#STAY INFORMED AND ACTIVE

[imissjensi]

tw: brief mentions of the holocaust and slavery

obsessed with the idea of keefe stumbling into an american university and just walking into a us history lecture and finding it interesting so he keeps going. and he learns about how the us government has term limits and a system of checks and balances to prevent one group from becoming too powerful, and thinks about how that could be applied to the council. he learns about how women had to fight for their right to vote and are still fighting for equal rights and thinks about how those with lesser abilities need to work harder to be in the nobility. he learns about slavery, and thinks about how the elves did nothing to stop the enslavement and abuse of thousands upon thousands of humans. he finds a computer and does his own research.

he learns about the ADA, and how it is illegal in the united states to discriminate against someone on the basis of disability, and he connects it to the talentless not getting the chance to be nobility solely because of their lack of ability. in the same vein, he reads about therapists and mental health professionals. about how working with a mental health professional can help someone through their mental and emotion issues. he thinks about how if marella's mom had someone like that in addition to elixirs, maybe she wouldn't go through all that scorn. he comes across cps, and thinks about how if he or tam or linh had a support like that to help stop the verbal abuse they all went through, maybe they would be better off. he reads about the civil rights movement, and how if millions of black americans had not put their foot down and forced action from the people in power, they would not have gotten their rights. and he thinks about how the gnomes had to practically demand the council to say something about the plague. he reads about world war 2 and is horrified at how the elves did nothing to prevent the millions that were killed, and how they instead pulled the human assistance program entirely. he reads about eugenics, and is disgusted with the realization that this is what matchmaking is.

he reads about the horrific loss of life all over the world that could have been prevented. that should have been prevented. by elves. his people. and he thinks about how so many of these events can compare to elvin history. and he can barely stomach being able to call himself an elf anymore.

he thinks about something he's thought about many times. that the lost cities needs to change. but for the first time he seriously considers that they should change like the forbidden cities. that elves have plenty to learn from the people they shut out. he is determined to take what he's learned and to spark that change.

because it's one thing to go from one deeply damaged world to a perceived perfect one. but it's another thing entirely to come from the perfect one and go to the damaged one and be hit with the realization that their awful past is your world's present.

#long post #shannon istg if you make keefe go into hiding his entire stay in the forbidden cities i will personally riot #obsessed with the idea of keefe being the one to spark a lot of the change and to bring back the human assistance program #because sophie is used to living in a fucked up world #she just went to a different one with a coat of shiny paint on it #yes she wants to change it for the better but at the same time she is used to it #meanwhile keefe actively learning about history and making connections between these horrible events and his CURRENT world #like the comparisons are not in the past they're in the present #RIGHT NOW elves are being matched based on genetic compatability. gnomes had to demand action a few months ago. discrimination based on #race gender and disability has been illegal in the us for years but talentless still can't work in the nobility or go into elite levels. #children of multiple births are still being scorned and judged by everyone #this history is all in the back of sophie's mind she hasn't learned about humans in years #but keefe can learn about it now and take the information on how change is made back to the lost cities to help everyone. #kotlc fandom #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc headcannons #kotlc keefe

[plulp]

(jumps up and down) do you have a sfw(ish) art blog ? i wana babble ab ur art to friends waa waa ur so cool :3 /not forced

this is so sweet 🥺 thank you so much!!!

i do have sfw art blogs but i dont update them, the closest thing i have is my twitter that i use to look at my friends art but i rarely post on there :( just fanart of their ocs

i do have a lot of like game/show specific blogs though but only one of them (besides this one) i really use anymore

#thank you so so much im sorry i dont have a better answer #i wish i could say yes but i genuinely dont draw as often as i used to #i dont have any art anymore ☹️ #this is the most active ive stayed on any blog in like maybe a year? 2-3 years? cant say #asks #anonymouse #if you want to ask off anon i can send you the things to them privately? but i really just dont post on them #my art looks completely different now #sorry i cant give a better answer 😔 #i can send my commission carrd that has my contact information on it so it should have most of my accounts? #NVM just checked it and my accounts have nothing on them #im sorry 😞 #i really wish i did but i just cant draw like i used to

[true-blue-sonic]

What is even the point of Silver living in the future? It’s not his future anymore and he has no friends or family there. There’s nothing for him there. Now that he has precognition he should just live in Sonic’s time and get visions of disasters. 

Seriously there’s no point in his future or time travel. We’ll never see it, Silver only cares about the state of it and he can only go to Sonic’s time anyway.

I find this an interesting question myself. The best answer I can give as to why Silver keeps returning to the future is that him being from the future is "his thing", just like how having PK is "his thing". It's just something very much intertwined with his character; basically every bio he has makes mention of it, for example. But I also agree with the notion that him being from the future opens up some issues. I've seen statements that it is difficult to make Silver relevant if he must travel to the past every time, for example, which I don't disagree with (but for me, the same could then be said about Blaze and the Sol Dimension or Knuckles and the Master Emerald). Adding to that, I do not believe we know for certain if its state is generally 'destroyed' or 'saved' and if Silver grew up in a destroyed world (said in multiple bios) or a good one (I'd argue that is implied in Rivals 1, with Eggman Nega almost certainly having stolen the camera from someone else and Onyx Island being both a paradise and having developed industry on it that I do not believe Angel Island currently has). Furthermore, the Rivals games are also not very consistent to me about if the future has actually gotten rewritten or not (but it tentatively seems to lean that way, since Silver says at the end of Rivals 2 he hopes the new future is a happy one), and we legit just do not know how its alleged destruction goes. Does Silver indeed intervene before something bad can happen, or does the future actively turn bad before his very eyes and he goes back in time to undo that again? I am truly not certain if there's ever been a clear-cut answer from a credible source, though I am pretty sure there's multiple conflicting explanations from non-credible ones... but that really doesn't help make things clear. And lastly, we also do not know what he has in his own era when it comes to friends and family, nor is it ever clearly shown or said how he time-travels in any game other than '06. With all that combined I can see why having him return again and again gets... well, confusing, haha!

In that regard, I also feel there is merit in the idea of him just staying for good in the past. His friends are there, it's consistently where the action happens anyway, and Team Sonic Racing indeed hints at him having a sense of precognition. The Japanese version actually dives into it more, with Silver asking himself at the very end when Eggman's battleship is going down if that is what was causing his bad/nagging feelings. Considering he was necessary there to help carry people and racecars off it to safety, it does imply to me that that scene might have intended to show it as a genuine skill of his. Shame the English version cuts that moment out entirely. So yeah, the point of Silver being in the future is, to the best of my explanations, legit just the fact that's how he has been conceptualised, making it "his thing". But it does cause confusions for me, because of how much there is not clearly explained and all the contradictory information out there from non-game sources. I think having Silver stay in the past for good could make for a nice move on Sega's part, assuming it is within his own decisions (so not forced by A ThingTM that is entirely unexplained to us and removes all his agency, for example). I think it'd be a nice resolution for Silver to see his heart lays in the past, and he can still protect his own world from there too!

#*A Thing*TM is a reference to that Fast Friends Forever website that said Silver travels to the past with portals these days btw #How. Why. What are these portals. Where do they come from. Who is making them. How do they manage to send Silver to the right time- #-in the past when disaster is striking and why are they apparently also totally cool with him going Extreme Gear racing. #bonus points for Silver in the games never having indicated that it is not *himself* sending himself to the past #and a Sonic Channel artwork from way back in the day saying he uses Chaos Control #*and* the comics suddenly writing that Silver cannot control his time-travelling (which directly makes them contradicts themselves on top: #in issue 12 Silver says he is staying in the past as he does not think the real threat is gone; aka actively sticking around by choice- #-which to me does not at all imply that he cannot control his time-travelling for whatever reason.) #but it is contradictory information from various non-game sources like these about topics the games do not explain properly or extensively- #-that do make things more unclear‚ I would say #I myself try to stick to the games as best I can with Sonic Channel as further source‚ but the problem there is there's just not a lot said #definitely things implied clear enough (like Silver just being able to go to the past whenever he wants) but not explicitly shown #and to add to that: I don't think Silver is *important* enough of a character for Sega to begin changing him up in such a way to begin with #I do not think him having the resolution of staying in the past would add something to a story‚ because he is hardly in any focus anyway #so unless we get a story wherein he plays a huge role and gets much attention‚ I doubt anything in this situation will change.😅 #silver the hedgehog

[spotlightstudios]

Posting this from my laptop which is weird, but I'm gonna use the tags to think about an idea for a TMA avatar-sona.

#So like. thinking about it I'd definitely be cursed to the Eye. like no doubt I live and breathe like the gosh dang thing #I like to imagine that it'd be N and she'd definitely get caught up in the whole Noticed a string of things that was awkwardly aligned #and she was able to connect a lot of strings #and by the time she got through it all she'd have already fallen into the clutches of the Eye #She's particularly interested in following around avatars of the Hunt and also harassing avatars of the Lonely. She travels and never #stays in one place for too long thanks to the urge to just get information. #I'm pretty sure the Eye prefers to be discreet but N would love to be on the scene actively watching and taking things in to give a first #hand account alongside her questioning of those involved

[sassysnowperson]

Hey Southern California Drivers.

(sits down) (pats the couch next to me) Come on bud, you're not in trouble, I just need to talk to you for a second.

Dealing with a lot of rain, huh? It's scary! I'm scared too. The roads aren't built for this kind of rain, drainage is terrible, there's going to be flooding. And you're not used to it, and that makes it scarier.

That means you're going slower! No, that's good, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Make sure faster drivers can pass you, you're going to add to make people angry if you're going slow in the fast lane, but I think you know that already, you did a good job today with that. You should go as fast as you feel comfortable, and it's good that it's slower than normal, since you're going to be reacting to circumstances that are new.

Now...here's the important thing...*that doesn't mean you should turn your hazard lights on*. I know, you want to be more visible, and you don't want people to ram into you from behind. But if you have your headlights on, your taillights already do a good job of that. Turning on your hazard lights and leaving them on make it harder to see a couple things. Me and other drivers have a harder time knowing that you're breaking, and it's harder to know when you're changing lanes. That makes it *more likely* that I run into you. And neither of us want that.

This is a lot, and I hope you can get off the road and safe soon. It's better to wait out the storm inside.

But please, while you're out there, don't use your hazards all the time while driving in the rain.

#i had to drive theough the grapevine and across los angeles in the worst of the storm #and at one point ever car in front of me across three lanes of traffic had their hazards on #and oh boy do I feel for you #but please don't #its confusing visual information when its on for minutes and minutes and even hours just blinking in front of me #i promise I can see you #i am in fact looking real hard at you #save the hazards for when you are parked on the side of the road or actively seeking to park/exit the road #or quickly to communicate #i love you all stay safe #now I'm home and I'm gonna make some tea and watch the rain fall

[mymarifae]

a turnip for you all

#and a special note: #don't doomscroll today. this grave injustice today is horrifying on multiple levels yes. but here's the thing #things can always change. less focusing on the fact that this has happened and oh we're all doomed we can't do anything #and more focusing on the things you CAN do. because there is always always always something #even something as seemingly small as reblogging a few informational posts and providing others with important resources #that's not small at all. that's VITAL. #share resources. donate to abortion funds if you can (i've reblogged a few links to some already) #SAVE info about how to get misoprostol and shelf lives and whatnot. because i wouldn't be surprised if webpages start being taken down #don't just bookmark the links. SAVE the information. permanently. later i may download pdfs and host a folder on my drive or something #delete flo and request that all your information be wiped as well. tbh don't use any period tracker apps #if you have to keep track. do it on paper. something that can be shredded and disposed of by yourself #rather than let the information be permanently stored by some company. #deep breath. it's going to be okay. it's not over. the fight will continue and there are ways for YOU to directly contribute #yes YOU. you at home sitting on your bed or couch. #the problem with modern day activism is too many people believe there's nothing significant they can do #but even the tiniest contribution from a large number of people can do wonders. look at your options and decide what you can do and do it. #and take care of yourself. remember the golden rule: if you go to protests leave your phone at HOME #and don't talk to cops. ever. inform them you are invoking your right to remain silent and you are invoking your right to an attorney #chin up stay safe stay strong. it'll be okay #turnip

[orangerosebush]

I think one of the things that most helped me chill out and not worry about people behaving in ways I both do not understand and can’t control is finally leaving for college. Looking back, it’s no wonder I was so combative in this vaguely “hall monitor way” during high school. It sucks growing up in an environment where if you don’t know exactly how to tailor your behavior and hide parts of who you are, shit gets bad. I was constantly surveilling my own behavior so I didn’t get harassed by my dad (who also had no control over his life in the sense he was too depressed to hold down a job for long). Just a constant diet of meanness and cynicism for the brain. So when I see stuff online that’s a bunch of (unhappy) gay teens being shitty and policing each other over pointless community in-drama, I feel like that particular personal history I have is one of the biggest “it gets so much better for you one day, I promise, and a lot of the b.s. you’re going through right now is coming from other teens who are profoundly messed up in a similar way — though that doesn’t excuse it” I can offer.

[saritawolff]

Phew. This one took, uh… a bit longer than expected due to other projects both irl and art-wise, but it’s finally here. The long-awaited domestic animal infographic! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough space to cover every single domestic animal (I’m so sorry, reindeer and koi, my beloveds) but I tried to include as many of the “major ones” as possible.

I made this chart in response to a lot of the misunderstandings I hear concerning domestic animals, so I hope it’s helpful!

Further information I didn’t have any room to add or expand on:

🐈 “Breed” and “species” are not synonyms! Breeds are specific to domesticated animals. A Bengal Tiger is a species of tiger. A Siamese is a breed of domestic cat.

🐀 Different colors are also not what makes a breed. A breed is determined by having genetics that are unique to that breed. So a “bluenose pitbull” is not a different breed from a “rednose pitbull”, but an American Pitbull Terrier is a different breed from an American Bully! Animals that have been domesticated for longer tend to have more seperate breeds as these differing genetics have had time to develop.

🐕 It takes hundreds of generations for an animal to become domesticated. While the “domesticated fox experiment” had interesting results, there were not enough generations involved for the foxes to become truly domesticated and their differences from wild foxes were more due to epigenetics (heritable traits that do not change the DNA sequence but rather activate or deactivate parts of it; owed to the specific circumstances of its parents’ behavior and environment.)

🐎 Wild animals that are raised in human care are not domesticated, but they can be considered “tamed.” This means that they still have all their wild instincts, but are less inclined to attack or be frightened of humans. A wild animal that lives in the wild but near human settlements and is less afraid of humans is considered “habituated.” Tamed and habituated animals are not any less dangerous than wild animals, and should still be treated with the same respect. Foxes, otters, raccoons, servals, caracals, bush babies, opossums, owls, monkeys, alligators, and other wild animals can be tamed or habituated, but they have not undergone hundreds of generations of domestication, so they are not domesticated animals.

🐄 Also, as seen above, these animals have all been domesticated for a reason, be it food, transport, pest control, or otherwise, at a time when less practical options existed. There is no benefit to domesticating other species in the modern day, so if you’ve got a hankering for keeping a wild animal as a pet, instead try to find the domestic equivalent of that wild animal! There are several dog breeds that look and behave like wolves or foxes, pigeons and chickens can make great pet birds and have hundreds of colorful fancy breeds, rats can be just as intelligent and social as a small monkey (and less expensive and dangerous to boot,) and ferrets are pretty darn close to minks and otters! There’s no need to keep a wolf in a house when our ancestors have already spent 20,000+ years to make them house-compatible.

🐖 This was stated in the infographic, but I feel like I must again reiterate that domestic animals do not belong in the wild, and often become invasive when feral. Their genetics have been specifically altered in such a way that they depend on humans for optimal health. We are their habitat. This is why you only really see feral pigeons in cities, and feral cats around settlements. They are specifically adapted to live with humans, so they stay even when unwanted. However, this does not mean they should live in a way that doesn’t put their health and comfort as a top priority! If we are their world, it is our duty to make it as good as possible. Please research any pet you get before bringing them home!

#SaritaZoo #my art #domestic animals #domestication #pets #dogs #cats #ferrets #cows #sheep #goats #bovids #horses #donkeys #camels #llamas #alpacas #rabbits #guinea pigs #rats #pet rats #pet mice #pigs #pigeons #turkeys #chickens #ducks #geese #quail #i ran out of tags rip

[selfindulgentfandomstuff]

Well.

I took the exam.

I’m gonna go stick my fist into a wall now 😁

#vent #vent tw #tw vent #honestly maybe I just shouldn’t pursue physics. like if I suck this bad at CALCULUS 1.. well I can’t even imagine how I’ll fare in higher #level math courses.. let alone the bits of the physics courses where we actually have to apply the concepts we’ve learned in math #maybe I’m just not cut out for this #I want it so so so bad I want to understand things about the universe how it works why it does what it does I want to KNOW #but ig I’m just too stupid to even get down the entry level stuff :( #I hate this I used to be smart I know I was #I had a basic understanding of the concepts of quantum physics and specifically a few of the existing string theories out there #by the time I hit 7th grade I was actively learning as much as I could get my hands on about everything astrophysics quantum physics and #cosmology related throughout 8th grade along with keeping top of my class grades easily #then I went to high school and while I did stay near the top of my class (my grade level class not individual classes I mean) #it took more effort and I burned myself out far too much and that’s part of why I failed so miserably at university (mental health crisis #that caused me to have to come home like 4 months into the school year) #I know I used to have potential but I think I smothered it with overworking myself in high school trying to juggle hw and class work and #extracurriculars and chores and sleep and and and the list goes on #I think I murdered her. the little girl who used to dream and wonder and learn voraciously #now I’m an aimless young guy with no real potential left anymore. #everything is so foggy in my brain I can’t see to retrieve information when I need it #I KNOW the information is in there. somewhere. locked away in a place I can’t reach right now #I hate it. I want to be her again (but as a guy obviously) I want to have that passion and ability to learn and perform academically #sorry guys for this I just don’t know what to do

[palestinalibre]

X

As Gaza is facing THE LONGEST EVER blackout of communication and internet access, eSIMs are the ONLY way for Palestinians to stay connected to each other and the outside world. The group of volunteers behind the Connecting Gaza initiative are prioritising and making sure doctors, other medical staff and journalists stay connected. Your eSIM donations literally save lives.

Buy Nomad and/or Holafly eSIMs and send QR code screenshot to

[email protected]

Check the Connecting Gaza website, Mirna_elhelbawi 's social media and the connectgaza instagram for more information and updates. You can also check the impact your donations have through testimonies on those accounts.

*IMPORTANT* keep an eye on mirna_elhelbawi and connectgaza social media since other eSIMs donations (Airalo, Mogo, Simly) may also be needed depending on the location they are most needed at a specific moment. Different eSIMs have better connectivity in certain areas. This might also change with time as the conditions in Gaza are very unstable.

Here's how to donate a nomad eSIM

Get $3 off with code BREN79PP

You can see when the eSIM you bought has been activated and is being used.

If you can, please donate an eSIM.

Please share, reblog and retweet.

#esim #gaza #palestine #connecting gaza #donations #boost #signal boost #nomad esim

[gothhabiba]

🍉🇵🇸 eSims for Gaza masterpost 🇵🇸🍉

Which eSims are currently being called for?

As of April 16th:

eSim plans being called for are:

Nomad (“regional Middle East” plan): 10% off 10GB with code NOMADTUE

Holafly (“Israel” and “Egypt” plans): code HOLACNG —be sure to include which plan it is in the subject line

Simly (“Palestine” and “Middle East” plans): 15% off with code "EID"

Airalo (“Discover” plan)

If you sent an eSim more than two weeks ago and it is still valid and not yet activated, reply to the email in which you originally sent the eSim. To determine whether the eSim is still valid, scan the QR code with a smartphone; tap the yellow button that reads “Cellular plan”; when a screen comes up reading “Activate eSIM,” click the button that says “Continue.” If a message comes up reading “eSIM Cannot Be Added: This code is no longer valid. Contact your carrier for more information,” the eSim is activated, expired, or had an error in installation, and should not be sent. It is very important not to re-send invalid eSims, since people may walk several kilometers to access wifi to connect their eSims only to find out that they cannot be activated.

If a screen appears reading “Activate eSIM: An eSIM is ready to be activated” with a button asking you to “Continue,” do not click “Continue” to activate the eSim on your phone; exit out of the screen and reply to the email containing that QR code.

Be sure you're looking at the original post, as this will be continually updated. Any new instructions about replying to emails for specific types of unactivated plans will also appear here.

Check the notes of blackpearlblasts's eSim post, as well as fairuzfan's 'esim' tag, for referral and discount codes.

How do I purchase an eSim?

If you cannot download an app or manage an eSim yourself, send funds to Crips for eSims for Gaza (Visa; Mastercard; Paypal; AmEx; Canadian e-transfer), or to me (venmo @gothhabiba; paypal.me/Najia; cash app $NajiaK, with note “esims” or similar; check the notes of this post for updates on what I've purchased.)

You can purchase an eSim yourself using a mobile phone app, or on a desktop computer (with the exception of Simly, which does not have a desktop site). See this screenreader-accessible guide to purchasing an eSim through each of the five services that the Connecting Humanity team is calling for (Simly, Nomad, Mogo, Holafly, and Airalo).

Send a screenshot of the plan's QR code to [email protected]. Be sure to include the app used, the word "esim," the type of plan (when an app has more than one, aka "regional Middle East" versus "Palestine"), and the amount of data or time on the plan, in the subject line or body of your email.

Message me if you have any questions or if you need help purchasing an eSim through one of these apps.

If you’re going to be purchasing many eSims at once, see Jane Shi’s list of tips.

Which app should I use?

Try to buy an eSim from one of the apps that the team is currently calling for (see above).

If the team is calling for multiple apps:

Nomad is best in terms of data price, app navigability, and ability to top up when they are near expiry; but eSims must be stayed on top of, as you cannot top them up once the data has completely run out. Go into the app settings and make sure your "data usage" notifcations are turned on.

Simly Middle East plans cannot be topped up; Simly Palestine ones can. Unlike with Nomad, data can be topped up once it has completely run out.

Holafly has the most expensive data, and top-ups don't seem to work.

Mogo has the worst user interface in my opinion. It is difficult or impossible to see plan activation and usage.

How much data should I purchase?

Mirna el-Helbawi has been told that large families may all rely on the same plan for data (by setting up a hotspot). Some recipients of eSim plans may also be using them to upload video.

For those reasons I would recommend getting the largest plan you can afford for plans which cannot be topped up: namely, Simly "Middle East" plans, and Holafly plans (they say you can top them up, but I haven't heard of anyone who has gotten it to work yet).

For all other plans, get a relatively small amount of data (1-3 GB, a 3-day plan, etc.), and top up the plan with more data once it is activated. Go into the app’s settings and make sure low-data notifications are on, because a 1-GB eSIM can expire very quickly.

Is there anything else I need to do?

Check back regularly to see if the plan has been activated. Once it's been activated, check once a day to see if data is still being used, and how close the eSim is to running out of data or to expiring; make sure your notifications are on.

If the eSim hasn't been activated after three weeks or so, reply to the original email that you sent to Gaza eSims containing the QR code for that plan.

If you purchased the eSim through an app which has a policy of starting the countdown to auto-expiry a certain amount of time after the purchase of the eSim, rather than only upon activation (Nomad does this), then also reply to your original e-mail once you're within a few days of this date. If you're within 12 hours of that date, contact customer service and ask for a credit (not a refund) and use it to purchase and send another eSim.

How can I tell if my plan has been activated? How do I top up a plan?

The Connecting Humanity team recommends keeping your eSims topped up once they have been activated.

See this guide on how to tell if your plan has been activated, how to top up plans, and (for Nomad) how to tell when the auto-expiry will start. Keep topping up the eSim for as long as the data usage keeps ticking up. This keeps a person or family connected for longer, without the Connecting Humanity team having to go through another process of installing a new eSim.

If the data usage hasn't changed in a week or so, allow the plan to expire and purchase another one.

What if I can't afford a larger plan, or don't have time or money to keep topping up an eSim?

I have set up a pool of funds out of which to buy and top up eSims, which you can contribute to by sending funds to my venmo (@gothhabiba), PayPal (paypal.me/Najia), or cash app ($NajiaK) (with note “esims” or similar). Check the notes of this post for updates on what I've purchased, which plans are active, and how much data they've used.

Crips for eSims for Gaza also has a donation pool to purchase eSims and top them up.

Gaza Online (run by alumni of Gaza Sky Geeks) accepts monetary donations to purchase eSims as needed.

What if my eSim has not been activated, even after I replied to my email?

Make sure that the QR code you sent was a clear screenshot, and not a photo of a screen; and that you didn’t install the eSim on your own phone by scanning the QR code or clicking “install automatically."

Possible reasons for an eSim not having been activated include: it was given to a journalist as a back-up in case the plan they had activated expired or ran out of data; there was an error during installation or activation and the eSim could no longer be used; the eSim was installed, but not activated, and then Israeli bombings destroyed the phone, or forced someone to leave it behind.

An eSim that was sent but couldn’t be used is still part of an important effort and learning curve. Errors in installation, for example, are happening less often than they were in the beginning of the project.

Why should I purchase an eSim? Is there any proof that they work?

Israel is imposing near-constant communications blackouts on Gaza. The majority of the news that you are seeing come from Gaza is coming from people who are connected via eSim.

eSims also connect people to news. People are able to videochat with their family for the first time in months, to learn that their family members are still alive, to see their newborn children for the first time, and more, thanks to eSims.

Some of this sharing of news saves lives, as people have been able to flee or avoid areas under bombardment, or learn that they are on evacuation lists.

Why are different plans called for at different times?

Different eSims work in different areas of the Gaza Strip (and Egypt, where many refugees currently are). The team tries to keep a stockpile of each type of sim on hand.

Is there anything else I can do to help?

There is an urgent need for more eSims. Print out these posters and place them on bulletin boards, in local businesses, on telephone poles, or wherever people are likely to see them. Print out these foldable brochures to inform people about the initiative and distribute them at protests, cafes and restaurants, &c. Also feel free to make your own brochures using the wording from this post.

The Connecting Humanity team is very busy connecting people to eSims and don't often have time to answer questions. Check a few of Mirna El Helbawi's most recent tweets and see if anyone has commented with any questions that you can answer with the information in this post.

#esims #esims for gaza #palestine #gaza #action

[starset-mnqn]

Dear lord. The transmisogyny on this site from transmasc people is absolutely insane. We're supposed to uplift each other! Why are y'all speaking over transfem people?!?

#obligatory disclaimer that i AM tme so i am not someone to ask about this #but goddamn... y'all will go on about how much you love transfem people #and then proceed to just sexualize them #and ignore them explaining when something is transmisogynistic #transfem people can go 'hey. this thing is actively harmful to us' and y'all will throw a fit and make every excuse possible #the bro/dude discourse... the afab transfem aita post.... there's more that im blanking on #i knew transmisogyny was rampant on here but this was very eye opening to me to see the extent within our own community #I'm not perfect by any means. but i try my best to stay openminded and learn #genuinely please inform me when i do or say something transmisogynistic so i can learn from it #(that also goes for anything else tbh. but transmisogyny is just the topic at hand here) #transfem people. i am so sorry that y'all get treated like this. y'all deserve so much better #delete later

[ponett]

i get the point of the polls informally showing that the vast majority of tumblr users have been here for years and barely anyone is new. the problem is that the suits don't look at that kind of data and go "ah, we understand. the majority of our users are oldheads who want things to stay the same. we misunderstood our audience." they absolutely have hard numbers on these things. they surely know most active users have been here forever. but they look at these stats and go "wow, our growth rate really IS shit. we're still relying on an ever-dwindling pool of users who have been here since they were teenagers in the early 2010s. we need to be working even harder to make this place appeal to new users"

the higher ups and investors on sites like this want infinite growth forever. this is why they keep changing the layout to make it look like other, more popular sites, even though we hate it. this is why they try out shit like tumblr live that doesn't appeal to the established core userbase in the slightest. it's not for us. it's also not for the ~5% of active users (if the poll going around is to be believed) who signed up within the last year. no, they're chasing after the hundreds of millions of people who use twitter and the BILLIONS of people who use tiktok, hoping to appeal to them and make tumblr more popular again

this is, of course, deeply stupid. nobody is leaving tiktok to hop on tumblr live. they already have tiktok. and we're on tumblr because we like tumblr, not because we want it to morph into something else. but i'm sure automattic's got venture capital investors breathing down their necks going "why isn't tumblr more like twitter or tiktok or facebook or instagram or" etc. etc., and so here we are

[iron-sides]

my toxic trait is that i secretly hate politics until its not actually related to the government in anyway. let me clarify rq: i try to stay informed and politically active modern politics just doesnt come easy to me and i dont enjoy it however i do think its important. but i fucking love like. petty shit. office politics and political intrigue and the politics of organized crime are like my favorite things to read about. but like. actual politics is boring i want the drama

#AGAIN I AM POLITICALLY ACTIVE I STAY INFORMED ITS JUST NOT FUN TO ME WHEN IT ACTUALLY MATTERS #i just feel very silly like 'yes my favorite part of this book or that fic was the complex political maneuvers. #no not the politics the complex rules #of etiquette. and also the politics but only in hostorical settings and contexts i under stand the politics of a totalitarian monarchy #more easily than the country i grew up in i think bc its more person and about who slighted who however i do not understand this #as it relates to my real #life. im autistic' like 😭 it makes no sense even to me and yet here we are #my thots #🐝

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

There's a viral video circulating from the Fort Worth Zoo, of two keepers who ended up in a habitat at the same time as a silverback gorilla. Spoiler for good news: neither the humans nor the gorilla got hurt. It's a bad situation that ended extremely well, and that's why I want to talk about it.

The audio for this video is mostly someone praying loudly, so if you need to turn the audio off to watch it, you won't miss anything relevant. If you don't want to watch it, here's the summary: it starts with a keeper running around the corner into the main exhibit, pursued by a large male gorilla. She is quickly able to get into a doorway at the back of the exhibit, but does not completely close the door because the gorilla is standing across from her, watching. He eventually moves off to the right hand side of the exhibit, where we can see a keeper is trapped in the corner at the front. She was trying to move towards the exit as he moved to the right, and she stops, standing very still behind a tree, while he stays along the far right wall. They stay like that for a minute, and then the gorilla runs to the front right corner, and the keeper is able to run to the door in the back of the exhibit and get to safety.

Let's start with basic information. Even though it's just going viral now, this video is from October of 2023. It was taken not by a guest, but by the zoo security officer responding to the situation. Hmmm, seems like he maybe should have been doing something else during that situation, instead of than taking a phone video. It's going viral now because the guy (who is no longer employed at the zoo) decided to post it on TikTok for his five minutes of fame. This guy immediately started giving all sorts of media interviews, answering questions like "why no tranquilizers" inappropriately, making memes out of his own video, generally distasteful shit.

Zoo spokesperson Avery Elander gave a public statement that "thankfully, there was no physical contact between keepers and gorilla, and all staff and animals are safe." A comment from the zoo has also indicated that the incident was due to keeper error. (As opposed to, for instance, something in the fencing breaking.) According to the guy who posted the video, a lock was left unsecured and the gorilla was able to open the door to the habitat. I don't know if I buy it, and again, this just... is probably why he doesn't have a job anymore. By sharing that detail - real or not - he places a ton of public scrutiny and blame on that keeper team. (If that's what happened, I can promise you it will have been dealt with internally.) He also was nice enough to say he wouldn't name the women in the video... but verified they're still staffers at the zoo... which means they're eminently identifiable! Excuse me while I ragequit for a second.

So there's two reasons I wanted to talk about this. The first is to make sure it is well known that this guy is purposefully and intentionally exploiting the worst day of someone's life for media attention. Their lives were in danger, and he's using it for fame. His name is in the media articles - I'm not going to share it because he doesn't deserve that attention. The second reason, though, is because this video is a masterclass on how to survive if you end up sharing space with a gorilla. Every zoo person I've spoken to or seen comment on the video is so, so impressed with how the keepers handled themselves.

The gorilla in this video is 34-year-old Elmo. All apes in AZA zoos are managed in protected contact, so keepers are supposed to be separated from them by a barrier at all times. The zookeepers were in the habitat putting out a mid-day meal when he got out. Watching the video, you can see he's not actively being aggressive towards them - he's not making threat displays or trying to approach them. Mostly, Elmo seems like he doesn't know what is going on and he's kinda freaked out about it. (This is confirmed in the zoo's press statement, too). The staff stayed calm, and importantly, watched and waited to see how he'd move and act.

The zoo did say one thing, though, that's a bit misleading. In one article, their press person I quote as saying “In general, gorillas are considered the “gentle giants” of the great ape species.” Just because this may be true in comparison to other great ape species doesn't meant gorilla aren't still incredibly dangerous. This type of messaging always worries me, because I think it leads people to misunderstand the risks of being close to megafauna. Gorilla are extremely strong animals, and their social norms/behaviors are very different from that of humans. That's why it's such a big deal any time people end up in gorilla habitats, and why sometimes in those circumstances lethal measures have to be taken to protect human life.

These keepers are incredibly lucky to be unharmed. These women stayed safe specifically because they're trained professionals who knew how to act around gorilla, they knew this particular animal well, and they'd learned the escapes from the exhibit just in case this ever happened. We should applaud them for their cool heads and quick thinking.

As for the guy who posted the video? As a colleague put it, may he always step on a Lego.

#gorilla #gorilla video #viral video #zoo animals #zoo animal welfare #fort worth zoo