#informal review

[lemonlilypufftangerine]

I have bought Apollo Justice Ace Attorney Trilogy and i just know I'm going to spend 100+ hours in the Orchestra Hall.

Comparing Great Ace Attorney Chronicles to AJ trilogy solely as collections of games, I'm conflicted. AJ has literally more content but different as well.

None of the art or music has commentary to read like TGAAC but the presentation i feel is so much more. Maybe it's the RE engine, idk. I wonder what engine the other games were on?

So bc I'm a big ol nerd, i technically prefer Chronicles because i LOVE further insight into games. But AJ is still an outstanding collection with extra content for all the games. If only any of these collections actually came with ALL previously released DLC (Sengoku Basara costumes and asinine ace attorney cases).

#The music is just too good omg #I've been hoping praying and begging for an in game music player with playlist ability and now i finally have it #😭 #Ajaa trilogy #ace attorney #Ajaa #Apollo Justice #Informal review #I don't feel like replaying all these games #But i do want the accolades. If only the story mode wasn't so tempting

[schmergo]

Time for one of my long, rambling informal reviews! This one is for RAGTIME at Signature Theatre and unlike some of the other reviews I've written, this show is still running for 3 more weeks, but tickets are selling EXTREMELY fast, so I'd recommend you snap some up if you haven't already! I will add that Signature's discounted 'partial view' seats are extremely good value and actually not a bad view at all, so don't sleep on those.

TLDR: This show is absolutely amazing and totally does the material of one of my favorite musicals justice in an intimate, innovative staging.

Ragtime is one of those musicals with a name that belies the complexity and darkness of the subject matter (along with Parade and Carousel), and yet there's no other simple name that could tie together such a dense and varied piece of musical theatre. If you're not familiar with it, this musical set in the early 20th century follows three different groups in New York: a white suburban upper class family, a family of new Jewish immigrants, and a star-crossed young family in the emerging Black middle class of Harlem-- plus a half dozen real historical figures of the period. Their paths intersect and intertwine in many unexpected ways, changing all of their lives forever. Expect some very intense themes like racism, sexism, gun violence, and exploitation of the working class, but also moments of surprising levity and loveliness.

It's one of my favorite musicals of all time, but it's also so complex and such an example of the '80's-'90's megamusical' that it's expensive and tricky to stage. So you might not think of the intimate blackbox venue of Shirlington's Signature Theatre as a prime candidate for this piece. But I can report that director Matthew Gardiner and the whole cast and crew knocked this piece out of the park (teehee, yes, this musical has a song about a baseball game). It was a spellbinding night of theatre and there wasn't a dry eye in the house at the end of the show.

I've seen some other shows at Signature-- including Sweeney Todd earlier this season-- where the goal of 'get creative with the intimate space' actually distracted from the material, but the biggest sign that this staging worked was that I barely noticed it at all or thought 'ooh, what a creative idea'. It just... worked. Fitting 33 performers and a 16-piece orchestra onto a small stage, plus massive set pieces like a WORKING REPLICA MODEL T FORD (absolutely show-stopping when it drove out) without feeling cramped or sacrificing audience sightlines shouldn't have been possible, but it all flowed seamlessly. Actors hung around on the sidelines when not part of the action, observing and serving as a backing chorus. This was the first Signature show I've seen with a turntable stage and it helped the show glide from scene to scene without being overused or feeling gimmicky. The use of the aisle space, staircases, and sharing the upper balcony with the fully visible orchestra also served the piece well.

The arched industrial-chic design of the set feels gritty and elegant at the same time, easily standing in for a factory, seaside pier, tenement, ocean liner, or train station, with gorgeous lighting design by Tyler Micoleau adding to the seamless transitions between scenes. Sumptuous costumes by Erik Teague set the tone from the moment the show started. (Mother's dreamy outfits give her an extra shimmer while also giving the impression of extreme restraint; there are outfits for a person whose job is to be decorative rather than effective.) My only true complaint was the sound balance: at times, the orchestra and the backing vocals drowned out soloists. I'm sure it can be difficult to fine-tune this when you have a fairly large band in a small space where natural acoustics battle with amplification.

The theatre is so intimate that you can see the subtlest expressions in the characters' eyes and that makes Signature stand out among other local theatres as a place where musical theatre truly feels led by actors and not just spectacle. In a mega musical like Ragtime, that human element is desperately needed, and it's why this production and the one Ford's Theatre presented several years ago stand out to me as the best I've seen rather than the Kennedy Center production that transferred to Broadway.

Almost every single member of this cast was a standout, even the hardworking ensemble members. This is where I simply have to ramble on about everyone and how beautifully they acted and sounded. My personal favorite performer of the night, in a show more crowded with stars than a planetarium, was Awa Sal Secka as the desperate young mother Sarah. The challenging score sounded like it was written for her, which is saying something because her role was originated by Audra McDonald. Her powerful but sweet voice pours effortlessly from her mouth as though raw feelings have been distilled into pure music. Sal Secka’s simple, earnest characterization of the young woman is utterly heartbreaking. I won't spoil her character's trajectory, but expect to feel every possible emotion in the spectrum. She's incredible.

As her love interest and the show’s anti-hero, Coalhouse Walker Jr., Nkrumah Gatling is perfectly cast. I’ve rarely seen someone in a stage musical act so effectively with just his eyes, flitting from mischievously charming to stone cold in mere seconds. There’s an edge to his rich baritone that might remind you of Brian Stokes Mitchell, who originated the part, but he puts his own spin on the music and gives it a new texture. I’d have loved to have seen Gatling’s take on Sweeney Todd earlier this season. Still, I didn’t get the ‘main character energy’ from this character that I typically have in past productions. Rather than feeling like the show’s central figure, he blended into the rest of the cast—which may say more about how wonderful his co-stars were than any fault of his.

Teal Wicks did exude star quality as Mother, a disaffected housewife who awakes to the world’s injustices and starts to see her life through new eyes. She conveyed every turning point in her character’s life with clarity. Her mellifluous, creamy voice soars on big ballad numbers and her relationships with the show’s many characters feel fully realized. One of the only things I knew about her before seeing this show was that she had played Elphaba on Broadway in Wicked. But here she uses more of a classical-sounding mix voice that fits right into this antique setting.

Matthew Scott plays her stuffy husband, Father, as more sympathetic than I’ve seen before. He seems younger than most actors who’ve played this role (he and Wicks are both in their early 40’s, while I’ve often seen Father cast as significantly older than Mother), and as we see him try to fulfill his role as ‘patriarch,’ we can tell he’s insecure and uncomfortable there.

We had an understudy for the other major role, Tateh, a Jewish immigrant with big dreams and artistic gifts who wants above all else to give his daughter a better life. I was disappointed to see this because Bobby Smith, who usually plays the role, is one of my favorite local actors, but his understudy Edward L. Simon did an absolutely charming job. He imbues Tateh with an impish lightness at times that only make the dark moments more heartbreaking and nimbly navigates musical numbers with a lovely voice. Like many understudies, you could tell he was giving 110% at all times and his energy sparkled. Still, there were a few dramatic moments that I’d have loved to have seen given more power and the orchestra drowned him out more than any other character. I’m guessing that sound levels may have been calibrated to a performer with a bigger voice.

Simon is also by far the youngest-seeming Tateh I’ve seen. This works, adding to the earnest naivety his character shows when he first arrives in America, but I’d be so curious to see how the dynamic works with the usual actor, Bobby Smith, who seems to be about 30 years older than Simon. I’m so tempted to go see the show again with Smith and compare the two performances, but rest assured that if Simon is the understudy at your performance, the role is in deftly capable hands.

I loved Jake Loewenthal as Mother’s Younger Brother, an awkward young man in search for meaning in life. I previously enjoyed him as the Baker in Signature’s Into the Woods but thought, “This guy was born to play the Baker, but I can’t picture him in any other roles. He’s just TOO specific and TOO good as the Baker to play anyone else well.” I was wrong. He’s perfect here, filled with a tightly coiled intensity that is, in his character’s own words, ‘like a firework, unexploded.’ There’s a quirky piercing nasality to his voice, but it shines out in Younger Brother’s effusive self-discovery. Among other family members, Declan Fennell is adorable and NOT annoying as the family’s weird (and slightly psychic) little son Edgar and Lawrence Redmond is a hoot as the drily snarky Grandfather.

Among the smaller roles, standouts include Dani Stoller’s impassioned firebrand Emma Goldman, Jordyn Taylor as show-stopping soloist “Sarah’s Friend,” and Tobias Young’s Booker T. Washington, more memorable than I’ve ever seen this character portrayed. But more than any of these, Maria Rizzo stole her scenes as vaudeville sensation Evelyn Nesbit. She seemed to be having an absolute blast up there and gave the character both more depth (hints of trauma!) and risqué sultriness than I’ve seen before. If sometimes she verged into showboating, I couldn’t possibly complain. She was just too much fun to watch.

This is a score full of HARD-HITTING ballads and intense big production numbers, with almost every number including dramatic swells of the orchestra and singing to the rafters. Every time you think you've seen the showstopping number of the night, another one comes along to blow you away. Some of the standout songs in this piece include Sal Secka's haunting lament "Your Daddy's Son," Wicks' journey of self-discovery in "Back to Before," Gatling's anthem "Make Them Hear You" and the adrenaline-pumping duet "Wheels of a Dream," but you will find that some of the smaller numbers between them will also send chills down your spine and bring tears to your eyes. One of my personal favorites was the sweet duet "Our Children," which sees the spark of a potential relationship forming as two parents watch their children play together.

What does this show say about America? Basically everything up to and including the kitchen sink. Is it a land where people can triumph against adversity and succeed? Yes! Is it is a place where dreams are broken and crushed by reality? That, too! Is it a place where understanding can win out over hate and people find they’re more alike than different? Yes! But is it a place where hatred and bigotry can tear lives and families apart in the blink of an eye? Yes! Is there a hope of a brighter future for the country? Yes! But do we see the struggles of present day reflected in these characters from over a century ago? A resounding yes. Every audience member will come away with different moments resonating in their minds, but the rich tapestry of humanity in all its strengths and flaws showcased in this production is a marvel to behold.

I’m attaching a few clips from the show in the comments so you can see some of what it was like for yourself! Please consider seeing this show if you can. It’s the most powerfully affecting piece of musical theatre I’ve seen in the DC area since before the pandemic and will no doubt stick with you long after the cast takes its last bow.

#Musicals #musical theatre #theatre #ragtime #signature theatre #dc theatre #informal review

[akwaak1]

My Sonic Frontiers Experience (Spoilers?):

I’ve never played a Sonic game but I love the characters!

This is really fun!

That hit the feels but I’m not gonna cry because of a sonic game

Is fishing really gonna be my favourite part?

That boss was hard

Alright this is a little formulaic but I like it

I’m not crying because of you Sonic stop it

I’m getting really good at this, Sonic is a beast!

Fishing really is my favourite part

Oh wow that boss was so much easier was parrying really the answer

Even though the gameplay stays the same the changing scenery is nice

Don’t cry, don’t cry, the Blue Bastard doesn’t deserve my tears

Ok so am I just an obsessive collector or does the pacing feel off

Finally there’s the fishing spot!

Woah a change in the formula this is neat

That was the most rage inducing experience, camera and climbing controls must be purged!

Alright the story and the game play seem disconnected “oh no we need to hurry” but first I must explore, beat all levels and collect every trinket on this entire island

Ok why was the first boss so much harder than the final, like yeah they were menacing but holy crap did you see the first guy he literally clapped me

I saw that sacrifice comings mile away but… ah I’m on the verge of tears

Welp he did it. The blue bastard did it. I’m crying at a Sonic game.

Sure it played like a 7/10 but the experience is truly a 9/10 (climbing controls hold it back, the mere thought brings me flashbacks and terror)

#sonic frontiers #sonic #funny #informal review #review

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

The duality of goodreads.

#the anthropocene reviewed #a random collection #of useful information #that is also a spectacular miracle

[3gremlins]

i've been too stressed out to play ffxiv atm (idk my brain is weird) so i started playing ac: valhalla and have just been viking about with it. i like how the whole plot is unapologetically "lets go terrorize and colonize the english" (which is historically true but still hilarious, idk it's unexpected in a more modern game i guess? ). only slightly ashamed to admit i *am* enjoying burning monasteries in the raid mechanic lol like i'm a monster when i play video games, esp if the combat and crafting systems are fun/reward you for it (i got a flail weapon and was surprised at how much i like it, tho i am mainly a stealth archer, the final endpoint of any rpg type character regardless of how you start out) Also they're using the historically appropriate terms for the land areas which unfortunately has been ruined forever by Monty Python & the holy grail (which also does) so everytime someone mentions "mercia" my brain goes "IN MERCIA!? THE COCONUT'S TROPICAL!" anyway it's pretty fun? but not quite as fun/polished feeling as odyssey. I haven't had the opportunity to romance anyone yet so we'll see (i really liked that you could romance LOTS of people in odyssey and they all had mini sorts of questlines) but apparently this game is sort of enormous so maybe it's further on (i spent a lot of gametime in norway which was just the prologue so i'm not very far into the actual plot) Oh! also i love the flyting! it's essentially the insult sword fighting from Monkey Island (but w/o the sword fighting) and I realize it's a real thing but also it feels influenced by those games a bit too. But anyway, i met that npc and was like OHO I know this game! so that was exciting it's kinda low stakes/fun to grind and be a buff viking man, it makes me feel slightly less anxious for a few hours anyway

#ac: valhalla #text post #ramble #informal review #games #q

[i-am-l-ananas]

Reading papers and stumbled upon a

#Geographic information systems (GIS) and entomological research: A review #from 2010 #how many other people has it tripped up #i say things

[probablyasocialecologist]

More than 40 leading scientists have resigned en masse from the editorial board of a top science journal in protest at what they describe as the “greed” of publishing giant Elsevier.

The entire academic board of the journal Neuroimage, including professors from Oxford University, King’s College London and Cardiff University resigned after Elsevier refused to reduce publication charges.

Academics around the world have applauded what many hope is the start of a rebellion against the huge profit margins in academic publishing, which outstrip those made by Apple, Google and Amazon.

Neuroimage, the leading publication globally for brain-imaging research, is one of many journals that are now “open access” rather than sitting behind a subscription paywall. But its charges to authors reflect its prestige, and academics now pay over £2,700 for a research paper to be published. The former editors say this is “unethical” and bears no relation to the costs involved.

Professor Chris Chambers, head of brain stimulation at Cardiff University and one of the resigning team, said: “Elsevier preys on the academic community, claiming huge profits while adding little value to science.”

He has urged fellow scientists to turn their backs on the Elsevier journal and submit papers to a nonprofit open-access journal which the team is setting up instead.

He told the Observer: “All Elsevier cares about is money and this will cost them a lot of money. They just got too greedy. The academic community can withdraw our consent to be exploited at any time. That time is now.”

Elsevier, a Dutch company that claims to publish 25% of the world’s scientific papers, reported a 10% increase in its revenue to £2.9bn last year. But it’s the profit margins, nearing 40%, according to its 2019 accounts, which anger academics most. The big scientific publishers keep costs low because academics write up their research – typically funded by charities and the public purse – for free. They “peer review” each other’s work to verify it is worth publishing for free, and academic editors collate it for free or for a small stipend. Academics are then often charged thousands of pounds to have their work published in open-access journals, or universities will pay very high subscription charges.

#science #peer review #Elsevier #science journal #information

[the-magpie-archives]

I wish real life academia was more like The Magnus Archives because I'd much rather face otherworldly evils than have my research blocked by INFINITE PAYWALLS. Jonathan Sims might've suffered immensely and nearly ended the world but at least he didn't have to cite inaccessible sources.

#Can you tell I'm exhausted #I would gladly fight Elias Bouchard to the death if it meant I didn't have to pay to access peer reviewed texts #(I know I could email the author and ask them for it but that would mean communicating) #I would very gladly submit to the eye for knowledge because not being able to get information makes me want to throw my laptop out a window #tma #the magnus archives #the magnus institute #jonathan sims #tma memes #Oh also if you relate to this I apologise #It's hell

[sleepyyghostt]

got curious abt disco elysium so i was checking the reviews on steam and-

#it sounds very very interesting based on the more informative reviews lol. but i cant tell if id *actually* enjoy the gameplay #it seems like the sorta thing id either get crazy into or alternatively end up bored. further investigation required #textpost tag #disco elysium #i love roleplaying a lot tho

[leonardcohenofficial]

me when sitting down to write the dissertation so i can receive the degree that i have been working towards for almost six full years actually requires time and effort

#this is obviously not news i am just suffering #i have been reading reviews of books about bob dylan for an hour and a half and about three sentences have been written why can't this #information just transmit itself into my brain #grad school

[riverbeatsaber]

Hello all! Here's a Stormlight Archive observation I'd like to share. Shallan's coping mechanisms are not:

❌ Veil

❌ Radiant

Veil, Radiant, and headmates in general are actually people! How would you feel if someone called you a coping mechanism or an unhealthy coping mechanism, or implied or outright said that you were not real? Yes, Veil and Radiant are characters, but there are also systems who exist in real life and can hear how you talk about them.*

To be fair, I know that for the first two books, Brandon Sanderson himself was not writing Radiant and Veil as their own people, and there is an argument to be made that he never fully pivoted away from that, but I believe/hope that we as a fandom can do better than him.

In addition, what Shallan's coping mechanisms are, from my observation:

Drawing, to distract herself from things that are stressing her out.

Being a scholar, especially in the earlier books.

Dissociation, which, interestingly, in the flashback chapters seems to be fully blanking out for a while, and in current time is written more as active repression (maybe so that Shallan can just decide not to repress her memories and achieve Character Development more easily? Not sure.)

This is kinda a sneak peak of a giant character analysis of Shallan that I've been doing for a while. I got stuck writing down quotes in Oathbringer, but I've been picking it up again recently. I hope to be posting more thoughts from that in the future:]

*I am the host of one of those systems who see y'all posting. just to make it clear

#stormlight archive #the stormlight archive #shallan #shallan davar #veil #veil stormlight archive #radiant #radiant stormlight archive #stormlight archive meta #shallanalysis #my posts #cosmere #brandon sanderson #Raven #Whew. i think that's all the tags #also a note: alcohol consumption is not one of Shallan's coping mechanisms- it's Veil's. #they're different characters. as previously mentioned #also I really hope that this sounds informative rather than guilt-trippy. #I did have a couple people review it though and they said it was good. so I am posting this 👍

[keelanrosa]

started reading the cass review because i'm apparently just Like That and i want everybody crowing about how this proves sooooo much about how terfs are right and trans people are wrong to like. take a scientific literacy class or something. or even just read the occasional study besides the one you're currently trying to prove a point with. not even necessarily pro-trans studies just learn how to know what studies actually found as opposed to what people trying to spoonfeed you an agenda claim they found.

to use just one infuriating example:

Several studies from that period (Green et al., 1987; Zucker, 1985) suggested that in a minority (approximately 15%) of pre-pubertal children presenting with gender incongruence, this persisted into adulthood. The majority of these children became same-sex attracted, cisgender adults. These early studies were criticised on the basis that not all the children had a formal diagnosis of gender incongruence or gender dysphoria, but a review of the literature (Ristori & Steensma, 2016) noted that later studies (Drummond et al., 2008; Steensma & Cohen-Kettenis, 2015; Wallien et al., 2008) also found persistence rates of 10-33% in cohorts who had met formal diagnostic criteria at initial assessment, and had longer follow-up periods.

if you recognize the names Zucker and Steensma you are probably already going feral but tldr:

There are… many problems with Zucker's studies, "not all children had a formal diagnosis" is so far down the list this is literally the first i've heard of it. The closest i usually hear is the old DSM criteria for gender identity disorder was totally different from the current DSM criteria for gender dysphoria and/or how most people currently define "transgender"; notably it did not require the patient to identify as a different gender and overall better fits what we currently call "gender-non-comforming". Whether the kids had a formal diagnosis of "maybe trans, maybe just has different hobbies than expected, but either way their parents want them back in their neat little societal boxes" is absolutely not the main issue. This would be a problem even if Zucker was pro-trans (spoiler: He Is Not, and people who are immediately suspicious of pro-trans studies because "they're probably funded by big pharma or someone else who profits from transitioning" should apply at least a little of that suspicion to the guy who made a living running a conversion clinic); sometimes "formal" criteria change as we learn more about what's common, what's uncommon, what's uncommon but irrelevant, etc, and when the criteria changes drastically enough it doesn't make sense to pretend the old studies perfectly apply to the new criteria. If you found a study defining "sex" specifically and exclusively as penetration with a dick which says gay men have as much sex as straight men but lesbians don't, it's not necessarily wrong as far as it goes but if THAT'S your prime citation for "gay men have more sex than lesbians", especially if you keep trying to apply it in contexts which obviously use a broader definition, there are gonna be a lot of people disagreeing with you and it won't be because they're stubbornly unscientific.

Also Zucker is pro conversion therapy. Yes, pro converting trans people to cis people, but also pro converting gay people to straight people. That doesn't necessarily affect his results, i just find it funny how many people enthusiastically support his findings as evidence transitioning is… basically anti-gay conversion therapy? (even though plenty of trans people transition to gay? including T4T people so even the "that's actually just how straight people try to get with gay people" rationale for gay trans people is incredibly weak? and also HRT has a relatively low but non-zero chance of changing sexual orientation so it wouldn't even be reliable as a means of "becoming straight"? but a guy who couldn't reliably tell the difference between a tomboy and a trans boy figured out the former is more common than the latter + in one whole country where being trans is legal but being gay is not, sometimes cis gay people transition, so OBVIOUSLY that means sexism and homophobia are the driving factors even in countries with significant transphobia. or something.) anyway i hope zucker knows and hates how many gay people and allies are using his own study to trash-talk any attempts to be Less Gay. ideally nobody would take his nonsense seriously at all but it doesn't seem we'll be spared from that any time soon so i will take my schadenfreude where i can.

Steensma's studies have the exact same problem re: irrelevant criteria so "well someone ELSE had the same results!" is not exactly convincing. This is not "oh trans people are refusing to pay attention to these studies because they disagree with them regardless of scientific rigor", it's "one biased guy using outdated criteria found exactly the numbers everyone would expect based on that criteria, i can't imagine why trans people are treating those numbers as relevant to the past criteria but not present definitions, let's find a SECOND guy using outdated criteria. Why do people keep saying the outdated criteria is not relevant to the current state of trans healthcare. Don't we all know it's quantity over quality with scientific studies. (Please don't ask what the quantity of studies disagreeing with me is.)"

Steensma also counted patients as 'not persisting as transgender' if they ghosted him on follow-up which counted for a third of his study's "detransitioners" and a fifth of the total subjects and. look. i'm not saying none of them detransitioned, or assuming they all didn't would be notably more accurate, but i think we can safely treat twenty percent of subjects as a bit high for making a default assumption, especially when some of them might have simply not been interested in a study on whether or not they still know who they are. Fuck knows i've seen pro-trans studies which didn't make assumptions about the people who didn't respond still get prodded by anti-trans people insisting "the number of people claiming they don't regret transitioning can't possibly be so high, some of the people who responded must have been lying. (Scientific rigor means thinking studies which disagree with me are wrong even if the only explanation is the subjects lying and studies which agree with me are right even if we need to make assumptions about a lot of subjects to get there.)"

and this is not new information. not the issues with zucker, not the issues with steensma, not any of the issues because this is not a new study, it's a review of older studies, which in itself doesn't mean "bad" or "useless" -- sometimes that allows connecting some previously-unconnected dots -- but the idea this is going to absolutely blow apart the Woke Media, vindicate Rowling and Lineham, and "save" ""gay"" children from """being forcibly transed""" is bullshit. At most it'll get dragged around and eagerly cited by all the people looking for anything vaguely scientific-sounding to justify their beliefs, and maybe even people who only read headlines and sound bites will buy it, but the people who really believe it will be people who already agreed with all its "findings" and have already been dragging around the existing studies and are just excited to have a shiny new citation for it.

the response from people who've been really reading research on transgender people all along is going to be more along the lines of "……yeah. yeah, i already knew about that. do you need a three-page essay on why i don't think it means what you think it means? because i don't have time for that homework right now but maybe i can pencil it in for next semester if you haven't learned how to check your own sources by then."

#cass review #lgbt #transgender #transphobia #science #'tldr': *writes three-page essay* 'but i don't have time for a three-page essay rn' #also: holy run-on sentences #but seriously this is not going to change the mind of a single person who would be influenced by reading scientific studies #the studies already existed and have BEEN being used by terfs who think ZUCKER of aLL PEOPLE #is a good gotcha against anyone saying 'reputable studies indicate detransitioning is pretty uncommon actually' #but the responses i find truly fascinating are the ones along the lines of #'ohohoho i bet all those people who criticized jkr will be reeeaal quiet now' w. why. #if past studies didn't convince them the Special Collector's Edition of past studies won't #y'all don't have a monopoly on Scientific Knowledge just because y'all think your Fisher-Price level Gender Definition is the best #sometimes. other scientific information exists. and trans people and allies can even read that scientific information. #i know a weird number of y'all think we run on vibes and liberal propaganda but i promise a ton of us are absolute DORKS

[forlix]

now that the global strike has started, here’s your reminder that not having the fiscal availability to do so is NOT a valid reason NOT to support palestine.

boycotting is FREE. retweeting, reblogging, or boosting well-informed news to your friends and family is FREE. arab.org has been donating a portion of its adsense to the united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east (UNRWA) for the past seven years and requires nothing, no identity verification, no captchas, none of your money whatsoever, and NO MORE THAN TWO CLICKS.

doing nothing makes you complicit in the ongoing genocide. oblivion is a privilege and neutrality is a vice. wake up

#*musings #free palestine #palestine #tumblr users astraystayyh and sulfurcosmos have also put incredible amounts of time and effort into formulating well-researched #and comprehensive posts reviewing the history of palestinian oppression and dismantling zionist logic #putting in the tags because i don’t want it to seem like they’re the Only people doing that on this platform #but considering my following these are the users that will be recognized. #real information is everywhere you just need to know where to look

[bambi-lesbian-posts]

Just so everyone gets the lay-down of some of the bigger points of the Supreme Court decisions and rights at risk after Roe v Wade was overturned:

Justice Clarence Thomas expressed his desire to go after Obergefell v Hodges (the case that federally legalized gay marriage)

Griswold v Connecticut is also being considered (the federal right to obtain contraception)

Lawrence v Texas (allows consenting adults the right to engage in whatever sexual acts they wish within private courters, i.e. their own bedroom)

Slightly biased source from CNBC:

A significantly unbiased source from what I can find, by Politico:

Miranda Rights or Vega v Tekoh is overturned, meaning it is no longer federally required for Miranda rights to be read to detained individuals. Therefore, any detained person cannot sue for damages against law enforcement/the court for being unaware of their rights and protections.

Slightly biased source from CNN:

The 100 Mile Border is also changed, meaning those who live 100 miles away from the country's border as well as international airports no longer have 4th amendment rights (i.e. it affects your abilities to sue for damages if you are a victim of a warrantless search.)

An unbiased (from what I can tell) and objective breakdown source by ACLU:

Senator John Cornyn of Texas tweeted about how Brown v Board (the case that established segregated schools are unconstitutional regardless if the school and education qualities were the same) should be overturned, and Plessy v Ferguson (case that brought forth the saying "separate but equal" in regards to segregation, meaning segregation was constitutional if poc were given the same quality facilities and education) should be reviewed.

Biased source from SALON which i am using simply because it has links and screenshots of his tweet:

#it is important that i outline the sources that are written with bias #regardless of whether i agree/have those biases myself #because reading biased material affects your thoughts and opinions #make sure you understand political material outside of bias as much as you can manage #ESPECIALLY when reviewing laws and regulations #because biased news articles and videos can leave out important information or use misleading language #roe v wade #information #america

[justforbooks]

In 1941 a secret British radio station called on Germans to rise up against Hitler. Run by German exiles, it was explicitly left wing. The station’s target audience was “the Good German”. Its broadcasts were serious and idealistic: a ray of light amid totalitarian darkness. They were also a complete flop. With Nazi propaganda rampant, and Hitler’s armies seemingly invincible and on the march across Europe, few bothered to listen in.

It was at this point that Britain’s wartime intelligence services tried a more radical approach. That summer, a talented journalist called Sefton Delmer was given the job of beating the Nazis at their own information game. Delmer spent his childhood in Berlin and spoke fluent German. In the early 1930s he chronicled Hitler’s rise to power – flying in the Führer’s plane and attending his mass rallies – as a correspondent for the Daily Express.

Working from an English country house, Delmer launched an experimental radio station. He called it Gustaf Siegfried Eins, or GS1. Instead of invoking lofty precepts, or Marxism, Delmer targeted what he called the “inner pig-dog”. The answer to Goebbels, Delmer concluded, was more Goebbels. His radio show became a grotesque cabaret aimed at the worst and most Schwein-like aspects of human nature.

As Peter Pomerantsev writes in his compelling new study How to Win an Information War, Delmer was a “nearly forgotten genius of propaganda”. GS1 backed Hitler and was staunchly anti-Bolshevik. Its mysterious leader, dubbed der Chef, ridiculed Churchill using foul Berlin slang. At the same time the station lambasted the Nazi elite as a group of decadent crooks. They stole and whored, it said, as British planes bombed and decent Germans suffered.

Delmer’s goal was to undermine nazism from within, by turning ordinary citizens against their aloof party bosses. A cast of Jewish refugees and former cabaret artists played the role of Nazis. Recordings took place in a billiards room, located inside the Woburn Abbey estate in Bedfordshire, a centre of wartime operations. Some of the content was real. Other elements were made up, including titillating accounts of SS orgies at a Bavarian monastery.

The station was a sensation. Large numbers of Germans tuned in. The US embassy in Berlin – America had yet to enter the war – thought it to be the work of German nationalists or disgruntled army officers. The Nazis fretted about its influence. One unimpressed person was Stafford Cripps, the future chancellor of the exchequer, who complained to Anthony Eden, the then minister for foreign affairs, about the station’s use of “filthy pornography”.

By 1943, Delmer’s counter-propaganda operation had grown. He and his now expanded team ran a live news bulletin aimed at German soldiers, the Soldatensender Calais, as well as a series of clandestine radio programmes in a variety of languages. Delmer’s artist wife Isabel joined in. She drew explicit pictures showing a blonde woman having sex with a dark-skinned foreigner. Partisans sent the pamphlets to homesick German troops stationed in Crete.

Others who made a contribution to Delmer’s productions included Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, and the 26-year-old future novelist Muriel Spark. Fleming worked for naval intelligence. He brought titbits of information that made the show feel genuine, including the latest results from U-boat football leagues. Many Germans guessed the station was British. But they listened anyway, feeling it represented “them”.

Pomerantsev is an expert on propaganda and the author of two previous books on the subject, Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible and This Is Not Propaganda. The son of political dissidents in Kyiv, he was born in Ukraine and grew up in London. During the 00s he lived in Moscow and worked there as a TV producer. Since Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion he has been part of a project that documents Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Like Delmer, Pomeranstev has personal experience of two rival cultures: one authoritarian, the other liberal and democratic. He draws parallels between the fascist 1930s and our own populist age. The same “underlying mindset” can be seen in dictators such as Putin and Xi Jinping, and wannabe strongmen and bullies such as Donald Trump. “Propagandists across the world and across the ages play on the same emotional notes like well-worn scales,” he observes.

In Pomerantsev’s view, propaganda works not because it convinces, or even confuses. Its real power lies in its ability to convey a sense of belonging, he argues. Those left behind feel themselves emboldened and part of a special community. It is a world of grievance, victimhood and enemies, where facts are meaningless. What matters are feelings and the illusion propaganda lends of “individual agency”. Its practitioners bend reality. And – as with Putin’s fictions about Ukraine – make murder possible.

The book offers a few ideas as to how we might fight back. When horrors were uncovered in Bucha, the town near Kyiv where Russian soldiers executed civilians, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, appealed to the Russian people. This didn’t cut through. Most preferred to believe the version shown on state TV: that Moscow was waging a defensive fight against “neo-Nazis”. It was a comforting lie that absolved Russians of personal responsibility.

Ukrainian activists hit a similar wall when they cold-called Russians and told them about the destruction caused by Kremlin bombing. Many called relatives in St Petersburg and other Russian cities to explain they were under attack. Typically, their family members did not believe them. “They really brainwashed you over there,” one said.

The activists had more success when they mentioned taxes or travel restrictions – issues that spoke to the self-interested “pig-dog”. Pomerantsev suggests that Delmer’s approach worked because he allowed people to care about the truth again, nudging them towards independent thought, while avoiding the pitfall of obvious disloyalty. He brought wit and creativity to his anti-propaganda efforts as well, turning his radio shows into bravura transmissions.

Pomerantsev makes an intriguing comparison between der Chef and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian oligarch who in summer 2023 staged a short-lived rebellion against Putin. Two months later, Prigozhin died in a plane crash. The oligarch was a charismatic figure who roasted Russia’s generals for their incompetent handling of the war. He used earthy prison slang. It was this ability to communicate in plain language that made him popular – and a rival.

The book muses on whether Delmer was ultimately good or bad. Are tricks and subterfuge justified in pursuit of noble goals? It concludes that the journalist’s greatest insight was his understanding of his own ordinariness, and how this might be exploited by unscrupulous governments and rabble-rousing individuals. “He was vulnerable to propaganda for the same reasons we all are – through the need to fit in and conform,” Pomerantsev notes.

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[autisticlancemcclain]

i know it’s a stupid thing to whine about and i’m sorry but the low engagement in my fics lately is super bumming me out, plus the wildfires means there’s no sunlight rn and that uh. is generally bad. for my brain. so i’m going to take a break for a bit?? for at least tonight. i need to sort my shit out and do some writing practice to figure out what i’m doing wrong. FRF is definitely still on and queued for tomorrow, and i haven’t decided about wip wednesday yet (not even sure if i’m continuing that bc so far that’s been a flop) so i’ll let y’all know :) be safe and stay healthy everyone i’ll be back soon

#i feel so bad guys i’m sorry #but lately every time i post i feel like i’m failing the peer review and since i am among the most sensitive it bitches you will ever meet #that is going unwell for me #u know that scene in inside. where bo is like yeah so my mental health is kind of at an atl #not atlanta #but all time low? #that’s me rn. #lol #anyways. i’m still going to be writing lots bc writing still makes me feel good #it’s just the posting that makes me want to cry #so. #anyways sorry this is cringe and embarrassing and emotional #i’ll be back either tomorrow or with further information tomorrow #depends on if my seasonal depressed ass sees the sun or not lol you’d be shocked at how fast i spiral #lmao #personal #announcement #?