo, and athena!!! she details all of the meetings just in case there’s important info
very nosy, will snoop for anything and everything
stressed 25/8
i will update my wc doc asap i don’t have the capacity to do that currently but some wcs include rivals, exes, chb people, friends, enemies, hookups, someone to get her to relax, quest partners, uhhhhh someone she tutors perhaps, muses, hypnokinesis victims, someone she bit while she was a cat!, uhhhh
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my mom keeps badgering me about the capital event bc i really hated it but i support the blm protests and she says it’s hypocritical of me bc the protests were just as “violent” as the capital and “caused lots of deaths”. i never really have anything to say back to justify what went down, do you have any info i could use to explain myself? i know they were for completely different causes and one actually matters, but i don’t know how to justify the “violence” (i personally don’t think a majority of them were violent, all the ones where i lived were routinely peaceful and i think the extreme ones were sensationalized for the news). anyway sorry if it’s dumb i’m 14 and just trying to get into politics and stuff so i’m not super well informed and just trying to learn.
I’m sorry this has taken me a few days to get to. What happened at the Capitol is complicated, and I want to make sure I give you as full of an answer as possible. I also want to just quickly say that it’s awesome you’re getting involved in politics at such a young age and trying to help your parents understand these issues. I would love to answer any questions you have about politics or social issues (or just kind of anything in general, I’m not picky). Last thing and then I’ll get into the meat of this post- I’m a huge supporter of the BLM and police abolition movements and was a protestor over the summer, so I’m maybe a little bit biased. This situation makes me really angry on a personal level, but I’ll try to stick to just the facts as much as possible in this post and let you know when I’m showing my own opinions.
So the first thing I want to talk about is language. The Black Lives Matter protests were protests- a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards a political idea or action, usually with the intention of influencing government policy. In the US, protesting is a constitutional right protected by the First Amendment. The storming of the Capitol was not a protest, and it wasn’t intended to be. It was planned several weeks in advance with the explicit intention of disrupting the counting of Electoral College ballots. Their stated goal was to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat in the presidential election, an election that is widely considered to be the freest, fairest, and safest election in US history (ironically, in part due to Trump’s insistence that there was voter fraud in the 2016 election). Storming a public building is not a form of protest protected by the US Constitution. Further, an attempt to overturn a democratic election is an attempt to carry out a coup. The Capitol rioters will likely be charged with sedition (conduct that incites rebellion against the established order) and/or insurrection (a violent uprising against an authority or government). The Black Lives Matter protestors were not attempting to carry out a coup against the US government, and none have been charged with offenses as big as those.
Next, I want to touch on motivation. The Black Lives Matter protesters were protesting against police brutality towards minorities, particularly Black people. There has long been a documented history of police misconduct and fatal use of force by law enforcement officers against Black people in the US. Many protests in the past have been a response to police violence, including the 1965 Watts riots, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and the 2014 and 2015 Black Lives Matter protests in response to the murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray. By contrast, the Capitol rioters were not motivated by fact. They were called to action by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. They were told that the election had been “stolen” from Trump, and were encouraged to march over to the Capitol to “take back our country”. The idea that the election was stolen from the president is demonstrably false. They weren’t motivated by a social issue, a concern for their own lives, facts, or even really principle. “Our president wants us here...we wait to take orders from our president,” was what motivated them. The affiliations of those rioters are varied, but many of them are affiliated with either the far-right, anti-government Boogaloo Boys, the explicitly neofascist Proud Boys, the self-proclaimed militia The Oath Keepers, or the far-right militia group Three Percenters. Many are also on the record as being QAnon followers (followers of a disproven far-right conspiracy that started off as a 4chan troll, which states that an anonymous government official, “Q”, is providing information about a cabal of Satan-worshiping, cannibalistic pedophiles in the Democratic party who are running a child sex trafficking ring and plotting against Trump. Yes, really).
The intentions of BLM were largely peaceful. BLM protest documents encouraged protesters to be peaceful even in the face of police violence, because the BLM protesters knew what the price of being violent would be. We were encouraged not to bring weapons or anything that could be misconstrued as a weapon. Even non-violent protests were met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot gear. A reported 96.3% of 7,305 BLM protests were entirely peaceful (no injuries, no property damage). The 292 “violent incidents” in question were mainly the toppling of statues of “colonial figures, slave owners, and Confederate leaders”. There were also several instances of right wing, paramilitary style militia movements discharging firearms into crowds of protesters, and 136 confirmed incidences of right-wing participation at the protests (including members of the aforementioned Boogaloo Boys, Three Percenters, Oath Keepers, and Proud Boys). It was also rumored that off-duty police were inciting violence (although to my knowledge, that is unconfirmed). There is no evidence that “antifa” (a decentralized, left-wing, anti-racist and anti-fascist group) played a role in instigating the protests or violence, or even that they had a significant role in the protests at all. People who were involved in crimes were not ideologically organized, and were largely opportunists taking advantage of the chaos for personal gain.
By contrast, the “Storm the Capitol” documents were largely violent; messages like, “pack a crowbar,” and “does anyone know if the windows on the second floor are reinforced” were common on far-right social media platforms. One message on 8kun (formerly 8chan, a website linked to white supremacy, neo-Nazism, the alt-right, etc) stated, "you can go to Washington on Jan 6 and help storm the Capitol....As many Patriots as can be. We will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill security guards, kill federal employees and agents, and demand a recount." The speakers at the Trump rally encouraged attendees to see themselves as foot soldiers fighting to save the country, and to be ready to “bleed for freedom”. The Capitol rioters were mostly armed; rioters were reportedly seen firing pepper spray at police officers, and pipe bombs, molotov cocktails, and guns (including illegal assault rifles) were found on the protesters. One protester was filmed saying, “believe me, we are well armed if we need to be.” Some protesters arrived in paramilitary regalia, including camo and Kevlar vests.
I quickly want to touch on scale. The George Floyd BLM protests are thought to be the largest protests in US history, with between 15 and 26 million (largely young, sometimes children, minority) people attending a protest in over 2000 cities in 60 countries. There were around 14,000 arrests, most being low-level offenses such as violating curfews or blocking roadways. 19 deaths have been reported, largely at the hands of police. Only one death is known to have been a law enforcement officer. The number of people who stormed the Capitol is still somewhat unclear, but it seems to be between 2,000 and 8,000 (largely older white, cis, straight, Christian men) people. 80+ people have been arrested for federal crimes, including 25+ who are being charged with domestic terrorism (something nobody associated with BLM is being accused of). There have been five deaths reported. One was a police officer, and the other four were rioters. Of those deaths, one was a police related shooting (a female Air Force veteran). The other three died of unrelated medical emergencies. One reportedly had a history of high blood pressure and suffered a heart attack from the excitement.
Now I want to look at government response. During the BLM protests, there was a huge response from law enforcement. 200 cities imposed curfews, 30 states and Washington DC activated over 96,000 National Guard, State Guard, 82nd Airborne, and 3rd Infantry Regiment service members. The deployment was the largest military operation other than war in US history, and it was in response to protests concerning, in part, the militarization of police forces. The police were outfitted in riot gear. They used physical force against BLM protesters, including batons, tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets, “often without warning or seemingly unprovoked,” per the New York Times. Anecdotally, everyone I know now knows how to neutralize pepper spray, treat rubber bullet wounds, build shields out of household items, how to prevent cellphones from being tracked, and how to confuse facial recognition technology to prevent being identified (as six men connected to the Ferguson protests mysteriously turned up dead afterwards, and the police were using cellphone tracking technology). Amnesty International issued a press release calling for police to end excessive militarized response to the protests. There were 66 incidents of vehicles being driven into crowds of protesters, 7 of which explicitly involved police officers, the rest of which were by far-right groups. Over 20 people were partially blinded after being struck with police projectiles. When the BLM protests were happening, Trump said that, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
In contrast, the response to the Capitol protesters was relatively tame, especially given that the US Capitol’s last breach was over 200 years ago (when British troops set fire to the building during the war of 1812) and the rioters weren’t being shy about their aspirations to conduct an armed insurrection incited by the sitting president. There was (widely available, able to be found through a Google search, everyone saw it) prior intelligence that far-right, extremist groups were planning on (violently) Storming the Capitol on January 6th, with the intention of interrupting the Electoral College ballot counting and holding lawmakers hostage. However, the US Capitol Police insisted that a National Guard presence would not be necessary for the protests, and Pentagon officials reportedly restricted DC guard troop from being deployed except as a measure of last resort, and restricted them from receiving ammunition or riot gear. They were instructed to engage with rioters only in self-defense, and were banned from using surveillance equipment. Despite prior knowledge of the “protests”, Capitol Police staffing levels mirrored that of a normal day, and no riot control equipment was prepared. The Capitol Police weren’t in paramilitary gear the way they were for the BLM protests. The mob walked in to the Capitol with little resistance. Some scaled walls, some broke down barricades, some smashed windows, and one video even seems to show Capitol Police opening a gate for the mob. Rioters traipsed around the Capitol (one of the most important government buildings in the country) with little resistance, looting and vandalizing offices of Congress members. Some rioters felt safe enough to give their names to media outlets, livestream their exploits, and take selfies with police officers. One man was (ironically) carrying a Confederate flag, a symbol of a secession attempt on the part of the South (and of racism). It took 50 minutes for FBI tactical teams to arrive at the scene, and the National Guard were initially directed by Trump not to intervene. Pence later overturned that ruling and approved the National Guard. Police used finally used riot gear, shields, smoke grenades, and batons to retake control of the Capitol, but notably no tear gas or rubber bullets. Video showed rioters being escorted away without handcuffs. Trump’s response to the riot was, "we love you. You're very special ... but you have to go home."
This is where I’m going to get a little editorial, but I think it’s important to say. If the people storming the Capitol Building were Black, they would have been met with a large, pre-coordinated military presence, violent restraint, arrests, and quite possibly would have been shot. They wouldn’t have made it inside the Capitol, much less been given free rein to wander around without immediate consequence. Hundreds of people during the George Floyd protests were arrested for just being present- 127 protesters were arrested for violating curfew on June 2nd in Detroit alone, twice the number of arrests made during the storming of the US Capitol. It turns out that the police do know how to use restraint, after all. What an absolute shock. It’s almost like they’re a corrupt and racist institution we should get rid off...
The last big thing I want to talk about is the outcome. The BLM protests were meaningful, but the outcome from them has been tame. Nobody has been accused of domestic terrorism. State and local governments evaluated their police department policies and made some changes, like banning chokeholds, partially defunding some departments, and passing regulations that departments must recruit in part from the communities they patrol. Only one city, Minneapolis, pledged to dismantle their police force. The response has largely been localized. I think the biggest impact it’s had is introducing people to the concept of police abolition and getting more people involved in the movement. By contrast, the Capitol riots have resulted in over 25 people being accused of domestic terrorism and the second attempt to impeach Donald Trump, something that has never happened before in the history of the US.
But what really concerns me is the precedent this sets. Donald Trump is an idiot, and he’s gotten this far. We can’t count on the guy who takes his place to be an idiot, too. The next guy could be clever, strategic, well-spoken, well-mannered... not to invoke Godwin’s law here, but people liked Hitler. He was a persuasive speaker and capitalized on conspiracy theories about World War 1 to gain support. His 1923 attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government failed, but sympathy for his aims grew. He painted himself as a good, moral man who loved dogs and children and was trying to do right by his country (by, among other things, arresting communists and leftists, and then eventually all minorities). Trump isn’t Hitler. He’s not even a Hitler analogue. But Trump has already done this much damage to the fabric of our society. He’s worn down our relationship with the media, with one another, with democracy, with morality, and with truth itself. We have to be prepared for the idea that the next guy might be a much better politician. Getting rid of Trump isn’t the end; it’s the beginning of a fight against fascism that’s only going to grow from here.
There are other differences you could point to. BLM protesters wore masks to prevent the spread of COVID (and indeed, researchers have reported that the protests did not drive an increase in virus transmission), for example, while the rioters were largely unmasked. But I think the bottom line is that the millions of BLM protesters were doing their best to be responsible citizens fighting peacefully for an evidence-based, human rights cause, even though they knew that as a primarily minority group of people, they would be met with violence. The thousands of far-right, white, Capitol insurrectionists were doing their best to overturn a free, fair, safe, and democratic election because of a call to action by Trump and a stringent belief in disproven conspiracy theories, which they knew would be met with minimal resistance despite the severity of their actions. The insurrectionists are fascists, full stop, and we should call them what they are. The BLM protesters were by and large just people, of all different political views and motivations, who wanted to fight against something they saw as unjust.
I’m sorry that this is such a long post. This topic has been on my mind all week, and I wanted to give it the nuance it deserves. All we can do from here is to keep fighting- for justice, for truth, and, hopefully, for peace.
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2021 / 25
Aperçu of the Week:
"There are no great discoveries and advances as long as there is still one unhappy child on earth."
(Albert Einstein)
Bad News of the Week:
A new study gives distance learning a poor report card during the Corona crisis. Researchers at Frankfurt's Goethe University had looked at data from all over the world for this purpose - with sobering results: they found hardly any evidence of learning effects through distance learning in the studies, most of which refer to distance learning in 2020. "The average development of competencies during the school closures in spring 2020 can be described as stagnation with a tendency toward a decline in competencies," explained Andreas Frey, a professor of educational psychology at Goethe University and one of the study's authors. The success of distance learning "is thus in the range of the effects of summer vacations" (Der Spiegel).
This conclusion can certainly be described as frightening. And it should hardly turn out better for the spring 2021. Schools in Bavaria were closed for more than six months. And while my big daughter was able to achieve her university qualification nevertheless - and without any form of bonus! - solidly, it looks a little different for my little son. Mentally, I had already checked off this school year for him anyway. Fortunately, he's in the second of nine grades at secondary school, so there's still plenty of time to catch up on what he missed.
The problem might be to find an educational and functional way back to school normality. So for the time after the summer vacations in a good four weeks, I was expecting a kind of "school enrollment 2.0". And now this: Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn expects that after the summer vacations, due to the then dominant delta mutation of the coronavirus and the rather low vaccination rate among 12- to 15-year-olds, there will again be distance or shift teaching. How long should / must this continue?
The victims of the young generation play for my taste (not only now) a clearly too small role in the sociopolitical considerations in this republic. Apparently, the children and young people hardly have a lobby that fights for their interests. And their parents probably don't either. If the short-term prospects for young people (education and social skills) are not working out, what about the medium-term (digitization and career opportunities) and long-term (sustainable living environment and stable society) prospects? That worries me. Just me? Let's start a movement that finally lives up to the responsibility we have for future generations! Anyone on board?
Good News of the Week:
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) scored a spectacular own goal this week. The Munich City Council wanted to light up the stadium in rainbow colors during the Germany vs. Hungary match in the European Football Championships currently underway. In protest against Viktor Orban's latest homophobic legislation. UEFA refused - because they, and therefore their championship, were apolitical. You can see it either way. As a result, the public outrage over this decision was much louder and the media coverage much more present than it would have been if the initial idea would have been carried out. After all, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder demonstratively wore a rainbow mask in the audience. And the German team captain, world goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, wore a corresponding captain's armband on the field.
And with Carl Nassib, defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders, the first active professional in the NFL (National Football League) has come out as homosexual. Something that had to be waited for a long time in what is probably the most macho league in the world. Here, too, the echo was great. Players, clubs and the league congratulated him on this courageous step. In his short video, Nassib says he is interested in "representation and visibility." His explicit wish: that statements like his would one day no longer be necessary. In other words, that they no longer mean "breaking news", but normality.
The fact that these viewpoints come from team sports makes them particularly valuable. After all, as a spectator at the corresponding events, one likes to feel like a collective when "we" play against the others. So it has a signal effect.
P.S.: Orban then faced a powerful headwind at the EU summit. Led by Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who outed (actually I hate this word, because it implies that there are sexual orientations that should remain a secret) himself as homosexual even before (!) his election in 2013, it was made clear to this right-wing populist that the EU is not just an economic club from which he benefits disproportionately. But above all a community of values. In which there is only room for nations that recognize this. Which, in case of doubt, they intend to enforce. I'm curious to see how this will develop...
Personal happy moment of the week:
My wife got her second Corona vaccination this week. For health reasons, she took an impending Covid 19 infection particularly seriously. And is now suitably relieved. And her ice hockey team, the Canadiens from its founding city Montréal, have made it to the final play-offs for the Stanley Cup after 28 years and in a complete surprise - something she didn't believe in herself. And is now suitably relieved.
I couldn't care less...
...what reasons Britney Spears' father gives for continuing to be her guardian. It's about money. And no matter what psychological problems the lady may have: it's her self-earned money and not old family jewels that need to be protected.
As I write this...
...I'm looking forward to eating cheese again today after a week of abstinence from dairy due to antibiotics. Especially because we're having tacos tonight - yummy!
#thoughts#aperçu#bad news#good news#happy moments#news of the week#albert einstein#kids rights#distance learning#uefa#uefa euro 2021#hungary#viktor orban#rainbow#lgbtq#carl nassib#las vegas raiders#vaccination#canadians#montreal#Stanley Cup#corona restrictions#manuel neuer#homophobism#nfl#NHL#britney spears#xavier bettel#european union
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all the odd numbers <3
Alllllllll the odd numbers? Okayyyyy then.
1. when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?
It’s been a loooooong time since I’ve had cereal, but definitely more cereal, added milk as needed. The last thing I can handle is soggy cereal.
3. what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?
I’m that asshole who dog-ears her book pages. Sorry not sorry.
5. are you self-conscious of your smile?
Not really.
7. do you name your plants?
Lol I’d have to keep plants to name plants. The closest I’ve gotten is when I was house-sitting for my sister and thought I murdered her strawberries last summer. Turns out, I didn’t.
9. do you like singing/humming to yourself?
Not really. I do most of my singing to myself in my head.
11. what’s an inner joke you have with your friends?
Too many to count.
13. what’s something that made you smile today?
I bought these sour gummy snakes at the market today. Had them for brunch. Meal of champions.
15. go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!
According to the great google and Arizona State University, there are more trees on earth (3 trillion) than there are stars in our galaxy (100-400 billion). That’s a lot.
17. what color do you really want to dye your hair?
Overtone, the hair dye company, has been advertising this color blend called Merlot, which is a mid between red and purple and it’s SO my vibe.
19. do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?
I try to, but by the time I’m done with my day, I forget to journal. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
21. talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.
answered here
23. what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?
answered here
25. what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into?
answered here
27. what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?
I don’t chew gum.
29. what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?
My best friend does this nose crinkle thing that is adorable.
31. what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.
I wish they would just FUCKING FIT. So I don’t wear socks unless I have to.
33. what’s your fave pastry?
Chocolate croissants. Hands down.
35. do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?
I have the handwriting of a twelve year old boy, so stationary is wasted on me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
37. do you like keeping your room messy or clean?
I am blind to most messes. My closet is on the floor, pretty much.
39. what color do you wear the most?
Black. Hands down.
41. what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?
Any book in the Sigma Series by James Rollins. I am trash for a good military thriller.
43. who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?
Probably not since I was still working at the summer camp I grew up at, so, years ago, and probably with my campers.
45. do you trust your instincts a lot?
Yeah. My instincts are always right.
47. what food do you think should be banned from the universe?
I don’t do bananas.
49. do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?
Oh man, I used to LOVE buying CDs. The last record I bought was a vinyl of Haley’s Badlands when she did a club concert around the corner from where I live. It was SO much fun. Do I have a way to play said vinyl? No.
51. think of a person. what song do you associate with them?
I recently got news about a person who I used to work with back in the ye olde. The song I’m thinking of is Fuck You Very Much by Lily Allen. So, uh, take from that what you will.
53. have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?
Beetlejuice is one of the best movies of all time. I’ve actually never watched RHPS all the way through. And I’ve never seen Heathers or Pulp Fiction.
55. what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point?
Quit my job.
57. go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?
Like I could conquer the damn world. And yes, I did sing along. Duh. And now I want to listen to Radio Gaga. So thanks for that.
59. what’s your favorite myth?
I’ve always been a huge fan of the story of Serenity and Endymion. Goes back to my Sailor Moon phase. As one does.
61. what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received?
I don’t think any of the gifts I’ve given, gag or not, are stupid. Even the socks I’ve given (and gotten).
63. are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?
Not really. I like knowing where the books I go back to regularly are, but that’s really it. I used to be really organized about my music back when iTunes was a thing. Now I really just listen to music via YouTube.
65. is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with?
Yes, and that’s as far as I’m going to go on that nonsense. It’s been nine damn years. Ugh.
67. how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?
SO FUCKING GOOD. Love days like that.
69. what are your favorite board games?
Uhhhhhh....I haven’t played board games in years.
71. what’s your favorite kind of tea?
I used to drink green tea before I realized caffeine gave me serious anxiety.
73. what are some of your worst habits?
A great many things.
75. tell us about your pets!
My four-legged roommate Bishop. She’s the black cat I’ve always wanted and she’s the biggest, brattiest baby and she screams when she wants me to pay more attention to her. I am also the the aunt to four dog nieces, Belle (black lab mix), Raven (beagle mix), Ivy (miniature aussie), and Cora (husky/german shepherd mix), and two dog nephews, Sebastian (miniature schnhauzer) and Sven (husky/german shepherd mix).
77. pink or yellow lemonade?
Pink when I’m feeling fancy.
79. what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?
Someone I know, two years ago, the day after he met me, snuck me a cookie from the leftovers after team meal. It’s been a problem ever since.
81. describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.
They change colors, but most often, somewhere between fanfiction yellow, and the color of dead moss. And they’re the best.
83. what’s some of your favorite album art?
I don’t really have thoughts on album art? But I have my Halsey Badlands vinyl right in front of me and it’s pretty cool.
85. do you read comics? what are your faves?
Not often, but I have a giant pile of Power Rangers comics that I’ve been meaning to read through for like...ever.
87. what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?
Blazing Saddles, Pacific Rim, Beetlejuice, Crazy Rich Asians
89. are you close to your parents?
Well that’s a complicated question. Let’s just leave it at that.
91. where do you plan on traveling this year?
Well I was supposed to go to Hawaii for a friend’s wedding this summer, but she pushed it back to 2022, which makes sense. Other than that, California at some point to see my grandparents because I haven’t seen them in over a year because of the pandemic.
93. what’s the hairstyle you wear the most?
Either a ponytail or a messy bun. Sometimes I’ll wear it down, but it depends on which day I am between shampoos. My hair is, well, finicky at best.
95. what are your plans for this weekend?
I have a module for a course I’m taking that I need to watch and do the homework for. Maybe go up to my sister’s house once my niece gets back from her dance tournament
97. myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?
MB is steeped in eugenics so, no thank you, and also I just don’t have time to take the quiz. I’m a Taurus, and damn straight am I a Taurus. And I’m a Slytherin, full stop (though apparently I’m also a Ravenclaw, which makes sense).
99. list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.
marjorie by Taylor Swift, any song on Halsey’s Badlands album, The Pit by Silversun Pickups, Jet Pack Blues by Fall Out Boy, and Save Rock and Roll by Fall Out Boy, to name a few.
these are actually hella fucking cute y'all (except, you know, all the odds)
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evens for a v of your choice? 👀
let’s go with Evvie uwu
The Basics
2. Gender Identity Cis female
4. Race and Ethnicity Human, white, Irish origins
6. Headcanon VA - & fc Lauren Cohan
8. Weapon of Choice(?) Nowaki Assault rifle, or any shotgun she can get her hands on
10. Do they have any markings, piercings or scars? Small scar on the right side of her upper lip
12. Own any pets? She’s very dedicated to her fish
14. Can they cook? Can they bake? She’s passable with both, but she enjoys baking more.
16. Can they drive? She can. Doesn’t mean she should. If it’s a four wheel vehicle anyway. She can’t drive those for shit but she’s amazing on a motorcycle.
18. Have any special keepsakes? The implant that she and Velkan use for Twin Switches. It’s useful and sentimental all in one go. She still thinks getting Johnny via the same tech is karma for it, though.
Interests
19. Hobbies: Clothes shopping, cardio
20. Clothing/Aesthetic: Expensive, cute, lives in leather pants or slacks with bright colored midriff-bearing shirts and jackets.
21. Fave food(s) and drink(s) Seafood and whiskey
22. Fave Color: Light blue
23. Fave Genre: Romantic Comedy
24. Fave Season: Summer
25. City or Country? Anywhere But Night City
26. Guilty Pleasure Sweatpants
Storytime
27. What’s their family like? Who’s in it? What’s their relationship with them? Her and her siblings’ relationship is just about non existent with their parents because they basically abandoned them all, and the desire to find them has dwindled to none over the years. Her twin brother Velkan is the most important person in her life, and her other siblings aren’t that far behind, as much as Valencia would say otherwise.
28. Are they literate? Did they go to school? How long? What level? She’s intelligent, probably somewhere just beyond college level, but she’s also more a street smarts kind of gal- or business smarts, considering she’s Corpo. Trust No Bitch and all that.
29. What was childhood like? A lot of waiting around for parents who didn’t come home much.
30. What was adolescence like? Same as childhood with the added obligation to help Velkan take care of Vance and Valencia.
31. What’s their current main conflict? This is currently up in the air. Right now it’s either ‘keep Velkan out of trouble’, ‘keep Vance alive from doing all this shit’ and/or ‘get the terrorist out of my head.’
32. What steps have they taken to overcome this conflict? Shoot first ask questions later, be there for her siblings at all costs.
33. How have they changed over time? Lightened up a lot. Like, a lot. She’s still the Full Fledged Adult of the group, though.
For Fun
34. What’s their room look like right now? Sheer chaos in the main rooms, perfectly organized and color coded closet.
35. What are they like as a friend? Loyal, encouraging, #2 Wingman
36. What are they like as a partner? Same as friend, add very very subtly-but-effective-flirty
37. Do they have any phobias? Fear of abandonment
38. Did/do they go anywhere special for vacations? Beaches, as far from Night City as she could afford.
39. Your character walks into a cafe. What do they order? Super sweet iced coffee. Probably some fancy limited time flavor like that Dunkin Brownie one.
40. What time do they go to bed, usually? No set time, where she drops, she drops.
41. What’s their morning routine like? 80% of it is spent trying to decide what to wear, then its just eat and go.
42. What’s the dumbest thing your character’s done? Joined the corporate world to try to get a better life for her and her siblings, which ended up doing the opposite.
43. What pokemon would your character be (if they’re already a pokemon/gijinka tell us what they are, and how that’s affected them)? A Vulpix or Ninetails,
44. What’s their pokemon team? Try to pick all 6. Vulpix, Rapidash, Cubone, Lapras, Dragonair, Houndoom. She said “consistency whomst?”
45. Theme song (and a playlist if you’ve got it!) Here’s one for “the Greys” as in all four of them but its really just her at the same time. All the songs are the right vibe for her. The main ones for vibe/energy on that list are Blow (Deconstructed) Kesha, Beauiful Dirty Rich - Lady Gaga, Hello - Karmin
46. If this character was in a musical, what would their motif be (what kind of instruments do you hear, what’s the tempo, etc). Legally Blonde’s energy with the sound of Heathers. Light, mostly hopeful, but intense songs.
The Deep Lore™
47. What was this character’s biggest turning point in their life, something that changed them almost completely? Joining Corporate. It set her on a path where she turned into someone she started to not like and got out just in time, but she’s also well aware it almost ended her family because of the domino effect it had on her family.
48. What was their lowest point? What was their highest point? Lowest was the same answer, and high point, well, haven’t gotten that far yet.
49. What are some themes tied to your character’s story? / 50. What are some motifs associated with your character? “Stick to your guns” / “ffight for your family.”
51. What were some inspirations for your character (people, movies, games)? I didn’t really have character inspo as far as personality, but her fashion sense was definitely “SR 2/3 Shaundi, but willing to put on a suit jacket and heels” - literal ‘Corporate Ho.’
52. How are you and your character the same? How are you different? Oh she’s absolutely a chaotic confident mess and I’m... as far opposite as possible.
53. Expectations vs Reality: what did you expect and what did you get with this character? No expectations had or met just yet.
54. What does your character want, and what do they need? Wants to never have anyone abandon her, wants a solid life with her family all getting along peacefully. She also needs that but general stability would be nice, because she’s been all over the place in life for most of it.
55. What’s your character’s core trait? What’s their best trait? What’s their worst trait? When happens when these all interact with each other? Determination and blind optimism, respectively. They end up giving her lots of high, happy expectations, where the results are usually anything but.
56. What’s your overall goal with this character? Will they get a happy ending or will they succumb to their faults? We’ll see how canon goes, but if it’s too sad, God is Dead, My Canon Now. She can go be happy with Vik/Dino/Whoever The Hell I Settle On.
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Billboard #1s 1960
Under the cut.
Marty Robbins – “El Paso” -- January 2, 1960
Why have I heard this song a lot? It's not my parents' kind of thing, or my grandparents'. Anyway, this time the narrator is the murderer. He killed another man out of jealousy that a woman, who might not even be his woman, had a drink with the other man. It's a pretty okay old-fashioned country song, but it'd be better in Fallout: New Vegas.
Johnny Preston – “Running Bear” -- January 18, 1960
This. Thing. Is. An. Abomination. Fake tribal chants. Through the entire thing. They form the beat. And then there's a swing trumpet. And it's about a Romeo and Juliet situation, but the singer sounds like he thinks he's singing a goofy novelty song. I didn't know this song existed, and now I have to re-evaluate what I think the worst #1 is. I think this one takes the spot from "Having My Baby."
Mark Dinning – “Teen Angel” -- February 8, 1960
No, not Earth Angel, sadly. This guy's girlfriend ran to the railroad tracks to get his high school ring and got squished. He doesn't sound all that broken up about it. He doesn't sound capable of feeling any emotions, really. Very bad song.
Percy Faith – “Theme From A Summer Place“ -- February 22, 1960
It's a pretty instrumental, but a bit too gloopy for me. I looked up "A Summer Place," assuming based on the music it would be a light and frothy movie about young people in love. Uh... not really. But it ends happily. Also it has a message about not condemning young people for having sex, so that's good.
Elvis Presley – “Stuck On You” -- April 25, 1960
Though his voice sounds cartoonish to me, Elvis still feels like a breath of fresh air compared to most of what he's surrounded by. In 1960, he had more oomph than nearly anyone else on the charts. Anyway, you've heard this one. It's fine.
The Everly Brothers – “Cathy’s Clown” -- May 23, 1960
This one still got radio play on the oldies stations when I was a kid. It's got a beat, the music and beat change up, and the narrator sounds appropriately bitter after a bad break-up. I wouldn't seek it out, but I wouldn't change the station either.
Connie Francis – “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” -- June 27, 1960
Here we go, someone besides Elvis with a real spark. The narrator can't seem to leave this person who keeps cheating on her, and she sings that someday, her cheating lover will find someone they truly care for who will be untrue, and then they'll understand what she's going through. She sounds pretty happy about it. It's not Connie Francis' best song (that's "Who's Sorry Now"), but it's not at all bad.
The Hollywood Argyles – “Alley Oop” -- July 11, 1960
Oh right, I forgot for a moment, I hate 1960. This song is dumb. It knows it's dumb and revels in it, and I hate it.
Brenda Lee – “I’m Sorry” -- July 18, 1960
The narrator didn't realize it was cruel to play with other people's feelings until her own heart was broken. Possibly she was the girlfriend of the narrator of "Everybody's Somebody's Fool"? The song isn't as good though, mostly because of the spoken word section, which is cringe-inducing.
Brian Hyland’s “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” -- August 8, 1960
I can't believe I'm only up to August of this stupid, stupid year. When does Motown get here already? Ugh. Stupid, leering, creepy novelty song.
Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now Or Never” -- August 15, 1960
Good, it's Elvis again. Except this is a huge slice of fromage. Elvis was better than this. His belting is impressive, but it should be in a better song. I'm bored. Elvis was never one of my faves, but he should also never be boring. I hate this year.
Chubby Checker’s “The Twist -- September 19, 1960
THANK YOU GODS AND LITTLE FISHES. You know this song. You've danced to this song. This song is truly great. Possibly the rest of 1960 up to now had to suck so much for this song to come out.
Connie Francis – “My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own” -- September 26, 1960
Did Connie Francis ever sing about anything but heartbreak? She can't get over someone who loves her. She doesn't seem too broken up about it this time. There are lots of mariachi horns. I can't associate mariachi horns with heartbreak. It could have been a good song, but Connie Francis' total nonchalance and the mariachi horns make it pretty bad.
Larry Verne – “Mr. Custer” -- October 10, 1960
This is supposed to be funny. It's a racist novelty song that seems to hate everyone and everything. I return the sentiment. Put this one in the bin with "Little Bear." Cripes 1960 sucked.
The Drifters – “Save The Last Dance For Me” -- October 17, 1960
Okay, all of 1960 didn't suck. There were a handful of very good songs among the dreck, and this is one of them. The narrator is happy that his wife (likely) is dancing with other guys, he just wants to remind her who she's going home with. It's got a nice Latin beat, good violins, and a singer who shows actual emotion. And the emotion isn't a simplistic one; he sounds totally happy that his wife is having fun flirting and dancing with other guys. But he knows that sometimes people get swept up in the moment and make mistakes. He's cheerful, not nagging or possessive. I like it.
Brenda Lee – “I Want To Be Wanted” -- October 24, 1960
A teenage song about wanting a boyfriend who adores her. It's... okay. I would probably have identified with it hugely when I was 15. Though I would have scoffed at how dated it sounds. I'm more tolerant of how it sounds musically now. But, though I understand the sentiment, it's still pretty overwrought. I guess now that I'm middle-aged and I've got what she wants my main feeling is that she needs to calm down and live her life rather than obsessing over finding the perfect person to spend a million years with when she's still a kid.
Ray Charles – “Georgia On My Mind” -- November 14, 1960
Aah that's the stuff. What is there to say about Ray Charles' version of this song? How do you describe perfection? Moonlight through the pines. This must have been a revelation at the time. It still is.
Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs – “Stay” -- November 21, 1960
"Oh won't you staaaay." I can't listen to this song without trying to sing along, and making my throat hurt in the process, as I'm an alto and I can't reach those falsetto notes. It's a fun song and a classic. Maybe Ray Charles fumigated 1960 and now it will be good?
Elvis Presley – “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” -- November 28, 1960
Yes! Elvis was a dramatic singer, and this is a dramatic song. Like everyone with an instinct for dramatic performance, he knew that true drama is often found in quiet and contemplation. He's soft throughout, and only half-belts at the end. There's a spoken word interval, but it's the kind of song in which you've already been seduced, so it's enjoyable. Plus Elvis knows how to speak it -- no embarrassment at all. Excellent. This is the kind of song that makes me understand Elvis mania.
BEST OF 1960: "Georgia On My Mind" WORST OF 1960: There is an embarrassment of putrescence here. At the end, it's a tie between "Running Bear" and "Mr. Custer."
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Interview with social media influencer and only fans user, Indigo Soulstice
1. What are your overall thoughts of body hair on women?
I am enamored by the idea of women embracing their natural state of being, hairy or hairless. All women experience varying degrees of hairiness (some that coincide with ethnic variation, hormone levels, age, etc) and I believe hair to be completely and entirely part of the intentional design of nature. In other words, it’s there for a reason and I trust biology.
2. Why do you grow your body hair?
I grow my body hair because I am now fully convinced in my mind that I am just as beautiful with or without hair, and I just happen to be naturally hairy so I want to respect my body (and my own personal time and money) and not go to extensive lengths to remove and alter the hairs that grow from my face, armpits, arms, back, legs, and pubic area.
3. How does being open with your body hair make you feel?
Like in other previously shamed aspects of my life, becoming completely transparent and embracing my body’s ability to grow hair as it does has opened my eyes to the meaning of radical self love and what it means to fully validate the human experience. I feel free. I feel loved. I feel beautiful.
4. Have you always been confident about your body hair and not shaven?
I shaved my body until the age of 18 without questioning it. It was just one of the many steps in my beauty regime that HAD to be completed to feel confident in my skin and to be accepted by the people around me (peers, family, boyfriends). I stopped shaving my armpits a few years after becoming vegan but continued to shave my legs and vagina and butt hole area because I thought my husband would not be as sexually attracted to me if I was hairy. I just this year stopped shaving my mustache and no longer go to get my unibrow threaded.
5. What are your first body hair stories?
Starting at the age of 5, my mother took me to the salon every other month to get my eyebrows waxed because I had a unibrow. I remember it hurting and dreading the visits to see the “wax lady”.
6. What inspired you to make an onlyfans and an instagram and where did this journey start?
I made my Instagram (@indigo.soulstice) March of 2020 after I had finished basic combat training in the Army and wanted to stay connected with the women I had bonded with along the way. My long-time fellow hairy vegan friend, @2natures2fairy2 and I followed each other and after a few months, I noticed she was posting photos of her hairy armpits and loved her confidence so I changed my Instagram from a mental health account into a body positivity page, because I was also hairy and passionate about embracing my body hair. I was in an environment at the time (Army) where all of the women I was surrounded by were shaving and didn’t understand why I didn’t. It was great to relate to another hairy lady! She posted about her OF account and I asked her how she got involved in that and how it worked. I am extremely sex positive and was living in a military training setting where sex was literally ILLEGAL and cause for being kicked out of service. I was deprived as hell and engaging in tons of masturbation. How cool to get paid for it and not even having to shave a hair on my body? As soon as I was officially medically retired from the military In November 2020, I opened up my own OF page and am so happy that I did.
7. What kind of subscribers do you receive on onlyfans? How do they treat you and your body hair?
I would say 90% of the subscribers on my OnlyFans are into people that are hairy or at least have a hairy bush. They treat me like a goddess, honestly.
8. Is there a message at all that you want the public to learn through your openness with body hair?
You are worthy of love exactly as you are. Right now. No, seriously.
9. What do the public in general, think of your body hair and your openness with the subject?
The internet is extremely supportive of my body hair and only fans page while my friends and family are shocked by it and don’t talk about it with me (or like my dad, gasp when I lift my arms to show my long armpit hair) haha
10. What do you think of people who find body hair disgusting?
I think that they have been taught the generic message in our society’s (wack) standard of beauty that a shaved body is a desirable body. I sincerely hope they see that they are worthy of love just as they are and don’t need to change to be worthy of that love.
11. What is the most shocking thing someone has said to you about your body hair?
I think I am more shocked by the uplifting compliments about my hair than I am shocked by “disgust” comments just because I didn’t know that there was an entire community out there that loves and obsessed over female body hair.
12. How do you deal with negative comments?
I rarely receive negative comments about my body hair online but I think that when I do receive comments in person (from family or past coworkers), it opens up a conversation to think of new ways of doing things. It’s uncomfortable but I don’t mind having that conversation. I love the shock factor honestly.
13. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said to you about your body hair?
I have received comments along the lines of “I am in love with your confidence and the way you embrace your body and encourage others to do the same.. you are a goddess and you inspire me”. I love receiving messages from other women that decide to stop shaving or show me their hair growth progress!
14. Do your family support you and your choice to keep your body hair and to make it public? What are their thoughts on the subject?
My immediate family knows I grow my body hair and they make giggles at it but they are so used to it that it doesn’t even phase them anymore and they joke about how my armpit hair is longer than my brother’s haha. My aunt thinks it’s cool and my cousin loves the body positivity. I don’t think they would grow out their own hair but they know I am eccentric and I am sure it doesn’t come as a big shocker to them at all. Also, I live in California and I have been vegan since I was 10 years old soooo… they are used to the counter-culture ideas I present to them every year or so!
15. Do your friends support you and your choice to keep your body hair and to make it public? What are their thoughts on the subject?
My friends ask me a lot of questions concerning my only fans and making money and ask me about the weird messages I receive. I lost a friend recently because she was not supportive of my decision to share my nude hairy body online for my subscribers and thought I was letting “money get to my head”. I decided I want friendships that are inherently supportive of the life I choose to live above all else.
16. How is body hair viewed down the generations of your family?
My grandparents have no idea but I am sure they would be horrified haha! They are conservative little Hispanic elderly folks and aren’t used to seeing such “new age” trends. My parents giggle and joke. My siblings are just like “oh cool, me too” haha!
17. Are you open with your friends and family on the subject of body hair? Do you ever talk about it with them?
I don’t openly talk about my body hair unless it comes up in conversation and I have no idea talking about it. I am confident in my decision to stay unshaven and I think people see that confidence and really think twice about their reasoning in choosing to shave. I am happy to provoke thought, if anything.
18. What is your cultural background?
My ethnic background is Spaniard, Portuguese, and Native American.
19. Does your cultural background have an impact on what other people think of your body hair?
My culture tends to be pretty hairy so it’s common for Hispanic girls in my community to have hairy arms and I grew up around a lot of girls who would complain about their hairy arms and back and shave often. Thick eyebrows and a mustache is common amongst Hispanic women as well.
20. Why do you think body hair on women is so frowned upon?
I think shaved women are sexualized because of origins in pedophilia. A young , pubescent, (virgin) adolescent girl being desirable over the matured adult woman. Body hair comes along with puberty and age and I think the male gaze tends to turn towards younger, “more innocent”, more “pure” and women untouched by other men. It goes back to patriarchal intentions of “owning” a young woman to breed and fulfill sexual desires.
21. What do you think is the leading cause of the misconception that body hair is unhygienic?
People think that body hair is unhygienic because hair is associated with uncleanliness, hippies, the homeless, foreign people. A shaven appearance is associated with a higher income and more reputable status (military, people in suit)
22. What positives have you got out of being open with your body hair?
Growing out my body hair has opened up other avenues in my life in which I may shed light on the shame that has been perpetrated by learned behavior and messages from American culture and the media. Today, I came out on social media as being Polyamorous, which is a HUGE source of shame for me personally within my life.
23. How are women with body hair usually perceived in the public eye?
We are seen as hippies or feminists. Man haters. Lesbians.
24. When you are out and about, do you get any public reactions to your body hair?
No one really says or does anything! I think California is just more generally accepting of body hair on women but we shall see when summer comes along and I really embrace the hair on FULL VOLUME.
25. How do you think body hair should be addressed in a relationship if one of them doesn’t like it?
If you are in a relationship with someone who doesn’t like your body hair, they aren’t accepting you for who you are. I would see that as a huge red flag and end it. Honestly. If they don’t like my body hair then they aren’t going to like me. End of story.
26. What are your thoughts on having body hair as a political stand?
It’s revolutionary as fuck for women to refuse to shave their bodies. It’s even more revolutionary for a woman to declare her own worthiness in a world that tells us over and over that we are inherently wrong and need to cover, pluck, wax, shave, thread, Nair ourselves to perfection.
27. What are your thoughts on body hair and gender?
I believe that regardless of gender, your body is your body and it should be a choice (solely influenced by your own desire) to shave or not to shave. BOTH are beautiful. For everyone.
28. What are your thoughts of body hair as a fetish?
I love that people are sexually attracted to a natural human body rather than the shaved, tanned, plastic surgery laden, makeup smothered bodies that we see in pornography.
29. What do you think of pornography’s influence of the “bare” look?
Haha, refer to 28. I think it sucks so hard (no pun intended).
30. How do you think pornography has effected our perception of body hair on women?
I have NEVER (and I mean NEVER) seen a full bush of vagina hair on a woman in pornography until I got involved in this community. And I have been watching pornography since the age of 11.
31. What do you think will help normalise body hair on women?
Just doing it and doing it loud and proud! Shutting down negative comments and providing another perspective with assertive kindness and deliberate intent to inform is the key here.
32. What do you hope for the future of body hair on women?
I would love to see a day where women can look at their own bodies and not have the thought of “oh no, I forgot to shave I can’t go out like this/wear these shorts/go to that pool party/have sex with my crush if I’m hairy!”. Yes, you can. 💜 lots of love
questions received by email 09/01/2021
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