artyblogs

[artyblogs]

Happy Pride!

#happy pride 🌈

[artyblogs]

actually there were 0 time travellers on the Titanic, because the time cops have an entire outpost to safeguard that one particular point in history. every rookie spends a least a month on Titanic duty and they all complain bitterly about it since it is, essentially, the time travel equivalent of being the guard who has to stop tourists from licking the Liberty Bell.

[artyblogs]

Kermit The Frog is gonna be 69 years old next year (May 9th, 2024).

Mark your calendars.

#ayyy yoooo! #that’s today! #happy bday Kermit! #very nice #kermit the frog #muppets #the muppets

[artyblogs]

Okay let me try this one again. The Trolley Problem sets up a scenario that sucks to be in. You either kill one guy, or you kill five guys. Nobody likes these options. We all don't want this be happening. That's kind of the point. It's a moral quandary. It's supposed to feel bad.

Now, according to a recent post floating around on tumblr, choosing either of the two options demonstrates "learned helplessness" and makes you a neolib sheep. The only correct answer, the post states, is to reject the question altogether. (Or to change the parameters of the question to include an option that saves everyone, thus eliminating the moral quandary.)

It sounds nice, doesn't it? Fuck this bad situation, we control our imaginations, so let's imagine a situation that doesn't suck. Hah! Bet you didn't think of that!

Here's the problem. Even though I think most situations generally have at least one solution that is both Feasible and Not Terrible, I have to admit that there are some situations (as in, not zero of them) where all the feasible options are unpleasant. This is a natural consequence of living in a world where A Lot Of Things Suck.

But if shitty situations do exist, even if it's super super rare, then it's not unreasonable to ask, "How should we make decisions when we find ourselves in a shitty situation?"

This is the beginning premise of the Trolley Problem. It says, "Hey what if you were in an unambiguously shitty situation? There are many shitty situations, so let's imagine one that is contrived enough to get everyone on the same page regardless of political affiliation, AND really emphasizes the key parts that I want to discuss."

Tumblr says "let me stop you right there. What if instead...we imagined a different scenario that wasn't as shitty?"

Well, okay, but then we're not talking about the same thing anymore. That doesn't actually count as an answer to the problem, you're just changing the subject to a completely different thing.

Tumblr goes on to say, "Exactly. That's the only thing you should ever do when confronted with an ethical quandary. Frankly the fact that you are willing to even consider a scenario that sucks suggests that you are fundamentally incapable of considering less shitty scenarios."

I just want to say I think that's bullshit. I don't think every problem is a trolley problem, but I do think that some problems are a trolley problem. And I think that those problems are worth discussing, even though they don't feel good. The trolley problem exists as a framework to discuss those problems.

Maybe our aversion to difficult decisions has an impact on our ethical reasoning, and maybe we should actually question how our ethical standards hold up under the weight of that aversion. So maybe moral quandaries like the trolley problem are worth discussing. And if you don't want to engage with the quandary, then don't - you don't have to concoct a whole essay about how the quandary is inherently morally bad.

It's possible that what you really want to say is that it sucks when people treat certain situations as trolley problems, when those specific situations actually do contain unambiguously feasible and unambiguously perfect solutions. I would agree with that.

But like. Let's not pretend that you can reduce all of ethics down to unchallenging black and white moralism.

#the trolley problem

[artyblogs]

can I get a job as an editor but the only thing I do is correct when someone uses the word "prone" when they mean "supine"

[artyblogs]

I hate the “Thoreau’s mom did his laundry” criticism so much, it drives me crazy.

Henry Thoreau did not go to Walden Pond because he thought it would be a fun adventure. He went into the woods because he was deeply depressed and burnt out. He was running from the horror of his brother and best friend recently dying in his arms, and the haunting memory of causing the Fairhaven Bay fire. His friend Ellery Channing literally gave him the ultimatum of either taking some time off to write and think, or else be institutionalized.

I think Thoreau’s mother saw her depressed son choosing to retreat into a small cabin in the woods, and was worried about him. Of course she did his laundry - just as Ralph Waldo Emerson probably brought him firewood and bread. These were not chores of obligation to support a “great” man, but services of love to help their deeply depressed 28yo son and friend.

And if you ask me, there’s a lesson in that - to “suck out the marrow of life” and “live deliberately,” one must also accept help offered from the people in your life who love you. There is no true transcendentalism or individualism without love and friendship behind it.

[artyblogs]

CARMEN SANDIEGO OC WEEK OFFICIAL PROMPTS !!

CSOW will be a dedicated week to expanding and indulging in your own characters! It'll date from June 7th-14th ! These aren't strict! Just have fun! Write, draw, create !!! Ran by @electricvinyls

Day 1. introduction: introduce your oc! Whether it's with a character description or a drawing of them in their zone, go crazy!

Day 2. mission: write or draw your character on an important mission! What are their weapons? Their gimmick? How do they work? Be creative!

Day 3. Relationships: who does your oc know? What are their dynamics? Any special someones? Tell us all about relationships and friends your character could/does have !

Day 4. Tragedy: I know you all love torturing your characters...fess up! What is their tragedy?

Day 5. Mentorship: who inspired your character? A parent? Faculty? A friend? Who did they learn from, tell us about it! Extra points if it's super emotional and they have trauma from it/j

Day 6. Favourite character: draw them with your favourite character! Completely self explanatory- go crazy.

Day 7. La Femme Rouge: this is Carmen Sandiego, these are Carmen Sandiego ocs, everyone comes across Carmen one way or another- how would they meet her? Would they be threatened or thrilled. Do they hate her or are they marveled. Perfect way to end off the week ! Meeting the one and only! (Or maybe this is a terrible day for your character!)

#*laughs and slips into Mars Dakila mode

[artyblogs]

everyone who thinks they could get into hip hop from the kendrick vs drake beef, do yourself a favor and listen to good kid m.A.A.d. city by kendrick lamar, a truly incredible album front to back.

then you really can't go wrong by going back to the classics--tupac, biggie, lil kim etc etc. but kendrick's body of work is all pretty great if that's what got you interested.

#megan thee stallion #and #kendrick lamar #are the goats #i personally think that listening to good hip hop and rap makes one a better writer #all because there’s so much wordplay #and because there’s so much fun with cadence and rhythm

[artyblogs]

#the duck-themed names are giving ducktales reboot vibes

[artyblogs]

someone I follow on the bird app just announced they're starting a very exclusive private fic server because they and a bunch of other people want to talk about how much they love the fics they're reading, and as an author can I just say that a really great place to talk about a fic you love is in the comments for that fic

I understand that people are trying to create safe spaces, but as the number of comments that I get on my fics dwindles with each passing year, knowing these spaces exist where my fics are being discussed, places that I am excluded from, makes me want to write fic LESS

I mean I guess who cares, right, because if I stop writing, there's 10,000 other people that will continue...but if you participate in a fic "book club" server and you say nice things there about a fic you loved, maybe copy and paste that into a comment on AO3?

the only thing fanfic writers are asking for in return for hours of hard work is attention. please don't rob us of the one thing that we hope for when we hit "post"

#*deep sigh #yeah…

[artyblogs]

I just found your Ao3 account after getting back into Carmen Sandiego again. I'm going to binge your works on my graveyard shifts tonight because I am so entranced with your writing. "Character studies tied loosely together by plot"? Nothing loose about it. I'm very invested and cannot wait to be even more tonight. Appreciate your artistry!

Thank you! That’s very kind of you to say. I hope you enjoy reading

[artyblogs]

“you don’t like the proliferation of terms like Unalive outside of TikTok because you realize that you’re aging out of youth culture and it makes you uncomfortable!”

no I don’t like it because there’s something INCREDIBLY dystopian about being forced to soften terms for basic parts of the human experience like death and sex (and even more so terms for oppressed minorities- call me a “le-dollar sign-bian” and I will bite you) purely because advertisers and corporations demand it

[artyblogs]

I regret to inform you that Discord's new Terms of Service includes an arbitration clause. You can find it here https://discord.com/terms/#16. This clause includes an opt-out, which I have transcribed here:

You can decline this agreement to arbitrate by emailing an opt-out notice to [email protected] within 30 days of April 15, 2024 or when you first register your Discord account, whichever is later; otherwise, you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes in accordance with the terms of these paragraphs. If you opt out of these arbitration provisions, Discord also will not be bound by them.

These clauses are underhanded ways that corporations seek to deprive you of your right to participate in class-action lawsuits and your right to a jury trial. (This does only apply to us users ,other people still spread the word though )

[artyblogs]

We need to lay more blame for "Kids don't know how computers work" at the feet of the people responsible: Google.

Google set out about a decade ago to push their (relatively unpopular) chromebooks by supplying them below-cost to schools for students, explicitly marketing them as being easy to restrict to certain activities, and in the offing, kids have now grown up in walled gardens, on glorified tablets that are designed to monetize and restrict every movement to maximize profit for one of the biggest companies in the world.

Tech literacy didn't mysteriously vanish, it was fucking murdered for profit.

#thats what im SAYING #google is the devil #big tech is not your friend #please learn more about how software works #please im begging you

[artyblogs]

Queuing this for January too.

[artyblogs]

As a kid, when your parents are poor, you're poor. If they don't have money, that means none of you have money. But if someone's parents are rich, that doesn't necessarily mean the kid is. Sometimes rich peoples' kids aren't rich kids, they're just some rich freak's exotic pets that can talk but aren't allowed to.

[artyblogs]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

#oh fuck well today i learned