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thevagabondexpress · 1 year

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reasons for a character to be angsty *other than* "abusive/deadbeat parents," "was bullied/assaulted," "queer and living with homophobic parents," or "someone died"

okay. hear me out. maybe it's just me but i'm tired of seeing the very heavy, triggering backstories listed above used to create brooding darkness within a character. now, that's not to say you can't use those. i've seen a couple authors use them and handle them very well. but i feel like they've been overused and, for the majority, not handled particularly well most of the time. hence, i've created a list of alternative reasons for your fictional charater to be a 'lil angsty without that weight of trauma that could be fumbled easily if not handled carefully. feel free to use these and share this around, that's what it's there for. feel free also to provide suggestions in the comments and i'll add them to the list.

∘ time period specific generation z angst: "the planet is turning into a pressure cooker, everything is on fire, democracy is crumbling like a dry pound cake, and nobody who has any power is doing anything because they only care about making money."

∘ habitual insomniac who just can't f***ing get their sleep schedule together. they're snarky and brooding because they're so. f***ing. tired.

∘ eldest sibling angst.

∘ middle sibling angst.

∘ youngest sibling angst.

∘ existential gender/sexuality/educational/career/faith/insert here crisis

∘ crisis of desired vs. perceived identity: "I want people to see me this way but all they ever see is this."

∘ they have a goal. they're really motivated. they're trying hard and they know they're good at what they do. but for some reason either they face consistent roadblocks from other people, or other people just refuse to acknowledge it.

∘ wanting something they can't have, but not in a whiny "he's so hot and I want to go out with him but he won't look at me" sort of way. no, as in, "I want to go visit my family in [insert country] but I don't have the time or money to go and I haven't seen my cousin in years she must be walking and drawing on the walls by now."

∘ unhealthy workaholic with a deep dark secret: that research project, etc. they've been obsessing and staying up late over and pushing everyone away for . . .

∘ sympathy angst: character has a friend/relative that cannot or will not acknowledge the emotions they ought to be feeling, so this character starts feeling the emotions for them

∘ character is caring for someone who is injured/ill (they don't even have to be dying, or in critical condition) and it's taking a toll

∘ character has been in one profession for a long time. now they've quit, moved on, and are doing something else. maybe they've retired. but they miss their old job, plus they find themselves falling back into the old habits. they worked that job so long they don't know how to be anything else.

∘ generational gothic: the character has uncovered a long-buried secret. maybe about their family. maybe about their place of work. maybe about their hometown, or the house they bought. whatever it is, everyone else seems to have forgotten it, and moved on. but they know. and they must cope with the burden of this aged secret thrown over their shoulders.

∘ performative angst: character is really into one of the fine arts. or building cars. or a martial art. or history. or science. whatever. point is, they develop angst deliberately as a performative state because they think it sounds cool.

∘ something the character has always believed to be a concrete fact turns out to be just another terrible fiction.

∘ character discovers a truth about themselves they had not previously realized. now they must analyze it, and come to terms with it. ∘ career-based moral/ethical angst: I do what I have to do because it's necessary and important (or because it's what i've always known, or both). but is it really good, or right? could there be a better way?

∘ time-period specific 1960's system-directed anger, whether that's to do with the civil rights movement or the war or both.

∘ character has moved to a new place. now, they must adjust to new societal expectations and customs, and possibly new food and culture as well. they feel strange and out of place, and miss their homeland.

∘ the character recently ended a relationship (romantic or otherwise) that was no longer functioning. they're the person who ended it, because they could see that things weren't working out anymore, but they're also very aware that the "it's not working out" went both ways and is much their fault as their friend/partner's. hence, they've gone and convinced themself that they were the bad guy, even though they really weren't.

∘ character had a massive falling out with a beloved friend or relative and now the two can't get along. they can barely be in the same room and it's dragging on the both of them and everyone around them.

#character creation #characterization #trope alternatives #writer thoughts and answers #a little pinch of writing advice

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ohhgingersnaps · 4 years

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Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19

Hi y’all! I’m seeing some posts floating around about hydroxychloroquine and I just want to present some data, because there is a bunch of misinformation out there and I think it’s good and important to be well-informed!

Obviously, part of the issue here is that COVID-19 is such a new disease and researchers just don’t have answers to a lot of questions. That’s how science works! Unfortunately, right now that means that we’re trying to make decisions while we’re also in the process of gathering data and figuring out how this disease works, so the recommendations keep shifting as new information comes in. Sawbones actually recently did this great episode on how to interpret a lot of the information/misinformation out there. They give a ton of useful info about what the different types of medical studies are (prospective vs. retrospective vs. case study), how to tell how reliable a journal article is, and so on. They also did a really great episode on hydroxychloroquine specifically (although that episode was aired in April, so we probably have newer information than what they discussed).

TL;DR There are a lot of articles out there (I’ve collected a bunch of them here). Almost all of the reliable ones I’ve found conclude that hydroxychloroquine isn’t effective in helping reduce COVID symptoms, but all of the data is still very preliminary due to the evolving nature of the situation.

Long post with a ton of references under the cut!!

A few important definitions and notes for looking at the following studies (info about the different types of studies pulled from here)...

A prospective study is the most reliable type, and it’s the type of study you probably think of when you think about a clinical trial. You take a sample population and assess their risk factors before they’re ill, and then you administer medicine/placebos, study, and collect information about the population as time progresses.

A retrospective study is based on data collected after the fact. This is still really useful, but it can sometimes become problematic if it depends on the memory of the people involved.

A case study is based on one specific person’s experience. It’s definitely better than a Twitter or Facebook post about someone’s personal experience with the virus because the story itself has been properly researched, analyzed, and vetted for inaccuracies, but one instance is never enough to provide solid data. [edit: solid enough data for policy-making, I mean.]

Things published on preprint servers (like MedRxiv) have not been peer-reviewed. This doesn’t mean that everything in those papers is a lie, but the test methods, gathered information, conclusions, and analysis of data haven’t been reviewed by other researchers to determine whether it makes sense, so always take papers published on these types of platforms with a grain of salt!

Some journals are more reliable than others, but it’s often hard to tell which ones are which if you’re not a researcher in the journal’s particular field. One useful metric is often impact factor (calculated based on how often the journal is cited vs how many articles are published), although sometimes that’s unreliable because the impact factor is usually also smaller for journals that deal with more specific fields of study. If the article itself is cited a lot, that’s also usually a good sign of reliability.

Here is just some of the Official Info (TM) I’ve been able to find...

FDA cautions against use... -- This is a press release from the FDA telling people not to use hydroxychloroquine for COVID treatments outside of a clinical trial, due to the potential for negative side effects. An FDA review of the potentially life-threatening side effects can be found here.

NIH halts clinical trials -- This isn’t an actual paper, it’s a press release, but it’s from the NIH website so I’m including it. They concluded mid-trial that hydroxychloroquine wasn’t a useful treatment and stopped the study Some more info on the study can be found on the page, although a detailed paper hasn’t been released.

The RECOVERY Initiative -- Similar to the NIH trials, these tests were stopped due to perceived lack of drug efficacy. Some additional info on the study is here. The study is associated with the University of Oxford, and their results for some other treatments are published in the New England Journal Of Medicine (NEJM) here.

And a few papers that found little to no impact on recovery...

Hydroxychloroquine with or without Azithromycin in Mild-to-Moderate Covid-19 -- The NEJM is considered highly reliable and is often cited as one of the most reliable medical journals, with an impact factor of 70.670. This is a randomized clinical trial with 667 patients. The study concludes that hydroxychloroquine does not make a significant difference in the status of patients 15 days after the drug is administered.

Hydroxychloroquine in Nonhospitalized Adults With Early COVID-19 -- I’d consider this journal reliable; its impact factor is 21.317, but it’s the most commonly cited journal in its subfield. This is a randomized double-blind trial on 491 patients with placebos. They found that there wasn’t a significant effect on non-hospitalized people with COVID symptoms and likely exposure. (Unfortunately only half had a positive test confirmation from a lab, due to the testing shortage in the US.)

Another randomized controlled study indicating no benefits in 293 non-hospitalized patients.

A paper in favor of its use...

Treatment with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and combination in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 -- Not a doctor, so I’m not sure about the reliability of this journal. Like, it’s published by Elsevier, but its impact factor is 3.202, which feels really low to me, so...? I’m mostly including it because I want to be balanced, and this is the article I see quoted most often in support of this drug’s use. This actually does show some improvement in the death rates of patients treated after hospitalization, with a 13% (with) vs. 26.4% (without) death rate. This is a retrospective study on 2,541 patients, but a lot of their other conclusions also run contrary to established data (ex. they report Caucasian patients as having a higher death rate). This press release has a good summary of the info in the paper.

And an interesting bonus! (Incidentally, I think Sawbones also discusses this case in their misinformation episode.)

The infamous retracted article in the Lancet -- The Lancet is probably one of the most widely-regarded medical journals, and a similar article by many of the same authors was retracted from NEJM around the same time. This study used a massive database of information on patients (Surgisphere). Interestingly, this study actually showed a negative impact on survivability, but questions about the reliability of the data arose and as a result, the paper was retracted by a majority of the authors. I include this to show the efficacy of the scientific process. We’re human beings and so the process definitely isn’t objective or perfect (the article was published in the first place, after all) but ideally, we should be calling each other out for incorrect or faulty data.

So most scientists aren’t saying that we know this drug doesn’t work! But touting it as a cure, when most of the reliable data so far is either inconclusive or negative, is actually harmful, for three reasons.

Hydroxychloroquine can cause serious, long-lasting side effects, especially if you’re not careful. Misrepresenting it as a cure will lead some people to seek it out, even outside of the clinical trials in the hospital; at least one person has already died from doing this.

As Sydnee points out in the Sawbones episode, the drug itself is necessary for some people with ongoing medical conditions (lupus, arthritis, etc), and unnecessary shortages of the drug will negatively impact them.

People keep spinning this as some “secret cure” that doctors don’t want people to know about. This makes people more likely to indulge risky behavior or disregard professional medical advice, which actively puts themselves and others at risk. Honestly, this sort of mistrust of experts is part of why the US doesn’t have this situation as under control as other countries do.

I’m a scientist but I’m definitely not a medical expert, so if anyone has corrections or additions, please feel free to add them!

#hydroxychloroquine #covid #covid-19 #ok to reblog #long post #sorry it's so long y'all!!#there's a lot of misinformation out there but hopefully this helps

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infoburger · 3 years

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Name: Shinosaki, ” Vorik ” Yoichi

Age: Around 15-17 ?

Hair Color: Light Green

Eye Color: Grey Blue

Origin/Born: ???

Hometown/ Raised: Near Mossdeep City, Hoenn ? ( merely found there )

Current Residence: Cerulean City, Kanto

Occupation: Medic help

Starter: ? ( Claims to previously owning Pokemon before leaving his real home )

Family:

Parents ? Unnamed father ( father, ??? [ lives afar ] ) Unnamed mother ( mother, ??? [ lives afar ] )

Siblings ? Unnamed sister ( older sister, appr. mid twenties [ lives afar ] ) Unnamed sister ( older sister, appr. early twenties [ lives afar ] ) Unnamed brother ( older brother, appr. late teens to early twenties [ lives afar ] ) Youko ( younger sister, appr. early teens ) Yuu ( younger brother, appr. early teens ) Unnamed sister ( younger sister, appr. early teens ) Unnamed brother ( younger brother, appr.preadolescent ) Unnamed sister ( younger sister ,appr. around 5 [ lives afar ] ) Unnamed brother ( younger brother, appr. around 5 [ lives afar ] )

Grandparents ? N/A

Aunts and/or Uncles ? N/A ( Possibly multiple )

Cousins ? N/A ( Possibly multiple )

In Laws ? N/A

Nieces and/or Nephews ? N/A

Others ? Shinosaki, Haruto ( host father, 29 ) Shinosaki, Ren ( host mother, 28 ) Shinosaki, Miu ( host sister, 5 ) Shinosaki, Sota ( host brother, 5 )

Height: 5’9 1/2 / 176.53

Birthday: December 3rd ? ( celebrated on that day )

Usual Place(s) to Find: Stardust Medics ( doctor office and pharmacy ), Inside or near Mt.Moon ( usually southern end ), and around Cerulean City

Important Notes:

His blood family call him by his birth name, but his host family and others call him “Yoichi”. Will introduce himself as “Yoichi”.

Will ask if someone in need of medical assistant if on the job.

Carries a first aid kit with him at all times, keeps his Pokeballs in there as well. However, one of his Pokemon is usually out with him.

Analyzes new people and Pokemon he comes across, likes to be shown new Pokemon.

Personality Sum:

Quiet and thoughtful, but unusually offbeat; speaks or acts at times with little to no sense with a straight face and a serious attitude. Since he seems serious no matter what, it is hard to tell when he’s actually kidding around.

Known to over analyze unfamiliar situations and make things more complicated.

Naive and accident prone savant; Yoichi seems like a intelligent young man especially when it comes factual and theatrical things. But, he’s actually very inexperienced and naive to a lot of situations plenty involving just common sense . Makes various mistakes socially or just from mere clumsiness.

Impressionable and inquisitive. It’s hard to know what’s going in his head, but he’s actually very easy to impress and have a large level of curiosity which can lead to problems.

Backstory:

Currently being raised by a nuclear meteorologist and his wife in Kanto, though himand two of his siblings were originally found in Hoenn. He originally lived in a homemade campsite near the Mossdeep’s Space Center, but states that he isn’t from Hoenn either.

Claiming that he still have parents and Pokemon companions, in fact his parents ordered him to go to the area. Bringing his brother and sisters along with him as they proven themselves responsible enough to assist him in the journey. Despite his initial protest, Dr.Shinosaki took the young man and his siblings to Kanto when his convention meeting was over in Mossdeep. Leaving him in care with his wife since he’s constantly away from home himself.

His new host family assumes that his family must have been from a far off region due the foreign language and writing of the siblings. They rarely communicated with anyone else than themselves and seemed confused by common, everyday life. The older brother tried multiple times step out of Cerulean City toward the local wild routes, unfortunately he usually stopped by Dr.Ren as it was too dangerous.

Encouraging him to learn how to read and speak the language that seems needed to get any further from his current state. His siblings learning along with him, despite their prior lack of knowledge they proven to be very quick learners.

Along with his younger siblings, Yoichi eventually obtained a trainer license ( putting an different name in place than his real name ) but, never went to obtain an regional starter. Instead he ordered his brother and sisters to explore the region while he stays with the host family.

Currently Yoichi helps his host mother with her medic house and only recently began exploring himself ( though only on free time ) due to being given two Pokemon mainly to assist him on his clinic job. Truthfully he’s merely trying to do his mission for home while looking for his own Pokemon that he lost contact with.

Faceclaim: Kanata Hoshino from Glass Heart Princess/ Mikaze Ai from Uta no☆prince-sama♪

Actual Appearance vs. Faceclaim(s): Compared to Hoshino and Ai, Hoshino looks closer to my muse aside from the ear piercings. Pictures of Ai are easier to find and simply edit ( besides Ai doesn’t look too far off I’m just nick picky ) so this the reason Mikaze Ai is an faceclaim too. The only main differences between my muse and Hoshino is those crazy cowlicks of the latter.

Specialize in what type(s): None

Favorite Type(s): None, but interested in Pokemon usually connected to moon stones

Hobbies: Making medicine, collecting rare stores and plants, and studying Pokemon’s abilities

Favorite Food(s): Burgers, french fries and pizza. Anything made out of milk, particularly milkshakes and desserts; alsomost breaded related food. He’s not really too picky about what he eats and seems to like whatever.

Interest(s) with Pokemon ? Yoichi is extremely interested in learning and analyzing Pokemon, from relationships with humans to their battle styles. He’s not that skilled as a trainer himself and seems uninterested in participating battles himself, rather watching others’ for his studies. He’ll spend day offs and holidays from the clinic to explore either locally or far away ( given how much time he have kill ).

Know any other Muse(s): TBA

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( Bold, Capable of taking hits )

His own personal Paras given to him by Mrs. Shinosaki when he shown interest in making medicine. The cicada Pokemon She’s starting to get use to Yoichi’s odd and careless behavior, always trying to help him get use making medicine with her spores. Have a spirited and spunky attitude, actually would like test her battle skills but Yoichi never seem too interested in battles.

( Careful, Highly curious )

Since moving to Kanto the teen wished to explore the nearby areas, particularly Mt.Moon in hope of finding rare items ( and something to remind him of home ). Mrs. Shinosaki gave him a Clefairy that originally lived there to help him out. His Clefairy shares his curiosity and love of finding rare things, but she’s morecautious of her actions than Yoichi can be. She looks out for him constantly as if he’s a little boy. At first encounter he surprised his host mother when telling her that the Clefairy reminded him of his home.

- ( Brave, Strongly defiant ) [ wandering around Kanto ]

Yoichi claims the Lunatone as a longtime companion since the other was born and they are furiously loyal to the boy. When Yoichi was taken to Kanto the Lunatone faithfully followed, but once they realize that the alien rather keep his detouring clinic work he decided to wander in the region; it seem that they and Yoichi had develop some sort seeking game as the young man seems to always eager to find wherever Lunatone is he gets the time off to look.

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Initial Relationships

Family

Shinosaki Haruto and Ren / Host Parents

He appreciate everything the Shinosaki’s done for him, however he still keeps them at a distance. Both have risen his interest in medicine for Pokemon and studying rare items. At times he finds himself thinking of the couple as his parents, but instantly corrects himself not wanting to forget his blood family is waiting for him. Gets worried from Mrs.Shinosaki’s curiosity of his original whereabouts or his life before meeting them.

Youko ” Vixis ” and Yuu ” Karikan ” / Younger siblings

He’s still trying to get use to not having them around and seems unaware of his own joy when they come back for visits. Constantly makes care packages for them and call them constantly asking about their progression with their journey. Calls them by their birth name despite the names of their trainer IDs and only address them as “Youko” and “Yuu” when talking about them to or around others.

Shinosaki, Miu and Sota / Host siblings

He’s very protective of his host family’s children and don’t mind spending time with them, especially since he have two younger siblings about their age. When he started living with them he mistakenly called them by his own siblings’ names for a while.

Friends

Ann Tachibana / Overly curious but sweet friend

A social and upbeat breeder that usually visits the clinic and sort of reminds of his old friends of Mossdeep. She’s too curious about Yoichi’s life before he came to Kanto, but it’s not like he sees her all the time so he’s not too uncomfortable.

Jessenia Abano / Old friend

A sweet researcher’s daughter that use to visit Yoichi and his siblings while they were still in Mossdeep; on their small campsite. He was never sure if she was comfortable around him in particular for her nervous behaviour him,but she willingly visited them nonetheless so she must have not disliked him either.

Minzhe Zhang / Old friend

An old friend in Mossdeep, the cheerful teen use to check on him and his siblings nearby the space center since his mother and father work there. Though he didn’t talk much about himself Yoichi still liked listening to the more social one speak and chat up about explorations.

Suspicion

Janus [ Surname unknown ] / Strange and rude psychic

Yoichi met him while still homeless in Mossdeep, he grew more uncomfortable around the young man from his constant questioning. Not only that but Yoichi seemed quite nervous from his unapproachable and surly personality in the first place.

Ean [ Surname unkwnon ] / Overly curious psychic

Another psychic Yoichi came across in Mossdeep, but he seemed less nervous around Ean. He was kind to the alien and the two became fast friends. But, the alien could not tell him about himself and became less enthusiastic about the young researcher checking on him and his siblings.

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Mun Notes: Yoichi is an naive extraterrestrial so if his speech seems …awkward looking it’s [ usually ] intentional. Remember this is secret between mun to mun so unless talked about beforehand, no one should automatically know Yoichi is an alien. Yoichi doesn’t have any notable or special powers that can overpower him in any sort of way nor is Yoichi is part or similar to a Pokemon in any way.

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typewritertoni-blog · 5 years

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The Church Teaching Vs LGBT+ of the Philippines

Toni Torres here with my first post! I've decided to express an opinion I have on this issue up there. Yep. The title. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Catholic. I've been raised in a Catholic school and studied Christian Living for eleven years. Something in me just seems to analyze and see all of these arguments of Catholics who reason their hate against the LGBT+ community. I strongly oppose them. I am a victim of their discrimination, I'm a bisexual teenager after all. I grew up hearing that I was the scum of the earth. Just because I prefer both genders. Amazing.

Do their arguments really hold up? Can hate be justified? Morally and logically? No. And I will rant on why. This will be the fruits of all my bible reading, researching and writing. Let's get into it!

Many would argue that it is stated in the Old Testament that no man should lie with another man and a woman with another woman. I need to stress the words: OLD TESTAMENT. Loud and clear? Good. These rules are from a time before Chirst, a time before the Messiah. A time so ancient that we don't really keep much of the rules that they have mentioned.

You know those rules right? How to sell slaves, how we aren't allowed to eat certain types of meats (we don't have those restrictions in the present, by the way), men could have multiple wives and many more ancient rules that were regarded as Gospel at the time. Do we follow these outdated rules in the present? NO. The rule of polygamy in the Old Testament is against the teachings of the Church about monogamy. So why should we treat this specific rule about homosexuality like it is an unbreakable rule that should be followed at all times? If we shall do so, shouldn't we adopt these old rules as well?

We live in the era after Christ saved us. His two most important Commandments, love God with all you heart and Love thy neighbor as you love they self, are the basis. The Old Testament rules can only be applied to the times of Old and are not feasible or necessary to follow. Our focus should be on the new.

Some people also argue that homosexuality falls under one of the Ten Commanents: "You Shall Not Commit Adultery". The definition of adultery is to have sex with someone you are not married to. Homo people have sex because of one of two reasons: 1) They are in a commited monogamous relationship that resembles marriage but cannot be marriage because it ain't legal in their country. 2.) Lust has taken over and they have therefore sinned. You know, like all other straight people who have sex left and right. But do we see people up in arms about it now? No. Double standards, I tell you. They make homosexual sex such a big deal and turn a blind eye to straight people who are having extra-marital and pre-marital sex.

Let's put it into the context of the era the Old Testament was in. Homosexual intercourse is a ritual by pagans to their gods and was basically RAPE. Some have homosexual intercourse because of LUST and not LOVE. These are the types of homosexual relationships that God doesn't want. God is the ultimate symbol of love. Why would he be in the way of a love that is pure and true? If that pure and true love was between two people of the same gender, what difference does it really make?

I know what some of you might be saying. "Homosexuality is unnatural!" BOY YOU SURE 'BOUT THAT? If you try to do a little bit more research, same-sex relationships in animals do happen. They're natural. If you're worried of declining number of babies then don't you fucking worry. Many animals accept these same-sex relations, have they gone extinct? Hell no!

I could hear another keyboard warrior typing off with another objection. "Jesus told us to be fertile and multiply! Being gay means not doing what He says." Slow down there, bucko. Do you guys take everything literally? My CL teacher taught me to not take everything literally, that it takes patience to interpret meaning. Like how the parables aren't literal and have meaning, so too does the Bible. Although yes, having children and teaching them about Christianity is one way of fulfilling this responsibility, it is not the only way. Being fertile could also mean being fertile with faith and strong love for God then converting the people around you, thus multiplying believers of the Good News.

"Marriage is between a man and a woman! God made man and woman for eachother!" For religion, marriage is all about reproduction. But isn't marriage supposed to be a bond between two people who love eachother so much that they would like their love to be sealed by God's grace? Just like I said in the previous argument, making babies is not everything. Reproduction is important but not everyone needs to do it. Having kids isn't a responsibility, it's a choice. If you're going to punish gay people for not taking part of the reproduction of our species then you should punish those who practice celibacy like our nuns and preists. Alsooo those who are barren. Was it their fault they were barren? No and the Church leaves them alone. Is it the fault of homos to be the way they are even if they were like this ever since?

Hell, the world is overpopulated. If you're worried that straight people won't exist in the future if we let homosexuality and queerness run wild, don'tcha worry. EVERYONE HAS PREFERENCES. Like how you might like chocolate than vanilla, even if many of your peers like vanilla more. YOU STILL CHOOSE CHOCOLATE RIGHT? Your preferences are uniquely your own and no one can influence you to be like someone unless you let them. So you won't be gay if you truly aren't gay. Like how you won't like vanilla if you truly don't.

If you really want no gay weddings in your churches then at least don't meddle in state affairs! The rights of others won't undermine your religious rights. States are supposed to represent all the people and not everyone is Catholic. Seperation of Church and State. Not all Filipinos are Catholics. Even if a Filipino were Catholic, they should be allowed freedom of thought. Let them think what they want to to think, outside of the religious belief system. Then again, organized belief systems don't let people have their own interpretations. We must follow the leader's interpretation. That truly destroys free and critical thinking.

Man and woman are made for eachother…for reproduction. It's simple biology and I won't argue with that. We're talking about relationships. Not all people believe that the opposite sex is for them, some people believe that they'd like the same-sex as a partner. Again, all about preference.

I could go on and on about the different verses and reasonings that Catholics (maybe priests) make about being anti-homo. If you want me to answer any of the ones I haven't discussed then feel free to send a question to submissions. My beliefs probably don't stem from Catholic dogma but I simply base what I believe in the Word of God. It was made by Him as he used the Bible writers as his vessels.

As a good Catholic, I should believe in what the Church says but I'm tired of playing dumb. I'm tired of hating myself just because some people with fancy titles say so. These doctrines, the ones that reject homosexual and queer people, are not of God. He is merciful. He is forgiving. He is loving. He loves us. He won't hate me for being bi, He loves me because I'm His child.

"But Toni…how can you say that those doctrines are not of God, you aren't a prophet!" I'm no prophet nor am I pretending to be. The God I know and have been raised to believe in is not an all-powerful entity that hates people because of shallow reasons. My CL teachers and the Church themselves have taught me that God is Love.

The Church may be founded by the Chosen 12 of Jesus but the Church is far from perfect. We are taught that. If only they could accept that maybe the things that they teach could seriously hurt and isolate the queer people who are God's children as well. If only they could keep on improving themselves instead of insisting that backwards thinking would work the best. Jesus himself was a radical, who changed beliefs and taught differently but without losing the essence and all the while creating something new, better and updated.

Is being queer a weakness? (These godly people insist that being homosexual is human weakness, after all.) To answer that, you better answer this: Is loving someone a weakness? No. If anything, loving with a pure heart is the strongest and bravest thing you could ever do.

Even if it is human weakness in doctrine, straight people have human weaknesses as well. You call it, sin. Simply being human. Again from my points from previous paragraphs, there are double standards.

You don't see straights getting beaten up because they love someone. They don't get to be called dirty and worse than animals. We are all equal. We are all sinners. If I sin for being who I am then you are no different than me because you sin too. All sins are equal, so are the good things we commit in the eyes of God. So don't go riding your high horse because I might shoot it down with a shotgun of logic. People like you are the reason why many members of the LGBT+ Catholics face discrimination and pain. Jesus told us to comfort the afflicted, not drag them to the ground.

As our Lord said, "Let him who has never sinned, cast the first stone."

Okay. Now let's discuss how the CBCP is demanding that LGBT+ people should not have protection and not have a right to protection by the Anti-Discrimination Bill. The news is kinda late but their point still stands until now. The SOGIE Bill that aims to protect our Filipino LGBT+ brothers and sisters are being restricted by this. They insist that we are disordered when humans have always been disordered because of our tendency to sibln. Looking down on us like we're monsters or deviants serving the devil. In reality, we simply want to love and be loved. Just like everyone else.

Here you are, CBCP, calling yourselves Children of God when you yourselves act like the devil who tries to make the lives of other people miserable, the LGBT+ community in particular. Are you so blinded by dogma that you stop remembering what our mission as Christians are? We are tasked to show and express God's love to all peoples. Is denying the LGBT+ from protection your way of showing God's love? If so, that is a HORRIBLE way of doing it. You're just doing the opposite at this point.

I'm sure many Catholics are accepting and could see reason. Many probably disagree to the CBCPs actions. What I'm striving to fight against is how the teachings that are supposed to guide us to become good Catholics are teaching us to see LGBT+ people as scum of the Earth. No true child of God would do that, right?

We don't like things we don't understand. Maybe the Church has not tried to show compassion or try to understand the LGBT+ community. We are supposed to reach out to the oppressed but no. We are the oppressors.

So... Who's the scum of the earth now?

We don't have to let things be this way. God always gives us second chances. And I think it is high time that we change for the better, for the sake of our LGBT+ brothers and sisters who are faithful to God and to His mission of bringing His love to all people.

Remember. Bring His love to ALL people.

That includes us.

Sincerely,

Toni Torres

(For questions or rebuttals, just send one to my submission box or comment them. I'd be happy to see what your thoughts on the topic are. Did I miss something? Was I innacurate? Do enlighten me. This rant was based on knowledge I have at the present. In discussing these matters with civility but with conviction, we will learn more from eachother. Who doesn't want knowledge? Anyways, thank you for reading! Sorry for the rant, this topic was too close to home and I just wanted to say my piece. I dedicate this post to all LGBT+ people out there who struggle to come to terms with their identity and faith. I've been through that and I know it is tough. Just keep on believing.)

#lgbtq #lgbti #lgbtqa #lgbt #philippines #catholic #problems #long reads #rant #personal rant #sorry for the rant

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elis12060069246-blog · 6 years

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Dean Graziosi Events | Irvine, CA

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hazeldough · 7 years

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i........ have a lot of feelings about tpodg with the announcement of the film adaption

disclaimer: i’m not mlm, so i can’t speak about that part of its narrative in place of mlm. plus, the film adaption was only recently announced and we don’t really have any details on it except that it exists and is set to have female leads.

and while i’ve done my share of analysis on the book and some of wilde’s history and really passionate about both, there’s a lot i dont know yet or may be misinterpreting. my opinions and pov about tpodg and oscar wilde are subject to change the more i analyze the book and read about wilde’s life through his writings and the transcripts of his trials, so i’m open to reading other people’s opinion on the novel and film!

also, i got carried away and even busted out the copy i annotated in, so this got super lengthy. it’s mostly me reanalyzing the book after stepping away from it for a few months.

oh, and spoilers ahead.

(i spent about 2 hours on this and it’s 4:27 am now.......... im already yelling @ a future me who is procrastinating on an essay, looking back at this moment thinking “hey, i wish u could put some of that focus and research into this thing right now” and hey......... hard same, buddy)

anyway.

i just want the film adaption to not lose the essential themes and messages that come with tpodg and the weight it carried in wilde’s life.

it’s already not the best lgbt rep with its leads being assholes (dorian & henry) or (spoilers) ending up dead (basil). granted, the victorian era wasn’t the best time to make revolutionary strides in normalizing lgbt+ media, but it still was a novel that was written by a gay man that time period, drawing from his own experiences.

wilde’s works primarily criticized english culture and society’s tendencies to put up a front for the public to save face for their personal lives.

“My dear fellow, you forget that we are in the native land of the hypocrite.“

“Dorian,“ cried Hallward, “that is not the question. England is bad enough I know, and English society is all wrong. That is the reason why I want you to be fine. You have not been fine.“

Dorian & Basil (Chapter XII)

tpodg was no exception since it featured a lead who was groomed to believing that the downfall of others was the ultimate symbol of his love towards him and was eventually able to abuse/manipulate people on the regular through his charisma and get away with it because of his privileges.

“Someone has killed herself for love of you. I wish that I had ever had such and experience. It would have made me in love for the rest of my life.“ (Lord Henry Wotton, Chapter VIII)

and it’s not like no one was aware that dorian had major red flags around him. because they did.

“Women who had wildly adored him, and for his sake had braved all social censure and set convention at defiance, were seen to grow pallid with shame or horror if Dorian Gray entered the room.“ (Chapter XI)

“Why is it, Dorian, that a man like the Duke of Berwick leaves the room of a club when you enter it? Why is it that so many gentlemen in London will neither go to your home nor invite you to theirs?... Why is your friendship so fatal to young men? There was that wretched boy in the Guards who committed suicide. You were his great friend.“ (Basil Hallward, Chapter XII)

(that whole paragraph is just basil talking about how men are afraid to be associated with dorian, there’s way more stuff, but i felt that info was enough)

even though there were consistent and frequent rumors that surrounded him. no one believed that this cherub looking guy was the reason that everyone who interacted with him either had their reputation ruined for life or were driven to suicide.

(spoilers) basil wasn’t an exception to this, not believing that all the rumors surrounding his friend, muse, and for a lack of better term crush were true. he was so blinded by his love that dorian was capable of bringing on ruin ultimately led to his death.

“But you, Doian, with your pure, bright, innocent face, and your marvellous untroubled youth-- I can’t believe anything against you.“ (Basil Hallward, Chapter XII)

even dorian’s motives in murdering basil was a result of his own misattributions. instead of taking ownership of his own behavior, he placed blame on basil and his portrait instead.

“The friend who had painted the fatal portrait to which all his misery had been due, had gone out of his life.“ (Chapter XIII)

and when dorian was close to confessing what he had done to his confidant, the person arguably more responsible than basil for leading him to his lifestyle? he didn’t believe dorian either.

"What would you say, Harry, if I told you that I had murdered Basil?”

(...)

“I would say, my dear fellow that you were posing for a character that doesn’t suit you. All crime is vulgar, just as all vulgarity is a crime. It is not in you, Dorian, to commit a murder. I am sorry if I hurt your vanity by saying so, but I assure you it is true. Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders. I don’t blame them in the smallest degree. I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary sensations.“

(Dorian & Lord Henry, Chapter XIX)

after stepping away from the book for a few months, i feel like some reevaluation is due. i initially approached the book thinking that it would end up with an ambiguously happy ending, having only heard slivers about it and knowing that it was written by a gay man. i guess the part of me that’s very invested in good redemption arcs and lgbt books in ap eng lit just wanted a book to read that didn’t feature weak character development and/or heteronormative relationships. the closest books i got were their eyes, atss, and tpodg.

but now that i’m looking back at it, most likely unpopular opinion: i personally think that tpodg isn’t a lgbt story. (even if it was, it’s not the best representation for lgbt characters since it has a lot of tropes that we now see as overused and negative)

to me, it’s just a story that has lgbt characters. meaning that while the novel focused on dorian, it focused on his morality, not his sexuality. dorian knew who he liked, since it was heavily implied that dorian had male and female lovers. the story wasn’t focused on his romantic or sexual relationships, but on how his morals took a nose dive as he developed into a grade-A fuck boy using his multiple failed relationships as evidence of that.

i’ve come to understand that character development doesn’t always mean getting a redemption arc. good character development is a character starting from point A and actively moving towards point B with minor interference by other characters. most of the time, it’s a character going from morally neutral/bad to good. this time, it’s a character going from neutral to bad.

i do agree that there’s a huge imbalance of lgbt characters being portrayed as predatory and abusive instead of flawed and needing of development, adding on to preexisting homophobia that’s rampant in most cultures. i also agree that there needs to be more positive representation of lgbt characters, by lgbt people, for lgbt people.

at the same time, tpodg was written before we could even safely discuss and address these issues in public. i’m saying that because wilde got straight up jailed for “gross indecency” for just being a gay man existing. but i don’t think wilde was unaware of the repercussions he’d face when he stated that being gay was normal. most of his works were about calling out the hypocrisy of english society. even in his own testimony at trial, he stated:

"The Love that dare not speak its name" in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are.”

full quote and transcript found here

wilde was fully aware that he was going to be imprisoned for being gay and accepted it. not because he was ignorant of how society functioned, but because he knew how it functioned. and he was right. and i want to say that he was aware of this even when he was writing tpodg (which was about 4-5 years before his trials took place).

even if tpodg was going to be portrayed with male leads, the film would be in an era with a new perspective about mlm relationships. homophobia is still rampant in multiple societies, but lgbt people and mlm in particular have more of a voice and agency to defend themselves, look for, and create media that is representative of their experiences without needing to pander to heterosexual audiences. it still isn’t perfect, knowing that mlm still have trouble telling their stories in a field dominated by straight women who only see to use them as objects for fetishization instead of helping them create a safe platform to be heard.

basically, wilde’s context for writing tpodg is drastically different from how it can be interpreted and discussed today vs how it was in his time. based on that, i’m inferring that if writing a negative, heavily implied mlm relationship was deemed criminal enough as it is, i imagine he would have faced even more horrible punishment for writing a positive relationship between two men.

at the moment, we know nothing about the direction the film is going to follow, other than that it’ll be female-led. and, judging from the recent string of female led films (ghostbusters & oceans eight), i’m going to safely assume it’ll be a dominantly female cast, with dorian, basil, and henry being portrayed by women, and them all being wlw. (there’s a better word to describe this, it starts with a p, but it’s 4 AM now and i’m losing steam)

i’m not saying that the movie is going to be free from homophobic comments, but i am saying that it’ll face more criticism for not accurately portraying SGA (same gender attraction) relationship more than it featuring a SGA relationship at all.

even with the lack of information, i feel like if i’m going to be consistent about an opinion it’s this: the any adaption can do is to keep elements of the book while being cognisant of its perspective and purpose.

at the same time, i do want the film to deviate from the novel by being more open about the leads’ sexuality while also addressing the tropes that’s present in the society its set in and how it affects the narrative.

to me, the film doesnt have to be a carbon copy of the novel, it just has to have the same vibe the book gave and to do that, it has to be aware of the issues wlw face in society today but also integrate it into the victorian era setting.

...yes, i know it sounds really confusing but i’ve spent around 2 hours on this already and it’s currently 4:24 AM. i’m doing my best my sleep deprived and coffee fueled brain can do atm. but again, i’m open to discuss this when i’m more put together and see more perspectives on the film adaption.

i am aware that there might not be enough elbow room for that to happen since society’s still pretty homophobic (albeit, not as much as before) as well as time constraints that come with adapting a book to a movie. still though, it’s something i’m interested to see be executed properly.

#aj rambles #listen y'all... i'm just really passionate about this #tpodg #eta:H OLY FUCK I RAN THIS THROUGH A WORD COUNTER AND THE BODY WAS LIKE 1.7 K WORDS #CAN I FOR ONCE FUCKING COOL IT

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berthastover · 7 years

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Living Off the List: The Successful Affiliate Marketing Lifestyle

Life comes at us hard. We all can attest to that. So what I have to share today takes a stand against modern day slavery. Okay, maybe that’s a bit much? But how else am I to explain it?

We either spend all our time working for some corporation that “capitalizes” from our time and effort spent serving their needs, or find ourselves unable to work due to poor economic reasons or “unsatisfactory” backgrounds.

My point?

We spend too much time making others rich… when we should be making ourselves! Below I’m going to show you how to break those chains. Those same chains I myself had to realize needed to be broken in order for me to truly be happy. To truly be “free.”

List Building

There is no real value or point in having an email list if you do not actively build it. Not doing so will only lead to much frustration, low post view counts within your chosen analytics reporting, and no active social or comment engagement.

People online are just like those in real life, this means you must actively “engage” them as you “build” with them.

This requires you understand the To-Do and Do-Not’s of list building as outlined below.

Double Opt-In

As noted in a recent Whitehat Affiliate Marketing post, double opt-in must be used in today’s email marketing efforts. From Google’s “promotions tab”, to not using SMTP authentication, IP reputation along with delivery rates can be greatly affected in a variety of ways. By choosing to have your leads confirm their subscription to your email list, you’re not only ensuring they are using a valid email address, delivery rates will be much higher overall as well.

In most cases, you can at minimum expect a 10 to 20 percent open rate, simply by choosing to use double opt-in vs. single opt-in. Many may argue that single opt-in works best for them, however, the studies don’t lie.

If looking to be worry-free, save yourself the headache of a frozen email marketing account down the line. Even worse, having your IP blacklisted.

Retargeting Visitors

Visitors come and go. Seriously; In that order.

So why not have a way to send them back to those same pages they checked out before? In most cases, they did not read or complete that piece of content. Or maybe they did and forgot to subscribe to your newsletter? In any event or lack thereof, we would love it if they would.

This is where using services like Facebook’s Custom Audiences really can make a huge difference, whether looking to gain traffic or new subscribers, the options are there.

In its prime, retargeting has been known to provide super high conversion rates when looking to gain quick masses of subscribers to your email list.

Even if looking to boost your traffic, there are numerous guides available showing how to positively leverage Facebook for high traffic gains.

Freebie Offers & Lead Magnets

If lead magnets are the new landing page, then freebie offers are like Ford. My point? Use them… use them often! Just like Ford’s take on the pickup truck, for example, it has been proven time and time again that freebie offers higher opt-in rates.

So why would you miss out on all those possible leads or even better subscribers to your latest newsletter?

Such possibilities can easily be gained by simply adding an exit intent pop-up or landing page for a free eBook download to your website. Many people find themselves wishing this was implemented way further down the line. Don’t wait until the traffic comes to get such things sorted out.

Do yourself and/or your business a favor and offer visitors something worth their time, such as a worthwhile case study or a blueprint to some issue they may be running into.

Providing something that can only be used in specific situations should be saved for use via lead magnets. Lead Magnets offer the chance to provide your visitors an extra bang for their opt-in, going hand and hand with the great piece of content it has been added to. A great example of this would be offering a lead magnet of 10 top web 2.0 websites within a post on your blog about building SEO-friendly backlinks.

Although this small bit of information may seem small or incremental to you personally, think about how long it took for you to research and find it.

By cutting that gap of time for your audience and providing their sought after solutions, they more than not are willing to see what other pieces of content you may have to offer.

Affiliate Marketing

As any real internet marketer will admit, affiliate marketing is a great way to earn a commission from your blogging and/or social media efforts. This especially becomes true when not having the start-up funds to create and produce your own products that customers will enjoy and benefit from. It allows data to be collected to see what interest your audience the most as well.

There are just so many great benefits to affiliate marketing if you take the time to learn proper ways to promote your offers and remember to respect those being sold to.

Gaining Traffic to Offers

Speaking of those being sold to, getting traffic to offers happens to be the spark that will eventually ignite the flame (conversions). Without it, you will never see any commissions.

There are numerous ways this can be done, but in order to see the biggest impact, you must position yourself as an authority on whatever subject your product offers cover. Doing so will allow for many things to take place. Most notably, however, it will allow for your audience to gain exposure to what is being offered in a genuine way. A way that instills trust, brand loyalty, and fandom that will help spread the word.

Conversion & Click Rates

Once traffic has started to flow and all your lead capture, automation, and RSS feeds have been delivered on a consistent basis, it’s time to optimize those conversions via click rate and open rate data.

Taking that extra time to see what emails and opt-in forms are performing the lowest will make all the difference in the long run on how sustainable your income will be.

Starting out can be tough, but with some great A/B split testing and delivery time management, your conversion and click rates will slowly rise in no time at all.

Analyzing & Collecting Data

Once you have really gotten the basics down packed and are seeing steady income, it’s most definitely time to analyze what is working and scale using that data collected.

A great example of how this collected data can be formed is by adding a segmentation to your email list. Taking the time to ask new subscribers what they are truly interested based off 4 subcategories centered around your blog or products website can make all the difference. Now those new subscribers have the ability to only see content that is geared toward them via your automation emails being delivered. Something so advanced yet so simple is really all it takes to take your conversion rates to the next level and provided a great lasting income if done correctly over time.

“Living off the List”

For many aspiring marketers, SEO’s, & bloggers, living off their email list would be a dream come true. That’s the thing, though, this dream can become a reality as long as you take the time to follow the correct steps. This means not skipping steps, such as ordering cheap backlinks off Fiver or spamming other blogs for referral traffic. Taking the time to learn and grow will create a very compound effect, longevity.

Being Your Own Boss

Just think about it for a second…

How would it feel to make a day’s income while your sleeping? Or to wake up and start working on a new project you decided you’d like to complete?

Well, all those things can be true and so much more! Unlike any other profession I’ve seen, blogging and especially affiliate marketing allows you the freedom to make the money you desire. It takes time, patience, along with investment personal and financial, but in the end, the rewards are well worth it.

Over to you

Armed with your new found affiliate marketing success, what would you like to do with your long-term commissions? Or maybe you have “Insider Secrets” that could help us all get there with you? Feel free to share your thoughts and much more in the comments below! And if you liked this article always remember: “Sharing is Caring”!

How to Start a Business Blog in 2015 – Part I

Slack – The Digital Marketer’s Ultimate Command Center

The post Living Off the List: The Successful Affiliate Marketing Lifestyle appeared first on GetResponse Blog - Online Marketing Tips.

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