#every small action can amount to something big because we are many

[forgotmynametag]

Also since im tryna be active again lemme set my stance clear, FREE PALESTINE FOREVER! 🇵🇸🇵🇸 Don't ever let em think we're done. Every week every day every hour don't let the world forget innocents are being murdered en masse. NO business as usual & DONT let the words 'Free Palestine' fall out of trend. Palestinians deserve justice & their homeland. We keep going STRONG! Help in whatever way you can. We cannot give up hope on them, not for how much they've endured already.

#palestine #free palestine #protest #i struggle with making posts in general so ive vowed to compensate by making sure i go out in public to rallies every moment i can #we can all help in different ways so find whatever way works best for you #every small action can amount to something big because we are many #so we can do it! lets make an impact and save lives and honor innocents who have been martyred #hope for a better future and get our hands worn fighting for it

[wachtelspinat]

Heya~

I often find it very difficult to find the right words, so I apologize in advance if any of what I have to say sounds dry or wrong, but I write it from the heart, I promise🧡

I know how you feel now and how much you get lost when that realization comes along. I learn art all my life, but I don’t succeed anywhere. No matter how long I try to do it, I still keep thinking “well I’m not good enough”. To be honest it scares the shit out of me every day, because if I’ll give up here… well there’s nothing I can do for life than. When I was in school, I was desperately clung to every fandom I had as my last hope to get rid of bad thoughts and I found those two silly characters that stole my heart immediately so of course it’s weird to say but since then Overwatch has become my “home”. It was not the perfect game but it was fun until Ow2 was released. Even if my love for OW is died, I understood that Junkrat and Roadhog took a much more bigger part in my live that I could ever imagine. I thought it was stupid, like come on that’s just a characters from the old and dead game but it turns out they’re not just characters, but in a way, my family or friends that helped me go through a lot of dark times, so it’s okey to love them deeply even if they are not real~

I always wondered, why do I make art? Is it what I really like and enjoy? Is it cost all the struggles and tears? But I found you and I fall in love with your arts immediately. I could have a really bad day in university but then I remember how I just go to your page to rewatch, for only gods knows how many times, your works. I love everything about them, how you can build a perfect shape with just one line, how many expressions and ideas your works have. Your knowledge of the anatomy is just… freaking olympic🤌🏻✨ you gave me the second breath in my path of an artist because looking at your works I was wondering if I ever be able to achieve such a high level and here I’m speaking not only about arts with Junkrat and Roadhog, I speak about every single one that I could find🧡 and I understood that art in general have much much more power in it that anyone thinks. It gives hope, inspiration, safety, emotions and so on~ even without knowing it, you can make another person’s life a little better.

All I wanted to say is - you are a fantastic person, highly talented and hard working. I’m sure everyone who follows your work will support every of your decision. I just wanted to say a big thank you from myself personally for everything you do🧡

hey ! i'm really sorry that it took me so long to respond, last week was just hell on earth. the sheer amount of words you put into this hit me right in the heart, and what you said made me tear up even more.

having a really hard time here to form my words, not only because my brain feels so fried, but because your ask is so sincere and i don't think i can possibly thank you enough. it's so weird, there is this constant battle in my head that everything is futile and trivial and i'm having a hard time seeing some kind of point behind my actions (not only art related). on the other hand, i know that WE give meaning to something. that it's the small things that tends to move mountains. i don't know if i'm making any sense here. point is. by telling me that - in my opinion - my irrelevant art has given you sth, if it's just a smile, new energy to try sth yourself, inspiration... you are shaking my world. and i'm grateful for that in a way i cannot describe.

and seriously, i don't know why we make art. because as you mentioned yourself it is always connected with doubts and despair. before i entered graphic design school back when i was super young i thought drawing was me. the one integral part that made me so ~special~. just to learn that a bunch of people draw, all around the world, and they often draw even better than i could ever achieve! in the last months of being in university i relied a lot on defining myself through my art again. because it immensely helped with my self-concept when everything around me just felt like i wasn't good enough. i'm kind of re-learning again that doing art is not the one thing that defines me. because i tend to heavily lean into that. it is after all the one thing i actually like about myself.

so yeah, thank you so much for reaching out. i love your art and the love you put into it, so i'm hoping that - despite the struggles we all share while being creative - you continue to draw, as so will i <3

(and junkrat and roadhog, man... yeah they're not just characters, they stopped being just characters from a game a long time ago for me. i know i'm a broken record at this point BUT their codependency and independency, the balance between grit and gross and sweet and off-kilter, sweat, tears, blood and some ice-cream on the side, begrudging and thankful - it seems stupid to me too because i know most people just see these comic relief mad max rip-offs but every time i think about their dynamics and some of the stories i've read in fan works it grips my heart and i think "holy shit i love them so. much." - i'm still not done drawing them by a long shot i think, it just feels like i've reached a dead end of some kind? because with little time at hand and even less energy left i struggle to form my thoughts into drawings. but i'm working on that. i'm working on doing some kind of tribute, like a zine with my art from 2016 up to today and some more stuff i've yet to draw (had this idea since 2022 and i've just recently learned SO MUCH about zine making and printing and i finally started putting the first files together). because that feels right, like a proper "here look at this i hope this explains why i love them so much")

[dailyhistoryposts]

Common Cognitive Biases in Propaganda

Successful propaganda relies on a few logical and psychological tricks. They can never be completely overcome, but being aware of them in yourself can help you realize when you are being manipulated.

A cognitive bias is a pattern of thought that leads to irrational judgement. There are many, many biases. Here are a few of the most common ones.

Apophenia: perceiving connections that don't exist. This could be overemphasizing a small sample size or a single story over large amounts of data of perceiving a relationship between unrelated events. Check out these Spurious Correlations! You may have fallen victim to apophenia in the gambler's fallacy--feeling confident that a commonly occurring event will occur less commonly in the future.

Availability bias: overestimating the chance something will occur because its easily available to your memory. This might include anthropomorphism--thinking about non-human things through a lens of human actions, the frequency illusion (when you buy a blue Honda, suddenly it seems like every car on the street is a blue Honda! In reality, you're just paying more attention). Survivorship bias (things that did not make it to the end are not included in the statistics).

Confirmation bias: THE BIG ONE. YES, YOU DO THIS ONE TOO. The tendency to seek out and more readily believe information that confirms rather than challenges your preexisting biases and preconceptions. A person presented with incontrovertible evidence they are wrong will often double down in support of the thing they were wrong about. Confirmation bias is one of the reasons the eyewitness testimony is actually not very reliable!

Extension neglect: the mathematical sin of ignoring the sample size. There is a mathematical way to determine if a group is able to generalize to the larger population, and some studies and many stories do not meet the threshold. A common way this manifests is by overestimating medical events. A medication doubling your risk of a side effect sounds scary, but not if your base rate was one-in-ten-million (now doubled to one-in-five-million). "One death is a tragedy, one million is a statistic" (the difficultly of judging large amounts of damage in proportion) is also a form of extension neglect.

Framing effect: Different ways to portray the same information can lead to different conclusions. Prefering default options over better changes, the tendency to spend more money in smaller amounts (like coins over bills), or viewing the benefits of something compared to a previous option instead of on its own merit.

Prospect theory: Problems in how we view future probabilities. This might include the sunk cost fallacy (not wanting to give up something bad because you've invested time or money into it), the psuedocertainty effect (being more likely to take risks to avoid negative outcomes than gain positive ones), and the tendency to prefer and actively defend the status quo even over change for the better.

Problems with self-assessment: People are very bad at self-assessment. Consider the Dunning-Kruger effect (unskilled people overestimate their ability, experts underestimate their ability), the illusion of explanatory depth (overestimating your knowledge of a subject). This also includes empathy gaps, places where empathy is reduced. For example, in the hot-cold empathy gap, people currently feeling strong drivers or emotions (hunger, madly in love, physical pain, extreme anger) have difficulty imagining not being in that state. People who are calm have difficulty imagining themselves subject to those drivers. So people in a 'hot' state act according to their drives and short-term goals, and people in a 'cold' state are unprepared for when they find those drives triggered.

Truthiness: Believing something because if feels true. People tend to believe things that are easier to understand or if they have been stated multiple times. Consider people deliberately going down TikTok algorithms--they start to agree with statements they were originally opposed to because they heard it so many times. People also are likely to believe things that can be distilled down into simple, easy to remember catchphrases, especially if they rhyme.

#propaganda #history #psychology #bias

[scourgethecat66]

tweek and craig:

a very, very thorough explanation because when i tell people about it they do not understand 💀 which is fine its kinda confusing-

tweek and craig, two characters from south park that used to have minimal importance to the actual show, soon turned into the biggest ship the whole south park has ever witnessed. possibly even overriding the amount of style (or stan x kyle). so, what do i need to explain?

oh god.

everything.

tweek tweak:

south park started in 1997 and continued to more add characters as the show went on. we soon met tweek, or tweek tweak, who arrived to the show in the episode “Gnomes” from season two. he had many other appearances. (especially season 3, with tweek vs craig) season 6 featured him most of the season when picked to be the replacement of kenny, who died of a muscular disease. (he soon came back in the last episode of that season)

tweek is the son of a coffee shop owner named Richard Tweak, who is married to Helen Tweak. he drinks coffee every second of the day, even replacing water with coffee. this coffee is revealed to be lined with meth, which he takes in everyday. tweek suffers of ADD, or Attention Deficit Disorder. he tends to twitch a lot.

he has blonde hair, a green-like shirt that has been buttoned improperly, blue or black pants, and black shoes.

craig tucker:

craig tucker arrived to south park in the episode “Mr. Hankey, The Christmas Poo,” or episode 9, season 1. he is known for sticking his middle finger up, even getting in trouble everyday due to his “middle finger” behavior. he is seen sitting in-front of Mr. Mackey’s office, the guidance counselor, in many episodes. he made many more appearances than tweek due to him always being the background or an extra character in stans, kyles, kennys, and cartmans problems.

craig tucker is the son of Thomas Tucker and Laura Tucker. he has a sister named Tricia Tucker. craigs family tend to flip each other off. craig has black hair, which is different from his parents and his sisters. this caused speculations that craig was adopted.

he has black hair, a blue hat with a yellow fluffy top, a blue coat, and black pants with black shoes.

now its onto the deep dive.

tweek x craig

ever since the show introduced these characters, there were always people shipping them. but, a really big ship used to craig x kenny, which soon started to die down as a new, canon ship started to erupt. tweek x craig. the two had many appearances, but were not necessarily seen close together accept in the background. you can see them standing together in many scenes. tweek is also a member of craigs gang, which holds four members in total: tolkien, craig, tweek, and clyde. (also adding timmy and jimmy, but since tweek usually hangs out with them, i made it four. BUT. that does not exclude them.)

tweek vs craig had tweek and craig fight. this episode occured in season 3 and started with kyle and cartman betting on which one of them was the biggest troublemaker in Mr. Alder’s class. this was the start of something new. as the show progressed, the creators of the show soon saw the small mass of tweek x craig art. they decided….

to make an episode.

tweek x craig, an official episode. this held the two boys going absolutely crazy about the Asian girls at school drawing them in the form of yaoi. (this is where i get interested, so buckle up.) craig and tweek both were concerned and didnt want this to happen, which caused them to fight.

then, coming up with a plan to stop all of this, they decide to be together—then break up. tweek says its too much pressure and craig says to him, “you’re capable of more than you think.” tweek agrees, and they get their plan in action. tweek ends up being horribly good at lying and basically makes craig feel like shit. so, craig walks home feeling sad. explanation on what i mean here, since some do not understand the importance of this scene:

craig cares that tweek ratted him out, even though it was all fake, there had to be a bigger reason that the show had it rain and his hat getting all soaked. craig was genuinely hurt, and it shows. this means he actually felt something towards tweek, making it hurt so much more than it should’ve.

time skip, tweek decides that he felt bad and wants to make it up to craig. he says that they should say they’re together again, but craig denies. he says that he doesnt want to be what everyone tells him to be. now- hold up- wait right there. he wants to be straight? so why is he with tweek? its fake right? tsk tsk tsk….no….he wants to be gay. he comes to term with what he really is. yeah they thought him saying that means he wanted to be straight, since everyone wanted him to be gay. BUT. NOOO. so, in the end, it shows them holding hands.

(more clarification, craigs dad didn’t necessarily accept craig being gay until cupid cartman shot him in the head with an arrow. this could be what he meant by “dont wanna be what they tellin me to be)

craig comes to terms with himself, and ends up with tweek.

so…why am i still talking about it? shouldnt i like shut up now? no. its time for the wattpad writers.

tweek x craig: what the butt

people have been picking tops and bottoms for so many years. this makes it so these characters lose their characteristics, or charms. tweek is seen as this fragile, small, and weak person. but—god no he’s not.

1: tweek kicks ass

taken from the episode, “South Park is Gay” from season 7 (season 7, episode 8) you can see here that they ganged up on kyle for not being “metrosexual,” tweek also joins in on the beating.

he really isnt all that innocent. he beat up someone for being different. he also handles a gun-

1. hes not afraid to hurt/blow something up (unsafely) or someone if it means saving his friends

2. no problem beating up kyle for being different

so when i read fanfictions, i can already tell that the writer will make tweek depend on craig, even though he is his own person. ever since tweek and craig became official, it has been apparent that people see tweek as the weak one who needs protection, but he can obviously protect himself.

2. craig also kicks ass

craig has always been fairly rude or sarcastic. he can definitely defend himself in situations, even bullying other kids in south park. but, when writing him, people always make him the prime protector. craig deserves to be protected too. we can see that tweek is protective of him like come on guys—

(especially in South Park: The Fractured But Whole)

together: wonder tweek and super craig

the south park game, South Park: The Fractured But Whole shows us exactly what im saying—there is no weak or strong in this relationship. after the patch up between the two, we can see that they are very overprotective of each other. when craig gets hit, tweek gets defensive and is like noo craigg how dare you hurt him. when tweek gets hurt craig is like ayo wtf thats my man. so we can obviously see the love between the two. especially because this game has their own dedicated storyline 😏.

1. both overprotective

2. both care

3. both get mad if one of them gets hit—

THERE IS NO WEAK OR STRONG.

concluding thoughts:

these two are the best couple in all of south park, prove me wrong. they obviously care for each other, and the tweek x craig episode was not a joke and not a lie, they genuinely love each other and are together.

do urself a favor and watch the episode tweek x craig 💀

ok mic drop 🎤

#south park ships #south park #south park creek #south park craig #south park craig tucker #craig tucker #south park tweek #south part tweek tweak #tweek tweak #south park spoilers #south park analysis #craig x tweek #tweek x craig #sp creek #analysis #explained

[awrldalone]

14th December 2022, 9.31pm

iYesterday I broke two glasses while cleaning them. One fell from my hand and hit the sink. It shattered in big pieces, they must’ve been four or five. I carefully picked them up and threw them in the trash. The second one slid from the drying rack when I tried balancing a mug between two bowls. This time, the shards were so small, so many. I slowly piled them all up together, and they joined the other glass in the bin.

This morning I was so idle. I slept a lot. More than usual, at least. At 11pm V. and I went downstairs, it was freezing, and we smoked a cigarette. As soon as we got back to our flat, I brushed my teeth and my face, and I went to bed. My alarm was set for 8.30am, but I slept until nine. I dreamt about being in the Romanian apartment I slept in with M. 

Then, when I woke up, I could not get up. I could move, I was not paralyzed. Physically, I was okay. I opened my eyes, the ceiling was grey and out of focus. I just stayed there, for an our.

Every second of our lives, we always have two options. It’s simple. We can either do something, or not do something. Not doing implies another kind of doing, which is the action that one was previously performing. Not doing is the choice to keep doing, whereas doing is the choice to change things, to break the infinite cycle of the instant by pursuing another action.

It takes a certain amount of willpower to do, to move, to change direction. There’s a threshold that needs to be reached, and overcome. One needs to muster enough will to move the body differently. It takes more effort to turn left than to keep walking straight. 

Usually, this effort is still minimal, especially when it comes to doing the microactions that overall form a bigger action. When cooking, one does not need to find the will to cut the tomatoes and the zucchini and the chicken, and to turn on the stove, and to season the ingredients, and to put the ingredients in a pan. Once we decide to cook, the threshold for all of those smaller actions has been overcome already.

Some days, this is not the case. Today, it was not the case. I opened my eyes, some music was still playing from my phone because I forgot to turn it off before falling asleep. I just stayed there, barely able to breathe and feel my skin brush on the duvet every time my chest raised up. It was dark. The sun was up but I always close these grey heavy curtains before going to sleep, so the room was still coated in darkness. And I just stayed there.

When I finally managed to get up, I just sat on my chair, my legs crossed so that my feet would not touch the floor. At some point I made a coffee by microwaving some cold brew and milk, and I drank it without tasting it. Still, I did nothing. I opened my laptop to load my Contract Law book, but I just stayed there, my desktop looking at me. I wasn’t even looking at it.

At around one p.m., I finally managed to do something. Inertia can only take you so far. I showered, but showering was hard. Stepping into the shower was hard. Turning off the water once I was clean was hard. Drying my hair was hard. Dressing up was hard.

I left the house. My hands were so cold they hurt, as usual. The sun was still in the pale blue sky, yet I could already see the horizon tinting itself yellow. I went to the city center and sat at a café and studied, studied studied. If other people look at me, I can act like I am doing something, until I actually start doing that thing. 

My father called on the way home, and again my hands felt like they were going to fall off. I had to switch the hand in which I was holding my phone a couple of times, to let the other one warm up in a pocket. 

He has been doing this thing I hate, recently, Well, he does many things I hate, but lately he started completely ignoring what I say in a different way than when I was younger. As a child, I’d talk and talk and talk, and he would not listen, but he would act like he did, and I would realize he had been elsewhere with his mind only when I referenced something I had already said. I hated it, I still do. Once, I talked to him for an hour at the beach. It was after lunch, we went on a walk by the shore, I wore my t-shirt to cover my body up, I have been self-conscious since forever. I think we went on that walk because he wanted me to walk, to do physical exercise, to burn off calories, to lose weight – not because he wanted to go on a walk with his son. While the feet sunk into the wet sand, I talked about lots of things. I still remember telling him about the Pokemon game I was playing, and the book I was reading, and the things I would like to happen in both. I must’ve been seven, or eight, I still wore my hair so short, and it was still so light. That night, we went out with some family friends for dinner, and I still remember how my heartstrings snapped when I realized he had not listened to a word of what I had said.

But today it was not the same thing. He listened to me, he understood what I said, he just did not care. I told him I hate what I am studying, that I hate this city, that I am tired, and after everything he said that it’s all going well, then, because at least I have made some friends. I felt made fun of. I did not let it touch the tone of my voice and I ignored it while the call lasted, but the feeling is still here, bitter on my tongue and burning in my throat.

I should be studying, right now. I do not want to. I really do not. I might see S. this Saturday, I might go all the way to Brussels just to study and hang out with him; if that will be the case, I need to have summarized all of Government Law by then. 

-c. 

#diary

[buggy-d-hoe]

Salutations...it’s been a while :’D

I’ve got some big news, but let’s get some stuff out of the way first!

I’m about to hit my second month in nursing school and can you believe I’m almost done with my first semester??? Since we’re technically an eleven month program, I’m nine months away from graduating!!! School has been very rewarding, especially during clinicals. I’m work alongside assigned RNs and pretty much doing everything in my current curriculum; right now, it’s medication administration and small procedures. I’m the enema and catheter queen in class XD 

I’ve been neglecting anything OC related because I’m just so preoccupied with school. I have had tests every single week on top of clinicals and the insane amount of homework assigned. By the time I have a breather, it’s usually spent sleeping, gaming to decompress, or just logging in some socializing/hangouts with family, friends or him. Yup...apparently we’re still...something? hahahah ~O_O~

I just celebrated my birthday recently and it was a memorable one yet. A new chapter in my life and this was a first for many things. I had an early Pacific Rim viewing party with my Weeb Regime loves, my classmates kept greeting me every day for almost a week, got tipsy and watched Thor: Love and Thunder and on top of all of that, your girl still had a test she had to study for. The dreaded birthday I was anticipating on whether or not he remembered had a *blank* ending....but I’ll leave it at that :)

In November (or possibly December because I’m going to finalize the date with my stylist), I’m planning on dying my virgin hair...midnight blue! Not a full coverage, but a balayage instead because I’m worried about the roots growing out and I barely got by with permission from school. This is in preparation for what will be happening later in December :) The down payment is set and now I just need to finalize on the date. Luckily I apply for my second semester classes next week so I can let my stylist know ASAP.

Now the big news!

I have almost all of December with a couple weeks of January off from school and that means...I bit the fucking bullet and bought a plane ticket for the Philippines with my aunt and cousin. Why you ask? Well...I’m going to surprise visit my special someone, K***, for two weeks! From Dec. 23 (technically the 25th because it takes two days to travel thanks to freaking time zones) to Jan 9, we will have Christmas and New Years together with our families. He has no clue I’m planning on surprising him and he is under the impression that my belated birthday gifts for him will be given by my little cousin. I hope to keep it that way >:) I can’t believe I am even doing this and I’m so excited for my diabolical plan to be put into action. 

I’ve missed you so much. It’s been four months. Only four more to go. I can’t wait to see you smile. Wouldn’t miss it for the world :)

#gracy talks #ghim #I'm barely even functioning right now #halpppp mehhhhh

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Title: Blood Meridian

Author: Harold Bloom

Rating: 5/5 stars

An important book that deserves every bit of hype it has received.

My first read-through of Blood Meridian, I remember liking parts of it a lot but also thinking it had too many flaws to recommend it as something you'd read for the first time. When I revisited it many years later, I found both those criticisms were not only right but also correct in both direction: there are still things about the book I wouldn't want to do first, but there are also more things I don't think I would have done second -- and in general, I think the book's "perfection" is actually somewhat flawed.

I can't explain what "perfection" looks like. It isn't that every detail, no matter how large, is correct. But that the feeling of the book, and what the book intends to do, is true. The book is an extremely intense vision of an American frontier that has fallen into utter, pointless ruin: a landscape as barren as the "empty" plains and "unclaimed" land depicted by some realists, as empty as the real plains had been until the Indian population was violently destroyed (in the book, at least), as desolate as certain fictional landscapes (say, Cormac McCarthy's postapocalyptic American West). But it doesn't feel like a landscape with no human life, it feels like a human wasteland -- a place which, by some cruel irony, no longer contains human beings, but which can still seem like a perfect setting for some kind of human story.

The narrator, Roach, is one of these human beings, and he is a human being of a certain kind, one to whom many people -- especially readers familiar with the "dark, cynical Western" and who expect such a narrator -- would find off-putting. The book is narrated as a story in which the narrator "tries to convince" various characters -- notably a Mexican gang boss and a small-time lawyer -- to let Roach work for them, because it would be both an interesting and profitable thing to do. It's a story in which the narrator treats the characters he is "trying to convince" in a way that would probably be seen as "unusually" condescending or even bullying by readers who don't see the "logic" of his arguments. It's a story in which the narrator has a history of "trying to convince" various characters -- including his boss -- to take actions they wouldn't otherwise have taken, even when he didn't understand their reasoning very well. For example, he tried to persuade this boss -- a big, genteel, old-style Southern gentleman of a certain kind -- to let him work for him, not because Roach had worked his way out of some horrible situation and would be a good employee, but because there were some "small, odd jobs" the boss needed done and Roach was an unusually "determined" and "persistent" person who just had to do "whatever it takes." This is not a story about an arrogant, rude, "asshole" narrator, it is a story about an arrogant, rude, "arrogant asshole" who happens to have a large amount of power over people and has a certain limited capacity for "persistence" or "determination" -- and yet somehow finds himself in situations (with people whom he has power over, or who are dependent on his decisions) where he's able to succeed with little difficulty, precisely because he can see a way, just barely, out of situations that look totally hopeless. (There is much about this "Roach-as-asshole" character that makes him feel not only like an asshole, but like some sort of cosmic asshole -- a sort of "satanic-angel" narrator who knows, in his arrogance, that he can get away with anything, while also knowing that things can only go wrong for anyone who relies on him.)

What the book seems to be about -- not directly, but implicitly -- is a world in which everything is so "predictable" and there is so little control, at the level of individual experience, that you can have things go wrong for you without having them go wrong for anyone. We have been surrounded for so long in a world in which we have some control over every step, in which each person has some real power to make her life and the life of her loved ones better -- where a person can, through action, be responsible for something other than being a victim of the forces around him -- that we tend to forget we are living in such a world and what it takes to realize that fact and make use of it.

And this is the reason that the book has so many flaws. I think there is a certain element of "trying to convince" that is a good thing, at least in moderation, but which becomes a flaw when the protagonist never stops trying to convince or trying to persuade or always finds a way to make one more effort to be heard. It is a flaw because it leads to a worldview where the world is always, in some way, "already" working to make things better, a world in which we have more control than we think, and our power is never, in any serious sense, at our disposal.

(This is also a reason why some readers may find it hard to empathize with certain characters -- because it feels like what happens to them, from the protagonist's point of view, is "predictable," as if it is already happening, as if the world already is, in some way, "better," and the protagonist will soon be rewarded for his struggles.)

Blood Meridian is also a book with an extremely clear vision -- or, at least, an extremely clear image of a vision: it is a book in which the "great American Western" has fallen, in some real, physical sense, into the ground, and the "prairies" themselves are "empty." It is a vision with a very precise and concrete look, a vision that seems to be a little bit "wrong," at least if your notion of reality is the one presented by most realistic depictions. It is the "Western" (in the sense of the story it tells) which is wrong, in the sense that the land is no longer (as it once was) populated by the "dying race" of an entire population -- but also that it never actually existed in that way to begin with, that it was not a place of "redemption" (say, in the realist sense) of the downtrodden population, but only a wasteland that, in the end, is made up of nothing at all, except its inhabitants.

For many readers, there will be something a bit off-putting about this way of looking at reality. It will not be the way that many readers prefer to look at the world. That's fine. I'm glad there's more than one possible vision of reality, and I am glad there is such a thing as Blood Meridian.

I am also glad there is a book which, in some of its details, seems to do something that only a relatively limited number of books since have been able to do: portray, without exaggeration, the utter, hopeless despair which comes from a vision of reality which may not be false, but which you do not know -- or, at least, which you do not see -- how it might be made true. I feel like this may be a very rare gift -- it may also be an impossible-to-achieve goal -- but I appreciate it more than I can say for the reasons given above.

[loggedbylily]

written and edited by lily hayashi. made in relation to 'small girl, big thoughts' podcast, hosted by lily hayashi.

link to related podcast episode here

I feel like we’re in this era of normalisation of overconsumption; with the rapid rise in popularity of fast fashion, brand partnerships and influencers as a method of advertising, haul culture and microtrends. I think consumerism is a very complex, multi-part issue that can’t be ‘fixed’ with one simple solution. As humans, we consume and create waste. There is no way to avoid consuming; we consume media, physical objects, nutrients and knowledge on a daily basis. In my opinion, consumption is not necessarily a negative behaviour, rather an unavoidable human behaviour, however, overconsumption is a larger issue, and we can try to avoid it or minimise it. We just don’t want to. 

So much of the structure of society is built on consumerism. It’s how we make money, how we feed our bodies, how we clothe ourselves. Mindful consumption is possible, but in a world where trends are moving faster than they’ve ever moved before, and fashion is being designed and produced so quickly and at a mass rate (According to Business of Apps ‘SHEIN Revenue and Usage Statistics 2024’, on an average day, SHEIN adds a shocking 2,000 new items to its online store) it’s really hard to be mindful of what you’re consuming, whether it be media or physical objects. As individuals, we do have to hold ourselves accountable for our actions and the waste we produce, but it’s also important to remember that these massive corporations are deliberately teaching us to feed into consumerism because it’s literally how they’re making money and what keeps them in business. A company’s primary intention is to make money, and most corporations will do anything to achieve these sales. Even if the clothing they sell ends up in landfill days later, they’re still making the money from the sale, and most of the time, what occurs to their product after that sale isn’t a worry of theirs.

I really wanted to discuss ‘haul culture’ as a big factor in the recent rise in consumerism. According to Statistia, the number of views on TikTok videos in April 2022 with the hashtag #sheinhaul was a total of 4,800,000,000 (Statista, 2022), followed by videos with the hashtag #amazonhaul, which reached a total of 968,000,000 views. Whilst these videos may vary in terms of just how many items are being purchased and shared, they all contribute to this growing culture of ‘hauls’ as opposed to just buying singular items. Cambridge Dictionary defines the verb ‘haul’ (in the context of purchasing) as “all the things someone buys on an occasion when they go shopping”. Whilst there isn’t an exact number of items that qualify for a purchase to be a haul, the word itself in noun form is defined as “to pull or drag something heavy slowly and with great difficulty”, and the verb in the context to stealing is defined as “a usually large amount of something that has been stolen or is illegal”. Although the context of the use of haul on social media is different to the two previous additional definitions, and that a haul nowadays usually links to a purchase rather than theft, it can be summarised that the word ‘haul’ refers to a large quantity of objects in most of its contexts. I’ve noticed that there’s this expectation on social media to showcase moreness; instead of showing just one Dior lip oil, why not showcase your whole collection of Dior makeup? Instead of purchasing just one serum, why not fill up your whole bathroom cabinet with assorted skincare items? Even if the multiple items aren’t necessarily the focal point of the video, you’ll often see them in the background. The influencer isn’t ‘accidentally’ showcasing their collection of expensive products; they’re doing it because owning lots of objects is a sign of wealth and now considered an aspiration. I’ve found that almost every product review video is a haul, and in general, there’s just a huge growth in usage of the word and showcasing of them on social media. The frustrating thing is, if we normalise purchasing large quantities of things we do not need, it means buying singular objects is viewed as boring.

Haul culture is also very rooted in privilege. To be able to afford a large quantity of products, you need to have some kind of financial stability. The normalisation of bulk purchasing means that those who may not have the money to make these kinds of purchases feel insecure or embarrassed, when in reality, these hauls are actually not a good thing at all. Companies like SHEIN offer very cheap-priced (and very low quality) clothing, which has made hauls more accessible to those without a large disposable income. THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING! The whole issue with overconsumption is the more you consume, the more waste you produce. Normalising consuming such large quantities of products means subconsciously we’re normalising producing such large quantities of waste. And this haul culture has sparked the massive rise in fast fashion (According to Business of Apps ‘SHEIN Revenue and Usage Statistics 2024’, SHEIN generated $22.7 billion in 2022, a 44% increase on the $15.7 billion it made in 2021) which provides a sort of wear-once-throw-out culture to clothing that just keeps getting progressively worse.

This wear-once culture seen in ultra-fast fashion creates an endless cycle of overconsumption and microtrends. Good On You’s explanation of a ‘microtrend’ is “Micro trends take what you know about trends and accelerate the process: these trends rise to popularity quicker and then leave the trend cycle faster.” (Zhou, 2022). Due to just how quickly trends are moving these days (hence the title microtrends), fast fashion allows individuals to participate in this trend without spending a large amount of money, and due to the lack of quality of these products, it reduces the permanence of this trend, which then makes these microtrends move even faster. It’s a toxic cycle that feeds on overconsumption and haul culture, which in turn, feeds the cycle. 

Overconsumption has also created a culture of consumer self-validation. As humans, we don’t want to do anything wrong, or to be perceived as doing something wrong. We try to validate our actions, both for ourselves and for others. Due to this inbuilt victim complex we all suffer from, we try to validate our purchasing habits in a world that promotes and villainizes consumerism. I’ve heard the sentence “I’ve been wanting this for so long!” or “I’ve been obsessed with this for ages!” used to validate hauls and large, unnecessary purchases so many times in these haul videos. Often, it’s a lie. Did you really want that pair of earrings, or was it just because two weeks ago they became a massive trend? I think it’s actually so much better to be honest about your purchasing habits. We’ve all purchased something because of a trend; it’s okay to participate in trends, that’s literally what they’re fed off. I think it’s just important to do so mindfully. Often, it takes me a little longer to ‘like’ a fashion trend enough to participate in it, and sometimes by the time I do join in, the trend has passed. But I find this little pocket of time gives me a moment to think about whether I actually like this trend; would I wear this again? Is it going to go out of style immediately? Is the product good quality and representative of my personal style? I feel like if people admitted, even just to themselves, that they purchased something because it was popular or trendy, we would become more mindful of our purchasing habits. By validating every purchase, we begin to lose track of what we actually like, and the impacts our actions have.

How can we teach ourselves how to consume mindfully without reinforcing haul culture, microtrends, fast fashion, and feeling guilty?

Take your time. In a world where it’s normalised to want something immediately (and I’m definitely a victim of this), wait a little and properly think over your decision. I struggle with being impatient, but recently, I’ve realised how much more I truly love my purchases when I’ve been thinking about them and building up excitement for them for a longer period of time. Also, it allows you to be mindful; you can consider whether you actually need this or just want it (and also, wanting something is not a bad thing. It’s just good to be mindful of how many of your wants you act upon) and whether it’s reflective of you as a person. 

Trust the thrift gods. Kind of in relation to above, I’ve been trying to build the habit of waiting and letting myself think before making a purchase, and I’ve definitely been rewarded by the thrift gods for my patience these past few times! I purchased the perfect pair of square-toe Mary Janes from a local op-shop the other day for $12; I’d been looking at similar pairs online for months, and I knew they would work with my wardrobe and become a very cute, classic staple.

Remind yourself that consumerism is fuelled by haul culture. Why would a brand only try to sell you one item when it could sell you ten? Remember that those buy-two-get-one 20% off, $20 for two, spend $70 for free shipping deals are just a sneaky attempt to get you to spend more money, and in turn, consume you more. They trick you into thinking you’re missing out on a great deal if you don’t act quickly; you’re not. I’ve been a victim of these kinds of deals before and trust me, when I buy a clothing item for its price rather than its style, I end up wearing it so much less, just because I only really bought it because it was cheap! Same goes for sales; if something you’ve been wanting for a while goes on sale, amazing! But whenever you think of buying something on sale, consider whether you’d buy it full price. Are you getting that top because it’s cute or because it’s $10?

You are not a criminal for consuming. It’s human nature. But try to do so mindfully; you’ll actually feel better as a result of it, and if more people take baby steps to try to avoid overconsumption, that gross, speedy cycle will calm down. In the end, there’s never any harm in slowing down.

#lblarticles #loggedbylily #philosophy #articles #sustainability #greenwashing #environment #eco #planet #research #newarticle #magazine #art #culture #media #newspaper #blogger #instagram #music #business #writer #writing #artist #journal #interview #journalism #politics #design #podcast #podcastepisode

[careeralley]

Start a Business Post-Grad: Your Ultimate Guide

Starting a business after graduation is an impressive move that can also be scary and exciting at the same time. There is the thrill of redirecting all of your energy into one thing and becoming your own boss rather than working with a potential employer. On the other hand, there is a fear of failure because you will be responsible for your actions and also because there is no guarantee of being successful, it is all about risk-taking. In this guide, we will focus on some of the main factors that you should consider before starting a business after graduating from college. They will challenge you to prepare adequately for realizing goals. 1. Study the Market If you have a business idea already, that’s impressive. If you haven’t, you are on the clock. Either way, you need real-time data from the market. This will give you a clear picture of the needs, competitors, pricing, threats, opportunities, and so much more. The data will equally challenge you to get a laser-sharp focus on where you want to drive the business. Experts behind One Point Partitions, an e-commerce toilet partitions supplier suggest that venturing out into the toilet partitions supply industry may prove to be a lucrative market. This can be attributed to the fact that eCommerce is on the rise in this industry. 2. Evaluate Your Skills Unless you had a big break between completing your studies and graduating, the chances are that you have minimal experience in running a business. Even if you were running one alongside your studies, you require more knowledge and resources to run it full-time and compete with other gurus. This is the primary reason why you should assess your skills and competencies. Evaluation helps you to identify what you have and what you need to make the business successful. You don’t have to know everything, though. For example, in matters of business and taxes, you can hire a tax attorney for help. A tax lawyer will help you understand the types of taxes affecting your business and solve any issues that crop up in this domain, including things like tax planning, tax auditing settlements, etc. Now, there are other essential skills that you might not have to run the business as a startup. In a nutshell, gather all resources, and pick up a few core skills for small business, including financial management, negotiation, communication, leadership, time management, etc. Tip: You can always use the internet to your advantage to learn a few skills that you may not have naturally. 3. Set Realistic Goals Goal setting has been emphasized a lot in many ways. However, it is still essential to help you to avoid common mistakes that many fresh entrepreneurs make. One of these costly mistakes is setting unrealistic goals. While huge goals are necessary for challenging you to explore the limits, they can make the entire undertaking seem impossible. So, what’s the right way? Set goals that are believable to you. For instance, if you are introducing a new product into the market, setting a goal of selling 500 pieces on the first day can dampen your spirits if you don’t get close to the figure. It may be possible to sell such an amount, but if it sounds too big to come true for you, then you will not be able to focus. 4. Learn from Others Everyone has something to offer, so take advantage of their closeness to you. If you are on a mission to get your hands on every piece of golden advice, you should not restrict yourself to experts in a particular industry. Try to diversify into other sectors and keep the nuggets of wisdom. You may land on valuable tips that can help you uniquely shape the business. After collecting the information, carefully examine and choose what resonates with your business needs. Just graduated and ready to be your own boss? Our guide covers everything you need to know—from crafting a business plan to securing funding. Take the first step toward your entrepreneurial journey today! #StartABusiness #PostGradEntrepreneurClick To Tweet Learning also requires that you network regularly. These interactions come in handy when you see businesses from multiple perspectives. It exposes you to numerous definitions and provokes you to make your own. 5. Define Your Pace You have probably heard of the phrase that warns against comparing yourself with others. Well, it is a worthy piece of advice to date. Instead of imitating competitors to reap similar results, take it as a challenge to your approach. It could be that you don’t need to mimic Facebook’s strategy to make it in the tech world. Maybe all you need is a new approach to your strategy to surpass the limits that have been established so far. Your main goal should be to learn and not imitate so you can stand out and build a brand. Defining the process in your terms makes the seemingly long journey worthwhile. Final Words: Starting a business, especially for fresh graduates, can be challenging, and that is why one needs to be well-equipped with the tools, resources, and knowledge required to hack in the field. The transition to the world of business can be smooth if you commit your attention and resources to worthy elements such as learning and outsourcing expertise. Start Your Own Business: The Only Startup Book You'll Ever Need $39.86 Learn More We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. 01/24/2024 10:35 am GMT Read the full article

[fi-fitz-flynn]

Trust {Self-Para feat. James}

Prior Reading:

How could I refuse? {Self Para} Hiding In The Shadows {Flynn & Smee} In The Dark Corners {Self Para}

@jameshawks

Timeline: Late October/Early November.

Flynn drove away from the warehouse with full intention to call Alex and demand some answers.

But what would he say? And why?

His Alias wouldn’t care.  This used to be what he did. He was a runner for a large cartel. He didn't care what he moved. Just that he got paid.

But she didn’t know that he was burned there. She didn’t know he had turned them in.

So why wouldn’t he do this?

Flynn sighed, pulling over and rubbing his hands over his face.

How many people did he know that tried to protect against this exact thing?

Holley had been shot, Bianca had died, he saw darkness in Gil, that he could only imagine came from this.

What would they say?

What would Holley say? 

They would jump into action, they would find out who was who, they would take it down. Return the objects to who it belonged to. 

But after. After they would look at him, who had been caught fencing not just illegal goods, but magick goods. They would be disappointed. They would know that everything they had trusted him with had been misplaced.

He would prove everything he thought about himself.

But he didn’t want that.

He didn’t want to be someone people looked at with hesitation, or at least not them. Not those connections he made. Fuck the rest of the world.

Flynn was going to do right by them.

So what would they do?

Something righteous. Some type of plan to take it down. Who they could call in the RAS.

Holley would be his first call.

But she was still technically off active duty.

Gil? His roommate? 

Well these days Gil seemed to have another focus. So that left James.

The agent he knew the least.

The only one he could care less about if he hated him.

Maybe James would ship me off. Revoke his ward status before he had to look Holley and Gil in the face. That would be fine. That would be expected. He had broken probably every rule he was given.

He’d have to dust out some of his other aliases. Pull from his offshore bank.

He’d be fine.

And at least he did the right thing.

Fuck it. He was going to be alone again.

Groaning again Flynn rubbed at his face before putting the car back into drive.

Speeding his way back to Swynlake, Flynn didn’t hesitate. He didn’t stop, if he did he wasn’t sure he would keep going. This would ruin his life.

But if he didn’t.

How many others would be hurt or killed because he couldn’t step up.

Flynn didn’t bother with some random ass cover story. The RAS could deal with that, if someone saw him knocking with his fist. He could only really care about one item at a time.

James pulled the door open quickly. His hair and shirt ruffled as if he had run to the door and considering how hard Flynn was knocking, he was sure that was the case.

It only took a second before James ushered Flynn in.

No pleasantries, no small talk. They both knew this wasn’t the time for it.

Relating the whole story to James, Flynn didn’t waste it with frivolous details. The warehouse, the amount of paintings and artifacts, the security. The scales and who knew what else.

“We can confiscate everything but that would just lead everyone there doing it again. We need the location of the auction.”

“You want it to go through?”

“I’ll talk to the main office but I think that’s our best play. We’ll find out who’s the suppliers and who are the buyers. We could get some big names or even small ones out before it can get bigger. You’re going to have to get us that location.”

Flynn paused shaking his head at the other. “You want me to act like everything’s normal.”

“Yeah- You have a problem with it? Obviously people there trust you.”

“Do you trust me?” Flynn questioned his eyes narrowing. Sure he was here but the rules he broke?

“Not really. But I’m sure Shiftwell and Wahed do to some extent and besides you came to me when you didn’t have to. Which means right now we’re on the same side. So go get that information. We’ll plan the raid and we’ll get some people arrested.”

“That’s a pretty simple plan.” Flynn muttered leaning back into the chair.

“The complexities will come into play when we figure out who we’re sending in, If you have to go in. But this is what I do, I hit fast and I hit hard. I’ll take the lead on this side, just get the information we need and it will stay a simple plan.”

So Flynn had to trust them, going back into a snake’s den. But he already made that decision the moment he knocked on James’ door.

No matter what happened he had chosen his side.

#self para #jameshawks #//more things i should have written before flolley kiss

[weber-carrier-boiczyk-chace]

Weber, Carrier, Boiczyk & Chace, LLP

Family law can help with a wide variety of problems, including child custody and divorce.

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No matter what challenges you face during your divorce, you can count on our unwavering support. Once this is complete, you will have access to the divorce documents you need to initiate the process. Despite the challenges of going through a divorce, our clients trust us because we consistently provide sound counsel. Our round-the-clock customer service is a big reason why so many people trust us. We were helpless before, but now we are in a position to assist them. We offer individualized support services for people who are going through emotional turmoil after a divorce. In order to pull this out, we will need to put in a lot of time and effort. You may rest assured that your disagreement will be resolved quickly, regardless of whether you prefer mediation or cooperation. I plan to end my life as soon as I have accomplished everything that I have set out to do. We guarantee punctuality every time. Do not worry, we will take care of any problems as soon as possible. We shall hold off on making any additional commitments until all essential procedures are completed. A small selection of the many legal services we offer is as follows: Numerous alternatives are now available to couples going through a divorce. When it comes to family law issues like mediation, divorce, and postnuptial agreements, each spouse has the right to make their own decision. Something like this might trigger a domino effect.

Our lawyers will remain at your side through thick and thin, divorce or no divorce. Because our legal staff is available around the clock, clients trust us to handle their divorce case. Divorce lawyers have a duty to their clients to do this, as mentioned above. The role of a mediator, or impartial third party, could be useful in cases where the parties to a divorce have exhausted more traditional means of conflict resolution without success.

The very mention of "family law" makes one think of the word "divorce." Excuse me! Please accept my utmost apology. Sending my most sincere apologies to you. You have my sincerest sympathies. You have my utmost sympathy. I can totally relate to what you're going through. Not even specialists in family law will promise such a base unless it's crucial. The spelling of both names must be correct at all times. Experts in family law may shine in a variety of contexts, including adoption, prenuptial agreements, and divorce. Almost every part of contemporary life is impacted by family law these days. Everyone, even adopted youngsters, has an innate desire to see an extraordinary adult in action. The film "Adoption" is another excellent exemplar. The adoption issue also requires our full focus. The area of family law makes extensive use of a wide variety of resources.

Whether you need help with a contract or a family law issue, our legal staff is here to help. By combining our efforts, we can increase the availability of these services. If our customers decide to use these services, they will benefit greatly. Our website has all the information you may possibly need. Our business is highly skilled in a wide variety of issues, including prenuptial agreements and the adoption of children from prior marriages. What is the level of importance of having legal representation, in your view? Any moment is a good time to get in touch with us. You may rely on our availability at all hours of the day and night. In all candor, we think you'd gain a lot by going to one of these events. We promise to do our utmost to meet all of your requirements. You should now have enough knowledge from what you have read to understand why you should seek legal counsel.

Standard components of prenuptial agreements include:

When divorcing, wealthy engaged couples typically want to maintain their own fortune. In deciding to tie the knot, you two have made a huge financial and emotional commitment. The exceptional resume they have prepared details all of their professional accomplishments. At this very moment, there is an abundance of couples that meet these requirements that are available. The convenience of having their marriage licenses mailed to them in the months preceding the big day is appealing to many betrothed couples. During your marriage, no one has the right to take away your portion of the family business or any other assets. We are happy to comply with the request, which was made by our legal department. Because of this contrived meeting, they decided to get a divorce. Please sign this declaration to indicate your agreement if you think acknowledgment is vital.

Protecting your wealth would be your number one concern in the event that someone challenged the validity of your prenuptial agreement. By exchanging wedding vows, a man and a woman pledge eternal love and devotion to one another. This is what they aim to achieve. People will be able to read your heart if you open out to them.

Feel free to contact our office at any time if you need legal representation. Serving you brings me immense joy. Their services are, to put it simply, unparalleled.

With Weber, Carrier, Boiczyk & Chace, LLP on your side, you and your loved ones can relax. You have our word that we will keep going until you are happy with the results. If you want any support, please do not hesitate to contact us. You would have my undying gratitude if you could be of use. Thank you ahead of time. Assuming all goes according to plan, I simply wanted to express my gratitude for your patience and understanding. We will provide you with expert family law assistance once we have examined all of the necessary documentation. The consultation will not cost you anything. They have access to the sessions even when they are on the clock.

#family lawyers ct

[swordkilledpen-blog]

Closing Out 2023

I swear every time I come back to this site, the title mentions a new year than before. Oh well.

Sometimes I put pen to paper, sometimes I write letters to others, sometimes I visual journal in blank notebooks, sometimes...there's here.

Recently Dad and I spent two different days cleaning Colin and Susie's apartment. They're clearly hoarders, and it was unsafe for both them and their two animals (a cat and a small dog).

I recorded myself crying when I first got there...I had so many mixed emotions. I wasn't surprised, I was very surprised, I was saddened to see the reality of what both of them were living in for several years, I felt helpless, overwhelmed...and scared for their futures being independents long-term. Like what if that couldn't happen? What if they had to go on disability? What if they couldn't work anymore?

Mom knew, didn't want to admit it...and didn't tell any of us. That made me even sadder.

I took time off work on a Wednesday one week and Thursday the following week. Everything smelled like animal urine and feces mixed with old food and BO. They weren't sleeping in a real bed and apparently hadn't for years because the dog and the cat weren't getting along...and it caused a weird territorial situation I guess? So, the bed got berried, and the room overall got filled with more things...and lost for two years. They slept on a urine-stained futon for over two years, which was on-top of a urine saturated throw rug. When we moved the rug, a perfect rug-shaped puddle was underneath; it was so soaked. AND...the amount of garbage and just never made it to a trash bin. It was very alarming.

It's tough now to not wonder if that could happen to Mom or I now. Like what would it take? When something sad and big happens, will that be how I am? When Mom, Colin, Thomas, or Dad passes? I don't know to think about it.

I want family counseling...and I don't think anyone cares for it, but though shit. We need it.

He needs to know this affected everyone, and it's not fair to anyone (including himself or his wife or his animals). I don't deserve to miss work, but I know that action was necessary. I think had I put it off to a weekend, there'd be no real time to actually 'rest' 'rest' myself. I'd feel burned out faster with work during the week...and I don't want that to happen. I want my best self at work, and I'm sure so does my colleagues.

Anyways...aside from minor cat/vet trip scares that amounted to not a ton, spending $800 on that stuff, hopefully everything starts to settle. Hopefully we can find ease-of-life for them and set them up for success long-term.

Love, peace, and sleep. That's what I want.

Maybe pie too. IDK.

[senstless]

Splinterlands BATTLE MAGE SECRETS Featuring Holy Protection in Silver League

Featuring Bronze League Summoner and Monsters in Action!

I am back at it to share another battle mage secret post, highlighting bronze seminar and monsters battling and out for victory in the silver realm. This week's challenge I thought was fairly interesting and both teams had very similar lineups with only a few minor differences. Let's take a look to see how things went

CHALLENGE RULES

RULESET: Holy Protection

Description: All units gain the Divine Shield ability which reduces the damage of the first attack received to 0. Divine Shield will be re-applied when a unit is Resurrected. Blast damage will remove Divine Shield.

Reasons Why I like it Holy protection is very interesting because it smells the first attack that hits every monster. This can be a very quick small attack, or it can be a massive blow delivered by a powerful monster on a roll. This could be enough to turn a tide and of your team the chance to pull ahead, for your opponent to do the same. The way I look at these matches is that you want the maximum number of strikes per round you can have. This to me means I'm going to have to have as many double strike and black monsters as possible.

The Matchup - Where Rules Sets, Splinters and Mana Collide

The Rule Sets

Watch the Match Here

MANA: 46

Ruleset: Holy Protection: All monsters gain the divine shield ability which reduces the damage of the first attack received to 0.

SPLINTERS: Fire, Life, Dragon

Initial Rule Set and Mana Gameplay Thoughts

Rulesets Only the one rule set. I think that only having holy protection will mean it will be a match leverage more on double strike, blast, and magic cards possible since they're always a guaranteed hit except for a few months or something.

Mana 46 mana is fairly substantial and not likely to cause any issues while setting your dream lineup. Was that much money you can pick pretty much any card you want and multiple big man of cards while filling out the rest of your team to bounce it out and provide those additional benefits like healing, repair or triage

Splinters

Only three splinters. I think that traditionally water or Earth would have been excellent choices but leaving it down to fire, life, and dragon I think it will probably be a life or dragon focused battle. Dragon has some excellent cards that would be available to combine with life and you could have a big team of double strike cards to release

Summoner GRANDMASTER RATHE Play life and I wanted Grand Master Rather the addition of void armor. I felt that it was really important to keep my health as high as possible and have some extra protection against magic attacks if at all possible

First Position URIEL THE PURIFIER

Big hitter, flying, six armor and 10 health are both massive any monster, when you add in void armor to the mix it has a substantial amount of protection before we knocked out while giving you some decent speed and flying to create a mess. Only downside is that it only attacks every other round but this is mostly tank that you're going to try to use to soak up damage

Second Position TIME MAGE I always hate playing against time mates when I don't. It's high speed plus slowing of all enemy monsters makes it a force to be reckoned with and can make one entire team attack before your team gets chance.

Third Position ADELADE BRIGHTWING I really wanted a monster with repair. Having a monster in first position that has 6 Plus armor means that the repair should be very useful. Not to mention that the summer is providing each monster some armor so repair should be used fairly frequently and every monster should have some additional protection

Fourth Position VENARI CRYSTALSMITH If I'm going to heal the armor, I might as well heal the health behind it. I have seen it more than once where you're able to heal the health and the armor and start back at whole health and push out another round

Fifth Position PELACOR ARBALEST This is where the primary attack is coming from. It's only doing to do two attacks since it's not getting boosted but it's a double strike attack which will help back out the holy protection and hopefully armor quickly.

Sixth Position PRISMOLOGIST As mentioned before I felt that blast would play a huge role since it can take away that first holy protection. It's doing decent damage and itself is moderately protected in the rear. I'm hoping it sticks around a few rounds and takes off a lot of blast damage on my opponents

Opponent Lineup & Match Play

Summoner GRANDMASTER RATHE

URIEL THE PURFIER Great minds think alike and it appears we're both playing the same game. It'll be interesting to see what there's a lineup looks like

DJINN RENOVA so choice, it's going to add one health to everyone on your team giving them a slight boost while providing some strong magic attack

SPIRIT HOARDER Providing that valuable triage to the back line, this will take away a lot of my benefit for blast damage as it'll be negated out at each turn Spirit order takes

ADELADE BRIGHTWING Just like me they're playing for the armor repair, and it's a very solid choice

PRISMOLOGIST Again, great minds think alike and this is a soft choice. Delivering blast damage, taking away health on my second card, and providing some rear support

DOCTOR BLIGHT The card I usually hate seeing the most as I feel like it is a 100% chance to apply affliction. There's no 50/50 here every time I face doctor plate my monsters get a function on the first turn.

Round 1

Both these teams are fairly close before the rounds start and I'm not sure which direction things are going to go. Clearly in my opinion Time mage has huge impact as my entire team basically attacks before they get a chance to. I'm able to get through their armor and take away some health before the tides turn and they attack me. The biggest output of round one was that their prismologist missed its tech.

Round 2

Is around two starts teams are fairly even still with not a lot of extra damage, but things quickly take a turn. It works out perfectly that I eliminate all of their armor right before my Uriel the Purifier delivers its attack and knocks it out with a nine melee attack damage. This highlights importance of Time mage as we found it it could have been 50/50 and who attacked first. As the round continues I'm able to do significant damage to Djinn Renova, before the scriptures flipped and they start attacking me. Once again I get armor repair and their prizmologist misses again. I feel like I've been getting pretty lucky

Round 3

I start around 3:00 and things look pretty heavily favored in my direction. Before long I secure another knockout quickly followed by a second leaving them only three monsters before they start their attack round. Around ends with the third Miss for my enemy's prismologists giving me a substantial edge in his category

Round 4

Ground Force starts but this is clearly one-sided at this point and the writings on the wall. Is the round gets going I secure another knockout as well as all of my attacks are hitting. While you still have two more monsters to deal with around 5:00 the match is over

Round 5

It's quick work in round 5:00 to secure a victory. The combination of a double strike plus blast and a speed differential has been crushing to my enemy.

Thoughts - and Chances to Win Again

It looks like the calculators say I have an 80% chance to repeat victory if we run it again. I think that's a fairly good number and I will be happy to have an 80% advantage on every match I played. Well it's true I may occasionally lose due to unfortunate RNG I think that overall my strategy was very well-rounded and proved out to be very successful

~~@senstless

#splinterlands #play2earn #playtoearn #gaming #nft

[childrensbread]

The Mustard Seed 🌳

The Parables of the Mustard Seed

💜 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 

Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” ~Matthew 13:31-32 ✝️

Devotional

It can be so easy to overlook seemingly unimportant opportunities to help and serve others because we don't think our actions will make a significant difference in the lives of others.

Words of encouragement, acts of kindness, we pass them by as we think they will not change the world for God's glory. These things may seem insignificant to us, but when we get to eternity, we will be surprised how much the small things mattered most.

It's been said that big doors open on small hinges. In the Kingdom of God, Heaven's riches are unlocked by small acts done with great amounts of love.

It is the very small areas where we served faithfully, and showed up willingly that will cause Jesus to say: Well done, my good and faithful servant.

This is the upside down Kingdom that God speaks of. Our 'less-than' becomes more than enough in His hands. In God's economy, small is big, and big is small. People's affirmation and acknowledgment doesn't mean as much as Christ's applause. Thousands of followers on social media equates to little more than a speck of dust compared to the act of kindness, forgiveness and graciousness displayed to the person who hurt us.

Most likely, the next big move God wants us to take is a small act of service towards others. Don't miss Christ's invitation to be used in great ways, because He wraps the opportunity up by offering it to you in small ways. God promises to turn something small into something great. Your mustard seed of kindness can be planted into someone else's discouragement, and hope will grow in their lives.

Your mustard seed of perseverance in a difficult relationship can cause intimacy to grow out of the surface of hardship. Your mustard seed of standing on God's Word, in the midst of seemingly hopeless situations, can cause optimism and joy to spread to those who need it the most.

Let's live our lives with a renewed faithfulness and commitment to the small. Remembering that every moment in what some may consider a small life is a moment painted with great love on the canvas of God's grand masterpiece. Strokes that please the artist, and enable Him to use us in many more ways, because He trusts us and sees our obedience. 🙂🙏💜

Source: Glorify App

Image: Google

My Glorify Referral Link: https://share.glorify-app.com/MRSPINO777 ✝️

#jesusfreak #bibletruth #godislove #jesusisthelightoftheworld #jesusneverfails #godisgood #bible reflection #follow jesus #biblescripture #bibleverse #christian motivation #christian inspiration #christian faith #jesustakethewheel #jesus freak #jesussaves #jesuschrist #god is our rock #our daily bread #bible reading #biblestudy #bibledaily #bible

[zero-ek]

Content warning: existentialist nonsense about death.

I've been thinking a lot about death lately, like, i know that it's something everyone reflects on at some point in their lives, and i have given it thought before, but i don't think i've ever really sat with it for this long.

I never felt one way or the other about death, though i have looked at it more intently in some of my worse days, talking about my life as a whole, i don't think my mind ever went beyond the overall generic thoughts of "don't take life for granted" and "i'll die eventually".

One thing that i never really gave much thought though, was how... sudden and meaningless death can be, the overall idea of "you could die tomorrow" is something that i was familiar with, but never stopped to think about what it entails. I could die... tomorrow, in 20 hours, in 10 hours, an hour, in such a trivial amount of time, as far as myself goes, i just cease to exist, all i am, was and ever could be, an amazingly complex existence just blipped out of this universe for something as stupid as slipping and hitting my head on the bath (speaking from experience).

It was a particularly interesting realization because it's the one thing that i believe it's virtually impossible to imagine, "not existing", it's like the one thing that imagination can't conjure, every thought one can have, every situation that the brain can simulate, just about anything the brain can think of comes from existing, from "being", one way or the other. It's like the "what is nothingness" thing i've seen people crack their heads over, you really can't get any concrete answer because it's not something you can test or experience. Death is surprisingly hard to wrap your head around because you can never know what it's like, even when it happens to you, because even when it does, you're not really there anymore, you can know what dying is like, but that refers more to the process to rather than the end of it. I'm not particularly religious or spiritual, so i don't really take ideas of afterlife into account, of course it's not discarded as a possibility, but overall it's not something i factored into.

The other thing that really weighed on my mind was that death just... happens. I cannot put into words very well, but from a very, very, very detached point of view, the idea that things happen just because it's the way things are doesn't sit right with human, particularly cultural ideas regarding decision-making and self determination. Not in small part because death is such a big part of human existence, it's like the biggest of deals, so much that i found that it's a bit challenging to thing of death as a mere consequence of an action. We tend to believe that things happen for some reason, even if you're not religious or subscribe to ideas like determinism and such, we feel like we need to attach meanings or reason to things that we do, see, or have happen to us, and most of the time it's not unfounded, one's daily life is full of human interaction, we're surrounded by things others made, and we do things for other people and ourselves, it's not untrue to believe there is an underlying drive to things that happen, as purpose is the one thing that fuels every invention, interaction, deed, idea around us.

This really is a lot tougher to be said about natural things, we could factor in the consciousness debate and argue over how different levels of conscious and self awareness takes part on the way nature operates, but i don't think many would disagree that human ideas of intent or meaning or reason don't apply to things that happen naturally, which is the part that i have trouble getting into my head. It's more straightforward to process if death is caused directly or even indirectly by someone else, murder, manslaughter, intentional or accident, these are things that are caused by some form of human intent, so it's a lot easier to rationalize, but in situations where there is no clear intent or culprit, natural disasters, accidents without a third party, diseases like cancer, etc it's a lot harder to process, to attach some meaning, because in these situations, death just happens, without any intent or goal, it just... happens, the consequence of an action, X therefore Y. There is not much comfort in guarantees that it could've happened differently, that it could be avoided, and that's the hardest part, the part that i can't compute well. It doesn't sit right with me that something so big and definite as death can be just "what happened to happen at that particular moment". Of course it's possible to prepare and be careful in the face of possible danger, but it's also naive to assume that it is absolute guarantee that the possible danger is completely nullified. In a scenario that can end up resulting in your death, you can lower your chances by a whole lot, but the risk never really goes away.

This i think is what messes with me the most, because it made me notice just how fragile i am, and it did make me paranoid for a bit because it made me notice just how many things i could die from daily: the uber/bus driver who wants to live their dream of being a racecar driver, the crosswalk with way too little clearance on the way to work, of course, the particularly scary dark street on the way home, hell, it's been raining super hard over here, and my room doesn't have a ceiling (as in, it's just the walls and the house roof), there is no guarantee that the roof tiles are gonna hold forever, if we're really go into the deep end: lighting, i know chances are low and there are actually a lot more survivors that one would expect, but i think lightning just embodies perfectly what i'm trying to convey, it's unavoidable (in a sense), indiscriminate, immediate, and it's just a thing that happens, there is no motive or reasoning, it just erases all of you in an instant, all of your memories, experiences, feelings, hopes, dreams, ambitions, the very essence of you, just gone for no particular reason, an entire existence snuffed out for absolutely nothing, for no one's benefit or with no particular goal.

At it's core, isn't that the same for death in general? If you take it only from your very own point of view, as much as it can be anticipated, expected and rationalized, in the end it's never something you can absolutely control, and once it happens, it happens, definitely, it just happens. Of course, this is going off the assumption that one definitely doesn't make any decisions expecting to die from them, at least not in a regular basis, i know from very unfortunate personal experiences that death can be chosen and desired, but looking back on myself from those days, seeing that i made it through, i really don't think can say it's the better choice that i could've made in those moments, and though i can only assume, i believe it's the same for the rest of the people around me.

I can't really say it makes me scared of dying, even though i feel like i should be, and i don't think it'll make me live any differently than i have been so far. Of course, i'll be trying my best not to die, but i feel like the idea of eventually ceasing to be, abruptly even, doesn't really bother me, maybe because i can't really conceptualize not existing. I still don't feel one way or the other about death, but at least now i can say i thought about it.

TL,DR:

#Heyyy it's another one of these #i'm really not liking this adulthood thing let me tell you

[stepphase]

Cashback: earn money when you spend it!

Cashback… How many times have I already used this word on the blog! But do you know what it is? Cashback is the art of making money by ... spending money.

Forgives?

To be clearer, it is when you make a purchase online and they refund a part of this purchase.

Really?

Yes, it's basically that, but just to be clear I'm going to explain everything to you here. 🙂

How does cashback work?

Cashback is a very simple process.

You sign up on one of the cashback websites.

You are looking for the store that interests you. These websites offer you several online stores and services in different categories: health and beauty, fashion, computing, finance, home, travel, ... Among them you will find some of the best known such as: Zalando, El Corte Inglés, Fnac, Kiko, The Body Shop, Iberia, Expedia, Booking ...

When you have found the store, you click on the link. The web will redirect you to the site of the online store.

You do your shopping as usual, without worrying about anything else.

After a few days, once the merchant has validated the transaction, the amount promised will be credited to your account on the cashback website.

And that's it!

This is a small summary of how cashback works in the pages that I am going to talk about below and with which you are going to earn extra money.

Why do cashback websites offer you money for your online purchases?

Because they are that generous! 

Many websites offer affiliate programs. Be it Zalando, Fnac or Booking, they pay you every time you "send" them a new user. This is what we call a commission.

The cashback pages have formed collaborations with many of these websites and are paid every time they send someone to their websites, for example Zalando.

To encourage you to go through these websites they offer you money as a reward: an important part of the commission they receive is given to you, and this is what we call cashback .

Everyone wins:

The online store : win new customers without necessarily great marketing efforts, since the marketing has been done by the cashback page.

The cashback page: receive a commission from each online store for each new customer who signs up.

The user (YOU): you recover a percentage of your purchases. Between 2 and 40% normally. This is not a big deal, but if you do a lot of shopping on the Internet, this will be something more significant.

More than cashback!

Not content with giving you back some money in exchange for your purchases, the cashback pages regularly offer coupons or discount codes to use in some of the partner stores.

This is a double advantage, on the one hand they reimburse you for part of your purchases, and on the other, your purchase costs less than expected.

Below I will give you some examples 😉

The most popular cashback pages

There are several cashback pages in Spain and Latin America, but here I want to tell you about three, which are the ones that I use myself.

Beruby

This website started in Spain in 2007 and is currently present in 14 countries.

Beruby is available in Spain and Latin America

In Beruby, in addition to cashback for your purchases, you will find a " coupons " section so that your purchases will be cheaper. Coupons can be used in your online purchases, local purchases, or in supermarkets.

Discount coupons for some fashion stores.

Other ways to earn money in Beruby are: register on pages, visit other websites, watch video, you will find these actions in the " offers " section

You can also invite your friends or acquaintances to register in Beruby. You receive 50% of the profits obtained by your guests in the offers section, except in bets, casinos and slots.

To request payment in Beruby, if you are in Spain you can do it through PayPal (minimum 1 euro confirmed) or bank transfer (minimum 5 euros confirmed). If you are in another country, it will only be done through PayPal (minimum 10 euros confirmed)

Available in Spain and some Latin American  countries : Sign up for Beruby here .

Acclaim

This German company was launched in 2012 in Berlin. After its success, it has expanded to other European countries: Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Aklamio pays you for your recommendations

Unfortunately, Aklamio has not yet reached Latin America. We'll be alert!

Aklamio is another website where you can earn money by cashback, but there are other ways to earn money :

Recommendation: It is about recommending a product to your friends (there are more than 10 million on the web) and when they buy it you receive a commission.

Earn for recommending a product

Invite friends: When a friend of yours registers on the aklamio website through your link, you receive 10% of the commissions generated by him or her.

Invite your friends and win

Request your earnings from 1 euros and receive them in your bank account or in your PayPal account.

To sign up for Aklamio, click here .

ConSuPermiso

ConSuPermiso belongs to the iBrands group and is present in Spain and Mexico. It offers different ways to earn money since 1999.

ConSuPermiso available in Spain and Mexico

In ConSuPermiso you also accumulate points for: filling out surveys, downloading apps, reading emails, registering.

Another way to win is by inviting your friends. You earn 1 euro for each one (up to a maximum of 10) and they earn 0.30 euros on their account. You also earn for their actions, for this there are four levels that will depend on the number of referrals you have.

You can request the payment of your winnings when you have added 30 points, that is, 30 euros, and it will be sent by bank transfer.

Sign up for ConSuPermiso here .

Some questions that you will surely ask yourself about these cashback pages:

Are they free?

Yes, registration on any of these cashback pages is completely free.

Is the product or service more expensive if I go through a cashback page?

No, the product is not more expensive. At the time of purchase, the price will not change, whether or not you go through the cashback page.

In any case, they may be cheaper for you. For example, in Beruby they offer you discount coupons, so you can benefit from them in your purchase, at the time of payment.

Do they really work?

Yes, cashback really works. I understand that you have your doubts, but I have tried it myself and I assure you that they have confirmed the balance in my account.

Where does the money I earn in my cash back account go?

Once you have made your purchase, the money is transferred to your "cashback account". Once the store has confirmed the operation, you can request it in different ways, depending on the cashback page you use:

Wire transfer

PayPal

In no case will they offer you the money in the form of discount coupons or gift vouchers. This is why the term cashback is used regularly: it is about cash, cash, hard and fast.

Is there a minimum profit to be able to withdraw the money?

Yes. It depends on each cashback website. Check the information above🙂

Is a single cashback page enough?

Most of the online stores in Spain are collaborators of the most important cashback pages, with the exception of Amazon. So you won't see a big difference in the supply of stores.

However, cashback percentages are sometimes very different from page to page. It can be really interesting that you sign up for more than one website, especially if you have the habit of buying online, whether you buy an iPad, food or travel.

Does it take a long time for the money to reach my account after the purchase?

Cashback can sometimes take some time to be credited to your account. Because for example, some online stores do not inform the website of cashback until after the package has been delivered and after the return period has been exceeded. In the case of travel websites or hotel reservations, the cashback will not be reimbursed until the service has been consumed; since you could cancel the trip or hotel night at the last minute.

Is it possible to cancel a purchase and still receive the cashback?

No.

The stores already have it planned. As I told you before, your cashback will not be validated until after meeting some conditions. It is not possible to cheat the system.

But why are these cashback pages sooooo generous?

Why!!!

These pages earn money for each of the transactions that are made through their links. It's not much: on the one hand they reimburse you for a part of your commissions and on the other, the transactions can be low-priced thanks to the discount coupons they have. But if you multiply the little money they earn with each of your transactions by the number of transactions that each of us make each month and the number of members they have, you will see that their earnings will increase rapidly.

Then it is in your own interest that you offer us the highest possible cashback and if possible interesting discount coupons . They will also encourage you to use their link, this one that will allow YOU and THEM to earn a little money.

Everyone wins, so… don't be shy. Sign up for any of them!

«Beruby here»

"Aklamio here"

«With your permission here»

Combine cashback with other ideas to earn money

These are some of my suggestions:

Give your opinion and win for it. This is possible with paid surveys. For me, the best pages in Spain are Toluna and also i-Say. In Latin America, you can also find LifePoints and Toluna.

You can also earn money by viewing banner ads.

Other pages like Clickxti or SumaClicks pay you to click on an email.

Sell ​​clothes that you no longer wear. There are different platforms that allow you to do it. 

On the Internet, there are different ways to earn money.

Conclution

Cashback is a cool solution to earn some money. Obviously, you will not make a living from this, but every time you make an online purchase you will have a refund for it. Easy right?

I recommend you sign up for several cashback pages: each website offers you different cashbacks, sometimes better, sometimes worse. Therefore, it is interesting to compare the cashbacks that each page offers you and see which one offers you the best refund for the store where you are going to buy.

You already know that I like you to tell me your experience, doubts, or questions. Do it below in the comments, or if you prefer contact me by email 😉

Tell me, have you used a cashback page? Do you know other cashback websites?

#Stepphase #technologies #technology #tech #technews #techworld #techtrends #smartphone #apple #techupdates #futuretechnology #newtech #techgeek #technologynews #technologythesedays #smarttechnology #technologylover #technologytrends #technologyblog #gadgets #smartphone #gadget #marketing #digital #india #technologyisawesome #amazing #repost

#earn_money #make_money