#but its definitely the same playbook

[bananonbinary]

i feel like the sex negativity in ace spaces is....not a widespread problem, but getting to be a bit of a loud one. like, the vast majority of aces aren't puritans, but much like how terfs keep trying to claim its a Lesbian Thing to be transphobic despite the vast majority of lesbians being trans-inclusive, i think there's a certain subsection of aces trying to claim its an Ace Thing to shame people for having and talking about sex. cut that shit out.

#stop trying to use one marginalized identity to shame others #none of us want you here and you do not speak for us #also inch resting how the terfs also claim the same viewpoint #like im not gonna say 'if you do this ur a terf' #but its definitely the same playbook

[moghedien]

ok so i was genuinely unsure about how I felt about the way Lanfear was revealed in the moment, but there are three main things that are really selling it for me:

1: It immediately sets up the threat of going up against a Forsaken:

So far we haven't really gotten much of an indication from the show about what the Forsaken really are, who they are, and why they're any different that a regular darkfriend. Obviously there's still a ways to go in explaining it, but Lanfear provided an immediate visual explanation

Because for example, we've already seen one darkfriend innkeeper who had a thing for Rand (or pretended to) take a knife through the throat

We've even seen Rand stick around and linger by her body and its very clear that absolutely nothing happens.

We get a lingering shot on her bleeding out and she is very clearly actually dead in this moment. Its not even really a question.

But with Lanfear we kinda get the exact opposite of this moment. We see her take a knife to the throat and clearly go down, then there is no lingering by the characters.

The camera goes back to her and we see the saa very clearly moving in her eye, then she blinks and breaths in.

And by this being the opposite of Dana, I mean that with Dana there was no question that she was actually dead. With Lanfear, there is absolutely no question that she's still alive.

Dana was also a darkfriend, but this is very clearly showing non readers that Lanfear is something DIFFERENT. We're told she's a darkfriend of some kind, then we're seen that she actually apparently cannot die by normal means. This coming AFTER the reveal that she is definitely a channler of some kind, and if we now know she's a Forsaken, then we know that Moiraine clearly said the Forsaken are the most powerful channlers ever, more powerful than any Aes Sedai.

And now apparently they can't die.

2. Its foreshadowing.

Moiraine was able to take out Lanfear (if only temporarily) with a physical attack because Lanfear was so fixated on Rand.

The above is also a spoiler for the climax of a certain book.

I'm not gonna get into it, but its clearly like showing that there's a course of action and there is a playbook that works here.

3. NOW we have Lanfear

Before we had Selene. I'd argue there were even moments where we had Mierin, but the only time Lanfear has really come out before this was when she went into Rand's dream and threatened him in episode 3.

By this I mean that while Selene was always obviously an act Lanfear was putting on, it stopped us from really seeing how manipulative and obsessive Lanfear could be and was currently being. If we didn't know she was Lanfear (and non readers shouldn't) then there's no reason to realize the lengths to her manipulation. We still don't know that the man she was telling Rand about was Lews Therin. We still don't know that Lanfear even knew Lews Therin much less would want to rekindle any kind of lost romance with his reincarnation. Because even when Lanfear was being honest as Selene, she was keeping herself back. She wasn't latching onto Rand and telling him that he was hers. She was very clearly holding onto the memory of Lews Therin, but there has yet to be any clear indication that she 100% buys that Rand and Lews Therin are the same person rather than Rand just being his reincarnation.

So while Lanfear was definitely getting some joy out of sleeping with Lews Therin reborn, there is no real indication that that is what she wanted. She said she wants Lews Therin. She tells Rand she's more or less settling for him. Let's assume that was 100% honest for the moment (because I believe it mostly is to a point), I don't think that's the case after this episode. Because Mierin Eronaile suddenly got the one thing she'd always wanted:

If you watch the moments immediately before this scene and immediately after, there is a shift in how Lanfear is acting here.

Before she was very clearly putting on an act. She was playing up being afraid of Rand and didn't seem at all concerned about keeping him here. The most she does is ask him where he's going to go, and even that is said in a weird tone unless you know that she's probably going to use this information to keep tabs on him and report it/follow him herself.

But Rand does the one thing he absolutely shouldn't have done with Lanfear and told her that he loves her.

So now I think is the moment where Lanfear is willing to accept that Rand is Lews Therin. Because if Rand is Lews Therin, then Lews Therin just said that he loves her.

And her entire tone shifts here. You can see she's visibly shocked in the moment, and then smiles and flips the scene to her being afraid of him, to her reassuring him and telling him that he should have told her and telling him that he didn't do anything wrong and he was just acting in his nature. Before she was bringing up the inn and was clearly trying to make him feel bad. Now she's clearly trying to reassure him and keep him around. Absolutely manipulation but I think she didn't really need him to stay until he indicated that he loved her.

So what this means is that we now have Lanfear, who is established as being unkillable and one of the most powerful and oldest being in existence, NOW becoming obsessed with Rand al'Thor and thinking of him entirely as Lews Therin. And not only that, but now she's PISSED because he just left her and was taken away from her by Moiraine exactly when she finally had him back after thousands of years.

She finally got everything she's wanted and it was immediately taken away, and I think that's frankly terrifying, so yeah, I think I do like this reveal now actually.

#also like #the books make it prettty obvious who she is #like if you don't suspect Selene is who's being talked about in that creepy poem from the moment she talks then idk #I think it was best to withhold that info until it needed to be revealed #there's few Forsaken reveals that I find like actually surprising or satisfying in the books #and surprise surprise the only one I can think of that I genuinely like is Moghedien's reveal to Liandrin's black ajah group #mostly because it scared the Black Ajah shitless when they realized the maid girl they'd been abusing was a Chosen #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot book spoilers #wot show spoilers #lanfear #long post

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

Thirsty Sword Lesbians

Anyone here ever play Get in the Car Loser? anyways

Touchstones: Queer fanfic and media, Premade settings have many different touchstones

Genre: Swashbuckling action, can vary from group to group

What is this game?:  Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a game about being swashbuckling queers of all colors and sizes, it's got a very generic setting, as long as your setting has combat, queer romance, and evil to be defeated, TSL can run your setting

How's the gameplay?: TSL is a powered by the apocalypse game, primarily based on the classic Monsterhearts, with its Strings mechanics being outright named after the mechanic of the same name from it. It's a classic PBTA (which you can read more about here) system with the core difference being the game's mechanics, which encourage the players to do things that are not the healthiest, or to fall fall in love with the other PCs or NPCs. For example when a character falls in love, they may ask a question about that person according to your playbook, this is your trait of heart, and when trying to figure someone out mid-fight you may ask one extra question from your playbook, this is your trait of blade! and this mechanic exemplifies what everything the gameplay in TSL wishes to lead to: Heart (falling in love) and Blade (Combat)

What's the setting (If any) like?: TSL at first seems like it doesn't have a setting, and it kinda doesn't, while there are many, many, many very fun premade settings within the book, the average TSL setting only has to have 3 things: Combat, Romance, and 2 Toxic Powers, toxic powers being two entities within the universe (be it a faction, religion, power, etc) that may not Necessarily oppose the players, but are definitely a bad thing.

What's the tone?:  Tone is generally decided by the players, but there will always be two universal things: Queer Rebellion via community and people trying to put down this rebellion.

Session length: Very very variable, but usually speaking you can do a lot in the plotline in 3 hours, though at minimum I think it'd be an hour long each session

Number of Players: TSL can be run with very few players, 3-6 is preferred but there's rules for solo or even two player play

Malleability: TSL is designed to be malleable, not really having a  defined setting, its themes are designed around lesbian romance, but the game itself has MLM rep and explicitly states that trans stories can also be run within this.

Resources: TSL has free playbooks, organization sheets, a google sheet that's pretty good, and a pretty decent amount of homebrew, most of it is fanmade but its there

TSL's my favorite tabletop game. While not doing too much new, it polishes what was already established in prior games to a very very high quality extreme, it's a great time, even if you're not a lesbian.

remember to kiss girls, inject estradiol, and have homoerotic swordfights with people whose worldview and/or neuroses are injected within the fight itself!

#ttrpg #ttrpg community #indie ttrpg #ttrpg of the week

[theresattrpgforthat]

Heyyy, do you know any games where the classes/playbooks are completely asymmetrical?

Keep the good work!

THEME: Asymmetrical Games

Hello friend! I found a few! Even better, each game rec is a different genre!

Slayers, by Gila RPGs.

The City sits at the nexus of the world. Once you're inside it, it is the world. Something drives the borders of The City ever-onward, crawling towards the horizon. Urban sprawl made real. Neighbourhoods appear and disappear overnight, The City is filled to brim with no shortage of interesting characters, cultures…and monsters. That's where you come in, Slayer.

Slayers is a tabletop RPG of mercenaries and monster hunters for hire. Known by locals as Slayers, players wander a haunted city, cursed long ago to expand towards the horizon forever. Slayers help clean out the monsters that infest the alleyways and shadows, and those that the city seems to be manifesting on its own. 

This is the first game that comes to mind when I think of asymmetrical play. Slayers is probably one of the foremost asymmetrical game out there, with the same target for success, but with a different way of achieving that success for each character playbook. If you’re interested in more scenarios or character options for this game, you just need to check out the Slayers tag on Itch to see what the community has created.

Drifters, also by Gila RPGS.

Drifters is a tabletop RPG of cursed gunslingers, wandering the wastes of the frontier in search of problems, and purpose. Carrying a capital-G Gun, you have been granted near immortality. It only costs everything in return.  Drift now, your voidborn Gun draws you down the road.

Drifters uses the same core mechanic as Slayers, but re-casts the players as cursed gunslingers. The creator has broken character creation into two parts, so that each Drifter is made up of their Background and their Gun. This is a development of Slayers, so if you want to see what can be done to push the system and play with it, or if you just want to see what asymmetry looks like in a different setting, you should check this game out.

Hell Cabin, by World Champ Games Co.

HELL CABIN is a tabletop horror rpg for 2-4 players based on films like Evil Dead, The Lodge, and The Rental. 

Each of four roles (Survivor, Friends, Cabin, and Evil) has unique dice mechanics, strengths, and goals to allow for a truly gm-less horror experience. Each will interact and compete for power while accepting an inevitable fate. 

This game is GM-Less, so it’s a great option for a play group where everyone wants a little bit of narrative control. The Survivor is one playbook, representing one person who cannot die, and uses a d20. The Friends are all played by another person, who directs them like a troupe, and uses d6’s. The Cabin uses d10s to introduce the setting elements and gives the characters setpieces to interact with, and the Evil uses d8s and a point-buy system to slowly take over the Friends.

If you want to re-visit a classic horror story using unique mechanics, I definitely recommend checking this game out.

Born of Cold, also by World Champ Game Co.

Born of Cold is an asymmetrical and gm-less storytelling game for 2-4 players. Each of four available roles has different rules & mechanics to interact with one another and tell a compelling and hazardous tale.

Another game by Adam Vass, this is another gm-less game that gives different roles and different dice mechanics to each character. This is a re-purposing of Hell Cabin, but the roles in this game are The Cursed, The Snow Queen, The Winter, and The Forest. If you want to try out asymmetrical mechanics in a story of survival, struggle, and tragedy, then Born of Cold might be worth checking out.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #asymmetrical

[beardedmrbean]

I'm seeing Judao-captelism being use to described Jewish people who voted Republican or dont fully agree with progressive socialist ideology. It's being used by black identitarians and marxists, so hopefully it says that way.

At its core, Judaism is about unity: the unity of the one G‑d, the universe and the unity of all people created in the image of G‑d. And yet, Judaism also gives the ordinary man an irrevocable right to his own property—as we see in the Torah’s division of the Land of Israel to tribes and families, as well as in the command to celebrate the Jubilee year (where all property is returned to its original owners every 50 years). The idea of land ownership by definition creates separation and division within society, contradicting the ideal of unity. How is it possible for us to live with these opposing ideals in our philosophy and practice? ____________________

Goes on with how the 'every 7 years fields are fallowed and whatever grows there is free game' evens thing out.

It's a good read, and I've got no doubt there's 47 Rabbi's with 63 different takes on the matter but it seems to be a reasonable conclusion to me.

I'd love to hear a Jewish perspective from some members of the Jewish community on all this since I'm just a gentile out here trying to do my best to help which lands me in the 'sticking with safer answers' area when complicated situations come up. _______________

As for socialism, I could pull up Marx's take on "The Jewish Question" but it's just easier to paraphrase.

Marx's take was 'I don't mind Jewish people I just wish they weren't so Jewish' basic idea worked out to cultural genocide, everyone has to have the same celebrations, traditions and all that good stuff regardless of the history of that particular group since the group is getting absorbed into the collective.

Hopefully this here will give you the start of some tools to respond if need be, but honestly the thinking I'm having with this is the current mode is Rothschild conspiracies without the Rothschild's.

Jewish people just like everyone else are also individuals and each one will make up their own mind about whatever subjects they want, so you're gonna get these guys.

And folks in the community that actively hate the guy.

People trying to use phrases like Judeo-capitalism just show that they're willing to take a page out of the nazi playbook if it serves their purpose, much like the ones that try to claim the Jewish people today aren't the same as the one's from Jesus's time.

Genetics has proven that one wrong.

#anonymous

[margridarnauds]

(From 3.5 "Tyrants of the Nine Hells")

Text: "Regardless of their slippery words and cunning phrases, a devil has no camaraderie in mind when it approaches a mortal. It offers no love and no respect -- just a simple agenda of damnation. To achieve its goals, however, a devil often appears servile and meek. It smiles and capers, bows and scrapes, and does whatever it can to make the mortal character believe he's in charge. But when the mortal lets down his guard, the devil sinks in its talons and wrenches loose his soul."

I know that the lore can be inconsistent re: devils, but it's interesting how thoroughly Raphael *does not follow the playbook for devils as laid out here.* From the beginning, he suggests the possibility of friendship ("Am I a friend? Potentially. An adversary? Conceivably. But a saviour? That's for certain.") And this strain continues -- his "I've grown rather fond of you, in my way" at the mausoleum, his "we could have been allies, partners, FRIENDS" if you don't make the deal with him earlier and alienate the Emperor/try to free Orpheus, him repeatedly alluding to dining together after the battle. We can argue on whether he's being manipulative or sincere (like with the Emperor, my personal answer is "both", I don't think they're mutually exclusive in his mind), but, regardless of what's going on in that slippery mind of his, he IS offering, at the very least, a certain level of respect and friendship (this doesn't mean that he thinks of them as equals, but his treatment of the contract in the House of Hope if you do take him up on the offer definitely indicates that he isn't entirely lying here, either, as a "most cherished client.") And at no point does he appear meek in order to do it, he always makes it appear like he has the upper hand, always making it seem as if he's in control of the situation (until he isn't). The niceties slip away, sure, ("Down comes the claw"), but the balance of power doesn't.

Is it that Raphael knows the party are in a desperate state and doesn't feel the need to put on a pretense? Is it that he's too proud to do it, even if they weren't? (His response to Kith'rak Voss, when he could have at least made a play for Voss' soul, indicates the latter.) Is it that he refuses to be servile, since he has more to prove, in a way that other devils don't? (His "I AM NO MORTAL", his general focus on emphasizing his infernal nature VS his mortal side?) Either way, even though his end goal is the same, he works outside the usual expected playbook for devils and it's interesting.

#raphael bg3 #is a closet mortalaboo #and really DOES have a crush on Tav #if we get DLC set in any of the layers of Hell I'd love to see how the other devils compare to Raph #(and Mizora for that matter)

[clitfisto]

care to elaborate on the miles venom arc?

YES okay so. the thing abt the symbiote is that (like any good corruption arc) it feeds on and amplifies the worst traits of a character, which is pretty straightforward in peters case - his biggest issue is his anger, usually manifesting via retribution (eg. "i missed the part where thats my problem", hunting down uncle bens killer), so his origin story is always the great power/great responsibility thing so he learns to temper that rage. what the symbiote does, practically, is force him to unlearn that foundational character arc and regress to his worst self

since the symbiote really really loves aggression peter parker is literally its dream guy but miles is a little more complex. hes definitely susceptible to that same anger (eg. wanting to "make kingpin pay", the entire sm2 martin li arc) but not as often and nowhere near as hardcore, so the peter playbook wont work as well for him (and also it would be fucking boring. weve seen that shit like 8 times already (not saying symbiote peter is boring i just think modern iterations need to explore new aspects to avoid treading the same ground constantly (sm2 does this very fucking well (also yuri lowenthal is a great va for peter like right up there with josh keaton (i think this many parentheses means im off topic (the adhd demon got me))))))

SO. whats miles' major issue he needs to overcome in his origin story? full disclosure i have not read the comics (but i heard they had some issues with his initial characterization anyway? which is fair enough tbh writing the successor to such an iconic guy is Fucking Hard) so TO ME PERSONALLY!! spider-verse miles is the definitive iteration of the guy and like. we all remember the whats up danger scene, his origin arc is overcoming self-doubt and learning to believe in himself ("its a leap of faith", "youre on your way, just keep going") which, alongside social anxiety (eg. the itsv "everyone knows" scene, sm2 "are you mad at me? it sounds like youre mad at me" dialog), seems to be part of some general anxiety issues. this is pretty well supported by the recent "the spider within" short film (which funnily enough is very fucking reminiscent of some sequences in kravens last hunt, not relevant but kinda cool) which also shows how miles responds by self-isolating, similarly to ps5 miles when peter ignores him

the symbiote can exploit his self-doubt pretty easily, the inherent power boost will do most of the heavy lifting to make him feel like hes not good enough without it - what if he runs out of web at the worst moment? what if hes not strong or fast enough to save someone? what if hes caught mid-costume change because hes so used to the suit changing itself? the more valid the (inital) concerns the better imo

the social anxiety is a tricky one but i think if miles traps himself in a doom loop of self-isolation he might spiral into genuine paranoia, which combined w/ the patented symbiote rage could lead him to lash out at people around him. "everyone secretly hates me so im gonna avoid being around people" -> "i feel alienated from everyone i know so im gonna avoid them even harder" -> "am i 'okay'? why would you care? what are you playing at? fuck off and leave me alone" -> "nobody wants to interact w/ me so everyone who does must have ulterior motives and is therefore a threat to me/my family/my city" -> "im completely isolated but bad things are still happening so people must be conspiring against me w/o my knowledge" -> "literally everyone on earth is out to get me and i need to fight them about it"

from there i think the ideal conclusion is pretty self-evident - miles takes a metaphorical leap of faith (calling back to the lesson learned in his origin arc) by actively choosing to trust someone, reach out and ask for help w/ removing the symbiote and dealing with the contemporary big bad (potentially his local peter variant bc hes got experience w/ symbiote removal and it would tie into the "leap of faith" motif but idk)

so tldr: a miles symbiote arc would be different to peters arcs in some (very interesting) key ways - rather than unbridled aggression he could be characterized by intense anxiety, manifesting as paranoid self-isolation and a sense of dependence on the symbiote suit, and would end the arc by reaching out for help in a symbolic leap of faith

#autism will really have you writing essays recreationally huh. #idk im just saying shit if anyone else has ideas or anything to add i would love to hear it!!

[xtruss]

Islamophobia: Taking A Page From The French Anti-Islam Playbook, UK Redefines ‘Extremism’

The British Government’s New Definition of Extremism is Another Attempt at Thought Policing Muslims and Should Be Resisted.

— 19 March 2024 | Imam Omar Suleiman

A Pro-Palestinian Protester holds a placard on a march through the British capital during a demonstration for the Palestinian people, in London, Britain, 21 October 2023. EPA-EFE/Andy Rain

As the genocide in Gaza continues to be streamed live to our screens, many Western governments are not only refusing to end their complicity in the slaughter, but also trying to silence and demonise the Muslim movements and organisations resisting the Israeli occupation within their countries’ borders.

In January of this year, the British government proscribed Hizb ut-Tahrir as a “terrorist” organisation, making it a criminal offence to belong to or invite support for the decades-old movement. No matter your view on the movement itself, this proscription is clearly a convenient political play.

In the post-9/11 era, Hizb ut-Tahrir has repeatedly been threatened with proscription and aggressively surveilled under the country’s inherently Islamophobic counter-radicalisation programme, Prevent. Former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron tried to outright ban the group, in 2005 and 2010 respectively, but both times Home Office lawyers concluded that the group did not engage with or glorify any form of violence and advised that it should be allowed to continue its activities.

There is no suggestion that the group has since changed its approach to violence, or committed any crime under British law, so its official banning appears to be nothing but a French-style attempt at framing any Muslim movement, ideology or political expression that appears to challenge Western norms as violent and a threat to national security.

This week, the British government took yet another page from the French anti-Muslim playbook, and redefined “extremism” in a blatant attempt to subjugate and marginalise British Muslims who are taking a stance against the genocide of Palestinians.

In a clear attempt to curtail weekly pro-Palestine demonstrations attended by hundreds of thousands, and amid wider attempts to conflate all pro-Palestine activism with extremism, Communities Secretary Michael Gove announced that the state has expanded the official definition of extremism.

The new definition, Gove revealed, would include “the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others” or attempts to “undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights”. It would also classify those who “intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve” these aims as extremists.

While the former definition focused on actual acts of violence, this new one is broader and much less precise. It appears to have been purposefully crafted to open the door to loaded, ideologically driven interpretations that could lead to the branding of all Muslim thought and political action not explicitly approved by the government as “extremism”. The inclusion into this definition of those supposedly creating “a permissive environment” for extremist behaviour is especially dangerous, as it could result in the arbitrary criminalisation of large segments of Muslim civil society in Britain.

For years, France has used a loose, ideologically-driven definition and understanding of secularism to marginalise, criminalise and subjugate its citizens originating from its former colonies, who are overwhelmingly Muslim.

Today, with this new, loose and ideologically-driven definition of extremism, Britain is attempting to do the same to British Muslims, who are standing up in support of Palestinians facing genocide and doing so with ever-increasing support from other Britons of conscience.

The global Muslim community, which stood with French Muslims as their government tried to crack down on their basic rights under the guise of secularism, will also be firm in its support for British Muslims as their government attempts to curtail their rights under the guise of “fighting extremism”.

In a speech last week at the House of Commons, Gove suggested that a number of mainstream Muslim organisations, such as the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), may fall foul of this new definition of extremism and as a result be banned from access to public money, ministers and civil servants.

In response, the MAB, known for the extensive role it played in anti-Iraq war protests and movement in Britain, condemned the government’s redefinition of extremism as “a cynical move to appease the hard-right, targeting mainstream British Muslim organisations” and challenged Gove to repeat the allegations without parliamentary privilege so they can sue.

Other Muslim media organisations like 5Pillars were under threat of being included in the government’s list of extremist groups, only to be eventually excluded. Dilly Hussain, the editor of 5Pillars, responded to the initial suggestion that the media platform would be on the extremist list by saying, “it’s not the job of Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove, or [the UK Prime Minister’s office] to be labelling and targeting members of the free press [with] whom they ideologically disagree with while claiming to be champions and upholders of “freedom of expression”.

Other British Muslim civil society organisations such as Friends of Al-Aqsa, which had a prominent presence in protests against the genocide in Gaza, and CAGE, which led the efforts to challenge France’s crackdown on Muslim civil liberties, are also facing the risk of being classified as “extremist” under the new definition. Even a mainstream mosque like the Lewisham Islamic Centre is under threat due to the initial inclusion of its Imam, Shakeel Beg.

The British government’s redefinition of extremism requires deep scrutiny because it amounts to a feigned reinvention of what “extremism” actually means. Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND), a well-established NGO, referred to this in its response to Gove’s slander. “Victory for resistance to Gove’s extremism, he has NOT placed MEND on an extremism list because the facts don’t allow it. Instead, he uses parliamentary privilege to slander.”

As Muslims, we must be proactive in condemning the thought policing of the British Muslim community. We must speak loudly against the British government’s efforts to silence and criminalise Muslim civil society for thought crimes, especially at a time when the same government is complicit in a genocide against Muslims in Gaza. And when we speak up, we must speak up for all groups and organisations facing such baseless and discriminatory attacks. This includes groups that may have ideas or approaches that aren’t representative of the majority of Muslims. At a time when Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian bigotry is on the rise, we cannot allow the British government to pick and choose which Muslims have a right to cultivate ideas, campaign or protest – we should stand firmly in defence of all our Muslim brothers and sisters in the UK and everywhere else. We should also encourage members of the British civil society of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to speak up in defence of Muslims in their country who are currently under a multi-pronged attack. Only if we bravely speak up, and do so together, can we prevent Britain from transforming into an Orwellian dystopia, like France already did.

— Imam Dr. Omar Suleiman is an American Muslim Scholar and Theologically Driven Activist for Human Rights. He is the Founder and President of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, and a Professor of Islamic Studies at Southern Methodist University.

#Opinion #Islamophobia #Imam Dr. Omar Suleiman | American Muslim Scholar | Theologically Driven Activist | Human Rights #Bloody British 🇬🇧 Bastards | War Criminal | Genocidal | Terrorist | Fascist | Government #Anti-Islam Playbook #New Definition of Extremism #Policing Muslims #Hypocrite | Complicit in Genocide in Gaza | Western Terrorist Governments #War Crimes of the Zionist 🐖 🐷 🐗 | Illegal Regime of Isra-hell

[boricuacherry-blog]

I'm very much a California girl. I grew up in Long Beach, then moved to San Pedro, which was very multicultural. And my stepfather was Thai and Hawaiian. I do have a musical family, my [biological] dad was in a barbershop quartet and my mom had a lovely voice, which I of course didn't inherit. I was really athletic - I played handball in school and beat all the boys twice before the bell rang - and I had a lot of anger I needed to get out, so I figured I would play the drums. I wound up playing in bands within three weeks of starting to play. Thankfully my family was encouraging. I always wanted to be an artist. There was this gallery near our house and they use to offer oil painting lessons. And I was really into that. That was really my jam.

When I heard punk rock, it had a really big impact on me. I was like, Woah, you can do that? In high school, these girls invited me to go see The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pink Flamingos. Then you start meeting other people, you know, the guys from Red Cross, and The Stingers [a Longbeach band], because they were also seeing the movies. There was a definite crossover with, you know, punk rock and John Waters movies.

Some of the bands I really liked going to see in Hollywood were like, The Weirdos, and X. I really loved X so much. I copied Exene's hair, with just the bangs and kind of like the egg running down your head of different colors, as if you just cracked an egg of colors down your hair. I also liked The Alleycats - God there were so many bands at that time - Nervous Gender - The Bags. I also listened to a lot of Neil Young and Nick Cave and the bad seeds.

I played in a punk band that was like an art punk band. One of my first bands was called Sexually Frustrated. The two girls that were in it were little people [midgets] and you know, I'm like six foot tall. So it was like a visual thing on top of what we were doing. I was also in a band called IUD with the same two women. We were playing with The Omelettes at Camarillo State Hospital. You know, it was very arty, and there were like saxophones.

I met Courtney [Love] through a friend and she wanted me to be the drummer in a band she was starting. Courtney really wanted to make good songs. I don't think I'd ever played in bands where the words were really revealing anything of yourself - the emotional part of being a woman. I really responded to her lyrics. It's like Courtney was speaking for me in a way I couldn't for myself. The words really tapped into something. Pretty On the Inside really spoke to me - all the horrible stuff in my childhood, the dynamics in my family and with other people - that song just really, really spoke to me. I think I wrote a lot of my drum parts to accent what she was saying in the songs. I would, like, ride the cymbal, but make it sizzle - like Rat Scabies from The Damned, he would do that alot. I'm a very emotional drummer. I'm not the timekeeper metronome type of drummer.

When Jill [Emery] joined, that was when Lisa Roberts had left. Courtney let her go because she was threatening the owner of a club with a screwdriver when they didn't pay us. It turned out the owner was the wife of Eddie Nash, the infamous gangster, so Courtney was like, "No she has to go." And Courtney had already been in acting, so she knew all the Hollywood rigmarole.

I wasn't as into Pearl Jam - I was more into Mudhoney. I really liked the garage rock and Iggy Pop - kind of that Detroit thing.

Babydoll [from Pretty on the Inside] was about Madonna. Courtney saw her driving a Mercedes and didn't like it. Courtney worshipped Madonna though. I think that was her playbook. She wanted to be the rock version of Madonna.

I guess it could be said that grunge owes a lot of its existence to Reagan. We were deep in Reagan's America at the time, with the hypocritical values at the time.

Around the time Courtney got pregnant, I was also pregnant, but didn't realize it at the time. I'd had the flu for weeks, and Eric [Erlandson] goes, "Maybe you're pregnant." And it turns out I was. And unfortunately, my relationship at the time was breaking apart because I was always gone [on tour with Hole]. I got a voice-mail on my answering machine that I was being let go from the band, and this was after Eric had already given me money for an abortion. Courtney was telling me we were gonna be playing with Sonic Youth in November in Japan, so she didn't think me being pregnant was going to be good with me playing drums. So I thought, OK, as part of my career move, I'm going to have the abortion. And then she just kicked me out anyway.

I was actually kicked out three times, which a lot of people don't know. Courtney chastised me in the middle of a show because she thought I wasn't playing fast enough. I felt she was publicly humiliating me, so I threw a drumstick at her head. She was mad and kicked me out. Then it was like, OK you can come back if you just do Slimfast and cigarettes and then play drums everyday and do drum lessons. She really liked how I played, but she wanted me to play perfectly, like a Dave Grohl. So I would just comply - I lost weight, etc.

There were a lot worse experiences I had with Courtney, like her telling me, 'I made you,' and stuff like that, like saying I needed to do whatever she wanted at any given moment because 'I didn't even belong here.' So it feeds on your insecurities. That's what manipulative people do. It just got more and more tense that way.

And I mean at first she would, like, spend the night and we would pig out on Entenmann's and watch like weird videos, and have fun like that, but you know, now I realize what she was doing - she was trying to learn all my Achilles heels. And then she would just press on those things when she wanted me to do something.

Courtney was really smart. She was a speed reader - I mean she went to Montessori school - so she's a fascinating person.

Kurt's funeral was intense. There were about 50 people, not a lot of people there. It was Kurt's family, the Sub Pop family, and just all the people he knew. I was around Kurt, but I didn't really know him. We had very few private moments and unfortunately we did not get to be friends. I went to his apartment one time and he was in his pajamas and I sat on their bed. And he was excited to tell me he had a dream about me. He goes, 'We were in Aberdeen and we were riding bikes in my neighborhood,' and I was asking questions and he was telling me about it. And Courtney was standing in the hallway, very Bette Davis, smoking a cigarette, and she goes, 'Well he needs some female friends, but not you, your tits are too big.' And I was engaged to be married, so I don't think she thought I was flirting with him. And then he just looked at his feet, really ashamed. And I left shortly after that. But I'm proud of what we created.

-Caroline Rue, original drummer for Hole

#caroline rue #interview #hole #courtney love #pretty on the inside #carolyn rue #kurt cobain

[carewyncromwell]

Hey. Hey, Jam City. I have a bone to pick with you, about this new Pumpkin Johnny quest and your so-called “lesson” we’re supposed to learn from it.

Namely -- that it’s absolute rubbish.

Look -- I truly, truly do see what Jam City is trying to say here: two wrongs don’t make a right, blah blah blah, treat your enemies better than they’d treat you, sure. But here’s the thing -- the story of Pumpkin Johnny? No way in Hell is that its moral. Hagrid tells the story thusly --

This isn’t a story about the wrongness of hurting people, regardless of who they are -- it’s a cautionary tale against bullying! It’s a tale reminding people that having a laugh at someone’s expense can have real consequences! Hell, the ending warning involves Johnny coming back to “take revenge” on whomever calls him with that insulting nickname that so upset him. This ghost is trying to teach me a lesson about letting bygones be bygones?? This ghost is trying to teach me that I should forgive the people bullying me because hey, somebody’s gotta be the better person??

Hell, even Hagrid HIMSELF admits that the reason he told his story was to make a point about the wrongness of bullying and making fun of people. He told the story all because Merula was picking on Ben!

So the “lesson” we should take away from Pumpkin Johnny is to not make fun of people. To not bully people. A lesson that Merula clearly did not take to heart, since she immediately pulled this crap.

Right. She takes this story that is supposed to be about the wrongness of bullying...and uses it to terrorize her fellow classmates, just for a laugh. And yet at the end of the story, we’re supposed to feel guilty when we give that no-good bully a taste of her own medicine by giving her and Ismelda a fright? (By just standing in front of them, by the way -- MC prevented Tonks from truly taking revenge by hexing Merula and Ismelda’s heads into pumpkins.) Even if Ismelda twisted her ankle, which is objectively not good, that’s easy enough to fix with magic...and considering that Penny fainted and Barnaby hit his head pretty bad when Ismelda/Merula attacked them with infinitely more mean-spirited intentions, they’re really in no place to give us grief for that. And yet at the end of the quest, who is the one who is supposed to have learned a lesson here?

The person who tried to stop the bully terrorizing the school by dressing up as a ghost who literally came about because of bullying. The person who -- if you look at the story Hagrid told objectively -- took a leaf out of Pumpkin Johnny’s own playbook, by scaring the bullies who had made his school career so miserable. 

Excuse me?! I damn well hope you’re asking Merula this same question, Pumpkin Johnny -- oh -- oh, wait, though, you don’t have to -- because if you actually dare to hold Merula accountable for her actions and tell Dumbledore what she did regardless of what punishment you might get assigned yourself, this is how she reacts!!

Once again, Jam City refuses to let Merula learn a bloody lesson or accept some bloody consequences for her actions, ADS;FHIUGWISG;GNUQGVIQ

I will at least give credit that Merula didn’t shatter Hagrid’s pumpkins (which definitely influenced Carewyn’s decision to turn her in -- you do NOT destroy other people’s property, especially property belonging to Carewyn’s friends, did you learn nothing from last time, Ismelda?), but she still basically took advantage of other people’s misfortune and fear just to try to “get one over” on people who had done absolutely nothing to deserve it. And her actions ended up scaring not just the original targets of her bullying, but the rest of the students and even the teachers. So yeah -- again -- I don’t feel any regret whatsoever for Carewyn not “cutting a deal” with someone who objectively did something mean-spirited and wrong and didn’t even feel the least bit sorry for it.

The only way to stop bullying is to stand up to it. If Merula decides to take vengeance out on us, then she’ll meet even more consequences, which will be just as much her own fault as this is. And then, yeah, it’ll be crystal clear she didn’t learn the true lesson of Pumpkin Johnny -- that bullying is wrong, and the memory of the people you hurt can come back to haunt you for the wrongs you’ve committed against them.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #gameplay #pumpkin johnny #halloween #anti-merula snyde #tagging just in case #merula snyde #ismelda murk #carewyn cromwell #ben copper

[my-excellent-bicycle]

So I finished reading Mark Watson's latest novel, Contacts, which is the second book of his I've read, following Eleven (which I now consider to be one of my favorite novels). I've decided to write down a few thoughts on the novel, light spoilers and very, very long ramblings ahead:

TW: suicide, depression

You could tell Mark drew from personal experience while writing this. If you follow his standup and interviews he's done over the years, you could draw parallels between himself and the book's main character, James. Both have family in Bristol, they both have a sister living somewhere down under (James' sister lives in Australia, while I'm 90% sure Mark's sister lives in New Zealand), and both experienced the dissolution of a years-long relationship. It's not immediately clear where Mark's own experiences and that of James, a character plotting his own suicide, necessarily begin and end, but the latter's characterization felt incredibly real and lived-in.

Overall I really enjoyed how Mark handled mental health and depression in this book. The sadness and hopelessness that comes with depression is talked about lots in media, and it pops up plenty in Contacts as well, but what's also discussed is the shame that comes with it: not even wanting to think the word "suicide," or feeling a certain way while also skirting around the language associated with it. James has these internal struggles at some points throughout the novel, and while it isn't something central to the plot itself, it added an extra layer of humanity to his character.

Circling back to my previous point, I came across an interview he did in promotion of the book, published by the Mirror (I wish I found a better source, sorry), where he said,

"There were stretches of life in which it felt as if it would just be good to be able to get away from it all, to turn things off."

This is fairly similar to how James' suicidal ideations were described in Contacts, in which he sought ending his life as a means of escape, or as a means of relief. I'll be absolutely clear and say I'm so glad Mark seems to be doing much better now, and that he's able to speak on this experience with clarity and in the past tense. But reading that wasn't the most pleasant revelation.

Another thing I loved about Contacts, and Eleven as well, is how Mark likes to write from the perspectives of several different characters, and weave them together to reveal overarching themes. I told my mom about Eleven when I finished reading it, and she went "oh, so it's like Crash?" I'll admit I've never seen Crash, and don't intend to based on all the think pieces telling me how it aged poorly and it was terrible Oscar bait, but I have heard that it deals with the same premise of how everyone's lives are more interconnected than they realize. With Contacts, Mark definitely takes from the same playbook, as with each chapter and switched perspective, he slowly reveals the emotional effects each character may have had on each other, and how every action can have its averse consequences.

Mark also does this thing that I love, where he hints at some catalytic event that happened in a character's life that forced them to act a certain way, but he doesn't quite reveal what that might be until near the end, which gives the reader a much fuller understanding to the character. Several questions are immediately asked near the beginning of the book: why does James want to do this? Why does his sister resent him? How come James and his ex broke up? Why did he and his best friend have a falling out? I enjoy that Mark doesn't insult the reader's intelligence by answering all these questions near the beginning, but instead letting the reader understand where they are emotionally first, in order to further contextualize what may have led them to that point.

Now, this is one thing I did struggle with -- the ending. I'll admit I went on Goodreads before picking up the book, and saw people complaining about the ending, or just finding it weak in general. Upon finishing the book, I was absolutely floored by the resolution at the end, but whether I think it's incredible or just plain confusing is something I'm yet to fully decide on. It was definitely a bold decision, and in the oft chance I'll ever get to ask Mark about it myself (which will probably never happen but a man can dream), I'd want to know his thought process behind it. Not that I want every author to explain the endings to their books to me all the time, but I feel he'd have a very thoughtful response.

Last night after finishing the novel, I went on Google to find any interviews he'd done about the book, and came across this appearance he did on the Writer's Routine podcast from 2020. It's an extremely refreshing listen, as Mark talks at length about his writing process, how he finds inspiration to write, and even his preferences in fonts. Most of the interviews I've consumed of his understandably deal with his comedy, which is of course how he pays the bills, but it was nice to hear from Mark Watson the author, and I wish the interview was longer than its 45-minute runtime. I learned Mark is a Grizzly Bear fan, which makes him cooler than he already was, and that even if he wasn't paid to write, he'd still be doing it anyway. The interviewer pointed out how unusual that was, as many writers he'd spoken to often say how laborious writing can be, but Mark's genuine passion and continuing enjoyment of writing felt inspiring to hear, and maybe it's why I made this giant post about one of his books.

Mark was asked about any advice he'd give to aspiring writers, and in true Mark fashion, he said something to the effect of "I normally don't give advice cause, honestly, I generally don't know what I'm doing," but he urged people to just keep writing and keep things on the page, even if it's shit or not your best work, just to keep the juices flowing.

The entire interview I linked below. It's something I highly recommend, and it doesn't spoil anything about Contacts in case you wanted to pick it up. I'm looking forward to reading whatever novel of Mark's ends up in my lap next, and I'm open to recommendations.

#mark watson

[liliththeblackmage]

Sanguivore, some thoughts

I made a post on here about a year ago about seeing Creeper play a headline show at London’s Roundhouse, a show which brought an end to the era of their last album, Sex Death and the Infinite Void, and an end to their time with American creativity devouring label Roadrunner. it also came with a new song Ghost Brigade to set the tone of the new era and hold fans over for a full release at some point in the future.

This show came at a really interesting time for my relationship with the band, I had been falling out of love with them slowly but surely since the end of their first album cycle back in 2018. A combination of a disappointing ending to the album cycle and very disappointing second album cycle, my tastes changing and a several unpleasant experiences with other fans lead to me being very ready to bookend my fandom of this band with a show, something I’ve done with other bands in the past. Luckily the show went some way to revitalizing my appreciation for them.

In the intervening 11 months, I’ve seen them close out a packed stage at an even more packed Slam Dunk festival, heard Ghost Brigade live and followed the announcement of their third album titled Sanguiovore. A darker, heavier project produced by Grammy award winning Tom Dalgety.

I wanted to collect my feelings on the record as I went through it, a sort of first impressions / general thoughts, mostly focused on the writing and production as that's where my interests generally lie in discussing music.

Further than Forever I really felt like this song struggled to justify its length, its 9 minutes purely because Meatloaf and Steinman did 9 minute songs so we should too. I had to listen to this track several times to fully get my thoughts together on it, and it felt exhausting to get to the end of every time. Despite that the track had some really cool musical motifs and despite it being a pastiche of Steinman, a lot of Creepers uniqueness shows through. There are definitely parts of this song that could have done with ADT or actual double tracking.

Cry To Heaven The Production of this track is really is what makes this track work, if the snare was even a tiny bit less punchy, or the synth less full, it would be all the worse for it. in terms of composition it takes a lot of its moves from Floodland era Sisters Of Mercy, its cheesy yes, but the performances really sell it, everything in terms of the performance is on point, and its very much held up by that production, I genuinely think that no other producer they have worked with could have made this song work. They manage to pull of a unironic up a fifth key change with as straight face, which is an achievement in itself.

Sacred Blasphemy Sonicly this is they’ve come so far to anything they’ve released previously, its got the AFI punkyness with a hint of Revenge era My Chem in it, but its still shown through the lens of this project, with its moody goth overtones. Will stays in a lower register for nearly all of the song, which seems to be a trend in this record. its a very short track, but it hits all the right notes despite that, in the same way AFI’s Sacrifice Theory on The Art of Drowning does. This track makes heavy use of double tracking for both vocals and guitar and it really adds to the atmosphere of the track. This the first track where their new drummer gets to flex their chops over the previous drummers much more wooden performances.

The Balled of Spook and Mercy A slower number, which is appreciated after the last one. The first track to really talk about the narrative in detail. Once again pulling from the Steinman playbook in terms of composition, performance and production, though there are elements of Murray Gold in the track composition, reminding me a lot of his early work on Dr Who. Lyrically, I struggle to place it, it reminds me a lot of folk and country songs that are more of a story with a backing track than a song. The guitar solo interlaced with a harpsichord reminds me a lot of Mike Oldfield for some reason.

Lovers Led Astray I got notes of surf rock in the main guitar motif. In a crude way of describing it, its sounds like the B52s decided to try and make a goth project. (have been reliably been informed this is what The Cramps sound like). I wish in terms of production it leaned into it more, the thick marshal amp sound does it a slight disservice. I really enjoy that the band have embraced synthesizers on the latest record. I think this is my favourite track, purely because of how weird it is. If you want a track that sounds like Judas Priest and Andrew Eldritch made a surf song, this is it.

Teenage Sacrifice This song is a perfect love letter to 80s metal, without losing sight of the tone of the rest of the project. It is VERY apparent that the producer worked with Ghost on some of their best work on this track, pulling out some of the same stellar production choices here that he did on Prequelle. I do wish there was a bit more too the verses musically, as their sparseness does leave you to focus on the lyrics, which are passable without being anything special, a common issue of classic metal which is usually overlooked because the tracks dont slow down to let you think about them.

Chapel Gates The Punk influences return with a vengeance, if Teenage sacrifice was Creeper do Judas Priest, this is Creeper do The Damned. it also has small amounts of the surf influence in it again which is a welcome addition to me. This song has one of the catchiest and most enjoyable choruses and I think this one is going to be a lot of fun to hear live. Much like Sacred Blasphemy it really lets their new drummer show off his skills with a set of complicated fills which would have been unheard of in previous tracks

The Abyss The Abyss is a short musical intro for the next track.

Black Heaven A wonderfully moody goth track, lots of 80s goth and post punk influence, from the slightly off kilter disco adjacent drum beat in the verse (again showing off their new drummers skills here), to the reverb drenched subtractive synths in the background and the minimalist motifs in the first 2/3rds of the song, the bridge and ending of the song drift back into something that fits the rest of the record more, with a ripping melodic guitar solo and layer upon layer of vocals gently taking the song to its end point with a ethereal repeated vocal part

More Than Death The final track on the record, in keeping with their previous releases its a piano and vocal lead ballad. Its certainly their most hopeful of their album closers, compared to Eternity In Your Arms’ I choose To Live and Sex Death and the Infinite Void’s All My Friend. This comes at a cost I believe, those two tracks were written from an incredibly genuine place, barely attached to the narrative of the previous tracks, commenting on the state of the band and the health of its main writers. This track, at first glance anyway, feels artificial in comparison, going through the lyrical motions of a Steinman ballad. In spite of this it is a very enjoyable closer and I think will make an appropriate song to end a set with.

I think my biggest criticism of the album is the lyricism, now lyrics have never really been the biggest strong suit of the band, this is album is no different, I think it sticks out a lot more here because the rest of the composition is so good, whereas the quality of lyrics haven’t really developed much since their singers previous bands early releases.

Overall this album represents a return to form not seen since the 2016 EP ‘The Stranger’ (potentially earlier depending on who you ask). Creeper have embraced what worked about their early work while being able to experiment with new sounds and styles on this record, leading to their best Album by a mile. it’s cheesy yes, but they lean into it in a way that makes this the musical equivalent of a hammer horror film.

#Creeper #sanguivore #Punk #goth #music #new music #metal

[anarchistettin]

not a gotcha but i dont believe i understand what definition of cult you are using. im assuming the thrust of the argument is denouncing all interconnected groups that cast off social norms together is throwing the baby out with the bath water? so i am assuming that your usage differs from the (in use but still flawed) BITE model.

ja imo the BITE model would be better aimed at the USA government or Christian church. It is a useful set of questions to ask - I can't help but find it particularly evocative though - everything it warns about is a basic feature of the USA. It's hard for me to imagine being the academic hashing all that out & not once going "hm how to disambiguate this from … every single mainstream institution in this nation and 90% of every other…hm"

It's great if reading over BITE gets someone out of a bad scene,

but I do despise, will always have to despise, the basic lazy ignorant common stupidity at its core. It's not a point of order or a quibble about words, it's that my loved ones were murdered and kidnapped by the police because people shut off the idea that MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T DO THIS if their targets "deserve" it.

the depth of ignorance it's allowing the rest of the abusing mind controllers to sink to rather overturns whatever forgiveness I'd otherwise have for those who use the term in its popular form.

past words that have undergone this transformation: villain (means villager) heathen (means rural) pagan (means bumpkin) gay / queer / et al (means pervert, child abuser, rapist, mind controller) negro (means lazy rapist, quasi-communist, Old Gods adjacent)

it goes onnnnnnnn & on & on & on.

there's a book called Strange Gods from the 70s? or 80s? forget exactly, that gently plead for sanity from USAns, trying to show how butt-fucking-simple the switch from "black" or "foreigner" to "CULT CULT CULT" was but… its dream (people not being stupid) along with mine (people not being evil) dies 😭 under the sheer tonnage of american shittiness and eagerness to please the Lairds

it's not that I care that y'all are mostly evil, it's that the blank stupidity of it is vexing & all the cultists I know personally, even the shitty ones, are better people on average and out of habit. would never repeat the insane & ugly fibs that normal people feel okay to spread - while their elected officials & religious officers do everything they claim to stop us doing, in full lust & no shame.

it'd piss me off less if the main voices for these fibs weren't so typical and gross about it, spewing nazi talking points in church lady tones.

the 1980s were bad, conservative kids were scary and violent, but y'all? y'all are the rightest wing "generation" yet! playing by the playbook but wearing team colors! acting out all the behaviors that you're claiming to oppose & spreading all the old lies in exchange for nothing more valuable than a brief orgasmic feeling of having been Wrong (the exact same feeling as being 'Right' prior to discovery that one has been uncritical and thus duped into becoming an important nazi asset)

I try to be good about it, I try to be wise, but I'm not good or wise, so I'm angry and full of hate too, along with them. it's a regular thing for me. "they're full of potenti- oof. okay. they're rightfully angry beca- oof, okay. they're lashing out at who's close at hand because they're scared. it sucks and they are starting to suck, but oka-oof, no that's not okay." and o n a n d o n

when it comes down to it, it's okay. it's fine. for me, I mean. I have the benefits, live in the benefits of good & natural human life. For you it's a disaster. You will not have the grounding, experience, natural ease, or security of the cult when times get lean. You won't know how to interact or trust. You won't know how to disperse and coalesce, you don't know how to keep your identities under control. So many of you still clearly think that another rollicking vote will set things ship-shape. A huge number of you still use "weird" to mean "bad". It's normal! but normal is bad. Duh! even straight kids knew that in the 20th century. SIGH.

You won't know how to fight, which is bad, but way worse: you don't know whom to fight. Which Is Deadly. I don't see a way out for many of y'all. You know that the machine you're living in hates you, but you haven't figured out how it got you to hate you, initially.

Most of the people from my gang wouldn't get angry about it - that's a difference between me & them - but it's because they wrote you all off a long time ago. "Dead alive". "Dead world".

fucking hell they're right and I'm wrong. I wanted to think that you could pass through some more new-fangled stages of being and come out "good" for it, but, that's not going to happen, is it?

not one of you is going to actually fight the cops, you're all going to attack whomever's close at hand & undefended, right? the next-lowest-sexuality or whatever. the flag teams. you'll call the police so you can get back to making important posts.

god I am so disappointed in the lot of you. Can you imagine the experience of watching people go "HM NO THIS WIKIPEDIA LINK DEFINES IT AS"?

the slide toward the modern definition is very recent, and very researchable. I think it's interesting to do that work - I don't mind that not many other people do. However. If you don't do that work and comment in the typical honkey way, I judge and hate you forever. Maybe not fair! but it is at least simple - and safer than continuing to believe in the "quality of young people". It was stupid of me to think there was a point to trying to share anything with y'all.

my bad!

tumblr cult claims a lot about itself but it's a big liar. tumblr cult's not only guilty of all its white dad's crimes & abuses: in emulation of Obama the Saviour, tumblr has perfected the art of targeting previously ambiguous Offenders, and freely given this science to the Overlords, while ever busily expanding the reach these abuses can attain and the damage they can cause.

tl;dr: y'all're too in love with the cops and the church

the revolution went on without you, but you keep looking at your phone for a signal

#it is truly amazing how many people ramp up the nazi talk when their right buttons are pushed #it would be a lie to pretend I don't hate back powerfully in response #it would be a lie to claim I'd never made decisions based on that hate

[tinseltine]

I realized this is JLaw‘s first official comedy – “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Joy” are each a dramedy. “Don’t Look Up” is funny, but its genre would be cautionary/Scifi. Lawrence was the comic relief in “American Hustle”, but again, a satire, not a broad comedy.  I’m glad she finally found herself here. 

The Blackening’s got the feel of Bodies Bodies Bodies, just not as clever.  You can see the twist ending coming from a mile away. But as someone whose black card is always in threat of being revoked, due to having grown up on a constant diet of corny, white fare; I liked the irony of a board game of actual black cards, where each character has to answer culturally black trivia in order to stay alive!  And yup, if I were playing, my black card would once again have been in jeopardy, cause for a number of the questions, I’d have been about as much help as I’d be in an escape room requiring math. 

Overall I enjoyed the film and thought this fresh take on the Flashpoint event was creative. Just not as creative as the 2013 film, which still had meta-humans and heroes, with each of them in different roles than what they are in the traditional DC’s Earth-Prime version. For instance, Bruce Wayne was killed in the alley that famous night instead of his parents; turning his father into Batman and his mother into the Joker. Superman is captured and nowhere to be found. Cyborg is a resistance leader, giving America a fighting chance within a war between Aquaman’s Atlanteans and Wonder Woman’s Amazonians. Aquaman cheated on his wife Mera with Diana and it led to this major war.

Vibrant all the way around, story, visuals, characters! Although, I’ll admit, I got a little sleepy a few moments before we meet the super cool Spider-man named Hobie Brown, aka Spider-Punk voiced by Daniel Kaluuya, but that could have been due to the heaping portion of Chinese food I ate at the beginning of the movie. This Spider-Punk was my favorite spidey. Kauuya says he: put a lot of emphasis on what matters to the fans when it came to finding his superhero’s voice, so much so that when he first took on the role of Spider-Punk he listened to fan-made playlists dedicated to the character to understand how they saw him rather than choose to base him on any punk rock icons of the past.

Me and my sister came out of Disney’s Live Action The Little Mermaid smiling from ear to ear feeling as though it managed to capture and hold true to everything we loved about the animated original and at the same time, embracing the world of today with beautiful diversity. But then I read The New York Times review by Wesley Morris and he just makes me feel stupid for enjoying the movie. I suppose he has some salient points like “This new flesh-and-blood version is about a girl who’d like to withdraw her color from the family rainbow and sail off into “uncharted waters” with her white prince.” Also, although I loved Halle Bailey’s interpretation of Ariel, his review now makes me question, does she imbue varied enough facial expressions while mute?

The Mother explores themes of family, redemption and identity, as Lopez’s character (with no name) struggles to reconcile her past and present. It’s not a groundbreaking or original movie by any means. It borrows heavily from other action movies like “Taken”, “Salt” and “Atomic Blonde”. The plot is predictable, the villains are one-dimensional and the moments of warmth aren’t very moving. But it’s entertaining, and it’s JLo, so stream it!

I definitely feel GOTG3 has stronger beats than Ant-man Quantumania, but it’s still a little long and lacking a certain spark had by the prior 2 movies of this MCU franchise. I think we need to go back to keeping the films just under 2 hours. Infinity War and End Game each needed to be nearly 3 hours because of so many characters and major story arcs, but with these sequels, no matter how beloved the characters, there’s not enough to fill them. I love superhero movies and particularly the MCU, but lately I can always feel the point in which they should be wrapping up, yet there’s 40-45 minutes still to go. 

THIS WAS TINSEL & TINE'S #MINIMOVIEREVIEW EXTRAVAGANZA #14 for complete content - https://tinseltine.com/minimoviereviewextravaganza14/

#movie reviews #superheroes #movie site #red carpet #guardians 3 #jennifer lopez #the blackening #the flash #disney #the little mermaid #film talk #movie lover #spider punk #no hard feelings #jennifer lawrence #MCU #DCEU

[destinyc1020]

I kinda agree with that one anon, Im not sure about how the academy votes but I think what has end up hurting colins chances is the fact that the entire cast was fantastic and colin didnt have to carry the film as much as brendan, austin had to do for there films. I love colin though,

I think the surprise was paul getting the oscar nom but I dont think he has any real chance.

Brendan is the wild card, his performance was great but the whale is not a great movie while elvis austin not only carries the film but voters and the academy really love that film. (at the moment he has momentum) but brendan fraser has the comeback story.

Depending on the SAGs, I think its leaning towards austin atm. And jennifer lawrence won at 22 and she really only had hunger games and winters bone when she won for silver linings playbook while oscars may not like to give younger actors, if the performance is good then it will be recognized. Just a few thoughts, sorry if I was rambling 😭😭😭

Thanks Anon. 😊

No worries about rambling.....I LOVE film/movie discussions!

It's surely a TIGHT race this year in the "Best Actor" category imo. There were just so many great performances this year. I agree that many were kind of surprised when Paul got nominated. I guess some weren't really expecting that he would get the Oscar nod.

I do agree w/you that Brendan is the "comeback kid" and has a good comeback story, so I feel like the Academy might give it to him just to spite the Golden Globes lol. 😂 But.... at the same time, I agree with you as well that the Academy doesn't usually like awarding performances in sub-par movies. In fact, they'd probably rather award a DECENT performance in a GREAT movie, rather than award a STELLAR performance in a subpar movie. 🥴 😬

"The Whale" didn't get that many great reviews. But you're right, many ppl (young and old), critics and avg moviegoers alike saw "Elvis" and really loved it, so the fact that it's an enjoyable film to watch is a huge plus.

Idk Anon, it's a really tight race! 😂

For the Oscars "Best Actress" category, I kind of feel like Michelle Yeoh might have it in the bag, but of course I could be wrong. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Oh and when I said the Academy doesn't usually like awarding young "actors", I meant of the MALE variety lol 😅 Young, FEMALE actresses are definitely way more likely to get an Oscar win over a young, male actor. And don't let him be cute either lol. 🤣 Don't ask me why! Maybe because most of the voters are old, white men? Rofl 🤣 I have no clue lol 🤷🏾‍♀️ But I've just seen it time and time again lol. Most male actors don't even win their first Oscar until they're at least 40 lol 😆

[mariacallous]

The leadership of Hungary and Poland seemingly shared the same playbook when it came to undermining judicial independence, consolidating electoral power, regulating media ownership and enacting laws against LGBTQ rights and abortion. They also work together to push back against the European Union's efforts to sanction member states pursuing illiberal reforms. However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poland has embraced Ukrainian refugees and promoted EU sanctions against Russia, while Hungary has taken a softer stance towards Russia, what are the prospects for these islands of illiberalism within the wider European democratic project?

This week on International Horizons. Edit Zgut-Przybylska from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences, and vice president of Amnesty International Hungary, shares her insights about Hungarian and Polish authoritarianism. Zgut-Przybylska presents Orban's definition of Illiberal democracy and how it is intended to disseminate an image of a decaying West. She explains how Russia’s war on Ukraine is framed differently in Poland and Hungary. Moreover, she discusses the Polish and Hungarian leadership’s efforts to portray the EU and Germany as the perpetrators of economic deterioration. Finally, she discusses how Poland and Hungary are getting around Brussels’ laws and its consequences, which include freezing EU funds.