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paintson32 · 2 years

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Miastem Zawładnie Muzyka Jazzowa Wąbrzeźno

3. But even freedom might be harmless and have its place in the State economy without injury to the well-being of the peoples if it rested upon the foundation of faith in God, upon the brotherhood of humanity, unconnected with the conception of equality, which is negatived by the very laws of creation, for they have established subordination. But again, in order that freedom may once for all disintegrate and ruin the communities of the GOYIM, we must put industry on a speculative basis: the result of this will be that what is withdrawn from the land by industry will slip through the hands and pass into speculation, that is, to our classes. But by approaching their application cautiously you will see that not a decade will pass before the most stubborn character will change and we shall add a new people to the ranks of those already subdued by us.

Nowadays it is more important to disarm the peoples than to lead them into war: more important to use for our advantage the passions which have burst into flames than to quench their fire: more important to eradicate them. For this reason we, when we come into our kingdom, shall have to erase this word from the lexicon of life as implying a principle of brute force which turns mobs into bloodthirsty beasts. We shall regulate mechanically all the actions of the political life of our subjects by new laws. 5. The intensified struggle for superiority and shocks delivered to economic life will create, nay, have already created, disenchanted, cold and heartless communities. These persons will have consonance of all the secrets of the social structure, they will know all the languages that can be made up by political alphabets and words; they will be made acquainted with the whole underside of human nature, with all its sensitive chords on which they will have to play.

THERE IS NOTHING MORE DANGEROUS THAN PERSONAL INITIATIVE: if it has genius behind it, such initiative can do more than can be done by millions of people among whom we have sown discord. Reared on rozprawka , observation, on delicacies of fine calculation, in this species of skill we have no rivals, any more than we have either in the drawing up of plans of political actions and solidarity. The first of these is comprised in the early days of mad raging by the blind mob, tossed hither and thither, right and left: the second is demagogy from which is born anarchy, and that leads inevitably to despotism - not any longer legal and overt, and therefore responsible despotism, but to unseen and secretly hidden, yet nevertheless sensibly felt despotism in the hands of some secret organization or other, whose acts are the more unscrupulous inasmuch as it works behind a screen, behind the backs of all sorts of agents, the changing of whom not only does not injuriously affect but actually aids the secret force by saving it, thanks to continual changes, from the necessity of expanding its resources on the rewarding of long services.

16. At the present day we are, as an international force, invincible, because if attacked by some we are supported by other States. GENTILE masonry blindly serves as a screen for us and our objects, but the plan of action of our force, even its very abiding-place, remains for the whole people an unknown mystery. 5. We must compel the governments of the GOYIM to take action in the direction favored by our widely conceived plan, already approaching the desired consummation, by what we shall represent as public opinion, secretly promoted by us through the means of that so-called „Great Power” -THE PRESS, WHICH, WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS THAT MAY BE DISREGARDED, IS ALREADY ENTIRELY IN OUR HANDS. THE NATIONS CANNOT COME TO EVEN AN INCONSIDERABLE PRIVATE AGREEMENT WITHOUT OUR SECRETLY HAVING A HAND IN IT. With such a faith as this a people might be governed by a wardship of parishes, and would walk contentedly and humbly under the guiding hand of its spiritual pastor submitting to the dispositions of God upon earth.

#sprawdzian #kartkowka #rozprawka #wypracowanie #szkola

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wolverinesorcery · 2 years

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I posted 2,482 times in 2021

236 posts created (10%)

2246 posts reblogged (90%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 9.5 posts.

I added 2,681 tags in 2021

#scheduled - 1945 posts

#art - 146 posts

#heddwyn post - 113 posts

#tarotblr - 89 posts

#heddwyn readings - 68 posts

#witch community - 66 posts

#witchblr - 65 posts

#q - 65 posts

#tarot reading - 63 posts

#witch network - 61 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i'm lucky enough to be in a position where through therapy and medication i can seperate them from reality but it's so easy to relapse with

My Top Posts in 2021

I am BEGGING people in the USA to stop lumping things under "Celtic". 99% of the time it's Irish or Scottish and I am begging you to realise there are at least 6 Celtic nations separated into two linguistic groups.

200 notes • Posted 2021-08-21 16:27:55 GMT

Everyday worship: Apollo

Always let the sun into my bedroom and enjoy its warmth.

Sing along (badly) to the radio or my music playlists.

Share my music tastes with my friends and eagerly listen to any they share with me.

Read and write poetry as much as I can.

Make and keep a notebook of my favourite poems.

Care for myself on days where my illness is worse than usual.

Always offer a hand to friends in need when they’re ill or unwell.

255 notes • Posted 2021-05-22 10:23:06 GMT

Everyday worship: Ares

Stand up for my boundaries and do not allow anyone to violate them.

Allow myself to feel the entire spectrum of emotions, including the ‘ugly’ ones.

Carry myself with confidence and take up space that I deserve.

Fight for my comrades and let anger with the world fuel my efforts of solidarity.

Never leave a task unfinished or a friend unsupported.

257 notes • Posted 2021-05-23 19:39:46 GMT

Everyday worship: Hades

Look after my dog and tend to his every puppy whim.

Walk through cemeteries and clean gravestones.

Take time to honour the dead by reading their names aloud - especially where they have faded or been worn down on their grave markers.

Drink a lot of black coffee

Grow and help tend to the garden’s roses

Do any task given to me to my fullest ability.

Look after items my friends find too painful to hold onto because of the memories attached.

269 notes • Posted 2021-05-28 16:52:12 GMT

Starting a little series on my instagram and here about how I worship and honour the Theoi in every day little actions and things I do regularly throughout my year. I'm starting with Aphrodite and doing them alphabetically <3 :-)

Dress myself intentionally so I feel good and confident within myself.

Take a day entirely for myself and me-time.

Love passionately and without fear of being laughed at.

Collect sea shells and swim often.

Thank shop and cafe staff and wish everyone wonderful days.

Take photos of myself and be unabashedly in love with my body.

338 notes • Posted 2021-05-21 19:32:44 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #Heddwyn post #heddwyn post

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engl2030018 · 5 years

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Analytical Blog Post

Nicole Henry

Core Composition II

Dr. Mohrman

19 February 2019

There Is More Than Meets the Eye; Google’s True Intentions

Unity is defined as the state or fact of being united or combined into one, as of the parts of a whole.[1] If an individual was to define unity from a personal perspective, one might elaborate on their religion or their political status. With this, Google primarily focuses on these two topics and subtly embodies it into their advertisement. In this year’s 2019 Super Bowl, Google incorporated an advertisement that promoted the Google Translate application.[2] The ad intertwined language as the key for human understanding and claimed that over 100 billion words are translated each day. It involved brief clips of locations across the world and provide real-world events and curiosities that are translated on a day to day basis. From protests to a group of people praying, the ad conveyed the diverse cultures that people are eager to understand. Google promotes unity in the ad through the use of translation by insinuating the intrinsic motivations human nature is programmed to have and highlights human compassion; however, Google’s ad dismisses political battles therefore promoting a false sense of unity in the world. The inclusion of false unity and the highlight of human compassion is very problematic because Google is disregarding serious political issues. These issues must be acknowledged in a realistic way for our world to appropriately confront every problem at hand. Even though Google promoting hope in human compassion may fix some issues, it merely cannot be enough to fix the drastic problems our world continuously neglects to face.

The man speaking in the Google ad has a Middle Eastern accent but portrays very well-spoken English. The accent is significant to the Google advertisement because it conveys the profound motivation that some foreigners may have about learning to speak English, which can be the focal point for cultural and political division within America and other countries. In 1975, the Voting Rights Act was passed which allowed multiple languages to be available on the ballot in order to integrate non-English speakers with the right to vote. Before this law was passed, it was very looked down upon to live in America to not know the English language. Many people believed that people were moving to America just for the benefits of our citizenship, not for the American culture. According to Raynard Jackson, an author at the Charlotte Post, “Being American must include speaking English”.[3] With this being said, there is a lot of controversy in America about immigration, and how people continuously move into the country for the benefits we have. It can be understood that people move to America for safety reasons and to better their lives, but some Americans have a hard time believing these are their only intentions. For example, Donald Trump has been very persistent in building a wall to divide the countries surrounding America in order to reduce immigration. The unique accent in the ad may also play a role in the assumptions Americans have about the intentions of the Middle Eastern culture. Ever since the attack on September 11, 2001, many Americans have acquired a fear of every person in the Islamic culture due to one tragic incident. Incorporating a foreign accent may inadvertently imply that there is still an undying division between the Middle East and America.

Google has been used worldwide for years, and since 2000 has had the same slogan which focused on the unbiased information Google is responsible for providing. Recently, Google removed the “Don’t be evil” slogan from its code of conduct due to the parent company change to a corporation called Alphabet.[4] This removal demonstrates that even Google acknowledges the growing divisions within society. Tying this into their Super Bowl advertisement, Google is clearly attempting to create a facade of unity that their corporate policy does not even advocate for. Google uses a humanistic approach to society to sell its products as seen in the message of unity in the advertisement. The restructuring of their code of conduct combined with their negligence of the growing negative political atmosphere around the NFL shows that Google is driven more by profits than their message of unity. Google remade its slogan to “Do The Right Thing”, which correlates to a humanistic approach because it emphasizes that humans are driven to do good and wants people to follows laws and regulations.[5] The denotative context in the ad is to represent unity, but Google is subtly acknowledging the division within the world. Individuals have intrinsic motivations to love, and the advertisement is trying to convey that human compassion can overcome anything. Google does this by the inclusion of short clips portraying friendship, sports, food, belief, and fear. The clip about friendship showed girls speaking Mandarin and then all of the sudden they burst into laughter. The sports clip shows a group of people cheering in a public place about a game that we cannot see. These clips demonstrate that even though our world may interpret the definition of these words in diverse contexts, everyone person can relate to them. By highlighting these moments, Google is suppressing the hardships our world is faced with every day. Google is promoting its translate application in order to suggest that their corporation will encompass unity throughout the world even though the division is undeniably inevitable.

American culture idolizes football, and for many Americans, it is a time to gather with friends and family. The Super Bowl unites people in the United States because it is the one event that many people admire and celebrate. This year's Super Bowl was held in Atlanta, Georgia and had the band Maroon 5 lead their halftime show. According to Starr Bowenbank, an author from Billboard Magazine, many artists such as Rihanna and Cardi B were offered to sing at this year's Super Bowl but refused merely because of political reasons.[6] In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem at one of his preseason games.[7] The petition to take a knee during the national anthem was in solidarity with the victims of police brutality and Black Lives Matter protesters. Soon after, Kaepernick lost his position on the team and was removed from the NFL. The act of Kaepernick grew so immensely that the NFL later announced that all players who knelt during the anthem would undergo a substantial fine due to the “disrespect” of American culture. Due to this inadmissible rule in the NFL, many artists such as Rihanna and Cardi B refused to perform because they did not agree with the way the NFL handled the situation. The Google ad encompasses a small clip from one of the police brutality protests but shows a woman holding up peace signs with both of her hands in front of a wall of police forces. This millisecond clip speaks a thousand words and conveys the division within racial and political statuses in the United States. This image can apply to the context of this year’s Super Bowl because even though they are fighting for different things, it still conveys the same issues. Racism has been an ongoing battle for centuries and highlighting these constant battles can lead to more equality in the future.

Unity within the world would be a utopian situation, and Google is trying to implement unity through the Google Translate application. Google’s slogan, “Do The Right Thing,” is the fundamental aspect for the peaceful tone of the ad. Although the ad makes unity seem so simple, it disregards the hardships that our world is facing politically and implies that corporations will help get people through the hard times. There are roughly around 6,500 spoken languages in the world, and the ad is trying to incorporate unity through language. Communication is primarily used through language and being able to speak it thoroughly could be the starting point of unity within the world. With this being said, Google’s ad is not plausible due to its creation of false unity because there is so much more division than that of language. Political views and religion are significant distinguishing factor in this false unity due to the inability people must communicate their opinions in a way that is compromisable; an example of this being the Kaepernick situation. Although our world is working on diminishing old fashioned beliefs such as racism and sexism, the modernity of our world is now facing new challenges. With all the various amounts of technology becoming more inclusive in our everyday lives, it is essential to recognize the division within the world. In order to overcome these hardships, our societies must prioritize working together to help make the world a more united place. To further recognize this, Google Translate could potentially initiate a more respectful form of communication. If so, would the world be able to view others as an equal or would we still never look past the stereotype of our political divisions?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXfJc8up6cM

Bibliography

“Dictionary.com,” Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com

“How Many Spoken Languages,” Infoplease, https://www.infoplease.com/askeds/how-many-spoken-languages

Jason Reid, “Say goodbye to Colin Kaepernick as an NFL player,” The Undefeated, October 17, 2017, http://theundefeated.com/features/say-goodbye-to-colin-kaepernick-as-an-nfl-player/

Kate Conger, “Google Removes ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Clause From Its Code of Conduct,” Gizmodo, May 18, 2018, https://gizmodo.com/google-removes-nearly-all-mentions-of-dont-be-evil-from-1826153393

Raynard Jackson, “Living in America? Speak English,” The Charlotte Post, July 19, 2017, http://www.thecharlottepost.com/news/2017/07/19/opinion/living-in-america-speak-english/

Starr Bowenbank, “5 Artists Who Reportedly Turned Down Super Bowl Halftime Show”, Billboard, October 22, 2018, https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/super-bowl/8481199/rihanna-musicians-turned-down-super-bowl-halftime-show

[1] “Dictionary.com,” Dictionary.com, 6 February 2019. https://www.dictionary.com

[2] “100 Billion Words,” Google, 2 February 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXfJc8up6cM

[3] Raynard Jackson, “Living in America? Speak English,” The Charlotte Post, July 19, 2017, http://www.thecharlottepost.com/news/2017/07/19/opinion/living-in-america-speak-english/

[4] Kate Conger, “Google Removes ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Clause From Its Code of Conduct,” Gizmodo, May 18, 2018, https://gizmodo.com/google-removes-nearly-all-mentions-of-dont-be-evil-from-1826153393

[5] Kate Conger, “Google Removes ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Clause From Its Code of Conduct,” Gizmodo, May 18, 2018, https://gizmodo.com/google-removes-nearly-all-mentions-of-dont-be-evil-from-1826153393

[6] Starr Bowenbank, “5 Artists Who Reportedly Turned Down Super Bowl Halftime Show”, Billboard, October 22, 2018, https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/super-bowl/8481199/rihanna-musicians-turned-down-super-bowl-halftime-show

[7] Jason Reid, “Say goodbye to Colin Kaepernick as an NFL player,” The Undefeated, October 17, 2017, http://theundefeated.com/features/say-goodbye-to-colin-kaepernick-as-an-nfl-player/

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edwardjacket98 · 2 years

Text

Miastem Zawładnie Muzyka Jazzowa Wąbrzeźno

3. But even freedom might be harmless and have its place in the State economy without injury to the well-being of the peoples if it rested upon the foundation of faith in God, upon the brotherhood of humanity, unconnected with the conception of equality, which is negatived by the very laws of creation, for they have established subordination. But again, in order that freedom may once for all disintegrate and ruin the communities of the GOYIM, we must put industry on i speculative basis: the result of this will be that what is withdrawn from the land by industry will slip through the hands and pass into speculation, that is, to our classes. But by approaching their application cautiously you will see that not a decade will pass before the most stubborn character will change and we shall add a new people to the ranks of those already subdued by us.

THERE IS NOTHING MORE DANGEROUS THAN PERSONAL INITIATIVE: if it has genius behind it, such initiative can do more than can be done by millions of people among whom we have sown discord. Reared on analysis, observation, on delicacies of fine calculation, in this species of skill we have no rivals, any more than we have either in the drawing up of plans of political actions and solidarity. The first of these is comprised in the early days of mad raging by the blind mob, tossed hither and thither, right and left: the second is demagogy from which is born anarchy, and that leads inevitably to despotism - not any longer legal and overt, and therefore responsible despotism, but to unseen and secretly hidden, yet nevertheless sensibly felt despotism in the hands of some secret organization or other, whose acts are the more unscrupulous inasmuch as it works behind a screen, behind the backs of all sorts of agents, the changing of whom not only does not injuriously affect but actually aids the secret force by saving it, thanks to continual changes, from the necessity of expanding its resources on the rewarding of long services.

16. At the present day we are, as an international force, invincible, because if attacked by some we are supported by other States. GENTILE masonry blindly serves as a screen for us and our objects, but the plan of action of our force, even its very abiding-place, remains for the whole people an unknown mystery. 5. zobacz must compel the governments of the GOYIM to take action in the direction favored by our widely conceived plan, already approaching the desired consummation, by what we shall represent as public opinion, secretly promoted by us through the means of that so-called „Great Power” -THE PRESS, WHICH, WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS THAT MAY BE DISREGARDED, IS ALREADY ENTIRELY IN OUR HANDS. THE NATIONS CANNOT COME TO EVEN AN INCONSIDERABLE PRIVATE AGREEMENT WITHOUT OUR SECRETLY HAVING A HAND IN IT. With such a faith as this a people might be governed by a wardship of parishes, and would walk contentedly and humbly under the guiding hand of its spiritual pastor submitting to the dispositions of God upon earth.

#sprawdzian #kartkowka #rozprawka #wypracowanie #szkola

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theseadagiodays · 4 years

Text

June 14, 2020

Stuck Together

Dresses by Gabrielle C - lemons; Evelyn K - tux; Callan R - Black Lives Matter

For the past three months, I have so appreciated sharpening my lens towards the creative gestures that this time has inspired. These musings began with a hunch that artists would play a significant leadership role in the resiliency that such crises require. While confirmed, my thesis has expanded to recognize that ALL humans are fundamentally wired to be resilient. And because innovation is a key ingredient of resiliency, people from all walks of life (professional artist or otherwise) have been seeking creative expression to tether them through these uncertain times.

For example, take these insanely fanciful prom dresses that teenagers around the US have designed in just 48 hours, using 40 rolls of duck tape and no other materials. I can only imagine to what extent feelings of uncertainty have been exacerbated for these high school seniors, already poised for one of the biggest leaps of their life. With the possibility of on-campus fall enrollment at new institutions threatened, and stripped of important rituals like graduation ceremonies and grad dances, these youth have had to contend with an abundance of shattered dreams. So, it was unexpectedly surprising to see the hope, compassion and beauty in the creations that resulted from this year’s Stuck at Prom Duck Tape Challenge. Browsing the 100’s of jaw-dropping entries on the contest’s website (https://www.duckbrand.com/stuck-at-prom/2020-gallery), there was not a single Covid Sucks, self-pitying design in the bunch. Instead, you can find tributes to essential workers and Black Lives Matter, mottos of solidarity, and an artful nod to “making lemonade.” Knowing that our future is in the hands of these thoughtful young people is perhaps the most encouraged I’ve felt during this entire pandemic.

Dress by Peyton M - frontline workers

June 15, 2020

Covid Commissions

Various WPA Virtual Commissions - see link below

Physical distancing and other economic challenges, resulting from the coronavirus, have taken a huge toll on artists’ livelihood. Currently, many existing arts grants have been either cut or postponed, in order for governments to reallocate funding towards critical services like health care, transportation and housing. And while I believe that the arts are as critical as breathing, full-well contributing to our physiological, psychological and self-actualizing needs, they still fall pretty far down most people’s interpretation of Maslow’s hierarchy.

Thankfully, there have been numerous emergency relief funds available to pick up the financial slack for artists. So, these have provided much needed temporary help to cover living expenses. But they haven’t necessarily supported the creation of new work. Fortunately though, some institutions have recognized the essentiality of the arts by putting them front and centre of their funding priorities. One such organization is the Guggenheim, whose board and donors contributed $150,000 to their Works & Process Virtual Commissioning fund which supported performing artists from a variety of mediums to create up to 5-minute video pieces from home. Like Cooped, a project I referenced on June 4th, all of the resulting works can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ08rQmWB63RFC3avQF-nDsneUXLrUd4X

As I mentioned earlier, we dabbled in a little commissioning ourselves, during quarantine. And here is the promised finished product by Natalie Warkentin (@morningmusings), the very talented artist of Bloom: A beautiful process of becoming. Her playful, vibrant piece has made a world of difference to our daily joy, with the inordinant amount of time that we usual out-and-abouters have been spending at home! And we were also thrilled to learn that it has, indirectly, already led to a second commission for her.

June 16, 2020

Piano Play

In surveying my peers, I’ve noticed that this has been a time for reconnecting with long-lost friends. As some of these old relationships have resurfaced for me, one of my favorite “icebreakers” has been to ask what new pursuits they’ve enjoyed during this period. For many, it’s been sourdough starters; others gardening; and some, learning French. But I’ve also found that many adults are taking up instruments, which makes me extremely happy. I can’t tell you how many times, throughout my career, after mentioning to a stranger, on a plane or elsewhere, that I was a flutist, they replied “Oh, I wish I played an instrument,” ... almost as if they were already dead. My habitual response is always to encourage adult music-making, and it’s one of the reasons that the majority of our non-profits’ arts programs target adult populations. While I fully support early childhood musical and artistic development, I don’t think these opportunities are nearly as lacking as those for “big kids”. One of my friends, in an effort to brush up on her Grade 4 childhood piano skills, recently asked if I could recommend some playable, accessible pieces in a variety of genres (from film scores to pop to classical). Since keyboard or piano seems to be the most common new instrument for people to learn later in life (with perhaps only ukulele as a close second), I thought it would be fun to post the list that I shared with her. Each of the scores, below, is available online, for free or purchasable download, and generally requires the player to use only one finger, in either hand, at the same time. For a final extra tip: Musescore.com has a 30-day free trial, during which you can download to your heart’s delight!

Regina Spektor The Call (from Chronicles of Narnia)

Sufjan Stevens Mystery of Love (from Call Me By Your Name)

Erik Satie Gymnopedie #1-3, & Le Tango Perpetual

Arvo Part Fur Alina

Olafur Arnalds Tomorrow’s Song

Thomas Neumann Theme from American Beauty

Yann Tiersen Valse d’Amelie

Icelandic pianist, singer/songwriter, Olafur Arnalds

June 17, 2020

Cause and Effect

I love the music of language. Perhaps it’s why my transition from flutist to writer has felt so natural. I rarely remember the lyrics to songs, instead hearing the syllables as a collection of phonetic melodies. I also experience sounds somewhat synaesthetically (synaesthesia being the neurological condition where certain senses, which are not normally connected, join or merge together. Like certain alphabetic letters being associated with certain tastes, or particular smells being connected to sounds). For me, musical sonorities have always been strongly linked to specific colors or shapes. And the geometry of certain words have very distinct and often pleasurable textures when they bounce around my mouth. Perhaps my favorite example of this is the Buddhist word for the “interconnectedness of all things”: Pratītyasamutpāda. More clearly defined, this term refers to dependent origination, or dependent arising, a Buddhist philosophy which states that all phenomena arise in dependence upon other phenomena. Simply put, it’s the law of cause and effect. The far-reaching global butterfly effect of Covid has made all of us keenly aware of this law. Like never before, we are now considering the consequences of our actions in a myriad of ways: like whether or not to touch a pedestrian crossing button with our hands, scratch our nose when it itches, or hug an aging parent. So, while the threat of this virus has had huge negative repercussions for many people’s physical and mental health, I can not deny that there is also a positive way in which it has reminded us of our interconnectedness. Of course, it’s a horrific shame that it took a deadly pandemic to wake us up to they symbiotic nature of all things. And, for my generation and those younger than me, (particularly in North America and other cultures who have not experienced war or famine or a health epidemic, first-hand, for more than half a century), it may only be global warming that has demanded we truly consider how our behavior impacts the people and environment around us. However, even the impact of that seems too large and slow for most to fully fathom. It’s why we still drive like fiends, strangle turtles with our plastics, and fly to Hawaii for weekend getaways (and, of this sin, I shamefully confess I’m guilty too!).

So, we clearly need all of the reminders we can get, which makes this recent contest I learned about all the more fitting. There is perhaps no one who has more artfully or playfully illustrated the nature of phenomenological cause and effect than Rube Goldberg. Maybe you have seen his machines that combine cuckoo clocks, toy rockets, ping pong balls and string in elaborate chains of events that result in a single action. The band OK Go is famous for music videos crafted around such devices. And here, you can check out an absolutely brilliant one of theirs, with a message that we all need to hear right now, This Too Shall Pass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

Everyday folks have also been trying their hand at making such contraptions, for the sole honor of being named winner of the recent Rube Goldberg Soap Challenge. And you’ll be amazed at what this Toronto family devised to earn the crown: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5604697/toronto-family-thrilled-and-a-little-bit-surprised-to-win-rube-goldberg-challenge-1.5604698

June 18, 2020

Sensibility

My Uncle Len, a playwright and educator who has engaged in community arts throughout his career, has been a constant muse for me. But more than professional expertise, it has been his sensibilities that have served as my true inspiration. Len defines sensibility as “how we see, what we focus on, affirm and move towards in life.” He is so convinced it is the subject most necessary to study, at this time, that he has written a book about it - his life manifesto, if you will.

Len is simply one of my favorite people on earth. It’s hard not to adore a guy who decorates his exquisite garden with found objects, runs each of his theatre pieces as benefits for various charities, and tries paddleboarding for the first time at 85. This is right in keeping with the sensibilities he holds to be most critical in life, “beauty, fairness, and playfulness.” And while he’s worked on this piece for years, its message could not be more well-timed. Because, to use his words, imagine how effectively we could deal with pandemics, police brutality, and global warming, “if only everyone was rooting for everyone.”

Len’s Einstein likeness is not lost on anyone. And he has made him (and his physicist pal, Niels Bohr) the subject of many of his theatre pieces, not because of their scientific prowess but because they are prime models of “beauty, fairness, and playfulness” themselves.

Like Len’s inspirations, Einstein and Niels Bohr, he possesses the rare ability to find unified principles in seemingly disparate things. In Sensibility, a child’s wonder for a butterfly is illustrated to be as important an ingredient for the welfare of humanity as the thoughtfulness these giants’ exercised, advising on the development of the atomic bomb. Through Len’s unique lens, the reader understands fairness from the perspective of a fifth grader dealing with bullying to a physicist harboring Jews in World War II. We see the critical need for playfulness in everything from driving a junk truck to making a theatre piece. And now, just as the specter of a dangerous virus is re-awakening our sensibilities to affect social change with unprecedented speed, this book is a perfect tale for the times. It concludes with the prescient and hopeful story of 1,500 activists, linked hand-in-hand at the Encirclement of Rocky Flats, while they protest a nuclear plant in 1983, ultimately resulting in its shut down. This exquisite, slender volume is packed with instructions on how to live a compassionate and fertile life. And the beautiful equation it proposes is: Essential life skills = Mastering a Childlike Quality squared (E=mc2).

Just released on Amazon, it is now available here:

https://www.amazon.com/Sensibility-Children-Albert-Einstein-Niels/dp/B088B59P9Z/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=sensibility&qid=1591823421&s=books&sr=1-6

June 19, 2020

Comfort with Impermanence

Historically, humans have gone to preposterous lengths to deny and defy their impermanence. From Egyptian mummies, to cryogenic freezing, to time capsules left for future or alien populations to learn of our legacy. One such preservationist effort was the Voyager Golden Record - a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk curated by Carl Sagan, and sent to space with the 1979 launch, to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth to whomever might find it. In addition to photos of athletes, mathematical formulas, and mothers with child, are recordings of birdsong, speech in 50+ languages, Bach, Chuck Berry, Indigenous songs and Indian ragas. To judge, for yourself, the accuracy of this audio/visual snapshot of human worth, you can listen to the full playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4D51474AB7BE5595

Despite these attempts to ameliorate our fears about our own mortality, our anxiety persists. And now, in these particularly uncertain times, with viral stats, regulations and restrictions changing on a daily basis, more than ever, we need tools to help us become more comfortable with impermanence.

For me, mindfulness meditation is the most expedient way to come to terms with the fundamental truth that all states of being are fleeting and everything is in constant flux. As we become the Watcher rather than the Doer, we observe that our thoughts and feelings are as fleeting as the phenomena around us. And simply recognizing and accepting this can actually bring great comfort. Poet Mary Oliver understood this well, as she describes evocatively in her poem, In Blackwater Woods.

Look, the trees are turning their own bodies into pillars of light, are giving off the rich fragrance of cinnamon and fulfillment, the long tapers of cattails are bursting and floating away over the blue shoulders of the ponds, and every pond, no matter what its name is, is nameless now. Every year everything I have ever learned in my lifetime leads back to this: the fires and the black river of loss whose other side is salvation, whose meaning none of us will ever know. To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.

And so, too, I think it is time to let this blog go. At least for now. It feels, in its own way, like a time capsule of a very potent moment in our lives. And, as that, this infintissimal drop in the bucket of human thought feels complete. So, while it can seem frightening to be reminded of the speck in the universe that human history truly is, I actually take great solace from understanding our smallness. On this note, I will return to the same text that consoled me early in lock down. I also shared this with my dear Uncle Len, whose 87th birthday just happens to be today. As all people his age, his life has been particularly disrupted by this virus. But as someone who appreciates physics from the persective of the beautiful dance we all do with each other and the cosmos, he received these words with particular gratitude. It is a passage from Maria Popova’s March 18th Brainspickings newsletter, published just one day after the world shut down:

“Meanwhile, someplace in the world, somebody is making love and another a poem. Elsewhere in the universe, a star manyfold the mass of our third-rate sun is living out its final moments in a wild spin before collapsing into a black hole, its exhale bending spacetime itself into a well of nothingness that can swallow every atom that ever touched us and every datum we ever produced, every poem and statue and symphony we’ve ever known - an entropic spectacle insentient to questions of blame and mercy - devoid of why...The atoms that huddled for a cosmic blink around the shadow of self will return to the seas that made us. What will survive of us are shoreless seeds and stardust.”

This final entry is my 64th, a number that has been my favorite since I was a small girl, for its symmetric beauty (8 squared, 4 to the 3rd, 2 to the 5th). Interestingly, this powerful number is also frequently referenced in spiritual texts and throughout pop culture (the number of generations from Adam to Jesus; the number of “tantras” in Hinduism, the number of squares on a chess board, the number of crayons in the popular Crayola pack, and the number of Hexagons in the I-Ching). The meaning of Hexagon 64 is “unfinished business.” Therefore, the story, of course, will go on. Whatever windswept seedling will take root next, however, I do not yet know...

64th Hexagon combination in the I-Ching

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news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog · 5 years

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How the 'x' became a sign of female solidarity in the age of harassment

One letter of the alphabet has more currency than all the others combined. That letter is "x".

Unlike in mathematics, the value of "x" is known in the era of internet messaging. That "x" is most often used to convey a kiss when affixed to the end of a text, DM, or email.

And in an era when women are met with hostility and vitriol on the internet, this tiny, inconsequential letter can be used to communicate solidarity and support during particularly dark times.

There was a time when I thought the addition of an "x" from strangers and professional acquaintances slightly disingenuous. Those days are gone, though. After a bout of deeply vicious online harassment, I realised kindness on the internet was something that's in all too short a supply. This profoundly isolating experience made me completely change my mind about how I felt about receiving "digital kisses" from strangers online.

SEE ALSO: Twitter cliques might feel like high school, but their existence is tied to our human nature

Last September, I endured a two-day stint of particularly aggressive harassment on Twitter after I wrote an article arguing that women and LGBTQ people shouldn't be the punchlines of political jokes. Seems like a pretty reasonable point to make, right? Well, apparently not. I ended up on the receiving end of insults from a group of free-speech defenders who decided I needed to be put in my place. As well as hurling a lot of nasty abuse at me, these trolls went through my recent tweets and personal essays I'd written about my love life. They mocked the fact that a recent Hinge match had stood me up for date, and they told me I should change careers and find something I'm actually good at. According to one troll, it's "unsurprising" that I got stood up because my dates must look me up and "realise what a childish nightmare" I'd be to date. Um, OK?

For two days straight, I lived in a state of heart-racing anxiety, constantly checking my phone to try to stem the torrent of abuse. Incidentally, this bout of trolling kicked off on my best friend's 30th birthday, which basically meant I ended up sitting in the corner of a sticky dance floor in a Clapham nightclub at midnight, trawling through my mentions to make sure everything was under control. Even though I was in a crowded room full of people, I have never felt more alone in my whole life. When friends realised what was going on, they swooped into my DMs to express their support and solidarity. They sent heart emoji and "digital kisses". It doesn't sound like much, but when you've been up against a barrage of vitriol, it was profoundly touching.

Since that incident, I've paid closer attention to women's tweets about harassment and abuse. In the mentions, you'll always find the same thing: scores of other women responding with messages of love and support — usually signed off with a kiss or a heart emoji.

Dr Mariann Hardey — professor in marketing at Durham University Business School, whose research focuses on how women share their stories of chronic pain on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit — says the "x" has become "a way of showing advocacy and support from an anonymous internet stranger" — particularly among women.

"The advocacy of the kiss is a really interesting new cultural form," Hardey tells me. "It's that extension of kindness in reaching out and the expectation of nothing in return." She's noticed that the bicep emoji is also a popular "show of strength" when people are sharing stories that are personal, sensitive, and traumatic.

Hardey says that an "x" can also be used in isolation without any further words to communicate support. "Just an "x" as a reply as a response is acceptable, you don't have to have an extra narrative explaining what you meant," she adds. "In those contexts I've never read it as something that's overtly sexual or flirtatious — it's definitely like a digital hug in solidarity."

Last week was one marked by extreme misogynistic vitriol aimed at UK Labour MP Jess Phillips. UKIP candidate Carl Benjamin "joked" in a YouTube video that he might rape Phillips. "There's been an awful lot of talk about whether I would or wouldn't rape Jess Phillips," Benjamin said on his YouTube channel Sargon of Akkad on April 26. "I've been in a lot of trouble for my hardline stance of not even raping her. I suppose with enough pressure I might cave. But let's be honest, nobody's got that much beer."

Guess what I am finding hard is the awakening to an even bigger audience of the "would we or wouldn't we rape Jess Phillips" because of legitimising of the perpetrator. I've dealt with it in drips for nearly 4 years and just deleted or blocked. It's like a torrent at the moment

— Jess Phillips (@jessphillips) May 5, 2019

The abuse didn't end there. Phillips also tweeted a screenshot of Twitter's response to her reporting someone who said she needed "a good fucking to sort out" her teeth, which Twitter said was not in violation of its rules against abuse. To add insult to injury, Phillips was accosted in the street by a man as she left parliament, who asked why Benjamin isn't allowed to joke about raping her before yelling, "I pay your wages."

Just leaving Westminster and and man ran down the street along side me asking me about why Carl Benjamin shouldn't be able to joke about my rape. Shouting "I pay your wages".

— Jess Phillips (@jessphillips) May 7, 2019

Phillips told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme that she "cried in the street" after hearing Benjamin's video. Misogynist invective is something Phillips has been dealing with since becoming an MP in 2015. In 2018, she spoke out about receiving 600 rape threats in one night and said she'd "stopped counting" the number of abusive messages she's received.

One thing that was really heartening to see in the midst of this barrage of misogyny was the messages of solidarity in response to Phillips' tweets. I could see scores of women responding to her tweets with kind, supportive words, often signed off with one "x" or more.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this rancid shit, Jess. For what's its worth. you are ace. x

— Sarah Phelps (@PhelpsieSarah) May 3, 2019

I am so sorry you have to deal with this filth, and that those who make these threats go unregulated and unpunished. Sending love and solidarity xx

— Sue Perkins (@sueperkins) May 5, 2019

💪 we’ve got your back xx

— Caroline Criado Perez (@CCriadoPerez) May 5, 2019

Women are harassed on Twitter every 30 seconds, per a major 2018 study by Amnesty International. One of the main problems standing in the way of fully tackling this problem is social media companies' — particularly Twitter's — inaction in the face of widespread misogynistic abuse. In the report, Amnesty International’s senior advisor for tactical research, Milena Marin, said: "Twitter’s failure to crack down on this problem means it is contributing to the silencing of already marginalised voices."

"Twitter is a place where racism, misogyny and homophobia are allowed to flourish basically unchecked," Marin continued.

It might not seem like much, but showing your support to someone who's having a really rough time can go a long way.

It’s an absolute disgrace that you’re having to deal with this Jess. Sending love xx

— Rosalind Sack (@Ros_Sack) May 5, 2019

These people are absolute garbage. And those who say “just ignore them” drive me almost as nuts. I’m sorry this is happening AGAIN. We are all behind you. Xx

— Sali Hughes (@salihughes) May 5, 2019

This is absolutely grotesque. Jess I’m so sorry you are feeling tired and low. The sisterhood stands with you. Courage X

— Sophie Walker (@SophieRunning) May 3, 2019

While social media companies are often slow to respond to rife online abuse and hostility, the very least we bystanders can do in times like these is express our solidarity and support — whether that means DMing a person to say that you're sorry to see what's happening and that they don't deserve it, or simply tweeting a heart emoji at someone.

Solidarity Jess. It’s disgusting x

— Tracy Ann Oberman (@TracyAnnO) May 5, 2019

We live in an age where often it feels the default response online is to drag, cancel, and publicly shame. But, what's the opposite of that? Silence?

It's all too easy to stay quiet when our friends, acquaintances, and colleagues are being vilified. It's the speaking up and letting them know they're supported and loved that takes effort and courage.

Besides, you never know, your message might arrive when the person needs it the most.

Be kind out there. xx

WATCH: 82 women walked this year's Cannes red carpet in protest, calling for gender equality in the film industry

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douglassmiith · 4 years

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai Called for a Companywide Moment of Silence to Recognize George Floyd

‘Our black community is hurting, and many of us are searching for ways to stand up for what we believe.’

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June 3, 2020 2 min read

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company would hold a moment of silence on Wednesday in recognition of the death of George Floyd and other black lives that have been lost.

In an email sent to employees and shared on the company’s blog, the Google and Alphabet chief said that there would be a moment of silence at 1 p.m. PDT lasting eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time that George Floyd was held under the knee of a police officer before he died.

“Our Black community is hurting, and many of us are searching for ways to stand up for what we believe, and reach out to people we love to show solidarity,” wrote Pichai, who said he met with a group of black leaders at the company to discuss how Google could contribute.

Pichai also said that the company would give $12 million in funding to organizations working to address racial inequities.

Related: Here’s How Business Leaders Are Responding to the George Floyd Protests

The company recently launched an internal giving campaign, too, which Google says has now raised $2.5 million and which Google will match.

Pichai also recognized the protests and the current political situation in the U.S. during the company’s annual stockholder call.

“The senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others have compounded the grief people are already feeling,” he said.

Related: Here Are Legitimate Fundraisers Helping Damaged and Destroyed Small Businesses

On Tuesday this week, Youtube and YouTube Music employees were encouraged to take the day to reflect on the protests across the U.S., make donations and take part in internal activism programs, insiders say.

However, Google’s own diversity efforts have been put into question, following an NBC report that the company scaled back its diversity and inclusion programs.

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laurelkrugerr · 4 years