(Note: I’m writing this in good faith and not trying to come across confrontational)
Have u forgotten u can vote 3rd party? I know there will likely not be enough people voting independant party for a non red or blue president to be elected THIS voting cycle. But. If enough people vote independent maybe america will wake up and realize there are more than 2 shitty options. (It takes time to change, and change for the better)
Look the problem with the blue no matter who mindset is that these people know you are going to vote for them no matter what. Not because you necessarily like them but because at least they aren’t the other guy. Which gives dems absolutely no incentive to not be a piece of shit. Like do you get it? They will be awful and endorse genocides and all other terror because they know you will let them get away with it. Maybe biden isn’t as bad as a republican would have been but he is still pretty fucking bad. Personally, morally, I cannot in any way justify voting for him again.
voting for someone as damage control in an election does not mean you can't heckle the shit out of them once they are in office. You elect the officials you think you and groups you belong to have the better chance of pressuring into better policies, and who will do the least amount of damage in the meantime.
Democrats are relentless towards their elected officials-- at least the ones I know who are actually politically active are. They call, they protest, they campaign. Plus, as you're demonstrating, people on the left do not blindly vote (that's the other guys). It's totally unrealistic to say that elected Democratic officials just think they have an easy ride.
people can and should vote for whoever they want to in local elections, primaries, etc. But in the big one, the president one, the one in the fall, voting third party is like drawing up plans for a nice new extension on a house that is actively being set on fire. Voting for president is damage control. Voting is your hard-fucking-won civil right. Voting in smaller elections can also be damage control; when there is no-one to feel "good" about voting for, you vote for the less-worse one, because maybe that one is more receptive to the idea of climate change being real than the other one, and you can work with that.
Sometimes you get to vote for the option you align with the most. But sometimes voting is about picking the option with the cracks that you can dig your fingers into and pull open. Or at least the one who won't start taking a sledgehammer to civil rights and environmental protections (and, and) with all his buddies while you work to build support behind a candidate you can feel good about voting for in four years.
Biden has shown he can change his policies over time, with pressure. Democrats can be swayed in ways Republicans cannot. One major party can be pushed more left. The other one will drag us into a darkness that I don't even want to think about. The presidency is about so much more than just the individual sitting in the Oval Office.
Voting is strategic. It is strategic. It is not negative moral karma to vote strategically. It is one action amidst all the other actions you can take to fight for the future you want.
844 notes
·
View notes
Fernando Alonso & His Relationship With Cards
I'm sure we're all familar with the cards on the back of Fernando's Vegas GP helmet by now, but did you know his relationship with cards goes a lot deeper?
I. Magic Tricks
You've probably seen or heard someone at least mention Fernando's propensity for card tricks. As far as I can tell he was doing them(publically) as far back as 2003 all the way to as recently as 2018. Even once performing a card trick, with a condom and a teddy bear(!??!?!??!!), in front of Valentino Rossi who said "How was that possible?"(x)
But how did this start? According to James Allen, "Fernando admits to having been heavily influenced by his grandfather, a mercurial figure, who taught him magic and card tricks, still one of his passions away from the race track."(x) And I'm not sure the validity of this one, because I couldn't find an actual source, but apparently he once said: "My parents are responsible for the two things I like doing most - driving and magic tricks. They bought me my first go-kart and a magician's kit."
In several interviews he described it as his hobby off track, and that he loved learning new tricks and surprising others in the garage with them! So clearly cards are pretty important to him both as a hobby but also to who he is as a person since they've been with him just as long as racing has.
II. Card Symbolism in His Helmets
This is the reason I originally made this post, but I thought I should also explain the origins of his card fascination first. As I said, we probably all remember the cards on the back of his helmet in Vegas, but did you know that wasn't the first time he had cards on the back of his helmet?
From 2008-2013, he used to have a pair of cards on the back of his helmets. The symbolisms of the cards themselves as well as the evolution of their design is really fascinating to me! Even more so with the recent development of the card choice in 2023.
Fernando said he wanted to reference his two titles in some way on the back of his helmet and after his friend sent him several ideas, he decided on having two cards(an ace of clubs and an ace of hearts, sometimes pictured with 05 and 06 on them as well), saying: "I picked the cloverleaf [the ace of clubs - Ed] to give me luck, but the only pity is that it doesn't have four leaves!"(X)
2008.
Here's the very first appearance of the cards! They're displayed flat, with the 05 and 06 clearly visible
2009.
Very similar to 2008, but with a slightly different design, and they're maybe a bit more straight with less shadow?
2010.
This is the first major change! I was sad they didn't have the years on them anymore, but then I realized they're sparkly to match with his signature lightning bolts on the top of the helmet!!
2011.
Honestly I'm still somewhat unsure if this is the actual 2011 helmet? It's pretty difficult to find clear photos of the back of helmets from older seasons. It's easiest to find them on replica sites or auction sites so I'm not 100%? But anyways, I like that this has the championship years on the underside of the cards
2012.
This is when I started getting weirdly emotional about the helmets. Do you see how they've progressed from being a centerpoint to being curled up and sad at the bottom of the helmet? Not listing the year anymore??
2013.
Same thoughts as 2012. And after this season, they cease to exist (just like his ferrari chair in the garage, WOAH CALLBACK), until cards make a reeappearance in his Vegas helmet, albeit in a different form
2013 Monaco(Honorable Mention):
For some reason 2013 helmets were easier to find proper pictures of, so I happened to witness this absolute beauty. The creativity of this helmet genuinely blows me away??? Wanting to keep the card motif, but making sure to incorporate it into the rest of the puzzle piece design?? Mwah! There was another special 2013 helmet but they didn't change the cards at all so I really applaud this one
2023 Las Vegas(The Return of The King):
The magnificent return! But look! The cards are different cards! Instead of being two aces, it's now an ace of hearts, a four of hearts(his driver number of course!) and, the, now iconic, representation of himself as a Joker. I literally could not believe my eyes when this helmet was released and I saw the Joker card, what a fucking silly old man....I really wonder if he felt nostalgic having cards on his helmet again or if he didn't think about it all and was just like, "ah cards because Vegas!!!"
III. Why Does This Matter?
*The rest of the post was factual, this is moreso my personal thoughts on the symbolism of the cards/designs
This post spawned from me recently watching the 2010 Bahrain gp and noticing "hey wait a minute...are those CARDS ON THE BACK OF HIS HELMET!?" It's a really tiny detail that's unfortunately covered up by the HANS device pretty much whenever he's wearing the helmet, so it's really difficult to spot! But I became fascinated with the fact that he had cards on his helmet before that recent helmet, and now here we are!
There's something to me about how the design of the cards evolves over the course of six seasons from the cards being front and center to being smaller, more folded up and closer to the bottom of the helmet. As I said, the 2012-2013 ones genuinely made me depressed because it feels, symbolically, like his hopes for getting another Ace are becoming more and more unlikely and falling away until they eventually fall falt and fade away entirely after 2013 and disappear for basically a decade.
But when they return? They're not the same cards! Instead of representing Fernando's championships, they now represent him as a person, displaying his driver number and his persona of being a Joker!! Though I do think it's interesting he happened to keep the Ace of Hearts, even though he talked more about the Ace of Clubs before. I'm not sure it's actually this deep in reality, but I like to think that it's him not letting his championships(and the lack thereof) define him, but rather letting who he is as a person shine and be the centerpoint instead! But on a sadder note, as @suzuki-ecstar said to me, maybe the Aces aren't there anymore because he's lost all hope for a chance at a third Ace entirely :(
282 notes
·
View notes
Dorothy, Volume 1 (2005) Scans - Chapters 3 & 4 + Bonus Covers // Part 3 of 3
Here is Part 3 of my Dorothy comic post!
Please refer to Part 1 for some background info about this book and its old website, and Part 2 for scans/story overview of Chapters 1 & 2!
In this post (Part 3), I'll cover Chapters 3 & 4 of the comic, completing the Volume 1 book.
Chapter 3 begins with Dorothy and To-2 aimlessly wandering around, unsure of which way they are supposed to go to get to the munchkin village. They stumble across the scarecrow shown at the end of Chapter 2.
Dorothy and the Scarecrow banter back and forth for a bit.
He's so creepy looking! But he is harmless. According to Dorothy, useless even.
Dorothy begins walking away, and she has quite a funny thought as she's leaving.
Dorothy and To-2 keep walking on, and stop at a beautiful blue river to drink and rest. Dorothy is so hungry that she contemplates eating a bug that looks like a ladybug with spider legs.
She takes a breather to collect herself, and realizes there is a cave located behind a waterfall. Dorothy and To-2 walk underneath the waterfall into a cave, video game style.
Exhausted, they curl up on the cave floor for a nap. Dorothy dreams of being a kid, and of Aunt Em giving her a little stuffed doll that used to belong to her father. Aunt Em calls the doll a Scarecrow, and says the doll can scare the bad dreams away. Dorothy muses on how the doll is nothing more than scraps at the bottom of her backpack now.
Dorothy awakes to a giant snake, who claims that she was sent to him as a sign, as prey for him to eat.
Dorothy tries to offer the snake the wrapper of a long gone Baby Ruth bar from her backpack.
Remember when I said there was foreshadowing earlier?
Well, when the snake isn't impressed with the empty candy wrapper, Dorothy remembers one thing she does have available to defend herself.
Dorothy manages to incapacitate the snake, and her and To-2 run out of the cave to safety. Unfortunately, Dorothy did get bit during this altercation, and the wound looks quite nasty.
Homegirl ain't looking so hot.
Good little To-2 helps lead Dorothy back to the Scarecrow, where she asks for him to accompany her.
It's quite sad and sweet really, considering we now know her comfort toy was a stuffed plush meant to be a scarecrow.
。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°
Instead of starting with Chapter 4, there is a small interlude chapter that opens up with a man writing a letter. Essentially he states that he knows this is his last day in Oz, and that the one most dear to him is away and safe. He concludes with "Despite those who seek to choke that spirit, Oz never dies".
The man is then taken away by robots, but saved by...some guy who just wandered in?
This page is actually so funny to me.
The laser gun? His outfit? Him basically saying "Get down, Mr. President!!" His pose and expression in the bottom panel?
Either way, we learn that letter guy is a Lord of some sort. The Lord of Oz, perhaps?
We also learn our laser gun man is Malo, and that he was supposed to be with her, who we can only assume is the Lord's dearest person he hid away.
Oh no.
Oh god.
I've only just met you, and now you are gone.
Goodnight, sweet Prince. My favorite character, brought into my life and taken away from me in the span of a couple pages.
So yeah, Malo is killed by the robots, and the Lord is knocked unconscious by the robot army.
We then go back to Dorothy and company to start Chapter 4.
。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°
Chapter 4 starts with Scarecrow on the ground. I'm assuming the Scarecrow is meant to be the Lord from the interlude, who we saw get knocked out and fall to the ground.
Dorothy is not looking good for wear, after her injury from the snake monster. Her and Scarecrow talk as they're on their way to the munchkin kingdom. We get a LOT of exposition about the war and the Wicked Witch and all that jazz, which honestly...I don't care too much about. So I'm skipping it LOL.
The crew make a fire and stop trekking for the night, and Dorothy wakes up feeling worse. Here is a page depicting how long and gangly Scarecrow looks.
Actually terrifying. Would never want to be approached by THAT in a dark alley.
However, he is harmless, and seems to care about Dorothy's dwindling health.
We cut back into the exposition story. Scarecrow had been describing a man as "the Fool", who is meant to be the Lord that was kidnapped by the robots.
He is brought before the Evil Queen. They go back and forth, and she sentences him to "the hallowing".
Which is not a good thing.
As the text says, he believed he would have been killed, and is surprised to find himself still alive. Weirdly enough, the man recognizes where he is, and pleads for his life with his interrogator.
He ends up tortured and beheaded. Don't worry, I won't show those panels, they're actually quite graphic.
While he is recounting this story, Scarecrow begins to see flashes of the man's life, and begins questioning himself.
Scarecrow recalls being shown the head of the man by his "maker" (the interrogator/torturer), and is told that he (the Scarecrow) will be a symbol used to put fear into the people and scare away the rebellion.
Scarecrow tells Dorothy that he was brought out to the field and strung up for this reason. At this time, Dorothy begins falling against Scarecrow, unable to keep walking.
Scarecrow thinks back on this some more, and remembers a woman being brought into the dungeon he was in before being taken out to the field.
He doesn't recognize her, but she seems to recognize him. She is the woman shown in the flashback panel and is the "dearest person" mentioned earlier.
She is then killed in front of Scarecrow, and he puts it as them "making her go away". Dorothy is practically unconscious at this point, and Scarecrow picks her up in the present time and says that he doesn't think he likes it when people "go away".
Dorothy weakly looks up at Scarecrow and muses how he reminds her of the stuffed doll her father had. Here are the final two pages.
Gasp, cliffhanger!
Poor Scarecrow and Dorothy.
At least the munchkin kingdom is in sight? I don't have the remaining three comics, but I imagine it picks up with them going there.
Sadly enough, even if I did have the remaining comics, the series abruptly ends on a cliffhanger and is never resolved.
。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°
And that's it for Dorothy, Volume 1!
It's been pretty cool visiting the first four chapters of this old, abandoned comic.
After the fourth chapter, the book includes copies of all the comic covers.
Here they are!
Love love love that these were included.
There are also a couple of what appear to be teaser comic covers/promotional pages for the upcoming chapters.
Very cool!
As much as I personally am not that interested in The Wizard of Oz or retellings of it, I do appreciate the vision and work that went into creating this comic. The photographic acting against a digital backdrop is such a unique concept, I haven't seen anything like it before.
All in all, I think this was an awesome thrift find!
。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°
As always, you can read the whole book and see higher quality scans on my Internet Archive account.
Thanks for stopping by!
Part 1 -> Intro & Background
Part 2 -> Chapters 1 & 2
Part 3 -> You're Here!
3 notes
·
View notes
You commented but I must harass you in your askbox, Grace!! I would've passed out and died if we got to see Se in a rbr suit again, I think my life would be fully complete at that moment and nothing else could fix me.
I'm just so so so in love with that era of rbr racesuits, like the colors, the design, the build, everything!!! And don't even get me started on his helmets....I like his current helmet but fuckkkkkkkk, his rbr era helmets are peak design and nothing, absolutely nothing can top them. And the fact that he had so many unique ones????? Like even if I'm like, oh yeah I wish he wore a 2011 era helmet, it's like: well which one????(...Canada 2011 I will say!)
I just wrote out a full response to this and tumblr just... didnt post it? so here we go again
ANYWAY YES i would not have coped with seb in a full rb suit and helmet i'm already going insane as it is. like rbr seb was my first driver he will always have a very special place in my heart . I'd do anything to have him back
Canada is a very good choice! my fave from 2011 is singapore, sorta cause it is very reminiscent of my favourite ever which is singapore 2013 lol (and of AD2011)
Also, irrelevant really but singapore 13 is what Fabian tributes in his own helmet this year.. which just breaks me
this family...ugh I love them so much
but yes the german flag design is very iconic and special and has definitely become his design since the start of the ferrari days..personally though, If i was him and wanted to tribute Germany (and didn't stick to 2011 designs) I'd have gone with Germany 2012
golden boy fr.
another fave of mine is Australia 2011..which i think he used a couple of times that year?
6 notes
·
View notes