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woollenpharaohs · 4 months

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So I have thoughts about this...

First of all I am now aware that someone posted an article to the New York Times speculating about Taylor's sexual identity which in my books is a no no on the basis of how publicly it was done. I think speculating about someone's sexuality is normal, as you would for a friend or someone you saw on the train, it's normal to dream or wonder, but to do so on a public forum like a famous publication crosses huge boundaries. Keep your though to a blog is what I always think. (Another reason why we should all have a Tumblr lol)

But I also have a problem with how that person (and how many people online) frame the argument. Like the first part of their claim is that there's a trend that Gaylors don't support other queer stuff. How can they know that's true? All that they're seeing of Gaylors is for example a specific account where they only post about Taylor. Internet is an escapism for many people and what they post to whatever account doesn't fully exemplify how they live their life.

I suppose as someone who actively speculates about real people's sexuality, I find it offensive to assume that the thing that is talked about the loudest is the only thing the person cares about?

Like yeah I won't shut up about definitely straight DJs being potentially bi because you never know what happens in someone else's life, but I'm also listening to queer musicians not even because I want to actively look for queer musicians but because I enjoy music that happens to be made by queer people. I just don't talk about the queer musicians that much I guess because it satisfies a need already? Whereas the unconfirmed stuff is exciting to speculate about. Artists that I like such as ARCA, Sofia kourtesis, porridge radio, PVA, Sufjan etc etc the list goes on, are queer and I'll throw my money at them for gigs or vinyl or whatever. But I'm not loud about it because they're confirmed queer I guess. Like there's nothing to guess, they're open about who they are.

Like when those people who say, Gaylors should invest more time in actual queer musicians, what that sounds like to me is the speculation should be redirected to already out queer people??? The clap back doesn't sound as good when you actually think about what they're asking.

I think the conversation absolutely needs to be, ok you're speculating but let's not do that in a way that the subject person can see. Like let's do that in an appropriate space. Let's not harass the person you're theorising about, let's keep those thoughts to a closed forum or hushed whispers between friends. Publishing an op-ed about someone's sexuality in the nyt or literally any publication is hugely boundary crossing. Agreed 100%.

But do you want that energy to be directed to someone else? An out queer person already going through their own shit? No. Asking if someone is queer, demanding them to come out, writing speculation on news articles - those sorts of things Should Not Be Happening. The people who do it need to tone it down and use safe spaces that already exist to have these discussions.

I guess the argument op is trying to say is actually queer people need to be supported and I get that, and I do DO that. And I think it's odd to assume that people don't just because they don't talk about it??

But even if it is true that there are people out there who exclusively listen to Taylor Swift, just accusing them and telling them they should be more moral about the consumption of music isn't going to influence people 100% to try new stuff. It should really be about redirecting how they talk about what they're theorising. And I fully acknowledge that the barrier between some random being able to talk to a celebrity breaking down in the way social media works these days has been such an impediment for people to realise, hey maybe the way I'm perceiving this is not true, but it's still fun so I'm going to do it in a way that won't harm the person. Like can't that behaviour change be the discussion.

In some respects it leans into why some rally so hard against ao3 allowing anything and everything. Like there's a safe space to speculate and explore sexual identity that isn't harming anyone. It's a dedicated space for weird thought and when people say you shouldn't listen to Taylor Swift if you want her to be a lesbian and think that's participating in queer culture to a """valid""" extent it's so so adjacent to people who say rpf shouldn't exist.

I guess I sympathise with gaylors in a way because I'm an rpf shipper, I'm not a Gaylor shipper and I never will be, but I understand where they are coming from with their passion and I understand why they're like that too, what motivates them to wish and pine and the validation that they yearn for. It's just they're in this unfathomable era where because Taylor is so famous and has a ridiculous number of fans, people feel confident in numbers to say what they think in a way that would normally be frowned upon. And the crowd mentality takes on and propels this theorising vehicle to the source because people Can Do That Now through social media.

Like I guess I look at what I do, theorising about randoms and bands nobody has heard of, and how I could easily be conflated with the behaviour of a Gaylor. The difference is the fanbase consists of just me and not 200,000 other Gaylors on X FKA twitter. And that's what I was trying to get at with my initial post about Gaylors. Because given it's often just me saying these insane things, first of all nobody else is listening. Second of all I have common sense and I'm not taking that to the person I'm theorising about. Like you just don't do that. And yet the Gaylors are going too far. They are crossing lines that fandom Olds know is not okay and THAT is what we should be talking about, not whether or not it's "valid" for them to think Taylor might actually like women.

Anyway I guess I resent the idea that this argument the person is having in the original screen cap could easily be translated to any other shipping thing and it's dangerous to think it couldn't. Like I get their point that people who listen to pop and think they're part of the queer community because they ship a girl who has been saying she's straight for 10 years is problematic but I don't think you can ignore the behaviour that lead to this. Redirecting someone's interest is not super easy, a lot of people might not even like other music that they're suggested to look at that is queer or not queer even. Like some people only listen to specific things and that's who they are.

But also I think the suggestion to listen to music made by actually queer people could be better received if the way we listen to music is assessed better. Like are the people only listening to Taylor Swift day in day out, what would get them to listen to other music? Promotion of other music by t swift herself? Easier access to and promotion of online radio stations playing local music, less reliance on Spotify, and so on. Like why people aren't listening to other queer musicians surely isn't because they're so obsessed with Taylor being gay. There must be other things influencing their listening habits. I guess I don't see the point of saying hey you there you listen to too much Taylor Swift go listen to this musician who is queer and you should like them because it's moral to do so. Like at least suggest someone who makes similar music? Idk maybe that's done for Gaylors, I'm not in the scene so I don't know if they're coddled or if even any of this stuff has been brought up a hundred times before. I'm just skeptical of the blanket statement 'just listen to actually queer music' because I don't think it's as simple as that. It's just really dismissive and reductive.

#long post #don't even want to tag her but yeah this has been on my mind #as my friend said when i said this exact rant to her #it's blame the individual not the system mentality in the screencap

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accidentalharrie · 4 years

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maybe you or one of you followers has access to the telegraph article about Harry "Why does the world want Harry Styles to be gay" I don't know what to think about this headline and I really want to read it but its online only for subscribers

Here you go, Nons. (I hesitate to post this but…)

When Harry Styles played the O2 Arena in 2018, his fans illuminated the cavernous venue in the colours of the LGBTQ Pride flag. Coordinated by a social media account called The Rainbow Project, each seating block was allocated a different colour, so that when Styles played the song Sweet Creature, an enormous rainbow emerged from the crowd. I was there, and it was pretty magical. But it was also emblematic of how Styles’s fanbase views their idol: as a queer icon.

There’s arguably never been a better time to be an LGBTQ pop star. Acts such as Sam Smith, who came out as non-binary earlier this year, Lil Nas X, the first gay man to have a certified diamond song in America, Halsey, queer boyband Brockhampton, pansexual singer Miley Cyrus and Kim Petras, who is transgender, have all enjoyed an incredible year, bagging the biggest hits of 2019.

Still, when Styles shared Lights Up, the lead single from his forthcoming second solo album Fine Line, there was a collective intake of breath. The song and video - in which he appears shirtless in what looks like a sweaty orgy as both men and women grab at him - was heralded as a “bisexual anthem” by the media and fans on Twitter, despite not really making any explicit or obvious statements about sexuality or the LGBTQ community. Instead, Lights Up was just another example of the queer mythologising that occurs around Harry Styles.

As a member of One Direction, Styles was – aside from Zayn Malik – the group’s most charismatic and enticing member. From his first audition on The X Factor to the band’s disbandment in 2015, the teenager from Cheshire managed to elevate himself and his celebrity swiftly rose to the A list. Helping him along was speculation about his private life: during his tenure in the band he was romantically linked to everyone from Taylor Swift to Kendall Jenner.

But there were two other rumoured relationships that dogged Styles more than the others. The first was his close friendship with radio DJ Nick Grimshaw. Styles and Grimshaw were often photographed together, and there were anodyne showbiz reports about how they even shared a wardrobe.

Inevitably, rumours suggested they were romantically linked. In fact, so prolific was speculation that during an interview with British GQ, Styles was asked point blank if he was in a relationship with Grimshaw (he denied any romantic relationship) and, in a move that upset many One Direction fans, if he was bisexual. “Bisexual? Me?” he responded. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’m not.”

The second, and perhaps most complicated of rumours, was that he and fellow bandmate Louis Tomlinson were in a relationship. Larry Stylinson, as their shipname is known, began life as fan-fiction but mutated into a wild conspiracy theory as certain fans – dubbed Larries – documented glances, gestures, touches, interviews, performances and outfits in an attempt to confirm the romance. Even now, four years after the band went on “hiatus”, videos are still being posted on YouTube in an attempt to confirm that their relationship was real.

For Tomlinson, Larry was fandom gone too far. He has repeatedly rejected the conspiracy. Styles, meanwhile, has never publicly discussed it. In fact, unlike Tomlinson, whose post-1D career trajectory has seen him adopt a loutish form of masculinity indebted to the Gallagher brothers, Styles has largely leant into the speculation surrounding his sexuality. Aside from the GQ interview, Styles has told interviewers that gender is not that important to him when it comes to dating. In 2017 he said that he had never felt the need to label his sexuality, adding: “I don’t feel like it’s something I’ve ever felt like I have to explain about myself.”

Likewise, during his time touring with One Direction, and during his own solo tours, the image of Styles draped with a rainbow flag became ubiquitous. He has also donated money from merchandise sales to LGBTQ charities. His fashion sense, too, subverts gender norms: Styles has long sported womenswear, floral prints, dangly earrings and painted nails.

Nevertheless, Styles’s hesitance to be candid has met with criticism. He has been accused of queer-baiting - or enjoying the benefits of appealing to an LGBTQ fanbase without having any of the difficulties. I’ve written before about how queer artists, who now enjoy greater visibility and are finding mainstream success, have struggled commercially owing to their sexuality or gender identity.

Styles, who is assumed to be a cisgender, heterosexual male, doesn’t carry any of the commercial risk laden upon Troye Sivan, Years and Years or MNEK, who all use same-gender pronouns in their music and are explicitly gay in their videos. His music – with its nods to rock’n’roll, Americana and folk – doesn’t feel very queer, either. Looking at it this way, the queer idolisation of Harry Styles doesn’t feel deserved.

“The thing with Harry Styles is that he often does the bare minimum and gets an out-sized load of credit for it,” says songwriter and record label manager Grace Medford. For Medford, who has worked at Syco and is now part of the team at Xenomania records, Styles’s queer narrative has been projected on him by the media and his fans. “I don’t think that he queer-baits, but I don’t think he does anywhere near enough to get the response that he does.”

Of course, Styles does not need to explain or be specific about his sexuality. As Medford puts it: “he’s well within his rights to live his life how he chooses.” However, he has also created a space for himself in pop that allows him that ambiguity.

It’s a privilege few pop stars have. Last year, Rita Ora was hit with criticism after her song Girls, a collaboration with Charli XCX, Cardi B and Bebe Rexha, was dubbed problematic and accused of performative bisexuality. Even though Ora explicitly sang the lyric “I’m 50-50 and I’m never gonna hide it”, she was lambasted by social media critics, media commentary and even her fellow artists until she was forced to publicly confirm her bisexuality.

But the same was not done to Styles when he performed unreleased song “Medicine” during his world tour. The lyrics have never been confirmed, but the song is said to contain the line: “The boys and the girls are in/ I mess around with him/ And I’m okay with it.” Instead of probing him for clarity or accusing him of performativity, the song was labelled a “bisexual anthem” and praised as “a breakthrough for bisexual music fans”.

Of course, there’s misogyny inherent to such reactions. But there’s also something more layered and complex at play, too. “There’s such a dearth of queer people to look up to, especially people at Harry’s level,” posits Medford. “With somebody who is seen as cool and credible and attractive as Harry, part of it is wishful thinking, I think.

“The fact is, he was put together into a boyband on a television show by a Pussycat Doll. And he has rebranded as Mick Jagger’s spiritual successor and sings with Stevie Nicks; he’s really done the work there. Part of him doing that work is him stepping back and letting other people create a story for him.”

One only has to look at how Styles’ celebrity manifests itself (cool, fashionable, artistic) in comparison to that of his former bandmates. Liam Payne (this week dubbed by the tabloids as a chart failure) has been a tabloid fixture since his public relationship with Cheryl Cole and relies on countless interviews, photoshoots and even an advertising campaign for Hugo Boss to maintain his fame.

Styles, meanwhile, doesn’t really engage with social media. He also rarely appears in public and carefully chooses what kind of press he does, actively limiting the number of interviews he gives. Styles’s reticence to engage with the media and general public – perhaps a form of self-preservation – has awarded him a rare mystique that few people in the public eye possess.

This enigmatic personal, along with his sexual ambiguity, his support of LGBTQ charities and his gender-fluid approach to fashion, creates the perfect incubation for queer fandom. It also provides a shield against serious accusations of queer-baiting. As Medford argues: “Harry’s queer mythology has been presented to and bestowed upon him by queer people whereas other acts feel like they have to actively seek that out.”

Ultimately, the way that Styles navigates his queer fandom doesn’t feel calculated or contrived. For Eli, an 18-year-old from Orlando who grew up with One Direction, seeing Styles “grow into himself” has been important. He suggests that Styles’ queer accessibility has helped to create a safe space for fans. “Watching him on tour dance on stage every night in his frilly outfits, singing about liking boys and girls, waving around pride flags, and even helping a fan come out to her mom, really helped me come to terms with my own sexuality,” he explains.

Vicky, who is 25 and from London, agrees: “To be able to attend his show with my pansexual flag and wave it around and feel so much love and respect - it’s an amazing feeling. I’m aware so many queer people can’t experience it so I’m very grateful Harry creates these safe spaces through his music and concerts.”

There’s appeal in Styles’s ambiguity, too. Summer Shaud, from Boston, says that Styles’ “giving no f—-” approach to sexuality and gender is “inspiring and affirming” for those people who are coming to terms with their own identities or those who live in the middle of sexuality or gender spectrums. “There’s enormous pressure from certain gatekeeping voices within the queer community to perform queerness in an approved, unambiguous way, often coming from people with no substantive understanding of bisexuality or genderfluidity who are still looking to put everyone into a box,” she argues. “Harry’s gender presentation, queer-coding, and refusal to label himself are a defiant rebuke of that “You’re Not Doing It Right” attitude, and that resonates so strongly with queers who aren’t exclusively homosexual or exclusively binary.”

Shaud says that the queer community that has congregated around Styles is another reason she’s so drawn to him. “Seeing how his last tour was such an incredible site of affirmation and belonging for queers is deeply moving to me, and as older queer [Shaud is 41] I’m so grateful that all the young people growing up together with Harry have someone like him to provide that.”

In fact, she argues that there’s a symbiotic relationship between Styles and his queer fans. She cites an interview he gave to Rolling Stone this year in which he said how transformative the tour was for him. “For me the tour was the biggest thing in terms of being more accepting of myself, I think,” Styles shared. “I kept thinking, ‘Oh wow, they really want me to be myself. And be out and do it.’”

All of the queer Harry Styles fans I spoke to agreed that it really didn’t matter whether their idol was explicit about his sexuality or not. “It’s weird that people scrutinise people who don’t label [their sexuality] when they have no idea what that person feels like inside or, in Harry’s case, what it’s like to be under the public eye,” argues Valerie, who is 18. “It’s an individual choice, not ours,” agrees Vicky.

Ollie, 22 and from Brighton, takes a more rounded view, however: “On one hand, I think that quite simply it isn’t any of anyone else’s business. On the other, if you place yourself in the public eye to the level of fame that he has then you should be prepared to be probed about every minute detail of your personal life, whether you like it or not – you should at least be prepared to be questioned about it.” Still, he says that the good that Styles does is what’s important: “He brings fantastic support and attention to the community, whether he is actively a part of it or not.”

Arguably, the ambiguity and mystery that surrounds Styles only allows more space for queer people to find safety in him and in the fandom.

Still, if fans are expecting a queer coming of age with new album Fine Line, they will be disappointed. Lyrically, he doesn’t venture into new territory, although there are some new musical flares. He also seems like he’s started to distance himself a little from the ambiguity, too. “I’m aware that as a white male, I don’t go through the same things as a lot of the people that come to the shows,” he told Rolling Stone. “I can’t claim that I know what it’s like, because I don’t. So I’m not trying to say, ‘I understand what it’s like.’ I’m just trying to make people feel included and seen.” Having said that, within weeks Styles appeared on Saturday Night Live playing a gay social media manager, using queer slang and even wearing an S&M harness.

And so the cycle of queer mythologising continues, and is likely to continue for the rest of Styles’s career. And maybe things will change and maybe they won’t.

“If you are black, if you are white, if you are gay, if you are straight, if you are transgender — whoever you are, whoever you want to be, I support you,” he said earlier this year. “I love every single one of you.” In a world where LGBTQ rights are threatened and there’s socio-political insecurity, perhaps, for now at least, that’s enough.

#I hope it goes without saying that I disagree with a LOT in this article #telegraph #not sure how else to tag this #asks #Anonymous

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gsasustainability · 3 years

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Death beyond anthropocentrism. From science-fiction to reality

Katerina Sidorova. MLitt Fine Art

Generations over generations, Western Europeans have been raised on sciencefiction with subject matters ranging from time and space travel, immortality, utopian state organization to apocalyptic scenarios, bio-futuristic fantasies and specie hierarchy alteration. What if some of these scenarios did come true already and how did it affect our views on death. In this article I will look into several examples from science-fiction literature, cinema and comics in attempt to define the status of mortality in modern Western societies.

Let me begin with a different take on interspecies relationship, a topic, broadly disputed in this dissertation. The alternative view on the possible interactions between humans and the rest of the animal world has been a matter of speculation for many works of fiction amongst which one example stands out: “Planet of the Apes”, a film from 1968, based on 1963 novel by Pierre Boulle "La Planète des singes”, translated into English as “Planet of the Apes” or “Monkey Planet”.[3]

The novel takes place in the distant future (XXVI century A.D.), when interplanetary and interstellar flights became commonplace. A couple of “rich loafers” Jinn and Phyllis, traveling in space, find a bottle with a message from a certain Ulysses Meru with a formidable warning in the “Earth language”. Journalist Ulysses Meru talks about the expedition of the spacecraft to the Betelgeuse star under the leadership of Professor Antel.

Arriving at the intended point of travel, t he crew landed on the planet Sorora (lat. Sister), surprisingly similar to Earth. To their surprise they found humans there, only in a completely savage state - not knowing any language, no clothes, no dwellings, no tools. Instead the planet is run by the apes, possessing intellect and developed way beyond humans. The protagonist finds out that even before the advent of monkey civilization, there was a highly developed civilization of people. However, it fell into decay, while monkeys, imitating human habits and customs, developed more and more, until they took the place of their recent owners.

“Planet of the Apes” has a particular angle on interspecies relationship, especially on the ownership over one’s body. “Thinking” humans for the first time are exposed to how it may be like to exist on the other side of the human-animal relationship, where a single life is not considered as much as a mass of bodies and where economical matters dominate relationships of the ‘leader’ specie with the subject of their oppression. For the first time human species are not the masters of life and death like they are used to, yet their destiny is highly dependent on their not-so-far relative - a monkey.

Similar actions take place in a Russian sci-fi novel by Kir Bulichev - “The Pet”, 1993. Yet Bulichev takes the detailing of the interspecies relationships even further. The protagonist finds himself in situations comparable to the ones of pets (cats and dogs), industrially farmed animals, fight animals (dogs, roosters) and stray animals. Each of the 3 latter cases is directly linked to control over one’s death and the first one is a description of an acceptable involuntary body mutilation (castration) that leads again to impossibility to procreate and control over life in a long term. The attitude of the main character changes from the adoration of the master (normally prescribed to house pets) to slow realization of inequality which is the state of events in the fantasy world that Bulichev created. Becoming ’a stray’, rebelling against the master species (which for the record are giant frog-lizards), he slowly understands that the latter do not always operate in his best interests. Unfortunately, the novel was never finished and we are to never find out whether the new model of specie relationships was established.

In non-fiction, it is for Donna Haraway, author of The Companion Species Manifesto and The Cyborg Manifesto, to shine a light of changes in inter-specie relationship. Haraway talks about the history of domestication, but just as well she’s tackling the near future of species diversity, introducing not only the idea of technically enhanced cyborg femme, but a different kind of a companion specie. Science fiction and theory form a perfect symbiosis in her work and the texts, maybe starting as ‘futuristic’, become highly relatable and easily applied to contemporary reality.

Haraway specifically used the term “companion species” and not “companion animal” in order to expand the range of beings that can be seen as companions to humans. We now can not only talk about cats, dogs, parrots, fish and hamsters. We can freely imagine insects, bacteria and viruses as accompanying our life. Dangerous or not, it is the reality and in the light of recent virus outbreaks (SARS, MERS, Ebola and COV-19) Haraway’s statement stands stronger. Humans are surrounded by companion species, even though we don’t see or recognise them as such. The specie awareness is not only an ethical move of recognition but a safety measure, potentially crucial for our survival on Earth.

Another absolutely important moment in Haraway’s term ‘companion species’ is the inclusion of personal mobile devises into the category. Indeed, attention hungry, needed to be fed (charged), bringing joy and always by our side - mobile devices, and I am talking about smartphones predominantly (although we are surrounded by laptops, portable speakers, e-watches and tracking bracelets to name a few), do deserve a special place of a companion specie.

There’s only one distinct trait that makes them different from us - whilst the technical body of the mobile device won’t survive natural decay, it’s software system is virtually immortal. (Here a little outtake for those of the readers, who haven’t embraced technology at it’s fullest: by today, march 26 2020 it has become a norm to be able to copy all of the complete content of one’s mobile device, settings, etc. and successfully install it on the new one, the ‘digital soul’ of the preceder will live on).

Talk on genderless, adjusted cyborg has been going through feminist thought for decades now, as Julia E Dyck rightfully says: “Feminists have both celebrated and cautioned against the cybernetic or post-corporeal subject as much of feminism’s roots are coded in, on, and from ideas about the female body. Whether the body is seen as inherently woman, mother, goddess, with a deep connection to the earth and nature, or the raw material of culture and society with no pure or natural core as Elizibeth Grosz would see it, the body’s existence and relevance is too often implicit while theorizing about gender and sexuality. I would like to confront this idea by exploring a social subject for analyzing, the bodiless, or post-corporeal woman, the female operating system.” (Julia E Dyck “Cellphones and cyborgs”).

I, having embraced this discourse, would like to focus on the other aspect of it - and that is mortal beings slowly beginning to co-exist with the immortal (to an extend, since software is highly dependent on hardware and therefore access to electricity as of now) species.

Whilst we still cannot speak of artificial intelligence, we definitely can admit having stepped into the realm of hyper-real, with much of our communication and daily routines having moved online. And to exist online we need the help of our mobile devices. /I am writing these words on my laptop, in the proximity of my phone. It is a second week of world wide COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, this time marks the transition of many practices and professions to the digital, for now temporarily. This time is, however crucial to revealing how deep is our involvement with technology./

Hereby, based on stated above, we can propose three theses to expand on:

First, from the end of XX century on human, stops being the center of the world, as other species come on stage.

Second, amongst these new species we now can subtract non-natural, human made entities, for now not having a free will of their own, but playing a huge role in life already. These companions are mobile digital devices.

Third, being in contact with these devices brings humans closer to immortality and the question of digital afterlife comes closer to reality.

Here, online series “Black Mirror” would again be a great example - providing various meditations on involvement of humans with technology. For me much more interesting would be to turn to new services that have sprung since I was writing on Facebook digital cemeteries (undeleted pages left after users who have passed away).

First of all a whole field of death sensitive interfaces is now being researched and guidelines for software developers have been written. For this we are to thank Michael Massimi, a specialist in human-machine relationship, who together with his colleagues has worked on creating tanatosensitive software design. Their guidelines include grief upon loss not being a problem, but rather a given; communication does not always work as therapy; storytelling be a way of making emotions of the living public and prolongate the social life of the deceased; physical death is not a reason to stop communicating; digital traces can function as artefacts, memorabilia of the passed away person; digital space does not equal life and therefore cannot be fully adjusted to death either, it keeps existing beyond the end of physical life. [Оксана Мороз]

Whilst Massimi is talking about all online platforms in general, quite a few services, if not following Massimi’s guidelines, then at least operating on the territory that he describes, exist already. I will hereby list a few, discovered by Russian researchers Sergey Mohov: ‘resting here’ and ‘safe beyond’, mentioned in the works of Sergei Mohov and several, used as examples by Oksana Moroz: ‘the digital beyond, After note, If I die, Dead Social, eter9 and eterni.me. Of course, this list is not extensive and the readers are more than welcome to explore death and mourning related online services on their own. What is important is that not only that they are provided for use if needed, they are in demand. I will illustrate this with a few common internet searches provided in the attachments to this article. People are looking for death and dying related services online, and I dare to say that for younger generation, internet would indeed be the first place to turn to for answers.

But the searches often relate to the precise online legacy - the digital double that is left behind us once we pass.

A digital presence of a living person can thus be describes as a ‘body without organs’, a concept used by French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. It usually refers to the deeper reality underlying some well-formed whole constructed from fully functioning parts. At the same time, it may also describe a relationship to one's literal body. This idea is fitting perfectly for when we speak about our existence on the internet. The digital double, internet avatar is a perfect body without organs. What worries us here is the possibility of it’s autonomous existence past the death of a human it was once attributed to. A great example here would be ‘Solaris’, a novel by Stanislav Lem, then brilliantly translated into a film by Andrei Tarkovsky. The action takes place in the uncertain future. Solarism - a science that studies the distant planet Solaris - has come to a standstill. The psychologist, Dr. Chris Kelvin (flies to Solaris to make a decision on the spot. Once at the station, the skeptical Chris discovers that her crew is exhausted by inexplicable phenomena: “guests” come to people - the material embodiment of their most painful and shameful memories. It is impossible to get rid of the "guests" in any way - they return again and again.

While Kelvin is sleeping, the "guest" comes to him, it is the materialized image of his wife, Hari, who 10 years ago had laid hands on herself after a family quarrel. At first, Kelvin, like other solarians, tries to get rid of the "double", but in vain. Over time, Kelvin begins to treat the "guest" as a living person. Hari's “copy” is also gradually becoming aware of its essence. Instead of a programmed need, being inseparably located near Kelvin, a human ability to make independent decisions develops in it. Realizing that by her existence she inflicts suffering on Kelvin, she first tries to kill herself, then, finding it impossible, asks scientists to destroy her by any means.

In ‘Solaris’, we see both an example of alive humans interacting with the deceased, but also a step further, ‘doubles’ realising that they do not equal their physical prototype, therefore causing existential turbulence.

Whilst the rules of online behaviour and environment are being written and used through a variety of above mentioned services, what is particularly interesting is the state/status of a person in the digital sphere. As Massimi said, digital life does not equal reality.

Who we are in real life is not fully represented in the digital, moreover, we are often choosing certain traits of ourselves to be represented, whilst others remain private, some can also be altered. What happens, when we start interacting online is - we create a digital double for ourselves, something that can be referred to as ‘an avatar’. This avatar represents us on the digital platform where it was created - games, social media, or mail interfaces. Over the years of internets existence, a lot of services and platforms have merged and we can speak of a general ‘digital trace’ of one person - a combination of multiplicity of images, texts, audio, other interactions produced whilst one is on the internet. This multiplicity can be linked to a digital representation of one on the internet, for some (for example foreign colleagues from overseas office who one has only communicated with through the internet) may almost completely replace the physicality of that one person.

What interests me, amongst many researchers of the digital sphere, is how this digital double functions. More specifically for this research I would like to look at one of the qualities of the digital double, avatar, - it’s immortality. Unlike our physical body, digital representation of ourselves cannot die, since it was never alive. Still, when interacting with people via social media, we are convinced, that there is a real person, behind the screen somewhere, responding to us.

After one’s death, unless stated specifically, we keep interacting with their social media page, as if the person is still alive. In theory, this can last for an eternal amount of time. The digital double is immortal. And this is where the very subtle field which Massimi and Moroz are researching lies.

With the new services, collecting information about it, recreating it, making posts, as if we were alive, with social media pages being run on the behalf if the deceased, we not only create a place of memory and mourning, we are stepping into a completely unknown territory. For example, if two (a software application that runs automated tasks over the Internet, here specifically I am referring to chat bots - automated software mimicking conversations).made from the recordings of a mother and a son, who both have passed away, start a conversation, ethically where does this lead us? Is this conversation then real? What is the value of created content?

As of today, it is still early to speak of artificial intelligence, but we can surely state that the position of humans as the only species reflecting on death is shattered. Last topic that I would like to briefly touch upon is the ethics of cloning, creogenics and similar bio-scientific practices, that once belonged to the world of fantasy but now are slowly stepping into our reality, changing our relationship with death forever.

A fine example here would be a film by Spanish director by Alejandro Amenábar co-written by Mateo Gil ‘Open Your Eyes’ and, more famously, it’s American adaptation by Cameron Crowe - ‘Vanilla Sky’. In the twisted plot of the film, the main character realises that his body was frozen after his sudden death and preserved for the future scientists to bring back to life. In the meantime his consciousness and memories were loaded into a simulation program. Not being able to cope with the fact that his most recent memories were generated, the protagonist chooses to ‘wake up’ in futuristic reality. At this point cryogenics is a reasonably well researched field, it is used in many fields, but of course, it is cryoconservation, that interests me the most. Cryoconservation is an indispensable tool in the storage of genetic material of animal origin and will continue to be useful for the conservation of livestock into the future and is used to save semen, cells, pollen and other materials. Cryonics is a branch of cryogenics, focusing on conserving human body (or just the head in some cases) after clinical death and with the hope of resurrection in the future.

The first corpse to be frozen was that of Dr. James Bedford in 1967. As of 2014, about 250 dead bodies had been cryopreserved in the United States, and 1,500 people had made arrangements for cryopreservation of their corpses. As of today not one of the frozen bodies has been resurrected, although a case of … shows that some bodies have decayed due to poor preservation conditions.

With many ethical issues surrounding cryonics, another, even more extreme method of human remains preservation is arising. In 2018, a Y-Combinator startup called Nectome was recognized for developing a method of preserving brains with chemicals rather than by freezing. The method is fatal, performed as euthanasia under general anethesia, but the hope is that future technology would allow the brain to be physically scanned into a computer simulation, neuron by neuron.

What could life post such procedures be like still remains in the realm of science fiction, but these practices and discussions are slowly but steadily penetrating our daily lives, changing our takes on mortality forever.

“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel”, - perhaps the most famous opening sentence in American science fiction is the first line of William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984), contemplates a place where the dead might belong, up above us, in an electronic medium as Gibson’s protagonist Case has to collaborate with ghostlike programs, learning to “work with the dead” inside the “consensual hallucination” that is cyberspace. This profession, once considered fictional, is as close as it gets to the studies that Massimi, amongst others. is performing in our day and age. Modernity makes adjustments and new disciplines appear: we now live through and study of death in digital space; dispute over cryonics; artificial intelligence and the possibility of post mortal existence as a piece of software; our life is surrounded by nonliving companions, who’s loss we mourn scarily similar to their natural protagonists.

The move from science-fiction to reality has been steady and it accelerates year by year. Many great works of fiction have not only predicted, but determined the contemporary developments in medicine, thanatology or even the ways we mourn or think of our last will. Recent developments are showing us that there is not and cannot be one model of death. Moreover, it is now established that death is experienced not only by people. We are faced with the task of species diversification of attitudes towards death, as well as the formation of a broader view of the issue of mortality with more and more drastic changes to come. Which changes? I’d suggest looking through a few books of science fiction.

Literature 1. "A startup is pitching a mind-uploading service that is "100 percent fatal"". Technology Review. 13 March 2018. 2. B e s t , B . P. ( A p r i l 2 0 0 8 ) . " S c i e n t i f i c j u s t i f i c a t i o n o f c r y o n i c s practice" (PDF). Rejuvenation Research. 493–503. 3. Boulle, P. (2018). Planet of the Apes. Place of publication not identified: ISHI Press. 4. Bulichev, Kir - “The Pet 5. Burt, Stephen. (2014). Science Fiction and Life after Death. American Literary History. 26. 168-190. 10.1093/alh/ajt063. 6. Dyck, Julia “Cellphones and cyborgs” 7. Gibson, W. (2018). Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books. 8. Handley, Rich (2008). Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology (1st ed.). New York: Hasslein Books. p. 279. 9. Haraway, D. Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s", Socialist Review, 80 (1985) 65–108 10.Haraway, D. The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness, Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press, 2003. ISBN 0-9717575-8-5 11. Haraway, D. When Species Meet, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007. ISBN 0-8166-5045-4 12.Moen, O.M. (August 2015). "The case for cryonics". Journal of Medical Ethics. 493–503. doi:10.1136/medethics-2015-102715. 13.Moroz, Oksana “Смертельная чувствительность” Антология Русской Смерти №6

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xxbalamazxx · 4 years

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Predators In The White House.

It is no major secret the white house has some dark corners to it. Plenty of illegal activities going on there, as to why they still have not been stopped? Your guess is as good as mine. It would surprise you however that sexual predators are occupying the white house and have been for a while…. When most think of “ Predator and white house” they immediately assume you are referring to President Donald Trump. But I hate to be the bearer of bad news… There have been what would be considered a few sexual predators in white the house. More than a few in fact. It seems that one of the major requirements of becoming President is to be a predator…

President Donald Trump With his Daughter and Epstein The question everyone is asking is how to get the womanizer currently in the white house, the possible incest driven bigot ( Come on we have all heard his remarks about his own daughter.) out of it. But the question we should be really be asking… Is how do we keep predators from even running for presidency… Now before we even get into that question, let us establish why I am calling them Predators. There is a rather long list of presidential candidates, hopefuls and presidents that use to associate with Jeffery Epstein. In case you don’t know who he is, lets recap. Jeffery Epstein used to own his own island ( is deceased by suicide now). On that island he allegedly allowed his wealthy guests to engage in sexual activities with girls ranging from 14 ( Speculated 12 yet not confirmed) to adulthood. Most of these girls had been illegally trafficked to his island in illegal sex trafficking.

Trump & Epstein with Trump's Future Wife. Among his guests, we can see Donald Trump, and many other well-known celebrities, as well it is known that a few senators, congressmen, state members, and other Presidents had attended parties there. This includes the Clinton's whom Bill was considered a close friend of Epstein. It is believed that both the presidents had close ties with him, which means we cannot rule out they were not on that Island partaking in what Epstein had to offer them. This means if true both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are sexual predators or downright pedophiles that have both held office.

Bill Clinton With Epstein It should also be noted that both Actor Kevin Spacey and comedian Chris Tucker both were caught with Epstein. Both of them have been starlight in the Me Too Movement as predators. This information is shocking as is. However, it is not new… Presidents, FBI heads and even CIA chiefs have all known about Epstein's wrongdoings, many of them have covered up for him. Many of them have partaken in this sick and disgusting man’s trade. This means many of the men that we would protect our children, our spouses from, are sat at the helm of the USA. These Men and women that should have been investigated in full before they ever were allowed to run. Many of them whom if reputation is true would have exploited women and children while in office.

Keven Spacey Mentioned to Be Involved With Epstein, also a focus in the Me to movement for touching other actors. We know Bill Clinton had an affair and used his power to suppress his sexual activities with one of his staff. ( We don’t need to mention the name, you all know whom it is.) She even went on to excuse him of using his power to bully her and trying to suppress her claims against him. Donald Trump also has had various claims. But what may surprise you, is it is now believed that Obama, Bush, and Bush Sr, and Even Regan all had ties with this child sex ring. All presidents back to back. All accusing one another… Yet all were allowed to take office.

Flight Logs to Epstiens Private Island While the allegations against America’s elites cannot be proved… Most of it is that investigations are being blocked by the major elite ( Go Figure). It does not change the fact, that predators are at the helm. From Thomas Jefferson and forcing himself on African American Women, to Donald J Trump. It is hard to find a President without sexual misconduct. Now before you begin to shout “ This is why we need a Female President” and we most likely do. I Would like to remind you. If Bill Clinton was involved with child sex activities, then you know Hillary knew. And for the most part would have had no problem with it, after all, recordings in the last election saw her laughing after getting a rapist off from charges. This goes to show that we need to investigate everyone that intends to sit office. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=724IMVqvzgY But how? How do we wean out bad candidates? Your answer is as good as any. One possible way to limit this is to do that little thing called a Background check, or not to allow multi-billionaires and cooperate heads into power? After all, they share the same profile as a psychopath? Something not mandated currently upon application? Another thing would simply to have a “Board” That talked to the relatives and friends of someone who was running. This seems to be common sense… Something our government is lacking of late. I want to hear what you have to say. Leave your comments below. Read the full article

#house #predators #white

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gaiatheorist · 6 years

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Pretty vacant.

Monday, 3am. I ‘should’ be typing up the four pages of carefully categorised and expanded notes for the PIP tribunal, but the ‘limbo’ of DWP instructing the tribunal panel to decline my request for a hearing, and the demonstrable unreliability of the Welfare Rights Advocate are impeding my motivation. I know, I’ll have a look at the news, I don’t have to check in at the Job Centre until mid-morning. (Which, with my completely knackered sleep-pattern will feel like evening, I hope I’m not too ‘verbally disinhibited.’)

I’ve just deleted a long, waffly, part-finished blog I started yesterday, reflecting on the similarities and differences between ‘my’ experience as an adolescent, and the furore whipped up by Jamie Oliver’s terminology about his daughter’s Instagram use. ‘Backlash ensues’ keeps popping up occasionally on my Twitter ‘trending’ panel, which makes me either nose-snort, or shake my head. Backlash does indeed ensue, The Internet, and I’m now over-expanding that line of thought, due to the increasing number of news articles I see that are essentially words sandwiched around quotes from Twitter or Facebook.

My assessment of the Oliver/Instagram thing? Some adolescents crave attention and affirmation, some don’t. Some of the ones who do count ‘likes’ will post photographs which are deliberately provocative, some won’t understand why they’re copying a particular ‘look’, and end up imitating an unlikely duck/dachshund hybrid that’s accidentally become wedged in a plumbing fitting. I have nieces aged about 9 and 12, I daren’t look on their Facebook pages, because I’d feel compelled to ask their Mother or Father to monitor them more closely. (They shouldn’t even BE on Facebook at that age!) Jamie Oliver’s terminology was awful, but impactive. He’s a celebrity chef, not a Designated Safeguarding Lead, he’ll no more know the correct legal-compliant phrases than I’d know how to make a perfect souffle. (Yes, it did take me ages to think of something I’ve never tried to cook.)

I thought I’d finished being moderately grumpy about the aesthetic-approval angle, wedged in this weird world where women want to be ‘pretty’, but not so pretty that builders can’t help wolf-whistling. Nope, a quick flick through Facebook this morning, and I have a few fully-grown women ‘friends’ who only EVER upload new profile and background photos. If I see another ‘Swit swoo’ comment, I will frisbee this knackered Chromebook out of the window. We’re 40-ish, not 14. “Frogmella Biscuit-Tin updated their profile picture” in the activity bar thing. I don’t care, but, at least if they’re doing that, they’re not doing the ‘Like and share to win a year’s supply of goats!’ data-mining nonsense. I think I last changed my profile picture in 2013, and I haven’t used a photo of myself for years. I ought to stop looking at Fakebook, but I’m still obsessively checking my ‘on this day’, to remind myself how far I’ve come. (Bin-reminders, and the lurgy on three different years ‘on this day’ today, oh, and the ex’s band, I ought to have invoiced him for the publicity.)

I’ll get my personal whinge out of the way, I don’t like-whore NOT because I’m not conventionally attractive, and worry I might not clock up as many ‘likes’ as Frogmella. I choose not to fish for compliments because I am more than the sum of my parts, I have two eyes, a mouth, a nose, and some hair, most people do, it’s just meat no-one eats. (Ew, that unpleasant sensation when you realise you have a hair in your mouth, and have to NOT start maniacally licking your own jumper and such, like a bad cat.)

My stompy-rage wasn’t quite triggered by the ‘swit swoo’ Facebook-nonsense, so I didn’t throw one of my mega-tantrums about the type of woman who sulks if you don’t notice their hair-do, or that they’ve started using a face-crayon a hemi-demi-semi fraction of a shade darker than the one they were using last week. I flicked through the BBC headlines, and then looked at The Guardian, it’s what I do at 3am, rather than bother insomniac/different time-zone Twitter. Dear Gods, the Mariella Frostrup advice column. “My husband has sex with me, but never says I look nice.” Where to even begin with that? Well, the letter writer begins with a list of her husband’s positive attributes, NONE of which are in any way, shape, or form descriptive of his physical attractiveness to her. A grown woman, complaining that her life-partner is perfect in many ways, but doesn’t say she looks ‘nice.’ (Maybe she doesn’t look ‘nice’, maybe she’s a moose?) Mariella points out that him still doing the sex to her is an indication that he still finds her attractive, I’m not even going into the comments-section, because I’ll be tempted to type “GROW UP, YOU’RE NOT 14!”

Why, some-women? WHY must some-women insist on being ‘told’ that they’re attractive? It’s ‘pics, or it never happened’, but on a massively worrying emotional level. These needy-women are Part Of The Problem, getting up at the crack of dawn to iron their hair, and colour in their faces, I know I’m the oddball here, I don’t even iron my clothes, and I deliberately avoid social interaction where-ever I’m able, because I am SHIT at compliments. In part, that’s the trained-British thing, “Smashing blouse!”, “Oh, this old thing, I’ve had it ages, I LOVE your cardigan!” ad infinitum, until it’s time to go home, and you’ve done no work at all because you were busy back-and-forth-ing with how you ADORE what they’ve done with that paperclip. In part, it’s the “What do you want?” element from my dysfunctional development. Part of it is my warped sense of humour. “Have you done something different with your hair?” usually generates the response of “Yes, I’ve combed it.”, and “You look nice today!” means I have to bite-back “Did I look like I’d crawled out of a bin yesterday?”, and switch-substitute “You ALWAYS look nice.”, which is probably just as bad.

I wash every day, and I dress for practicality not provocation. I do have sexual desires, but I don’t feel the need to display my wares to all and sundry for validation. The children that Jamie Oliver was wittering on about, with their ‘luscious’ and ‘porno’ aesthetics didn’t pull that ‘look’ out of thin air, they were influenced by others that ‘that’ was desirable. I’m going to go out on a limb here, and speculate that those women-children might well have mothers who do the filtered-pout-with-shopped-on-doggy-ears on social media, these ‘looks’ don’t spring out of a vacuum. That shit, along with the “Who’s sexy?” nonsense-babble that some women are STILL sausage-roll-crumb-blethering at their pram-contents on public transport is Part Of The Problem. I KNOW that construction site workers have free will, and independent thought, but they also have social conditioning, and, if you’re going to wiggle past them in leggings and a crop-top, with 3 inches of make-up on in the day-time, you’re Part Of The Problem. They choose whether to wolf-whistle, but YOU choose whether to display yourself as ‘available.’

I have very little influence in this sphere. I deliberately don’t compliment people on aesthetics, with the exception of a very specific set of circumstances, if I tell you that you’re beautiful, that’s because you’re SO awesomely attractive that you’ve captivated me, deal with it. I’m not ‘pretty’, I’ve had various conversations recently where people have said that, decades ago, I was ‘stunning’, ‘mesmerising’, and very much in the ‘would’ category. Much good that does me now, gravity has not been kind, and my physical body isn’t so much a temple as a ruin now. Decades ago, I had ‘all the gear, and no idea’, now, the gear has slipped somewhat, but I know how to work it. More-so, I know how my mind works, so I’m not returning the obvious play of “You fancied me then, what am I now, chopped liver?” I’m not ‘pretty’, and I accept that, what I accept more is that I’m not vacuous-vacant enough to need validation.

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rapuvdayear · 5 years

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youtube

1994: “Intro” The Notorious B.I.G. (Bad Boy/Arista)

Strap in, this is going to be a long post (even by my standards). Like, more than 5000 words long.

In the annals of rap history, there are certain periods that are just plain loaded. For example, between 1986 and 1988, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Boogie Down Productions, the Beastie Boys, Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, Too $hort, and NWA all released absolute classics that not only redefined the genre, but have become touchstones for the rappers who followed them. 1992-1996 boasts a similar embarrassment of riches: The Chronic, Doggystyle, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), The Infamous, Soul Food, All Eyez On Me, The Score, Ridin’ Dirty, and ATLiens, among many, many more. Smack dab in the middle of that run, 1994 was arguably the apex of rap’s golden era. In any other year, The Diary would’ve taken the crown as the best/most important album. But Scarface’s opus gets unfairly ignored because 1994 also saw two releases that appear on any serious (read: not trolling) all-time top ten list, and are perennially in greatest-ever discussions. I already covered Nas’s Illmatic back in April. And today, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Christopher Wallace’s debut, Ready To Die.

Properly assessing Biggie’s impact and legacy is a near impossible task. No other rapper has burned as brightly for so brief a period. After doing a nine-month bid in North Carolina for crack dealing as a 19-year-old, he was featured in The Source’s Unsigned Hype column—back when it was the still rap’s undisputed publication of record—off the strength of a now-infamous demo tape, a recognition that also helped launch the careers of Eminem, DMX, Common, and others. Big’s come up after The Source nod was similar to that of his contemporaries, like Nas, in that he stole the show on a couple of posse cuts. But while Nas went the “lyrically lyrical” route for a time and, with Illmatic, made an album featuring a Who’s Who of boom bap era producers, Big’s style was harder to pin down. He recorded just two official full-length albums, and only Ready To Die was released during his lifetime; in fact, Ready to Die is now officially older than Big was at the time of his murder, a crime that is still unsolved (and if that’s not a depressing statement about rap, violence, and blackness in America, I don’t know what is). His debut was recorded at a time when the West coast g-funk aesthetic was dominant, and East coast rap still meant “NYC,” which was primarily divided into two camps: the Timbs-and-hoodies style of the so-called New School rappers who could trace their lineages back to the Def Jam superstars of the 80s and Queensbridge’s Juice Crew, and the more “alternative” and Afrocentric stylings of the Native Tongues clique (there was also Wu-Tang, who combined elements of both but were also just weird as fuck). Ready To Die, in this sense, is much more representative of the Timbs-and-hoodies crowd, but it also paved the way toward a much more introspective, darker style of rap focused on violence and material wealth in equal measures that would become the standard in New York for the remainder of the decade. It’s a gangsta rap record with a boom bap sound. And though Biggie was certainly no slouch on the mic—his internal rhyme schemes are complex, and his flow is versatile—he didn’t need to rap fast or sound like he’d memorized a thesaurus in order to distinguish himself, either. His greatest strengths were his lovable-yet-dangerous personality, bawdy sense of humor, and unparalleled skill as a storyteller, which he would showcase to even greater effect on 1997’s Life After Death. Add everything up, and it makes perfect sense why Big is remembered as one of the—if not the—best to ever do it: he emerged at the peak of the golden era, but was also an originator rather than an imitator.

The 2Pac beef, East Coast-West Coast war, and “playas vs. thugs” dichotomy in mainstream 90s rap have all been broken down in painstaking detail elsewhere, with conspiracy theories lurking around every corner (for anyone interested, I think that the best resource for understanding those stories and where Biggie, Pac, and LAPD corruption fit into it all is this 2001 Randall Sullivan article in Rolling Stone). Separating history from hagiography is tough enough in a culture that is built on braggadocio; no rapper worth their salt has ever “let the truth get in the way of a good yarn.” But Biggie’s tall tale/folk hero status is on a different level, arguably even more so than Pac’s, with whom he will forever be linked. Much of that is due to the fact that his career was so short and his talent so undeniable; as distasteful as it is to admit, Biggie’s legacy undoubtedly benefited from his early passing, leaving us with two outstanding, classic albums and a handful of loosies, guest appearances, and posthumous compilations that continue to fuel speculation about the heights that he could have reached. Just as Jimi never made an experimental jazz guitar album and Otis never made disco, Big never recorded Nastradamus or Kingdom Come.

In the final analysis, Biggie’s career is defined by death, but not necessarily his own. Many have observed that the title of his debut album, Ready To Die, was, in a way, a foreshadow of things to come, and that the second, Life After Death, serves as a chilling acknowledgement of what occurred just two weeks before its release. But on a deeper level, a careful listen to both records reveals Biggie’s obsession with death: what he sees happening around him, the ways in which he might die—possibly even by his own hand—and the unanswerable question of whether or not death is the end. Behind all of the jokes, tales of sexual escapades, and reflections on how enjoyable the playa lifestyle can be, at its heart Ready To Die is extremely nihilistic.

That nihilism begins with the cover art, which along with The Chronic is the first rap album cover I can remember noticing. Despite what Nas and Raekwon may think, Ready To Die’s cover probably owes more to Nevermind than it does Illmatic: Nas’s childhood photo laminated over the Queensbridge housing projects on his debut evokes nostalgia for his roots; Ready To Die, on the other hand, is a bleak statement about being born a black man in America. Here’s this cute baby with an afro and a diaper set against a stark white background, and we the viewers are invited to wonder what his future holds. In other words, the point is that every American black male is born “ready to die” because that’s what the statistics tell us (in actuality, the photo model is alive and well). As an 11-year-old American white male from rural Maine, this was completely lost on me at the time. Looking back on it now, I can’t help but feel goosebumps.

The cover also simply yet effectively communicates the album’s narrative arc, such that there is one. Ready To Die isn’t a concept album by any means, but it does chart the life of Christopher Wallace from the womb to the tomb, so to speak. The first sounds we hear on the intro are a heartbeat, a woman in labor, her partner urging her to push, and then a baby crying. The last sounds are of a gunshot, a body falling to the floor, a voice on the other end of the line pleading, and a heartbeat slowing to a stop. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go through it track-by-track; this is one album that is all killer, no filler.

Intro (link above): This is a classic rap album trope: the introductory skit that establishes where the rapper is coming from, sort of like a superhero’s origin story. Maybe this is symptomatic of having recently been listening to only mid-to-late 90s rap, but it seems to me that these sorts of intros used to be more common than they are now. There’s no actual rapping here. Instead we get something very similar to “The Genesis” on Illmatic, a mashup of different iconic sounds from “the culture.” Whereas for Nas it was an excerpt from Wild Style followed by a skit over that movie’s theme, Biggie’s intro is more personal, and more comprehensive in terms of situating him in a time and a place. It begins with Christopher Wallace’s birth in 1972 over the sounds of “Superfly,” followed by an argument between Biggie’s parents about his antics that turns quickly to violent threats while “Rapper’s Delight” (1979)—the birth of rap, officially-unofficially—plays, then Big and a friend discussing a plan to rob subway passengers set to “Top Billin’” (1987), and finally Big being taunted by a corrections officer as he’s released from prison and Snoop’s “Tha Shiznit” (1993) can be heard in the background (this last part is definitely pure fiction; Big’s only recorded stint inside was back in 1991). The point of the narrative is obvious, but the musical choices are also significant. Biggie was part of an emerging generation of rappers who could still remember a time before rap, but who also grew up alongside the genre, their lives’ milestones scored by a soundtrack featuring the likes of The Sugarhill Gang, Audio Two, and Snoop. By 1994, rap itself had changed several times over already, and with Biggie’s entry it was set to change again. This theme continues on the next track…

Things Done Changed: First of all, this is one of the few songs I can think of that takes full advantage of stereo sound as the beat jumps from right to left and back again before the first harmonies kick in. In college, my friends and I used to love driving around with Ready To Die in the tape deck and performing a ritual of sorts to this opening, nodding our heads and pointing to the speakers on one side of the car and then the other (Side note: after college when I moved to Prague, a group of friends rented a car one night for the express purpose of driving around the city and listening to this album in its entirety. We actually got pulled over when we accidentally found ourselves in a Czech police extortion trap and had to bribe our way out, but that’s another story…). “Things Done Changed” is exactly what the title declares: a mix of Biggie waxing nostalgic about the bygone days of his Brooklyn childhood and communicating the harsh reality of post-crack NYC. The “back in the day” rap is another trope, but whereas previous examples like The Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By” (1992), Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s “T.R.O.Y.” (1992), and even Nas’s “Memory Lane” (1994) all are accompanied by production that emphasizes the slow, sweet, happy remembrances of things past, “Things Done Changed”—with samples from 70s funk group The Main Ingredient—sounds downright foreboding. The message is that there’s no time to lament the past because it’s over and done with and the future is anything but certain. As if this point weren’t clear enough, the Dr. Dre sample on the chorus—“Remember they used to thump? But now they blast, right?”—and Biggie’s appeal to his contemporaries—“Motherfucker, this ain’t back in the day/ But you don’t hear me though”—eliminate any sense of ambiguity. There are so many great Biggie lines sprinkled throughout (e.g., “And we coming to the wake/ To make sure the crying and commotion ain’t a motherfucking fake”; “Back in the days our parents used to take care of us/ Look at ‘em now, they even fuckin’ scared of us”; and “The streets is a short stop/ Either you slingin’ crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot,” which incidentally was quoted in the cringeworthiest way possible in 2000’s Boiler Room), but one in particular stands out to me: “It make me wanna grab the 9 and the shotty/ But I gotta go identify the body.” A former roommate of mine always loved this part because it encapsulates not just Biggie’s moral dilemma, but in many ways the definitive contradictions of gangbanging and the drug trade: I’m so angry and in pain that I want to visit extreme violence upon the world, but at the same time I have to deal with the fallout of the violence around me in the most intimate of ways. Did I mention already that this album is nihilistic to the core?

Gimme The Loot: This song will always hold a special place in my memory. It was either this or Snoop’s version of “Lodi Dodi” that was the first rap I memorized word for word. In high school, my friends and I used to go out to the cross-country running trails after school to, uh, do what burnouts do, and more often than not would end up reciting “Gimme The Loot” in its entirety at the top of our lungs (I hope that we changed all the ****** to “suckas” or something…). Biggie voices two characters, both plotting small-scale robberies with grotesque levels of passion. For real, some of the lyrics for the album version had to be censored because, well, this: “I don’t give a fuck if you’re pregnant/ Give me the baby ring and the #1 mom pendant.” “Gimme The Loot” is also a perfect example of Big’s style: it’s played for laughs, but the subject matter is darker than dark. I like to think of this as a companion piece to “****** Bleed” from Life After Death—my all-time favorite Biggie track—which is about a much more ambitious robbery that is also full of jokes. In line with the album’s theme, “Gimme The Loot” ends with Big presumably dying in a hail of bullets during a shootout with the cops, “a true motherfucker going out for the loot.”

Machine Gun Funk: Ooh, this beat! As anyone who follows this account already knows, one of my favorite things about rap is how much great music I’ve been introduced to via samples. In this case, “Something Extra” by 70s funk band Black Heat. Easy Mo Bee, who produced this and five other tracks on Ready To Die, doesn’t get the acclaim of contemporaries like DJ Premier, Pete Rock, or Large Professor. But his bona fides are solid—coming up with the Juice Crew—and his work on this album is spectacular. As with “Gimme The Loot,” some of the lyrics in the second verse censored: “For the jackers, the jealous-ass crackers in the blue suits/ I’ll make you prove that it’s bulletproof.” This was, after all, around the time that NWA and Ice-T had provoked outrage—and FBI investigations!—for their anti-police lyrics. “Machine Gun Funk”’s overall gist is summed up in one line: “I’m doing rhymes now, fuck the crimes now.” In other words, Big is just as hard as he was on the ascent, but he’s transcended that life now and is making bank from rap. It’s another well-worn trope that’s become almost obligatory for rappers to talk about now.

Warning: Another funky Easy Mo Bee beat, this time with an Isaac Hayes sample. Biggie relates a story of being awakened early in the morning by a friend who has gotten wind that his enemies are plotting his demise (he also shouts out fellow Brooklynites M.O.P., which is a nice touch!). He demonstrates his capacity for catchy internal rhymes—“They heard about the Rolexes and the Lexus/ With the Texas license plates out of state/ They heard about the pounds you got down in Georgetown/ And they heard you got half Virginia locked down”—and penchant for clever metaphors—“There’s gonna be a lot of slow singin’ and flower bringin’/ If my burglar alarm starts ringin’”; “The criminals, tryna drop my decimals.” There’s also the continuation of the “ready to die” theme with a depressing statement about trust and paranoia: “It’s the ones that smoke blunts witcha, see your picture/ Now they wanna grab they guns and come and getcha.” “Warning” ends with a darkly funny skit of sorts that leads right into the next track…

Ready To Die: I mean, it’s right there in the title: this is the entire album in a nutshell. Big is defiant here and completely nihilistic: “My shit is deep, deeper than my grave, G/ I’m ready to die, and nobody can save me/ Fuck the world, fuck my moms and my girl/ My life is played out like a Jheri curl, I’m ready to die!” And why all the violence? It’s simple, really, a means to an end: “Shit is real, and hungry’s how I feel/ I rob and steal because that money got that whip appeal.” This Easy Mo Bee beat is appropriately eerie, too, flipping the organ from blaxploitation film score legend Willie Hutch’s “Hospital Prelude Of Love Theme.” “Warning” ends with Puffy reciting “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep,” similar to how he would start “You’re Nobody (‘Til Somebody Kills You)” on Life After Death with the 23rd Psalm: both are prayers about death and the afterlife.

One More Chance: This was one of the tracks that Big recorded during the second half of the Ready To Die sessions at Puffy’s urging. While Big allegedly didn’t want to make any concessions to commercial tastes, being the ever-calculating businessman that he is, Puff encouraged him to include a few tracks that weren’t just about robbing and killing. As such, the tone here is a little different from the album up to this point. However, it does give Big a chance to explore another of his signature topics and themes: sex, but in the lewdest way possible (I mean, he raps about shifting kidneys, shattering bladders, and “fuck[ing] her ‘til her nose bleed”). As my friend Jason pointed out to me recently, the skit in the intro is more interesting than it would appear at first, too. Ostensibly, it’s recordings of women on Big’s answering machine who he’s ghosted. However, the second caller doesn’t seem to be someone he’s slept with, but rather a female friend chiding him for being inconsiderate. Who knows whether this is meaningful or not, but maybe just maybe it’s a small subversion of the “g’s up, hoes down” mantra pervading rap? Eh, it’s a stretch. “One More Chance” was remixed and released as a single in 1995, becoming one of Big’s biggest hits. The original version is far superior, though, IMHO. Another minor note: verse 2 contains a cool shout out to Houston’s Geto Boys and the “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” video, complete with the beat switching up briefly to index that song.

Fuck Me (Interlude): A skit featuring Lil’ Kim. I usually don’t like rap skits, but this one is notable for making “Oreo cookie eatin’, pickle juice drinkin’, chicken gristle eatin’, biscuit fuckin’ suckin’ … V8 juice drinkin’, Slim Fast blendin’, black greasy muthafucka” into passable dirty talk. And that’s all I have to say about that.

The What: When Nas said, “My first album had no famous guest appearances/ The outcome: I’m crowned the best lyricist” on Stillmatic, this is the song he was talking about (well, either this or “Brooklyn’s Finest”… yeah, it was probably the latter). Given how rappers have stuck to the formula of paying for the services of more accomplished figures to drive interest in their debuts, it’s a testament to Nas’s and Big’s greatness that both Illmatic and Ready To Die only had one feature apiece: AZ on “Life’s A Bitch,” and Method Man on “The What.” With all due respect to AZ, no one’s mistaking him for a “famous” guest. Meth, on the other hand, had only really been famous for a couple of years at this point, but he was far and away Wu-Tang’s breakout star and would become the first group member to drop a post-36 Chambers solo just two months later. His participation here is also unexpected given the less-famous-yet-still-potent beef that existed between Wu-Tang and Biggie. Collabos and features are often underwhelming; either the guest feels like an unnecessary afterthought, or ends up “murder[ing] you on your own shit.” In this case, though, Meth is able to keep pace with Big and vice versa. Although his chemistry with Redman is legendary and their work together was super enjoyable, “The What” makes me wonder what a Meth and Biggie full-length would have sounded like. Easy Mo Bee laces the beat with the most stonerific production on the album, a laid back, fried melody that samples the outro to Leroy Huston’s “Can’t Say Enough About Mom” (1974). It works!

Juicy: It’s funny, this used to be my least favorite track on Ready To Die, entirely because of the chorus, which I thought was too “soft.” But now that I’m older, I appreciate its anthem-ness and the funky-ass Mtume sample. “Juicy” was, of course, the album’s lead single, but it was recorded toward the end of the sessions because Puff realized that they needed a radio-ready hit if Biggie was going to be a success. As a result, it’s the most discordant track on the album because of its uplifting tone, message of positivity, and nothing in the lyrics about death or dying. Along with “Things Done Changed,” this is the most autobiographical song on Ready To Die. And it’s chock full of quotables: “Time to get paid/ Blow up like the World Trade” (which has subsequently been censored in post-9/11 radio versions); “Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way”; “Considered a fool cuz I dropped out of high school” (that one always resonated with me, haha); “Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis/ When I was dead broke, man, I couldn’t picture this” (which sounds hilarious now as far as stunting goes); “Birthdays was the worst days/ Now we sip champagne when we thirstay.” Also like “Things Done Changed,” “Juicy” is a nod to the past—the first verse is basically a list of 80s rap influencers—while signaling that a paradigm shift is happening; when Big says, “You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far,” he means for both himself and for the genre as a whole. He probably would have been a star anyway without “Juicy,” but its inclusion on Ready To Die definitely helped drive his early mainstream appeal.

Everyday Struggle: This anthem is still relevant today. They wouldn’t be brave enough (or stupid enough, depending on your perspective) to actually do it, but Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders could totally use this as a campaign song in 2020. The name of the game here is “precarity” and the choices people make just to survive. The sample, from Dave Grusin’s cheesy 80s jazz composition “Either Way” (1980), starts off in a vaporwavish muffle that makes the intro sound like a classic TV theme song. And then immediately we’re vaulted back into Biggie’s bleak, nihilistic take on contemporary life, and his suicidal ideations (a foreshadowing of things to come…): “I don’t wanna live no more/ Sometimes I hear death knocking at my front door/ I’m living everyday like a hustle, another drug to juggle/ Another day, another struggle.” The whole song is about drug dealing, but it’s not all glorification: Big makes it quite clear that a) violence and the possibility (inevitability?) of death are ever-present, and b) it is an endeavor that is fundamentally about preying on one’s community. As he puts it, “Baggin’ five at a time/ I can clock about nine on the check cashin’ line/ I had the first and the third rehearsed, that’s my word,” all of which is to say that he had a clear understanding of the temporal rhythms of government assistance, wage payments, and the financial habits of the unbanked. It’s less of a lament than what appears in other rappers’ odes to “the game,” but I think it’d be remiss to ignore his discomfort with being a participant in an activity that clearly destroys lives and neighborhoods.

Me & My Bitch: Woooooo, talk about a problematic song! This is Kevin Gates before Kevin Gates. On the one hand, you could make a legitimate case for “Me & My Bitch” being the most romantic gangsta rap song ever (which is saying something in and of itself). On the other hand, Big would definitely be cancelled in 2019 for this. The opening line is classic Biggie humor: “I’ll admit when I first saw you my thoughts was a trip/ You looked so good, huh, I’d suck on your daddy’s dick.” But it soon devolves into your run-of-the-mill rap misogyny: “When the time is right, the wine is right/ I treat you right; you talk slick, I beat you right.” It’s all a fantasy—AFAIK Big never had a romantic relationship like the one depicted here—that’s the textbook definition of “ride or die.” Emphasis on “die” because that’s where the song ends up (because of course it does, this is Ready To Die after all). At first, Big tells us, “And if I deceive, she won’t take it lightly/ She’ll invite me, politely, to fight, G/ And then we lie together, cry together/ I swear to God I hope we fuckin’ die together,” which say what you will, that’s kind of a sweet sentiment. But alas, he doesn’t get his wish, as his lover is gunned down by his enemies, collateral in a war against him. Again, his eulogy for her is also kind of sweet, in a perverse way: “It didn’t take long before the tears start/ I saw my bitch dead with a gunshot to the heart/ And I know it was meant for me/ I guess the ****** felt they had to kill the closest one to me/ And when I find ‘em, your life is to an end/ They killed my best friend.”

Big Poppa: Another of the more radio-friendly, Puffy-inspired tracks, and consequently one of the album’s biggest hits (and second single). This is also the closest the Ready To Die comes to emulating 1994’s pop rap zeitgeist as the production on “Big Poppa” is clearly g-funk, complete with a high-pitched synthesizer straight out of Dre’s toolkit. It’s quite the contrast with the previous track, going from “ghetto soap opera” to “big willie playa fantasy.” Overall, “Big Poppa” is solid club song. Also, did Biggie invent the “weird flex” with this line: “A t-bone steak, cheese, eggs, and Welch’s grape”?

Respect: This one’s a nod to Biggie’s Jamaican roots, and introduces another chapter in the autobiography established through “Things Done Changed” and “Juicy.” “Respect” features Jamaican reggae/dancehall singer Diana King on the hook and reggae-ish beat from Poke of the Trackmasters that interpolates KC & The Sunshine Band’s “I Get Lifted” (1975). Even here Biggie pushes the “ready to die” theme as he narrates his birth!: “Umbilical cord wrapped around my neck/ I’m seein’ my death, and I ain’t even took my first step.” Verse 2 contains some more reflection on the uncertainties of the drug game: “Put the drugs on the shelf? Nah, couldn’t see it/ Scarface, King of New York, I wanna be it/ Rap was secondary, money was necessary/ Until I got incarcerated, kinda scary/ … Time to contemplate, damn, where did I fail?/ All the money I stacked was all the money for bail.”

Friend Of Mine: Easy Mo Bee does it again! Another of my favorite beats on Ready To Die. This one’s mostly Biggie-style sexual humor, similar to “One More Chance” only funkier and more misogynistic. It’s Big’s version of “g’s up, hoes down” or “Scandalouz.” The double standard regarding male and female promiscuity is in full effect. Even so, there’s a cleverness to the lyrics; Big’s descriptions are just plain different from other rappers’ (side note: the same argument can be made for Gucci Mane): “I don’t give a bitch enough to catch the bus/ And when I see the semen, I’m leavin’”; “Now I play her far like a moon play a star.”

Unbelievable: Scoring a DJ Premier beat for your album in the 90s was basically confirmation that you were someone worth paying attention to. Nas did it with Illmatic, and Big pulled the legendary producer’s card for this, the final track recorded for Ready To Die. Premo even gave Big a discount, charging him less than his usual fee because he’d gone overbudget already! The sample, from The Honeydrippers’ “Impeach The President” (1973), is well-traveled territory in rap, having been sampled in dozens of songs already by that point. “Unbelievable”’s content is mostly just Biggie boasting about his greatness at all things. And you’ve gotta respect the audacity of sampling yourself, from another song on the same album, giving yourself props (“Biggie Smalls is the illest!”). Even without a clear narrative or any deeper message, “Unbelievable” is a showcase of Biggie’s range of technical skills from internal rhymes—“And those that rushes my clutches get put on crutches/ Get smoked like Dutches”—to sly metaphors—“I got three hundred and fifty-seven ways/ To simmer sauté”—and original adjectives—“car weed-scented.” Big and Premier would link up again on Life After Death for two of that album’s standouts—“Kick In The Door” and “Ten Crack Commandments”—but three tracks still feels like far too few for such a potent combination.

Suicidal Thoughts: Dear lord, what an ending! If you doubted that Ready To Die was nihilistic up to this point, “Suicidal Thoughts” leaves no question as to the tone that Big intended. This is my second favorite of Biggie’s songs, and IMHO his most poignant. I almost feel as if he invented emo-rap here, letting the listener into his tortured psyche in a way that only Pac and Eminem have even come close to imitating. I’ve written about this track and my fondness for it already, naming it my “rap of the year” for 1994. The overall concept is Big calling up Puff to deliver what amounts to a suicide note. As Puffy pleads with him not to go through with it, Biggie enumerates all of the reasons that he’s “a piece of shit, it ain’t hard to fucking tell” and why the world would be better off without him: his criminal escapades, his sense that he’d let down his loved ones, his lies and infidelity. The key passages: “All my life I been considered as the worst/ Lyin’ to my mother, even stealin’ out her purse/ Crime after crime, from drugs to extortion/ I know my mother wish she got a fuckin’ abortion/ She don’t even love me like she did when I was younger/ Suckin’ on her chest just to stop my fuckin’ hunger/ I wonder if I died, would tears come to her eyes?/ Forgive me for my disrespect, forgive me for my lies”; “People at the funeral frontin’ like they miss me/ My baby mama kiss me, but she glad I’m gone/ She know me and her sister had somethin’ goin’ on.” Additionally, this is one of the things that truly separates Big from Pac when it comes to their musings on death and the afterlife: while Pac rapped about heaven and “thugz mansion,” Big seemed convinced that he was headed to hell both here and elsewhere: “When I die, fuck it, I wanna go to hell/ … It don’t make sense goin’ to heaven with the goodie-goodies/ Dressed in white; I like black Timbs and black hoodies.” If “Ready To Die” was a defiant declaration, then “Suicidal Thoughts” is Biggie proving that it was no lie, that he is, in fact, ready to pass on even if it’s his own doing. The beat is handled by Lord Finesse—another boom-bap veteran—and complements perfectly the tension that builds until the final moments: the gunshot, the thud, and the flatlining heartbeat (the sample is Miles Davis’s “Lonely Fire” (1974)).

There’s no denying Ready To Die’s place in the pantheon of rap history. People can debate whether or not it and/or Big are the greatest ever, which is fine, but ultimately meaningless. What we have here is an album that can be enjoyed on many different levels. And even if it is all about death, as with any work of art, it will live on as long as people keep listening to and loving it.

#25th anniversary #biggie #ready to die

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popcultureliterary · 7 years

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Raising LGBTQ+ Visibility Through Pop Culture (Part 1)

June is Pride Month, a time for celebrating the vast diversity that makes up the LGBTQ+ community. Our community encompasses a plethora of different genders, identities, and sexualities, and promotes love and acceptance of self and others. Whether you’re transgender, bisexual, androgynous, masculine, feminine, demisexual, homosexual, or any other sexuality or identity in the spectrum, you will find a home under the rainbow flag.

One of the biggest concerns for the LGBTQ+ community involves visibility and positive representation in the media. Wider representation benefits the movement, as well as allowing individual members of the community (especially youth) to see themselves portrayed positively in the world around them. I wanted to start the month off with a post highlighting various creative works that contribute to this visibility. In my selection process, I tried to choose works that represented a wide variety of the sexualities and identities that make up our community.

True to myself, I wound up with an entire miniseries rather than just one post! Keep an eye out this month for follow-up posts containing more titles!

But First, A Brief History

In 1969, a series of violent riots broke out at The Stonewall Inn, a known safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. The violence occurred in response to police raids on LGBTQ+ spaces common at the time. Police would storm known hangouts of queer folk and make arrests based on laws and regulations intended to discourage LGBTQ+ activity. One such regulation required that a person wear at least three articles of clothing matching their gender and sex. Tired of the constant threat of oppression, the patrons of Stonewall stood their ground. The Encyclopedia Britanica does a great job of describing the atmosphere that sparked these events:

“Many historians characterized the uprising as a spontaneous protest against the perpetual police harassment and social discrimination suffered by a variety of sexual minorities in the 1960s.”

The Stonewall riots (also called the Stonewall uprising) are credited as being an important catalyst in the fight for equality that we see today. The movement’s momentum really picked up in response. In part, this is due to the fact that these riots raised awareness of what was happening to the gay community throughout the country. It also served to galvanize advocates and members of the community into action to fight for and promote social change.

President Bill Clinton declared June 2000 as the first official gay and lesbian pride month, which president Barack Obama expanded to include the entire LGBTQ+ community in 2009. The Stonewall Inn became an official national monument in 2016 in honor of the historic impact it had on the quest for LGBTQ+ equality.

Increasing Visibility in Popular Media

Now let’s take a look at a few games, movies, comics, and shows that work proudly to raise visibility for the LGBTQ+ community.

Overwatch

Overwatch is well known for slowly introducing new characters and information over time and allowing its players to piece together that information to better understand the game’s backstory and characters. They pepper story and lore throughout the game, as well as tucking it away in animated shorts and digital comics. This month, the OW team introduced a new voice line for the poster character Tracer that started an excited buzz around the internet. In the new line, Tracer says "I wonder if I have time to visit Emily? No, better stay focused."

The Emily in question is Tracer’s girlfriend, previously only known by fans who read the digital comic Reflections. The team confirms that Tracer is homosexual rather than a different orientation with a statement made to IGN:

"Tracer is a lesbian on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. As in real life, having variety in our characters and their identities and backgrounds helps create a richer and deeper overall fictional universe. From the beginning, we’ve wanted the universe of Overwatch to feel welcoming and inclusive, and to reflect the diversity of our players around the world. As with any aspect of our characters’ backgrounds, their sexuality is just one part of what makes our heroes who they are."

Including the voice line in the game raises LGBTQ+ visibility by reaching players who do not read the comics. Many players speculate on where this new voice line will come into play, and what details it will reveal about the ever-unfolding OW lore. Cheers, love!

Tokyo Godfathers

Released in 2003, Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ) follows the adventures of three homeless people who unexpectedly become the protectors of a baby they find abandoned on a cold winter night. One of the three is Hana, a former drag queen who has discovered herself as a trans woman. She lives on the streets following the death of a boyfriend who’s loss came as a hard blow to her. Throughout the film, she proves herself to be a strong individual with a big heart. Her companions occasionally call her a crazy queer guy, but she corrects them in stride.

Wandering Son

Another great series raising visibility for transgender folks is Takako Shimura’s Wandering Son (放浪息子 Hourou Musuko). The series follows two children, Shuichi Nitori and Yoshino Takatsuki, as they discover their gender identities. They’re at that awkward stage in life where girls and boys start hitting puberty, leading to not only the development of physical differences, but also social differences that weren’t apparent in younger ages. The trouble is, these two find that they do not identify with the gender assigned to them. Both are transgender, and work together to help one another navigate their way through this confusing time.

On a side note, I recommend reading the manga before trying the anime. The anime picks up somewhere in the middle of the story, dropping the viewer in with no explanation whatsoever. It feels more aimed at already established fans of the manga rather than new audiences.

Love is Love

Lastly, I wanted to give a shout out to the beautiful Love is Love comic published by IDW and DC in response to the Pulse Nightclub shooting. This comic is a collection of one to two page stories celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. It offers a mixture of hope-filled tales and reactions to the tragedy, making for a potent combo of uplifting and devastating feelings.

The stories contained include many different viewpoints from all over the spectrum, including those of allies and advocates. All proceeds for this comic go to the Pulse survivors, victims, and families of victims. I highly recommend the digital version if you decide to add this beautiful comic to your collection, as it contains a few additional pages of content not published in the print copy, including a beautiful candlelight vigil.

Wrapping it Up

I know that I didn’t name all of the pop culture works that bring visibility to our colorful community. As much as I want to pay homage to these important creative works, I needed to limit my selections for this blog. If I were to include every single one, this would be a very long miniseries indeed!

Do you have a favorite game, show, comic, or movie with LGBTQ+ characters or themes that didn’t make the list? Please share them in the comments! And remember to keep an eye out later this month for posts containing more titles that bring visibility to the spectrum!

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scripturehomosexuality · 7 years

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Addendum To Aaron Hernandez Story

This post is intended as a followup to the post “Aaron Hernandez: A Case Study About What’s Wrong With Modern Society”, which was originally published on May 7th 2017. As such, a link to the content here will be added to that post as a post scriptum.

To understand what will follow, I strongly recommend that you read the abovementioned post first.

There have been many developments on the Aaron Hernandez story. As such, they confirm the blog’s main assertions:

The story of Mr. Hernandez poses a big risk to modern sexual philosophy and the “Straight”-”Gay” dichotomy, and threatens to completely collapse both

Numerous authorities within the dichotomy (“gay” and “straight” media, LGBT leadership, etc) are well aware of the first bullet point, and as such are trying to bury the story

Firstly, after the first Outsports article on Aaron Hernandez, all media did as the article asked, and basically stopped discussion on the matter. In doing so, they were expecting (and subtly ordering) their audiences to do the same.

This is a prime example of how modern sexual philosophy works to defend itself, and how a society facilitates that defense mechanism. In this case, the strategy went as follows:

”Gay” leadership and media signal that they don’t want to discuss the case

Within the dichotomy, the “gay” side is given total authority over discussion on same-sex activity. Thus, if the “gay” side doesn’t want to discuss it, the “straight” side has no reason to discuss it either. Thus, the Outsports article was used as a pretext to decrease coverage on the “straight” side.

Both sides keep completely mum on the case, and as a result, it’s kept somewhat in the dark

Similar strategies were used with the “g0y” movement and Man2Man Alliance, where the “gay” media castigated and ignored them, and the “straight” media followed their lead in not covering them. In this way, anything that threatens the status quo is neutralized.

Let me be clear, and you probably realize the following too: for a media that thrives on speculation, this is highly unusual. Both “gay” and “straight” media usually feast on speculation on whether some celebrity is “gay”. Yet, when so much suggests that Aaron Hernandez was into guys too, they leave all forward movement on the case to the family. In doing so, they claim that it’s out of sensitivity for the family, but that’s only a front. They’ve been far less merciful with celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo and Aaron Rodgers, who also have families.

The real reason is that, if the Aaron Hernandez case is explored enough, it would soon become evident that modern sexual philosophy is COMPLETELY WRONG. It would completely destroy a philosophy that so much of U.S. society hinges on. It would turn U.S. society upside-down in a way they don’t want.

As such, I hope my LGBT-identified readers are taking note of their leadership and media. They only care for sexual behavior that supports the fundamental message of modern sexual philosophy - that same-sex eroticism is inherently abnormal and aberrant. If the behavior doesn’t do that, the LGBT movement wants nothing to do with it.

Yet, their efforts have only been moderately successful so far. Public interest in the story is still so high, the media has had no choice but to report trickles of it, and acknowledge developments in the story.

For example, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez’ fiancee) did an interview on “Dr. Phil” during May 2017. During that interview, she flatly denied all rumors that he was “gay”, and said further that he was “very much a man”. It was revealed that she first became aware of the rumors during Mr. Hernandez’ trial, when his defense team let her know. She also revealed that Mr. Hernandez and herself spoke about the topic several times, and each time, he completely denied he was “gay”.

First of all, I wish to say that Mr. Hernandez was telling the truth. Remember what was said here about the word “gay” - that it’s a word that marries same-sex activity with a “gay” culture of anal play, drag, and gender-atypical behavior. Meanwhile, while it’s likely that Mr. Hernandez was bisexual in his behavior, it’s very clear that he also roundly rejected the LGBT identity. Given the complicated meaning the word “gay” has, he was perfectly justified in saying that he wasn’t “gay”.

However, there was also something conspicuously absent from the interview. It was something that would put all gossip to bed - the suicide letters. Where were the suicide letters? To prove her point, why didn’t Ms. Jenkins-Hernandez cite them as proof that he wasn’t “gay”? Especially since they’re now in her possession in their unredacted form, and since she has most likely read them by now? Those suicide letters were testimony from the man himself on who he was, yet during such a key moment, they’re nowhere in sight.

There’s only one reason why they were absent: they would somewhat undermine the statements of Ms. Jenkins-Hernandez, and she knows that. Don’t be fooled. It’s true that he wasn’t “gay”. However, that doesn’t mean that he didn’t sexually interact with other guys. Indeed, the sports world contains a highly homoerotic culture, where its players can eroticially interact with each other without any “gay” spectre. From all appearances, Mr. Hernandez immersed himself completely within that culture, and enjoyed it immensely.

Thus, and to the contrary, their unignorable absence actually confirms a conclusion made in the first post: the most problematic aspect of those letters are their content. Furthermore, it also confirms that such content is definitely homoerotic in nature, and would make clear that he sexually interacted with other guys. That’s the only way those suicide notes, the biggest “smoking guns” that would end all speculation at once, are absent when they’re most valuable.

In this, I don’t fault Ms. Jenkins-Hernandez. Modern sexual philosophy works to preserve itself, and will sacrifice anything to do so. Meanwhile, the Hernandez family is doing everything to save Mr. Hernandez from being painted as “gay”, or even having that suggested about him. Certain parties would use them as justification for calling him that, even if closer inspection would reveal a more nuanced story. Thus, I understand why they might still be sheepish about revealing the letters.

Other developments in the month of May further confirm this blog’s conclusions. To pacify public interest in the case, the Boston Globe filed a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request for other prison correspondence from Mr. Hernandez. Those letters were then circulated across the media world, and are available for your viewing in this link.

As a side note, the Globe could do this because all of Mr. Hernandez’ correspondence is now public record, including the suicide notes. This is because they are currently being held by local authorities, and by virtue of that, they now belong to the public. Any news organization can obtain them at any time through a FOIL request. Thus, the relative silence on the story isn’t for lack of resources; it’s because they don’t want to do the work. As said before, the coverage blackout is being done on purpose. But I digress.

Anyway, the letters reveal that Mr. Hernandez had very friendly relationships with his other cellmates. The first four contain Mr. Hernandez repeatedly asking (and at one point pleading) to be placed in a certain cell block. That cell block contained men that he knew previously, and at least one man who he considered a “brother” and his “heart”. The last letter in the link attached has Mr. Hernandez addressing “false gossip” that was circulating around the prison, while making the same request to be placed in that certain cell block.

In the letters, there are several redactions made. All of the names mentioned are redacted, which admittedly is common practice, and is firmly within the bounds of FOIL law in general. However, there is one redaction made which, in my opinion, is a little odd. The last letter listed contained the following sentences, as Mr. Hernandez is addressing false gossip: “I have been hearing from many or rather few thinking that I’m ‘[redacted]’. But that is false. People are always coming up with things that are incorrect.”

Given the developments of the past few weeks, and the immediate context of the other attached letters, the redacted word is most likely the word “gay”.

At this point, I’m wondering on what legal grounds this redaction was done. From what I can tell, the closest exception that would qualify would be on grounds of privacy. According to the Massachusetts FOIL law, certain personal details can be redacted “which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy”. As such, the decision to redact “requires a balancing between the seriousness of any invasion of privacy and the public right to know”. As such, in practice enforcement leans toward non-disclosure.

However, I can’t see how disclosure of the described action - dismissing “gay” rumors - necessarily counts as an invasion of privacy. Within the context of the letter, it only confirms what we already know about Mr. Hernandez, and the rumors that consistently dogged him. The fact that a person is fighting “gay” rumors usually isn’t state secret.

In the end, I don’t know exactly which party influenced that particular redaction. All I know is that it was effective in further obscuring the Hernandez story. Within the letter that redacted word didn’t reveal much. However, in combination with the other released letters, along with the likely content of the unreleased suicide letters, it reveals so much more. All of that correspondence reveals a man who was shamelessly close to men - to the point of calling another man his “heart” - yet flatly denies identifying as “gay” or LGBT. From this, two conclusions present themselves that subvert modern sexual philosophy:

Same-sex activity and the LGBT identity and culture are not (and need not be) intrinsically linked

Same-sex activity is not an exclusively “gay” phenomenon

There’s one more factor to consider. Remember that Mr. Hernandez was one of the top football players in the NFL. This is very important because in U.S. culture, male athletes are considered the greatest fulfillments of masculinity. If these “alpha males” are revealed to be constantly having sex with other men (and each other), it completely undermines the fundamental message of modern sexual philosophy: that same-sex activity is inherently abnormal and aberrant.

As such, if the redacted word was released, I hardly think Mr. Hernandez’ privacy would be harmed. It would be much more harmful to modern sexual philosophy, the parties that rely on it for power, and the various social infrastructures that depend on it.

If this seems confusing to you, keep in mind that many parties directly depend on the “Straight”-”Gay” dichotomy (the highest fulfillment of modern sexual philosophy) for their power, including:

The Christian churches and their clergy, whose condemnation of homosexuality depends on most parishioners believing that they are truly “straight”.

Ex-”gay” ministries, for obvious reasons

Politicians who receive support from the clergy and devout Christian populations.

Various companies benefiting from messages that being “straight” (and thus being gender-conforming) requires purchase of certain commercial goods.

The “gay” leadership, whose authority depends on the idea that people attracted to the same sex are a small and easily identifiable minority, who need their guidance and supervision to survive.

Politicians who receive support from the “gay” leadership

Condom and lube manufacturers, whose bottom line is helped by the cultural practice of anal play

The medical-industrial complex, who sell drugs treating injuries and diseases caused by anal play

The parties involved constitute huge parts of U.S. society, which is why both “straight” and “gay” media are distinctly uninterested in covering the story. The story destabilizes modern sexual philosophy, and by extension, destabilizes their power and salaries.

Indeed, even with the relatively few developments in the case, the “straight” media is trying to keep itself far away from it. Meanwhile, following the edict of the Outsports article, the “gay” press has been almost silent on the matter. The only item they covered in the last month was the Dr. Phil interview, to convince people that there’s nothing to see here.

However, even with all this posturing and scrambling, they’re actually worse off than they were before. It seems Mr. Hernandez’ friends and family are less willing to cooperate with the coverup. On May 24th, Jonathan Hernandez (Aaron’s older brother) released a cryptic statement saying he wanted to reveal “Aaron’s truth”, to counter “many stories about my brother's life [that] have been shared with the public”. Furthermore, Kyle Kennedy (Mr. Hernandez’ supposed male lover in prison) hasn’t retracted his determination to reveal his side of the story. To that end, in May he renewed his demand that authorities give him the suicide note that was reportedly meant for him.

It’s clear that “the powers that be” of the dichotomy are in deep trouble. The Hernandez story is difficult, if not impossible, to frame in a way that supports modern sexual philosophy. Every move the media makes shows that they’re trying to hide something, and seems to arouse more interest in the story. More of Mr. Hernandez’ loved ones seem willing to blab.

Sooner or later, the dichotomy (and the philosophy it represents) will have to be revealed as a fraud, and completely untrue. At this point, it’s not a question of “if”, but “when”.

What’s unknown is what will happen after that. The outcome could go one of two ways.

After it is revealed to be a fraud, modern sexual philosophy is thrown out completely. U.S. society is turned completely upside down, as a more accurate way to describe sexuality is sought. This is the outcome I personally want.

After it is revealed to be a fraud, enforcement of modern sexual philosophy is made even more stringent. In sheer defiance, its authorities will insist upon people adhering to the dichotomy it produces, and will double down on enforcing its rules and labels.

Remember that for all its rigor, the dichotomy is still a rather informal system. There’s no law requiring people to identify as “straight”, “gay”, “queer”, etc. There’s no secular law requiring people to believe same-sex activity is inherently abnormal. It has power only because so many people believe it to be true. This is why so many societal institutions (like the U.S. education system) are designed to sustain that belief.

However, moves have been made to institutionalize modern sexual philosophy in recent years. Increasingly more college campuses are asking their students which labels they identify with. More governmental agencies are making tallies on how many people identify with which label. This is despite the fact that these labels are under increasing scrutiny by more parties. It should be noted however that such questions are still optional.

When modern sexual philosophy is revealed to be false, such efforts might only intensify in response. Adopting one of its sexual labels might become a mandatory feature of more surveys, but that might not be all. The principles of modern sexual philosophy might become codified in law, and its sexual labels might become as necessary as Social Security identification numbers. As a result, a person will be unable to socially function if they do not believe in modern sexual philosophy, and do not give it support by adopting the labels of its dichotomy. If that seems too totalitarian to be believable, remember that something like the Patriot Act was also once considered unimaginable.

Of course, if the majority don’t believe in it, even that scenario will be impossible.

Thus, if you’re here for the first time, know that there’s nothing tying you to modern sexual philosophy that’s unbreakable. Thus, I urge you to read “The ‘Straight’-’Gay’ Dichotomy: How It Works”, to fully understand how that system functions. I also urge any who read this to go to “For Straight People (though not exclusively)”, which will point to philosophies and forms of same-sex behavior that don’t hinge on demonstratively false concepts. Also read the page “History of the Concept of Homosexuality”, to see how this concept evolved into its modern day meaning. Don’t be afraid of talking about what you learn to others, because that’s the only way progress will be made. Thus, the fissure created by Mr. Hernandez can further grow.

There’s another move you can make that’s important: don’t stop following the Aaron Hernandez story. Don’t be fooled by the “gay” and “straight” press, with their insinuations that there’s nothing to see here. There IS something here, but they just don’t want you to see it, to preserve their own power. Insist on more coverage and analysis. Double down on asking more questions. They can only hide so much, and run so far.

As a last note, I hope that my LGBT-identified readers are noticing how LGBT media and leadership is treating them. There’s no other way to put it: you are being flimflammed and bamboozled by your own media. Your intelligence is being insulted by those who are supposed to be your advocates. They’ve made perfectly clear that they don’t support same-sex activity in all its forms, but only the kinds that support the homophobic message of modern sexual philosophy. This is my question to you - if they are so willing to lie to your face, do they really deserve your unquestioning support?

Make no mistake; this story is far from over. For your own good, stay tuned.

#Aaron Hernandez #straight #gay #lgbt #Bros being bros #Gay Christian #gay christianity #lgbt christian #lgbt christianity #bisexuality #Bisexual #bisexual pride

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socimages · 7 years

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Google searches for "Is my son gay?" are 4.7 times more common than "Is my daughter gay?" A sociologist speculates as to why.

Tristan Bridges, PhD; originally posted at Feminist Reflections

In 2014, a story in The New York Times by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz went viral using Google Trend data to address gender bias in parental assessments of their children—“Google, Tell Me. Is My Son a Genius?” People ask Google whether sons are “gifted” at a rate 2.5x higher than they do for daughters. When asking about sons on Google, people are also more likely to inquire about genius, intelligence, stupidity, happiness, and leadership than they are about daughters. When asking about daughters on Google, people are much more likely to inquire about beauty, ugliness, body weight, and just marginally more likely to ask about depression. It’s a pretty powerful way of showing that we judge girls based on appearance and boys based on abilities. It doesn’t mean that parents are necessarily consciously attempting to reproduce gender inequality. But it might mean that they are simply much more likely to take note of and celebrate different elements of who their children are depending on whether those children are girls or boys.

To get the figures, Stephens-Davidowitz relied on data from Google Trends. The tool does not give you a sense of the total number of searches utilizing specific search terms; it presents the relative popularity of search terms compared with one another on a scale from 0 to 100, and over time (since 2004). For instance, it allows people selling used car parts to see whether people searching for used car parts are more likely to search for “used car parts,” “used auto parts,” or something else entirely before they decide how to list their merchandise online. I recently looked over the data the author relied on for the piece. Stephens-Davidowitz charted searches for “is my son gifted” against searches for “is my daughter gifted” and then replaced that last word in the search with: smart, beautiful, overweight, etc.

And while people are more likely to turn to Google to ask about their son’s intelligence than whether or not their daughters are overweight, people are much more likely to ask Google about children’s sexualities than any other quality mentioned in the article. And to be even more precise, parents on Google are primarily concerned with boys’ sexuality. Above, I’ve charted the relative popularity of searches for “is my son gay” alongside searches for “is my daughter gay,” “is my child gay,” and “is my son gifted.” I included “child” to illustrate that Google searches here are more commonly gender-specific. And I include “gifted” to illustrate how much more common searches for son’s sexuality is compared with searches for son’s giftedness (which was among the more common searches in Stephens-Davidowitz’s article).

The general trend of the graph is toward increasing popularity. People are more likely to ask Google about their children’s sexuality since 2004 (and slightly less likely to ask Google about their children’s “giftedness” over that same time period). But they are much more likely to inquire about son’s sexuality. At two points, the graph hits the ceiling. The first, in November of 2010, corresponds with the release of the movie “Oy Vey! My Son is Gay” about a Jewish family coming to terms with a son coming out as gay and dating a non-Jewish young man. The second high point, in September of 2011, occurred during a great deal of press surrounding Apple’s recently released “Is my son gay?” app, which was later taken off the market after a great deal of protest. And certainly, some residual popularity in searches may be associated with increased relative search volume since. But, the increase in relative searches for “is my son gay” happens earlier than either of these events.

Indeed, over the period of time illustrated here, people were 28x more likely to search for “is my son gay” than they were for “is my son gifted.” And searches for “is my son gay” were 4.7x more common than searches for “is my daughter gay.”

Reading Google Trends is a bit like reading tea leaves in that it’s certainly open to interpretation. For instance, this could mean that parents are increasingly open to sexual diversity and are increasingly attempting to help their children navigate coming to terms with their sexual identities (whatever those identities happen to be). Though, were this the case, it’s interesting that parents are apparently more interested in helping their sons navigate any presumed challenges than their daughters. It could mean that as performances of masculinity shift and take on new forms, sons are simply much more likely to engage with gender in ways that cause their parents to question their (hetero)sexuality than they used to. Or it could mean that parents are more scared that their sons might be gay. It is likely all of these things.

I’m not necessarily sold on the idea that the trend can only be seen as a sign of the endurance of gender and sexual inequality. But one measure of that might be to check back in with Google Trends to see if people start asking Google whether their sons and daughters are straight. At present, both searches are uncommon enough that Google Trends won’t even display their relative popularity.

Tristan Bridges, PhD is a professor at The College at Brockport, SUNY. He is the co-editor of Exploring Masculinities: Identity, Inequality, Inequality, and Change with C.J. Pascoe and studies gender and sexual identity and inequality. You can follow him on Twitter here. Tristan also blogs regularly at Inequality by (Interior) Design.

#google is my son gay #is my daughter gay #google searches #intersectionality #how to know if a child is gay

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bluewatsons · 4 years

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Kirsten Bell & Judith Green, On the perils of invoking neoliberalism in public health critique, 26 Crit Pub Health 239 (2016)

Introduction

Read any issue of Critical Public Health and you’re more likely than not to see the concept of ‘neoliberalism’ invoked at some point. Inputting it as a keyword in the journal brings up 93 papers, and it features prominently in the title of three articles on our ‘most cited’ list: ‘Understanding health promotion in a neoliberal climate and the making of health conscious citizens’ (Ayo, 2012), ‘Neoliberalism, public health, and the moral perils of fatness’ (LeBesco, 2011) and ‘Aboriginal mothering, FAS prevention and the contestations of neoliberal citizenship’ (Salmon, 2011). The growing frequency with which the concept is invoked amongst authors publishing in CPH has led us to joke, on more than one occasion, that perhaps we should modify our name to Critical Public Health: the Negative Impacts of Neoliberalism.

In light of the growing prominence accorded to the concept of neoliberalism in (and of course beyond) the journal, it therefore seems like a good time to take stock of our conceptual equipment to ensure that it does what we think it does and want it do. Reminded of Latour’s (2004) injunction to think critically about critique, in this editorial we simply want to do ‘what every good military officer, at regular periods, would do: retest the linkages between the new threats he or she has to face and the equipment and training he or she should have in order to meet them’ (p. 231). Indeed, we can’t help but notice that much like the concept of ‘society’ before it, when the term neoliberalism is invoked it is often used to

jump straight ahead to connect vast arrays of life and history, to mobilize gigantic forces, to detect dramatic patterns emerging out of confusing interactions, to see everywhere in the cases at hand yet more examples of well-known types, to reveal behind the scenes some dark powers pulling the strings. (Latour, 2005, p. 22)

What is ‘neoliberalism’?

Broadly speaking, neoliberalism refers to the capitalist restructuring that has occurred around the globe since the 1970s in the name of a ‘post-Cold War, post-welfare state model of social order that celebrates unhindered markets as the most effective means of achieving economic growth and public welfare’ (Maskovsky & Kingfisher, 2001, p. 105). Thatcherism in the UK and Reaganism in the USA are often highlighted as prototypical manifestations of neoliberalism; however, policies informed by a similar market-centric logic were introduced in a more moderate form in a variety of social democracies (e.g. Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden) (Brenner & Theodore, 2002; Maskovsky & Kingfisher, 2001; Ward & England, 2007). They were also exported to the Global South through the structural adjustment and fiscal austerity programmes enforced by institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (Brenner & Theodore, 2002).

In its strictest sense, neoliberalism refers to a macro-economic doctrine, but there is huge variation in the ways the term is employed in contemporary scholarship (Ferguson, 2010). Although its conceptual intelligibility is often taken for granted (Garland & Harper, 2012), neoliberalism is variously used as:

a sloppy synonym for capitalism itself, or as a kind of shorthand for the world economy and its inequalities … a kind of abstract causal force that comes in from outside to decimate local livelihoods … [or] a broad, global cultural formation characteristic of a new era of ‘millennial capitalism’ – a kind of global meta-culture, characteristic of our newly de-regulated, insecure, and speculative times. And finally, ‘neoliberalism’ can be indexed to a sort of ‘rationality’ in the Foucauldian sense, linked less to economic dogmas or class projects than to specific mechanisms of government, and recognizable modes of creating subjects. (Ferguson, 2010, p. 171)

Indeed, Ward and England (2007) have identified four distinct understandings of neoliberalism in the social sciences: (1) neoliberalism as an ideological hegemonic project; (2) neoliberalism as policy and programme (e.g. policies enacted under the banner of privatization, deregulation, liberalization, etc.); (3) neoliberalism as state form – i.e. the ‘rolling back’ and ‘rolling out’ of state formations in the name of reform; and (4) neoliberalism as governmentality – the ways in which the relations among and between peoples and things are reimagined, reinterpreted and reassembled to effect governing at a distance.

In light of this eclectic usage, scholars are now examining the relationships between neoliberalism and everything from ‘cities to citizenship, sexuality to subjectivity, and development to discourse to name but a few’ (Springer, 2012, p. 135). Although these versions of neoliberalism often intersect with each other, they can also lead to very different readings of the same phenomena. For example, taking a political economy perspective, Otero, Pechlaner, Liberman, and Gürcan (2015, p. 48) use the term ‘neoliberal diet’ to characterize the high levels of consumption of energy-dense, low-nutrition ‘pseudo foods’ amongst the working class; however, Foucauldian governmentality perspectives are more likely to characterize a neoliberal diet as precisely the opposite of this – as one that encourages the individual to take responsibility for his or her health by consuming more fruits and vegetables (e.g. Ayo, 2012). When a concept can be used to describe such an extraordinary – and even downright contradictory – array of phenomena, questions can clearly be asked about how useful it actually is.

Perhaps a larger issue is the reductive ways neoliberalism often tends to be used. As Phelan (2007) observes, in a number of accounts its effects are so totalizing and monolithic that it starts to assume causal properties in its own right; ‘that is, it becomes the “it” which does the explaining, rather than the political phenomenon that needs to be explained’ (Phelan, 2007, p. 328). Consider, for example, neoliberalism as governmentality – one of the more common ways the term is employed by CPH authors. As Kipnis (2008) observes, the key defining features of this variant of neoliberalism: governing from a distance; the emphasis on calculability; and the promotion of self-activating, disciplined, individuated subjects, can be found in a variety of contexts that are historically and culturally distant from Western neoliberal or liberal governing philosophies. In his words, ‘These three categories correspond to broad human potentialities that have been imagined in a wide variety of ways in a broad range of settings and that have become more prevalent in all state-governed and industrial societies’ (p. 284, emphasis added). Thus, characterizing such features exclusively in terms of neoliberalism runs the risk of exaggerating its scope by reifying it into a globally dominant force or stage of history (Kipnis, 2008). It also runs the risk of eliding other processes that deserve analytic attention in their own right. For such reasons, there have been growing calls to explore neoliberalism in terms of ‘concrete projects that account for specific people, institutions and places’ (Kingfisher & Maskovsky, 2008, p. 118) – what Brenner and Theodore (2002) refer to as ‘actually existing neoliberalism’.

Some suggestions for the way forward

Theoretical concepts such as neoliberalism clearly have their uses: they signal to readers the kind of argument a writer is making, and act as a shorthand to summarize complex configurations of economic, political and cultural change that do, arguably, have some commonalities across different contexts. It is the role of theory to provide abstracted explanations that hold across time and place, and the concept of neoliberalism has been a fruitful one for thinking about some general implications of contemporary social change. However, over-extension has its risks, and there are now diminishing returns in simply documenting how technologies, policies or products ‘illustrate’ neoliberalism. To advance our understanding of how, specifically, public health is imbricated in the various manifestations of neoliberalism requires a more critical, nuanced and reflexive approach.

First, we need far more clarity on how the term is being used, rather than taking its meaning for granted. With the over-extension of ‘neoliberal’ to describe everything from welfare cuts to wearable health monitors, scholars need to unpack more carefully the particular processes to which they are referring. Rather than assume a deterministic role for those processes, the nature of the links between, say, welfare change and the impact on subjectivities needs to be explicated. As Meershoek and Hortsman (2016) note in this issue, merely reporting how health promotion reflects or contributes to neoliberalism does little to untangle the ‘material, technical and practical dimensions’ of how what kinds of health, and whose, are prioritized. Taking the commodification of workplace health promotion technologies as their case, they unpack how policies emphasizing employee health become legitimated within networks that include knowledge institutes and private companies, but not the workers themselves. Importantly, this focus on the process itself enables their analysis to point to not only the potential negative effects for public health of such commodification, but also ways forward, in political mobilization through workers’ organizations to incorporate different frameworks of well-being.

Second, we need more nuance and specificity in accounts. The question is not so much ‘what forms do public health outputs or technologies take in neoliberal times?’ but ‘how, where and in what forms do the various processes of neoliberalism impact public health?’ Two papers in this issue illustrate the value of more specificity. Hervik and Thurston (2016), in their account of how Norwegian men discuss their responsibilities for health, note that the specificities of the welfare state in Norway configure assumptions embedded in talk about ‘responsibility’. Rather than simply reading off the espousal of ‘personal responsibility for health’ as another reflection of neoliberal hegemony, Hervik and Thurston note that in this context, responsibility for health is rooted in a participatory model of the welfare state, in which principles of egalitarianism and social democracy may have very different implications for public health than in welfare states where the focus is on individual choice and self-sufficiency. Similarly, Nourpanah and Martin (2016) delineate both parallels and divergences between the discursive framings of health promotion described in Western states and those they document in Iran, where there is an absence of focus on consumption, despite similar orientations towards individual choice.

In general, rather than reifying neoliberalism as a monolithic entity, it may be more productive to speak of ‘neoliberalization’ as an always partial and incomplete process (Ward & England, 2007). This raises potentially fruitful questions around when, where, and in what ways the economic, political and cultural intersect with health. We need also to be reflexive about claims to neoliberalism, in that of course our critique is inevitably embroiled in the very processes it seeks to analyze. Indeed, it may be productive to think of neoliberalism as a discourse as much as a reality (Springer, 2012). In sum, we are not calling for the abandonment of the concept – paraphrasing Clifford (1988) on yet another troubled notion (‘culture’), neoliberalism seems to be a deeply compromised idea we cannot yet do without. Thus, being more careful and mindful of how we use it seems a good place to start.

References

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#critical public health #public health #critique #neoliberalism

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rodgersodimba · 5 years

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Whoopi Goldberg Gay After the divorce from husband?

Considering the fact that Whoopi Goldberg divorced all the three of her husbands and never remarried again really raises a lot of eyebrows when it comes to gay-ism. So find out here and more on her failed marriages as well.

Whoopi Goldberg married life and Husbands

Before all this money and fame that she has, Whoopi was a regular teenager living in the New York City. Whoopi Goldberg met her boyfriend named Alvin Edward Martin and they wed in the year 1973. It was a case of doing the right thing because she was pregnant. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({});

Whoopi Goldberg with her boyfriend Alvin Martin

Alvin Martin is an English retired football player who made most of his career playing for West Ham United as a defender. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); His marriage to Whoopi was the longest they ever had. Whoopi Goldberg and Alvin Martin got married for roughly six years before moving to Splits Ville in the year 1979.

Whoopi Goldberg with her boyfriend Alvin Martin Very many people are speculating that the only reason they made it that long was that of their daughter, Alex Martin who was born on May 9th, the year 1973.

Whoopi Goldberg And David Claessen

The A-list actress took a leave of absence from the dating world for about seven years. During this time, Whoopi focused on raising her daughter since she was a single mom and divorcee. However, she met David Claessen who swooped her off her feet. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Within a very short period of time, Whoopi Goldberg and David Claessen married in the year 1986.

Whoopie Goldberg with her ex- husband David Claessen David was a skilled Cinematographer, and if it weren’t his wedding, he would have taken the shots himself. Unlike Whoopi’s first marriage, her second union was short lived and lasted for about two years before their split in the year 1988.

Whoopi Goldberg And Lyle Trachtenberg.

Goldberg’s third and final marriage was on the first day of October in the year 1994. The saying: Three times is a charm went entirely out the window since this was the shortest marriage she was ever in.

Within a year into the relationship, the pair decided it best to call it off. Like David, she also had no kids with Lyle. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); So what exactly was the cause of the trifecta of her failed romance? Well in a couple of interviews, the Sister Act star confessed of never genuinely falling in love with her husbands. Instead, she went ahead with the union to feel normal. Her second marriage ended due to constant arguments and not seeing eye to eye.

Did Whoopi Goldberg Turn Gay?

After the marriages, she still got back onto the love boat with boyfriends Ted Danson from Cheers, Timothy Dalton, and a few others. However, she made sure not to dock her heart this time around. This got fans riling upon her sexuality and termed her as gay. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Furthermore, let’s not forget some of the movie roles that she took up and executed naturally. The most iconic lead role was playing Jane, a lesbian on the comedy-drama film, Boys on the Side. Moreover, she is known to be a huge advocate and supporter of the LGBT community and their rights. With all these rumors pointing South, she finally set everyone straight by explaining she is as straight as an arrow. The actress has never had any relations with any woman before and dismisses the allegations citing that her marriages, however tragic, should be a clear answer of the sexuality. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({});

Summary

The gay rumors surrounding Whoopi Goldberg don’t irk her since she has more important things to pay attention to like her family. Her former husbands have also moved away from the spotlight since their divorce. Check Whoopi Goldberg’s net worth. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Trending. Cheap Celebrities Who Are Terrible Tippers Rich Celebrities Who Live Humble Lives Celebrities Who Are Incredibly Generous Tippers. No 8 might surprise you. Best Animal Shows that You will Love. Celebrities Who Drive Most Expensive Cars In The World Read the full article

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lewepstein · 7 years

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The War on Empathy

In Harper Lee’s iconic novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Atticus Finch counsels his daughter Scout on the values of compassion and forgiveness. He says to her, “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” His words are at the heart of the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” the central tenet of most religions and the basis of our civil society.

Compassion is the quality that moves us to treat others kindly. It is closely connected to empathy, that uniquely human ability to imagine what it would be like to stand in the shoes of others - to understand their plight and feel their pain. It is the force within that impels us to treat family, friends, colleagues and even strangers in the manner that we would want to be treated ourselves. It is also the quality most under assault during the tenure of Trump.

As a therapist, I see empathy as rooted in our earliest relationships - in the ways that we learned to love our caregivers and to internalize the values that they taught us by their words and deeds. To love thy neighbor as thyself pre-supposes an open-heartedness that extends to the rest of humanity, a quality that also allows us to be kind and respectful toward our fellow citizens. It doesn’t mean that we will never have conflicts or be called upon to make tough decisions about policies and people. It does mean that whether in the corporate boardroom or the oval office we are aware of the impact that our actions have on the lives of others.

On the other side of the compassion and empathy spectrum there is pathological narcissism. In this disordered personality the self is the province of grandiose, exaggerated preoccupation. There is a grasping for unlimited success, power and “ specialness,” and especially admiration. And there is a sense of entitlement so great, that there should be automatic compliance with one’s expectations.

The behavior of the pathologically narcissistic individual is often exploitative of others. He will take advantage of others to achieve his ends. At the core there is a lack of empathy, an unwillingness to recognize or identify with the feelings or needs of others. The narcissist is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him. He shows arrogant and haughty behaviors and attitudes and he will often experience criticism as an emotional injury.

It has probably become obvious by now that the psychological profile I have just laid out is that of our current president. What should still come as a shock is that the words in the last two paragraphs describing this pathology come directly from the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. They are the criteria used for diagnosing an individual with a “Narcissistic Personality Disorder.” Any five of the characteristics listed would qualify an individual for such a diagnosis. Donald Trump exhibits all nine.

Our president’s narcissistically driven lack of empathy has been highlighted in his recent comments to the family of an army sergeant who died in an ambush in Niger, in the line of duty. Instead of offering comforting words, Trump is reported to have said, “Well I guess he knew what he was signing up for.” But anyone who has followed Trump’s rise as a media personality has witnessed this type of callous disregard for human pain and suffering in the dramas enacted on “The Apprentice.”

Naomi Klein, social activist and author, in her call to action, “No Is Not Enough,” describes how The Apprentice delivered Trump’s “brand” as well as his central sales pitch:

Trump was saying to viewers that by unleashing your most selfish and ruthless side, you are creating jobs and fueling growth. Don’t be nice, be a killer. In later seasons, the underlying cruelty of the show grew even more sadistic. The winning team lived in a luxurious mansion - drinking champagne in inflatable pool lounges, zipping off in limos to meet celebrities. The losing team was deported to tents in the backyard nicknamed “Trump Trailer Park.” The tent-dwellers, whom Trump gleefully deemed the “have-nots,” didn’t have electricity, ate off paper plates and slept to the sounds of howling dogs. They would peek through a gap in the hedge to see what decadent wonders the “haves” were enjoying.

Trump took the ever-widening income and equality gap and turned it into a spectator sport. In essence, the message was step over the losers and become a winner like him.

Historians looking back at this era may forever speculate about what combination of fear, outrage, prejudice and alienation allowed people to vote for an emotionally disturbed man in such numbers - to mistake grandiosity for caring and cruelty for authenticity. But the war on empathy did not begin with Donald Trump. He is simply the latest politician to do battle against the forces of unity, compassion and love.

Demagogues and right-wing politicians always mobilize their followers against a scapegoat, usually a marginalized and powerless group such as immigrants or an ethnic minority that is easy to demonize. The end result of this type of rhetoric can be lynchings, policies of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Instead of promoting empathy, an image is projected onto the group that fosters fear, envy and hatred.

Trump’s characterization of Mexicans immigrants as rapists and murderers is just the latest manifestation of this cynical tactic. Reagan’s damning portrayal of African- American women as “Welfare Queens” who were ripping off the system or George H.W. Bush’s profiling of formerly incarcerated black men as “Willie Hortons,” who would be freed by liberals to kill again also played into the racial stereotype of African-Americans as marginal citizens and criminals to be hated and feared. Mitt Romney’s statement during a fundraiser, secretly caught on someone’s cell phone about the “makers and the takers,” revealed his underlying contempt for those in our society who owned little and were less fortunate and less ruthless than he had been.

Many of the party bosses of the modern Democratic party are no less cynical than their Republican counterparts. While wrapping themselves in the mantle of empathy and compassion and portraying themselves as the representatives of the disenfranchised - African- Americans, the LBGTQ community, women and Latinos - their actual policy positions when in power belie their soaring rhetoric. Working people have learned in the last fifty years that most Democrats are a tepid ally at best and will almost always abandon their interests in favor of the party’s wealthier, urban, corporate elites.

There was a reason beyond racism and sexism why Trump had such an appeal to rural and small town, white, working class Americans. After generations of neglect and policy positions that ignored the needs of small town and rural working class whites, it was difficult for Hillary Clinton and other Democrats to make the argument that they felt their pain or had their backs.

Even greater than the undercurrent of racism, xenophobia and classism in the current war on empathy is the backlash against the gains that women have made since the modern feminist movement began in the 1960s. It is not insignificant that empathy and compassion are traits that distinctly fall on the feminine side of our traditional gender roles. Terry Real, the author of numerous books on patriarchy and gender stated the following in a recent article:

So here’s a sobering thought: suppose Trump was elected not despite his offensive, misogynous behaviors but, at least in part because of them….What we are witnessing is a reassertion of masculinity’s most difficult and harmful traits,aggression, narcissism, sexual assaultiveness, grandiosity and contempt. Real quotes the 2016 Presidential Gender Watch Report which summarizes several surveys this way: “Trump supporters are much more likely than Clinton voters to say that men and women should ‘stick to the roles for which they are naturally suited,’ that society has become too soft and feminine, and that society seems to ‘punish’ men just for acting like men.’” Real goes onto say,” I want men to hold fast to those elements that are good and right about the traditional male role - courage, loyalty, competence - but men also deserve to have access to emotion, particularly the vulnerable emotions that connect us to one another.”

On the feminine side of the empathy quagmire, it is crucial for women to finally get it that it is not their job to protect men from their disowned fragility. I have read a number of quotes from women who voted for Trump in which they excused his boasts about pussy-grabbing and other assaultive behaviors by rationalizing that “he’s really a good, caring man underneath.” This to me is the same misplaced empathy that I have witnessed in my office by wives who have brainwashed themselves into believing that their abusive husbands really loved them, when the evidence they were presenting should have convinced them to get out of that relationship immediately.

Right- wing pundits and media personalities such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have also fanned the flames of a resurgent patriarchy by characterizing women fighting for their rights as “feminazis,” once again demonizing a vulnerable group and promoting hatred in place of the understanding and compassion that should be our guiding light.

In our nation’s history, empathy has not always been under attack as it is today. The fact that the economic crisis of the 1930s had a title: “The Great Depression,” provided a bulwark against the perception that poverty was a personal failure. There was no moral condemnation when a family was left homeless or a breadwinner was selling apples on the street because he had lost his job - no Trump Trailer Park as a dumping place where the “haves” could direct their derision toward the shamed “have-nots.” As with the World War that arose in the following decade, there was some shared understanding that we were all in this together - at least if you weren’t dark-skinned or a Japanese American - and that making sacrifices for one’s fellow citizens was a virtue to be extolled.

If the political leaders who we elect represent some aspect of who we are as a people then we should probably label Donald Trump our “Narcissist in Chief.” His singularly selfish ethic of “looking out for number one” to the exclusion of compassionately looking out for others is the hallmark of his leadership. It also reflects back to what is deeply flawed about our society.

What was once something called the “common good”- appointments and funding that empowered government departments like the Environmental Protective Agency to safeguard our drinking water from toxic and carcinogenic substances has been sold off to the highest corporate bidder. But there is also a large segment of our working class population that is unwilling to give up what they see as their right to purchase and sell weapons of mass destruction - in essence their adult toys called assault weapons - even at the cost of the on-going slaughter of school children and other fellow citizens. The leader sets the standard by placing his personal economic needs and self-aggrandizing political image ahead of the common good, and this, in turn, validates and promotes a culture of narcissism and self-indulgence in the society at large.

In the long view of history regimes come and go and societies periodically regress into the dark ages of nationalism and authoritarian rule. But no empire, nation or leader has been able to withstand the forces of progress for long. Disenfranchised social classes will continue to struggle to bring about a more equitable redistribution of our planet’s wealth and fossil fuels will inevitably be replaced by cleaner forms of energy - hopefully before we create more environmental disasters.

What is less clear to me is the answer to the question: What will be the outcome of the war on empathy? Will the forces of patriarchy, racism, and narrow self-interest continue to degrade our relationships with one another? Will the reflexively fear-based parts of us continue to be exploited by leaders so that we as a society periodically lose our moral center? If so, we will continue to elevate leaders who are shallow, opportunistic reflections of our narcissistic selves.

We continually need to relearn the lesson that a society is only as advanced as the political and social consciousness of its citizens. It would be difficult for any student of history to deny that the “Realpolitics” of the last hundred years based on our many “isms” - communism, state capitalism, rule by plutocrats or by patriarchal religious heads has only produced more repressive, authoritarian regimes and human suffering.

If there is a next American or world revolution it will only bring about lasting change when those promoting the war on empathy have been drowned out by a vast chorus of people who are uncompromising in their shared values of empathy and compassion. The “new man” and “new woman” will need to have evolved in ways that will allow them to create the new society. This new, vocal majority will never allow itself to be divided by fears and prejudices about the so called “others” because they will have evolved to the point of understanding that the so called “others” are simply manifestations of themselves in another era or context. When this type of change occurs, and the global mind reaches some kind of critical mass, a fierce and compassionate humanism will replace the era of narcissism. Only then will we be ready to create the type of world in which we would all want to live.

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stellacarrierscriptstories · 7 years

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Stella Carrier Script Stories Law of Attraction Edition Script One Sunday June 25, 2017

Due to Spiritual and Karmic Reasons I am going to follow both my intuition and logic and keep all entries from the Stella Carrier Script Stories Law of Attraction Edition away from my facebook, twitter, and linkedin accounts. However, what I do feel comfortable saying is that these entries are going to be on my googleplus, tumblr, and wordpress.

Affirmations

I Call Upon What I Imagine To Be The Influence of Benevolent Spirits From the Heavenly Realms, my higher self, and my celestial spirit ally team for creativity in both my writings and all other areas of my life both present and future

https://www.orindaben.com/pages/rooms/affirmations_room/#null

I honor my connection to my guide with my words and actions.

I remember my dreams. They show me answers and solutions.

Divine Will flows through me. I know when to take action and when to surrender.

I believe in myself and my path.

I believe I can grow instantly, and I do.

My psychic abilities and intuition expand each day.

I am creating heaven on earth

I’m aware of when to create opportunities for myself and that when one door closes many more doors open.

I contribute to the best of my ability regardless of the reception I receive for doing so.

Start time 12:45 am

End time 102 am

Songs for me to keep in mind today; Warrior by Havana Brown, Sunny Days by Armin Van Buuren feat. Josh Cumbee, I’ll Make You Feel Good by K7, Up In The Air by Thirty Seconds To Mars, Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore Ryan Lewis Ray Dalton,What I Like About You by the Romantics

I Stella Carrier follow my intuition regardless of any judgement I risk to follow my bliss and intuition to include some of my goals and dreams in my law of attraction scripts

Setting the Washington D.C. area and Norfolk Virginia area

I Stella Carrier am now enjoying a consistent income of at least 1200 dollars a month after taxes. I am worry free when it comes to deciding if I need to apply for any government assistance andor foodstamps because I am successfully bringing in at least 1200 dollars a month after taxes through multiple streams of income such as some of my self employment opportunities. This way, I am actually immune to whether I work a job that has full time and year round employment or a job that is simply part time and seasonal. I start to get more job interviews in response to my resume that I am blessed to have had help with improving. Additionally, I am now in the process of saving at least 200-300 dollars after taxes in my checking account every 2 weeks. I Stella Carrier am successfully using my time wisely and living in alignment with my divine life purpose. I am also making successfully contact with my heaven/celestial spirit ally team and frequently meet up with my celestial higher self and members of my celestial ally team in my dreams where they give me important advice and encouragement at a meeting table in a colorful garden setting. Fortunately, I am often being shown images in my dreams during my astral travels to heaven of some of my books being published while I am still alive as long as I write under an outside the box penname and pennames. Additionally, I Stella Carrier am being shown dream images of Rusty and I looking at our checking accounts and frequently seeing at least as much as 8000 dollars after taxes saved in our Bank of America and Sun Trust accounts. I am being shown enjoying much success from the 15 law of attraction books that I have set aside for helping me to reach my goals. I am being counseled at the heaven location table that I need to type the 15 book list and look at it every night while praying for success help as I am shown a dream less than 8 months from now where one of my money dreams comes true as a result of applying at least 3-5 techniques from each of the 15 books within 18 months or less from now. Fortunately, I am also getting good guidance to make a playlist of at least 36 songs that I section into 10-12 songs and to make the most of my current free time to meditate and relax to those songs at least 2-3 times a day. One of my main spirit guides, a male and female show me the 120 pound body that I am walking around in various places in the Norfolk Virginia and the Kennedy Center in the Washington D.C. area. I ask them when I can expect this reality and both of them helpfully explain to me by December 2018 or sooner as long as I get to making the most of my increased free time by walking at least 10 miles a day at least 5-6 days out of the week and schedule everything else around this very important goal. I was even told that my writing goals are going to more likely come true if I continue to work towards my weight and be consistent with my walking routine. Right then, I remind myself to restart my fitness journal after I get home from volunteering at the Giant Barbecue Battle. One of my female spirit guides shows me an image of me actually meeting more friends and having one of my stories submitted for publication under a pen name after I accomplish my weight loss goals. I also get to see a vision where I am going to many more music concerts in the future and my husband is even super supportive to where he accompanies me to many of them by offering to stay at any hotels that I stay at when visiting the concerts. I am even shown an encouraging image where I weigh 135 pounds by this time and I am seeing a checking balance of 3000 dollars after taxes in my Bank of America and Sun Trust savings accounts. I am even calling one of my federal student employers with the news that I can at least make the minimum payments on my student loans as I have now secured year round employment by the time I weigh 135 pounds. On a positive note, my husband and I are also toasting a celebration to my now having secured both a thinner body and a job opportunity that allows me to travel to both Virginia Beach Virginia and various places within the Washington D.C. area. We are celebrating at Blue Seafood and Spirits at Virginia Beach Virginia.

I’m keeping this article for personal reference as encouragement for me to work towards obtaining a second bachelor’s degree online at least part-time in a major that I am highly interested while working a full-time job by January 2018 or sooner. 5 Things Working While Going to School Will Teach You

https://addicted2success.com/life/5-things-working-while-going-to-school-will-teach-you/

I have to admit Robin Thicke’s girlfriend April Love Geary looks good. I’m sure that Robin Thicke is going to always think well of Paula Patton. However, I can tell from this photo that Robin Thicke is passionately in love with April Love Geary. Pharrell Williams and his wife Helen Lasichanh look like a happy couple as well. The picture of Kelly Osbourne in her white dress and black belt posing for the 6th Annual Solstice Event in New York City shows her in a blissful demeanor. I admit that I would definitely dress like Duchess Kate Middleton if I had the money. As with other pics, the fashion picture of Kate Middleton in this spread shows her looking very regal/sophisticated. As a matter of the fact, the red peacoat that the mainstream media temporarily featured that Middleton wore looked actually similar to the red peacoat that my husband bought for me around 2011 or 2012 when we were bringing in at least 4200 dollars a month after taxes. I actually consider it a compliment if other people who saw me wearing that jacket around that time thought I was copying Kate Middleton, but I actually have had that coat since 2011/2012 (obviously, I still do). There are people who rip on Iggy Azalea, but I feel that she actually puts out unique music and has natural beauty about her. I was actually surprised when I heard of her getting cosmetic surgery because I thought that she was attractive to start with but I am careful how often I point out other women’s attractiveness. I actually sexually favor men and consider myself a heterosexual woman who was born a woman. However, I do not see anything wrong with being transgendered, a bisexual man or woman andor a homosexual male or a lesbian woman. However, I am just implying why I am careful how often I go public with talking about when I see a woman’s beauty because the few times I have done so there seems to have been people speculating andor spreading rumors about me being bisexual without understanding that it is possible for a heterosexual female to see the beauty in another female with both jealousy free motive and also without being sexually attracted to the female. I do not consider it an insult to be confused for a bisexual andor lesbian woman but let’s face the facts. A mixed race woman like myself who is already a size 6 or smaller and is confused for a bisexual woman is going to be treated a whole lot better and perceived a whole lot better than a mixed race woman like myself who is confused for being bisexual but is currently a size 16 and is in the process of getting skinnier. It is also a pet peeve of mine when a well meaning article writer tries to preach to a mixed race woman like myself to just be happy with her size andor hair type and does not take into account that the life experiences of a size 16 darker complexioned woman (whether mixed race or not), a size 16 light complexioned mixed race woman, and a size 16 non-Hispanic Caucasian woman are going to experience different forms to treatment by other men and women even if they are all the same size andor working and living in the same environment (also different depending on socio-economic class). That is all I’m going to say for now on what indirectly influences me to work on getting skinnier and chemically relaxing my hair at least every 6 months or longer and keeping it long which has actually helped me especially during money fluctuations. Newsflash; a well-meaning minority woman (regardless of whether they are mixed race or not) andor a Caucasian woman (whether non-Hispanic Caucasian or Hispanic Caucasian)who tries to tell another woman what to do with her hair and whether or not to keep it natural andor what length to keep it needs to see the reality that a woman of a modest income (regardless of her race)andor in between jobs such as myself actually has an easier time with my hair because of it being long and chemically relaxed. I have actually been what is considered “natural” before and even did the big chop from 2003-2011 when I was making much more money to where making even a fourth of that this summer would be a dream come true(my husband and I were bringing in 4200 dollars a month after taxes in December 2011 and by the time I chemically relaxed my hair again in April 2012, my husband and I were bringing in at least 4200 dollars a month after taxes). I have actually saved lots of money since keeping my hair long(at least bra strap length or longer) and chemically relaxing it once every at least 6 months or more. I am fortunate that my late adoptive mother, a non-Hispanic Caucasian woman, was comfortable with chemically relaxing my hair as a teenager with store bought relaxers. This was because I was inspired to bravely start relaxing my own hair by November 2013 when it was necessary to save money by foregoing the trips to hair salons. On a positive note,Johnny Depp’s photo reminds me to check out the latest Pirates of the Carribean film by this autumn season or sooner. Additionally, there are also other good pictures in this slide as well such as the ones featuring Elizabeth Hurley,Princess Beatrice of York, and Princess Eugenie of York as well among others.

Week in celebrity photos June 19-23

http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/celebrity/week-in-celebrity-photos-june-19-23/ss-BBCTxay?li=BBnb2gh

Old Dominion University Norfolk Virginia

https://online.odu.edu/info/get-started?utm_source=Quantcast&utm_medium=Banner_ad&utm_campaign=Enrollment_FY_1617&utm_content=General_2+2&utm_term=bold_b

Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/TRTSG

Eight to Eat: Virginia Coastal Cuisine Must-Bites for Summer

by Patrick Evans-Hylton | Posted: May 29, 2015 | Updated: Jun 19, 2017

https://blog.virginia.org/2015/05/coastal-cuisine-summer/?utm_campaign=FB0617&utm_content=coastaleats

powerful writers

I admit that I am definitely not trying to change the world, but more my own inner and outer world because I do understand that changing my inner self is key to what is reflected externally. However, I admit that this link still caught my attention because a multiple number of these authors are still well known today.

25 Writers Who Changed the World

By Lauren Bailey

http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/25-writers-who-changed-the-world/

Hollywood's 25 Most Powerful Authors 2016

6:00 AM 9/28/2016

by Andy Lewis and Rebecca Ford

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/hollywoods-25-powerful-authors-2016-931979/item/maria-semple-25-powerful-authors-931954

Saturday July 8, 2017

I Call Upon my adoptive father’s spiritual ally team of the heaven worlds of divine love and divine happiness to provide him any and all forms of celestial spiritual assistance and celestial spiritual intervention in all areas of his life for both present and future.

I also call upon the influence of the heaven higher planes of reality and the heaven/celestial influence of my heaven higher self, my heaven spirit ally team and my heaven higher self of the heaven worlds of divine love and divine happiness to imbue with heaven’s wisdom and heaven’s spiritual/benevolent light as I type this letter for both present and future.

The time period is 10 years from now

Timeframe started 947 pm Saturday July 8, 2017

Timeframe completion goal 957 p,m.

Actual timeframe completed 1033 p.m.

Part of my letter modeled after the Bruce Lee letter

I call upon the help and assistance of my heaven spirit ally team and my heaven higher self of the heaven worlds of divine love and divine happiness to help manifest the following in the letter in all areas of my life both present and future-this or something better for my highest and greatest good

I Stella Carrier am fully enjoying all areas of my life in this timeframe of July 8, 2027. I have successfully maintained a 110 pound body frame for over 9 years now. I Stella Carrier have also successfully celebrated my 23 year wedding anniversary with my husband Rusty Ridler on January 22, 2027. I was 23 years old when the blessing of getting married to my amazing husband Rusty Ridler occurred. We jointly agreed to celebrate our 23 year wedding anniversary in Las Vegas and had the privilege of staying at the MGM Grand hotel for part of the time and the Bellagio hotel for the remainder week we were on vacation. We also spent part of the vacation visiting various parts of Virginia Beach Virginia, Williamsburg Virginia, and Alexandria Virginia. I am now also rejoicing as Rusty and I have successfully paid off our student loans and now have over $500,000 U.S. dollars after taxes in our Bank of America and Sun Trust Savings Accounts. Rusty and I also live in a completely paid off/paid for beautiful three bedroom house in Norfolk Virginia that is within 4 miles to the Norfolk Naval Base, Old Dominion University, and the MacArthur Center Mall. I succeeded in being able to move to the Norfolk Virginia area by June 1, 2020 from the Washington D.C. Area. Additionally by June 14, 2020 I was already making over $3,000 dollars a month after taxes, a monthly income that I am blessed to regain after remembering the enjoyment of the blessing of also making that after tax amount in part of 2008 and part of 2009. As a result, I am freely able to enjoy the blessing of sending my husband at least 200 dollars a month after taxes for him to do as he wishes in the Washington D.C. area. The 3000 dollars a month after taxes that I Stella Carrier now make is in addition to money that I am blessed to generate from my investments, side businesses, and writing deals. Fortunately, my job has a high number of both married and in long term partnership supervisors at my job who also have spouses that are employed. As a result, I Stella Carrier am granted the weekends off at least twice a month, and I get off by 230 pm on Fridays. As a result, by June 1, 2020 I am able to travel from Norfolk Virginia to the Washington D.C. area to visit my husband Rusty Ridler at least three times a month, with some days I meet him at his College Park Maryland job due to me sometimes getting Friday off which allows me to leave to visit Rusty Ridler early Friday mornings. My amazing husband Rusty Ridler follows me to the Norfolk Virginia area by June 15, 2023. I Stella Carrier also enjoy the blessing of making at least 4,000 dollars a month after taxes and more by November 8, 2025. I Stella Carrier give great value and service in all areas of my life and in my career and professional life. Both many of my customers and my fellow coworkers are happy with the work that I do in various areas of my career life in Norfolk Virginia.

I Stella Carrier am happy to say that I have also succeeded in improving my writing and communication skills both online and offline. As a matter of fact, I Stella Carrier report the blessing of having been accepting into Old Dominion University by September 2018 and having achieved my online bachelor’s degree in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations by December 16, 2026. As a matter of fact, I even receive great news that I have been offered a public relations/marketing/advertising related job offering me at least 3800 dollars a month after taxes working for the school system in the Norfolk Virginia area by November 1, 2025. This great news actually helps me do even better in my online classes at that time as my grade point average goes from a 3.9 to a 4.0 helping me to achieve my 2nd bachelor’s degree online from Old Dominion University with high honors. Additionally, the pay boost helps me to repay my student loans quicker, at least over 7 years quicker than I originally expected due to a student loan repayment program that my public relations jobs offers as an incentive and appreciation for both my experience and how long I choose to stay.

I Stella Carrier am also enjoying the blessing of a paid for mazda 3 car that I was able to actually successfully obtain by January 1, 2020. I Stella Carrier being able to drive around in a paid for mazda 3 car has allowed my husband and I the freedom to travel across various places within both the Hampton Roads Virginia and the Washington D.C. areas. As a matter of fact, the paid for mazda 3 car has allowed both Rusty and I to have a home base in Norfolk Virginia while visiting the Washington D.C. area at least 2-3 times a month. My yelp profile and my online blogs are also filled with online reviews of both Washington D.C. area and various businesses across Norfolk Virginia, Virginia Beach Virginia, and Chesapeake Virginia that Rusty and I have been to and frequently visit.

On a spiritual level, I Stella Carrier enjoy the blessing of unlimited intuition powers, unlimited imagination powers, and a high level of genius and creativity. I also enjoy the blessing of being able to simultaneously create heaven in my earth life and afterlife both for myself and those who surround me. I also enjoy the blessing of communicating and connecting with my heaven higher self and my heaven spirit ally team of the heaven worlds of divine love and divine happiness. As a result, I am enjoy good luck and good fortune in all areas of my life both present and future. I Stella Carrier also have the time and opportunity to volunteer and hang out with some amazing friends that I have met both in the Washington D.C. area and in the Norfolk Virginia area. Additionally, I am able to freely give some of my money to feeding America, Salvation army, and various food banks and housing shelters across both the Norfolk Virginia area and Washington D.C. area. I Stella Carrier am also blessed to now be able to pay for the best therapy, career coaches, and advisors to help me out in various areas of my life that money can buy. I Stella Carrier am both lucky and blessed to say that multiple happy and positive breakthroughs in all areas of my life both present and future came to me both in my dreams and waking life after I started to write my dreams more frequently and seek out therapy by July 2017. I Stella Carrier succeed in having one of my books published under a pen name by January 1, 2018 and making at least $3500 dollars after taxes from it by March 1, 2018. I Stella Carrier am also blessed to say that I was already enjoying great physical health in all areas of my life both present and future but I succeeded in manifesting a 120 pound body by April 1, 2018. Additionally, I Stella Carrier succeeded in having over $50,000 dollars after taxes saved by January 1, 2020.

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