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im-yn-suckers · 19 days

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Hi! I saw your post about Enha with a Latina reader and I was wondering if you could do one with an American reader if possible? Thank you if you do!!

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ bf!enha x american!gf!reader ·͙̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥̩̩̥͙✩warnings; kissing, food, mention of thongs, very minor cursing. not proofread!!✩̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥̩̩͙‧͙ ⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊ mia says; oh em gee suys i posted !!american go crazyyy im american yall fr⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊

⁺₊heeseung

he loves going to basketball games with you. and like he WILL buy you tickets to go see the lakers

hes not the biggest fan of rollercoasters but hell go on one w u !!

you wear an "american aesthetic" outfit but its really js mary janes w frilly socks, a skirt n crop top (is pinterest stereotypical guy ??)

⁺₊jay

american gf and american bf>???? he will take you to cinnabon on dates while in seattle and would love going to new york to see the empire state building, going to florida for disney, dc, chicago, cali etc.

one time while in cali, you were eating in n out and you fell in love all over again bc hes just so pretty eating a burger in the car watching the sunrise.

'babe, since we're in chicago, wanna take the cta?? it might be fun'(had to inlcude my home) it WAS NOT. some crackhead got on the bus and started cursing

⁺₊jake

'are you patriotic' 'HELL YES I AM' with a custom made american flag w you on it (like the chaewon one)

'babe, these are thongs' 'THOSE ARE FLIP FLOPS JAKE' 'then whagts a thong??' 'um. what do aussies say?? oh!! bum floss' "THATS A THONG???' yes babe that what it is

will watch baseball games w u ^^ (pt1)

⁺₊sunghoon

listens to lana del ray w u

'jolly ranchers?? never had em" and will get a headache for eating five back to back

'wait targets are real??" yes baby boy, they are

⁺₊sunoo

apparently apple pie is american (??) so hed for sure love it !!

omg babe, please take im to baskin robbins please. and let him get mint choc ice cream

'tipping?? tf, no' he WILL roll his eyes. if you have seent hat one clip where him and jay were shopping somewhere, they bought smth and needed change. jay walked away w/o the change and sunoo waited ToT

⁺₊jungwon

'baby, look at that huge bird!!!' 'the bald eagle??' 'it doesnt look very bald to me :(' 'no wonnie, its called a bald eagle' 'but why, it has feathers??'

so apparently having cookouts is an american thing (?? pt2) and wonnie would have so much fun !!

'baby i want it!!!' 'an american girl doll??" "yea!!'' wonnie :(

⁺₊niki

watches baseball games w u (pt 2) and basketball games (pt 2) w matching jordans and jerseys. hed also buy lakers tickets ^^

will watch the real houswives of dallas bc why not

'are you patriotic' 'HELL YES I AM' with a custom made american flag w you on it part 83 never shuts up abt you bc he loves america (source:weverse)

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jacevelaryonswife · 1 year

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ㅤCatch me if you can, working on my tan, Salvatore.

The summer's wild and I've been waiting for you, all this time, I adore you, can't you see you’re meant for me?

∴pairing: Sugar Daddy!Daemon Targaryen x fem!reader

∴warnings and notes: age gap, reader is 20+ but her age isn’t mencioned, smut. Inspired by Salvatore from Lana Del Rey.

The first time you saw him was at an exhibition at the Targaryen foundation, which depicted life in Old Valyria. He was magnetic, intense and almost too attractive. Truly inaccessible, you thought, however, life wanted to positively surprise you with the opposite of that. You weren't used to going to sophisticated places, although you were a girl with expensive and demanding tastes, so when your friend invited you to the event your heart almost jumped out of your mouth. It was so exciting to be among such a select few of New York's elite, you could almost relax for a moment. Almost.

Underneath the subtle makeup and cheap clothes — perfectly chosen for the occasion —you were scared. Not out of fear of discovering your humble nature, after all that never embarrassed you, but fear of rejection, of the superb and elitist look in your direction, fear of humiliation by unhappy and mean people. At the start of the exhibition your figure stood alongside your friend and her friend, Aegon Targaryen, a fully representative specimen of the rich fuckboy stereotype — at least he was funny. However, as the evening progressed and people became more relaxed, you assumed you could move around and mingle with less tension around people. You've talked to some of the Targaryen/Velaryon youths closer to your age. Two of them, Jacaerys and Daeron were genuinely adorable and even a little flirtatious, which made you slyly recoil upon realizing their interest.

In this way, finding yourself in a corridor away from the small crowd, you began to contemplate some paintings placed on the wall that didn’t belong to the exhibition. One of them caught your attention and captured you for a long time, it was a night city in a cyberpunk aesthetic in the shape of the upper part of a male silhouette. You've never seen anything like that.

"Do you like it?" A male voice asked very close to you, on your side actually.

And then he appeared. Tall, thin, short hair, with a discreet smile.

“Uh, I'm not a big art connoisseur, but I appreciate a beautiful painting,” you said.

“And what do you think of this one?”

You returned to contemplate the painting again, before replying: “I like the futuristic aesthetic. It's aggressive, rowdy and intimidating, it reminds me of works like Altered Carbon, it's chaotic and dark and I can't stop admiring it. I don't really know if it's futuristic at all, but it resembles me. I think it was my favorite so far.”

He didn't hide his satisfied expression upon hearing your opinion, looking away from his handsome face to the screen in question.

“The reference was a troubled phase of my youth, I spent nights awake in galleries in downtown New York, Chicago and Paris. It was more underground than it is today and I certainly have some scars, but nothing that time can put us back on track.”

His eyes sparkled in self-realization. That was not only the author of the painting, but he was also a Targaryen. How did you not notice before? The short gray hair and violet eyes were distinctive enough to give away a Valyrian for miles. Maybe it was some mechanism in your brain to avoid associating him with a descendant of the dragon and making you nervous again, but it didn't matter now, not when he was already beside you in that beige linen shirt with the long sleeves and collar and sophisticated posture.

“Daemon Targaryen,” he said, holding out his hand.

You introduced yourself with a shy smile, greeting him back. “Are these all yours? They are very good."

He didn't need to look at the other pictures in the hall to nod. “Only a few, most are in my gallery.”

“Oh,” was all you said. “How long have you been painting?”

“I like to say I was born with brushes for fingers,” he chuckled with a hint of smugness. “And as for you, what were you born to do?”

"I don't know. I never really knew. I like my field, although I haven't graduated yet, but I never had a big dream or talent for arts in general.”

The look he gave you was understanding, almost affectionate, nodding. You stayed the rest of the night together, and even though you hadn't lived a third of what he had told you, the oldest Targaryen didn't make light of your experiences and aspirations for the future, quite the contrary, he asked a lot about your tastes, your dreams, your preferences and desires. Even if you were apprehensive about being around the most charming man you'd ever seen, Daemon was good enough to break through your preoccupation and wrap you up in a spiral of seduction veiled in sophisticated words and good conversation. By the gods, how you longed for that night not to end and you had to return to your simple and unglamorous life, to your heavy routine of studies and tiredness with uninteresting boys unlike the handsome man at your side.

“You have a beautiful face, you know, I would love to have you in one of my paintings,” he said as he rested his glass of white wine on the shelf beside him, “and I can already imagine how.”

"How?" You smiled in ecstasy, especially when he moved a piece of your hair to your ear and caressed your face. Your heart froze a beat and your mouth parted, a part of the smile still visible. It seemed too unreal to be true, but you would never object to what was about to happen.

“I'd love to show you,” he said before cupping your face and pressing his lips to yours in a kiss that made you float. You grabbed the back of his neck to pull him closer and rose on tiptoe to reach him properly, only to find yourself deliciously pressed against the wall as he stole the breath from your lungs in the sexiest, most demanding way possible. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that your reality seemed fully magnified as he pulled back and stared into your face, still so close you could only get intoxicated on his expensive woody cologne. “Come to my apartment, I need you babygirl.”

Oh dear, an indecent sound nearly escaped your mouth at the nickname, your breathing turning into wheezes immediately. You've never been in a relationship with an older man, not for lack of interest, but there weren't any such attractive options close until tonight. It felt like a sensual dream, especially when he traced circular patterns on her neck with his thumb.

“Yes."

Daemon glared fiercely before pulling you gently around the waist and out of the room, opening the door for you to say goodbye to your friend and Aegon, hating the knowingly slutty look he directed at your figure. Your heart pounded with each traffic light the luxurious red convertible crossed, impressed by the ruby, blue and green lights that illuminated that part of town and even more by the large hand that was on your bare thigh. How you wished it would rise a little higher...

Luckily his dazzlingly modern apartment wasn't far away, with beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the sea of buildings and skyscrapers of the world's greatest metropolis. It was breathtaking. You couldn't help but walk to the center of the room, gently tapping the glass as a smile left your lips. "It's so beautiful."

“No more than you, I promise,” he whispered into your hair, next to your ear, sending shivers through the body. He curled one hand in front of your body, caging you between the glass as he brushed your hair away from your neck to sensually kiss your erogenous spot, making your eyes close and your hands rest on the glass. His vague hand ran over your waist and breasts, squeezing your flesh deliciously. “Have you been with a man before, babygirl? A real man, not these fuckers who don't know how to satisfy a girl properly.”

“No, I never have been,” you replied breathlessly, looking at him through the reflection.

“I will make sure you never forget this night.”

Daemon turned you around to kiss you, demanding to taste, lick, suck, and bite each of your mouths. He'd like to taste your sweet pussy right there, fucking your beautiful body against the glass, but he wanted more, so much more, he wanted to lay you on the bed while the blue light outside illuminated your body just like the painting he'd imagined. And so he did. He stripped you of your clothes before laying you on the white sheets, drinking in the masterful image before you. He leaned down to kiss and suck on your neck as he slid his hand down the length of your body to the wet spot between your legs, spreading your wetness with his fingers before massaging your clit incisively with the palm of his hand, making a long, breathy moan out of your throat as you held him from behind, desperate for more friction. He removed his hand from your legs to grab your breasts and bring them to his mouth, but was quick to repeatedly grind his clothed manhood against your needy, wet pussy. He smeared saliva on your breasts and continued to tread south, kissing and stroking your stomach with his big hands.

“Fuck,” he growled at the sight of your shimmering femininity, so eager for his attention. “So fucking pretty,” he said before kissing the inside of your right thigh, holding your hips in place to dip like a bee on your flower, eating you like no other has. You moaned loudly and squeezed your eyes shut, holding onto his hair as your legs unconsciously tightened around his head. He never wavered, devouring your pearl like a starving man only to feel your body relax beneath him, your orgasm coming so hot and wet it had you moaning pathetically as he licked for another moment. A proud smile appeared on his features, which was met by a shy and satisfied smile before your hands struggled to remove the last physical obstacle that separated them.

“Ready for me, love?”

You nodded during the long look at his beautiful member. How he would love to thrust into you with no hindrance, but that would be asking too much for a first night, he knew that. So when he returned to the bed with the condom on and settled himself between your legs, his hand on your knees, there was nothing to look forward to but losing himself in your wet heat, so deliciously hot and tight. He let out a guttural growl as you let out a sly moan, sagging in glee as your pussy was filled in a steady rhythm.

“Daemon,” you cried breathlessly, pulling him in for a sloppy kiss. He became deeper and faster in his movements. “Oh! Don’t stop!" Your whisper had him moaning in your ear and biting down on your bottom lip, fucking your sensual body hungrily.

“Fuckin' hells,” he growled as you squeezed him and milked him wet all over his cock, kissing the sensitive spot on your neck. He didn't last long after that, allowing himself to fully enjoy your heat to come hard over your body, rolling over to discard the condom and lying next to you, pulling you into his chest.

“That was amazing,” you said, smiling wide and tired, feeling your warm intimacy relax completely.

He just smiled and nodded silently, draping an arm over your shoulder. You didn't bother too much to stay awake, however, Daemon's low voice caught your attention.

“You said you never had great aspirations, but you also told me of dreams to be fulfilled, desires, everything you would like to have, see and live. Let me do it, babygirl, let me help you.”

Your eyes widened, looking up to meet his calm features. "Are you serious?" We don't even know each other well, this is a big step for both of us,” you said.

“We have enough time for that, I just need to know if you want it.”

This is definitely the best night of your life. Of course I do, holy shit I want it so bad. “Yes! I want it! I want it so much!” You kissed him sleepily, smiling against his lips. And that's how the dynamic between you began.

tag: my bestie @valeskafics cause she planted the idea of sugar daddy daemon in my head with this work here, check out her work! She's the queen of hotd content.

#daemon #daemon targaryen #daemon targaryen x reader #modern daemon #sugar daddy!daemon #sugar daddy daemon #daemon x reader #daemon x you #daemon targaryen x you #modern hotd #au #smut #daemon targaryen smut #matt smith

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eretzyisrael · 2 months

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Opinion

By MICHAEL KAYE Published: FEBRUARY 28, 2024 03:04 THE WRITER speaks at a marketing conference in New York City wearing a #EndJewHatred T-shirt.(photo credit: COURTESY MICHAEL KAYE)

It’s been almost five months since October 7, a day that completely changed the lives of more than 15 million Jews around the world. But the aftermath of the attack is still present, months later. In many ways, it feels as though this nightmare just happened, while at other moments, it’s hard to remember what life was like before that day of terror.

I am not fluent in Hebrew. I do not wear a kippah. I have almost 30 tattoos. I am not your stereotypical Jew, but I have become a proud Jewish activist. But October 7 changed me, as it did many others. Who I was before is someone I can never be again. I cannot be complicit or silent. I donate to the Anti-Defamation League; I speak at conferences wearing an #EndJewHatred T-shirt; I never leave home without Jewish-themed jewelry; and I use my social media platforms to discuss the rising antisemitism on college campuses across the United States and around the world.

As someone who was educated at a Jewish school and learned about the Holocaust, I am no stranger to antisemitism or the dangerous impact it can have. My earliest memories include being taught by my parents to be proud but quiet about my Judaism, having swastikas carved on my school playground, being immediately evacuated on September 11, and always leaving my Star of David at home when traveling.

During my childhood and teenage years, I heard from and met many Holocaust survivors, including Elie Wiesel. I listened to their stories about how the world remained silent.

Today, it feels like the beginning of a second Holocaust. That is why I cannot remain silent.

A scary time to be Jewish

For this Jewish New Yorker, it’s a scary time to be Jewish. The American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America report found that 93% of American Jews surveyed think antisemitism is a problem in the United States and 86% believe antisemitism in the country has increased over the past five years.

In November, I attended the March for Israel in Washington. Around me were Jewish people from Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Diego, and Queens. A man from Brooklyn put tefillin (phylacteries) on me; it was the first time I had worn tefillin in almost 20 years. I even got to meet Julia Haart and Miriam Haart from Netflix’s My Unorthodox Life, who grew up in a religious community not too far from me. While there, I realized this gathering had the most Jews I’ve been around since I was in Israel in 2006. It was the safest I had felt in years. But there were also allies, including Congressman Ritchie Torres and CNN contributor Van Jones. That day reminded me of why I am proud to be Jewish and why I cannot be silent about my Judaism any longer.

Since October 7, I have lost hundreds of followers on social media. I have received anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages, even threats. But I am not alone. The AJC found that six in 10 people have come across antisemitic content online, and 78% of American Jews feel less safe as Jews in the United States since that horrific day.

To many of us, the current climate feels different. We’re feeling angry, confused, and isolated. In my lifetime, I have watched the nation unite after domestic and foreign terrorist attacks, social justice actions, and wars. Rarely, outside of politics, have I seen us this divided: the Jewish community against everyone else. Overnight, people who had never spoken about any Middle Eastern wars became experts on the conflict. Disinformation spread like wildfire across social media, and much of it felt aimed at damaging or discrediting Jews and Zionists. Almost immediately after October 7, it was not only taboo to express sympathy for the Israelis who were captured or murdered; it was discouraged and forbidden, often met with attacks, both physical and verbal.

BUT THROUGH these painful months, there have also been glimmers of light.

During this period of mourning, I have watched people of all backgrounds come together – to educate, to grieve, to hope, and to pray. A Christian connection on social media thanked me for sharing educational resources. Jewish friends from elementary school and high school reached out. A Muslim friend held my hand as I cried, and another has been checking on me periodically for months. These are the moments I have chosen to cling to.

Our future is not where one side loses and another wins. It’s where we all unite.

The writer is an award-winning communications strategist, data storyteller, purpose-driven marketer, and educator based in New York City. He often speaks about antisemitism, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice issues.

#Israel #antisemitism #israel hamas war

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strangestcase · 4 months

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I need more “only in Gotham” memes that aren’t about the superhero/villain shit. Gotham City is a monstrous gothic hybrid of New York, Chicago, and the deepest recesses of New Jersey urban life. There’s no way they don’t have an ugly public art installation they poke fun at; some local food chain that is near and dear to all; an ancient store that opened in the 1920s and is still open today and you’ll always find flooded with tourists; stereotypes about what the Gothamites like to wear, what they eat, the crazy shit they do in the subway, the goth scene, the climate, the accent. You KNOW they have a very peculiar accent.

#doc talks

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coderfortourette · 1 year

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I’ve been thinking about cities. Cause they’re kinda cool with how Ben has portrayed them

I think- I think all the cities exist. But they just exist in the state’s mind. They can briefly take control if they want. Or briefly become their own person (via magic or something). But most cities don’t want to. They’re fine ignoring things or giving their opinion to the state and then walking off

NYC, Chicago, Austin, and Miami are just weird in that regard. NYC and Chicago sometimes take control because they just want to get things done. Miami likes to flirt with people (and he can’t do that inside Florida’s head. Especially when Florida doesn’t repeat the pickup lines). And Austin is just weird. After all- Keep Austin Weird is like a thing in that city

I also think not all states are “pro-city”. Texas- while reluctant to let Austin out at times- still does let him. And Florida listens to his cities/lets them out (Miami flirting or Villages making a... crude joke). But I think California is a state who’s not really pro-city. He doesn’t really let any of his talk. And doesn’t seem to like all of his cities.

(I could get into a whole thing about California’s behavior towards Austin. I don’t think he likes Austin for Austin. He only likes Austin because he’s “anti-Texas”. And Austin doesn’t like that. He finds California creepy- I mean, this guy kinda obsesses over him when he does pop out. To the point where he tells other people dealing with the same issue (and possibly worse) that they aren’t important/suck it up. When Austin provides valid criticism, Cali acts like it’s an attack against him. I bet if they actually hung out- Cali would try and shame Austin if he did anything stereotypically “Texan”. )

Illinois and New York I could see being on the fence about cities. Because their relationships with Chicago and NYC

#welcome to the table #welcome to the statehouse #ben brainard #wttt #wttsh

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 1 year

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youtube

Erec Smith: Redefining "Harm" Infantilizes People of Color

"Harm" has become an almost ubiquitous term in social justice circles. Hear a Mandarin word that sounds like the N-word? You’ve been harmed, according to students and administrators at USC. Famed author of White Fragility Robin DiAngelo’s latest New York Times bestselling book is even subtitled “How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm”; it seems to argue that anything other than full adherence to her worldview perpetrates harm against people of color.

In contemporary social justice parlance, the word harm has broadened from its original meaning of physical and sometimes mental injury to anything that offends, creates discomfort or, through "slippery slope" logic, can eventually lead to physical harm. The word "harm" does not mean what it used to mean.

The standard definition of harm has undergone concept creep—the broadening of a word's meaning to incorporate thoughts and actions formerly considered outside its purview. When you see the definition of “white supremacy” go from the KKK and Nazis to “individualism” and “objectivity”, you’re seeing an example of concept creep.

Where once the potential for harm existed in contact sports, accidents, physical altercations, traumas and so on, one might now find it while reading a reference to a racial slur in a question in a law school exam, or listening to a recorded debate in a classroom, such as when teaching assistant Lindsay Shepherd played for her class a debate on transgender pronouns featuring psychologist Jordan Peterson, or encountering any of millions of possible triggering opinions on social media.

The redefinition of harm infantilizes people and I, for one, refuse to be “harmed” so easily. I would never let someone else have so much power over my wellbeing that a "mean tweet" or a mere question—especially one asked out of curiosity or a request for elaboration—would shake me to my core.

Americans of African descent have been resilient through 250 years of slavery and 100 years of Jim Crow apartheid. Now that we have overcome physical oppression and segregation, is now the time to give others so much control over our minds? Our happiness and fulfillment? I don't think a world in which people give their power away so easily is one any self-respecting person would want to see.

As author and lawyer Van Jones so eloquently said, quote, “I don't want you to be safe ideologically. I don't want you to be safe emotionally. I want you to be strong. That's different. I'm not going to pave the jungle for you. Put on some boots and learn how to deal with adversity. I'm not going to take all the weights out of the gym. That's the whole point of the gym. This is the gym.”

My anti-racism is about promoting empowerment. Defining harm as shallowly as many other self-proclaimed anti-racist activists do leads them to mistake symbolic gestures for concrete strategies for change. Complaining about triggering language and hurt feelings directs energy away from ameliorating real suffering in the world: hunger, violence, homelessness, and so much more. Paying Robin DiAngelo’s 5-figure speaking fee enriches her but doesn’t get anyone out of economic deprivation. Encouraging students at Loyola University Chicago to report cases of perceived “emotional harm” to the school does nothing to help the hundreds of Chicagoans literally dying of homicide each year.

I understand that certain words and statements do hold historically disquieting connotations. Being called a racial slur or being associated with a particular negative stereotype never feels good. This take on harm is closer to the original meaning of the word and such actions must be addressed effectively. However, eradicating “harm”—newly redefined—may only amount to performance art, in which the semblance of action is all that is needed.

When you see someone complain about the “harm” imparted by someone else’s words, ask yourself if the complainer’s ideas and tactics will make any real difference in the lives of the truly injured. When harm begins to mean everything, it ceases to mean anything at all.

Join me in building a culture of resilience and optimism at FairForAll.org

This kind of thing is virtue theater, the type of self-satisfied pretending-to-help that could be called secular prayer.

"If someone tried to take control of your body and make you a slave, you would fight for freedom. Yet how easily you hand over your mind to anyone who insults you. When you dwell on their words and let them dominate your thoughts, you make them your master."

-- Epictetus

The people who like to lecture others on their "fragility" are reliably the most fragile of all.

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fruityyamenrunner · 1 year

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I have lived my whole life in various urban (though only intermittently metropolitan) neighbourhoods, so I only have a very vague sense of what life in the invincible green suburbs is like. I gather the main traffic there is old maids cycling to Holy Communion in the morning mist except in the more pious, worse-maintained remote districts, where the old maids are in religious habit and ask each other if they come this way often. Of course the people who live there must get there somehow so there must be one or two [APPRENTICE: please look to see what the most frequently financed breed of car is] in the garages or drives there.

That the people who live there have just as mediatised a view of urban life as I do of suburban life is proved by a certain stereotyped response I am not very frequently disappointed by:

Some dispatcher sends out more than one police car, fire engine, ambulance, something that goes Whoop! Whoop! . this happens quite frequently, and everyone between the urban dispatch hub and whatever remote spoke somewhere in the county hears the whoop whooping. This is part of civilization, but the suburbanite is perturbed because to hear such a thing in a spoke means something bad is happening *there*.

Instead of references to minor prime ministers, the way they express this anxiety is invariably "Oh, that sounds like [New York|Chicago|Detroit|Other American cop show location]" when in fact that is the sound of Buckborough-on-Quim. The reference to the city is never favourable, from which I deduce an anxiety.

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gaymingbinosaur · 1 year

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Also yeah I might be spamming Appalachia for a bit. I would apologize but no. Today is shit and it’s my home. And legit sick and tired of all the ills of the Republican Party being put on my loved ones. Like no I’m not going to just move. Where am I moving to. Away from people who love me to people who think I should despise my family and be ashamed that we are all inbred hicks. Fuck you. I want to move to get farther away from you. Explain to me what’s there in New York or Chicago that’s worth more then my dad. Or my mom. Or my uncle. Or my brothers. How about my best friend. He’s trans so you have to pretend to care about him some and not write him off as a hick. Ditch him. He’s a hick. Or I’m a bi enby to inbred and stupid to understand the value of skyscrapers. Like there’s a reason I will defend southerners from the “you stupid and racist” steryorypes hard. I may be from the north but we have so pretty god damn similar stereotypes. Appalachia and the south. Some of Appalachia is in the south. So a lot of those posts are pretty similar to my experiences so it’s hard not to want to help. Like I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to put those pics with non white cultures. But dear god I want people to know there’s more to my home then racism and homophobia. That there are people who live hear and we aren’t beneath you.

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pastorsperspective · 8 months

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If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place...

Wishing everyone a blessed Friday! It’s time to jump into another discussion with Pastor Chad about Sunday’s sermon titled: When Less is More – James the Lesser; and the accompanying scripture is from Revelation 21: 9-14. If you weren’t with us, you can listen in here: https://fb.watch/mWXTwblb04/ Jump to the 38-minute mark to go straight to the sermon. There were no questions this week so, the following is a merely a conversation between Pastor Chad and myself. We hope you enjoy!

There's not a lot to discuss about the apostle James even as you noted in your sermon, but a couple things did come to mind listening to the message. (Mostly songs and movie lines because that's how my brain works.) I came to have a heart for the homeless in an unconventional manner. Not nearly as profoundly as Mr. Schneidman in your sermon. No. It was a movie called With Honors from 1994 featuring Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser, Moira Kelly, and Patrick Dempsey. If you haven't seen it, you should. Though I was plenty old enough to recognize that homeless people were, in fact, people by that time; the mystery that surrounded their lives was scary. What you said was very true. On the outskirts of Chicago there were many, and they did look intimidating, dirty, and scary.

This is definitely a movie I will be looking into! One that always comes to mind for me is the movie Home Alone when Kevin is in New York and befriends the 'pigeon lady' in the park and they spend time together getting to know each other and he shows a level of kindness to her that she often does not receive. At the end he gives her a turtle dove sharing the wisdom that he gained at the toy store in that turtle doves come in pairs and they are always with each other no matter how far apart because they are “a symbol of friendship and love." I think this is the calling of the Church, to a partner turtledove to those who are lost, scared, marginalized, alone, afraid, abandoned, homeless, naked, hungry, incarcerated, thirsty, sick, etc. When we can extend to the world that this church, this congregation, these people, hold and value you in a way of friendship and love, THAT is when we begin to love like Jesus loved. Myself included; we have a long way to go.

We really do! That movie altered the way I saw the world and the people around me, for the better. It made me painfully aware that we're all just a couple choices or accidents, or paychecks away from homelessness ourselves. It's not always self-inflicted. It's not always drug or alcohol related. There are so many misconceptions and stereotypes. I agree that they exist for a reason and there are many people who fit the "profile", but does it matter? Does that mean they don't deserve the same basic human dignity as everyone else? Of COURSE, they do!

To answer that with a question, do we deserve the grace we have so lovingly received from Jesus? We, who call ourselves Christians and have checkered pasts just as much as anyone else. The moment we lose sight of our own pasts, our own sins, our own transgressions just because we have found salvation is the moment that sin creeps back into our lives we should fear for our very souls. So, no I don't think it should matter at all because we all are in need of grace [PERIOD]! Many people think Native Americans are just diabetic, alcoholic, lower-class peyote-smoking know-nothings. How wrong they are! Yes, there are persons who struggle with alcoholism, diabetes, poverty, and some who are deeply devoted to other religions, but that is not true for all and at what point is any of that a bad thing? At what point does any of that negate our humanity and the fact that we are loved by God? IT DOESN'T!!!!! Love demands that we let go of our stereotypes and misconceptions and just simply love people because of the fact that they are just that, People! We don't have to agree, we don't have to like everything they do and everything about them, we just simply need to love.

That can be so, so hard! But it’s so true! We want that for ourselves, we accept that for ourselves, but we struggle so much extending that to others.

You said, "If you don't like something in your life, change it!" That's the easiest advice to give and the hardest to follow. We all acknowledge there are always circumstances standing in the way that make "just change it" not the easiest thing in the world to do and yet, it's really the only real answer, isn't it? It's not the one we want to hear, but it's the only one that's going to get results. Isn't that what they say the definition of insanity is, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? You don't like the results; you must change something. But what? What do we change?

I love this, YES, the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting different results. WHY ARE WE INSANE?!?!?!? A different topic for a different blog. I agree, it's the simplest and yet hardest thing in the world to do. I think there are few things to mention here. First, we must be open and honest with ourselves when we are making excuses. The cyclical patterns of life and the vicious cycles are something we have to be aware of and address. The other thing is you asked what do we change, sometimes what we need to change in our perspective. Seeing things from a different or another's point of view can sometimes make the biggest difference. Other times we need to change our expectations. Are our expectations unfair, unreasonable, and/or unrealistic? Then we might need to simply change the circumstances or context. If at the end of the day something doesn't fit these criteria "does this draw me closer to God or constantly pull me away from God," then we need to address this immediately.

Definitely a different topic for a different blog! Obviously, I'm walking through the sermon backwards this week because you began the message with exactly what we need to change. The only thing we CAN change. The only thing we have any control over. That's ourselves. "Never mind, I shall start with myself." you quoted of Elie Wiesel and in my head came the song Man in The Mirror by Michael Jackson. (But the Keke Palmer version which I like better.) There's a quote from the movie Joyful Noise (from which the version of that song comes) that I love where Queen Latifah's character says to someone who's gossiping, "My Mamma always said, 'If people swept in front of their own front porches, this whole world would be clean!'" Isn't that the truth? If we all just started with ourselves and worried about keeping our own homes, minds, lives clean and charitable it feels like the world would just sort itself out. But like most things, that would require 100% participation to work!

PREACH!!! We must start with ourselves. We can't get caught up in changing everything in the world, that can easily lead to frustration and just us giving up altogether. We strive to be the most Christlike ourselves and trust that God's grace will influence the rest. I love the song from the jungle book "Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities; forget about your worries and your strife. I mean the bare necessities, oh, mother nature's recipes that bring the bare necessities of life." What if love were the bare necessity we sought and lived on?

I can barely imagine a world where everyone simply chose love as the one bare necessity of life. Can you? Can any of us? It’s a beautiful thing to think about today though.

As I head into this weekend and beyond, I will make it my own priority to see where I can choose love more often in areas where I want to choose negativity or frustration, or bitterness or pride. Maybe you can, too.

Man in The Mirror (Keke Palmer Version)

youtube

#methodist #pastorsperspective #fumc #pastorchad #Youtube

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perpetually-sad-but-its-fine · 1 year

Text

2x19 of FBI (only watching for ms. hailey upton)

bro

that starting??

scared the ever-loving shit out of me

it was so graphic???

what for??

why??

oooo

haileyyyy

my girl looks so GOOD

i don't understand how its possible for someone to look that pretty

i don't

its not fair

this OA guy is kinda...

he’s um...

idek him at ALL

and im kinda

*debby ryan hair tuck*

*clears throat* anyways

he’s also really tall???

how tall is this actor???

BRO THE ACTOR IS 6′ 5″(1.96m)???

WHAT

IM FIVE FOOT ZERO

WHAT THE FUCK

moving on

the guy who made the hamilton reference???

love him

don't even know his name

love him

20 seconds into their partnership and its not going well

hailey immediately calling him out and then acting casual by saying ‘which car? this one?’

OA being extremely awkward and trying to justify??

not rlly sure how i feel about that

‘any observations?’

‘pizza’s too thin. it’s like a cracker with sauce on it. just tryna keep it real.’

heR SMILE AFTER SHE SAYS THAT IS SO BEAUTIFUL

and also

that’s such a chicago thing to say LMAOO

and then OA’s face of ‘ah, well, um. o-okay? what do i do now?’

‘it’s a new york thing’

‘it felt like a cop vs fed thing’

‘what's that supposed to mean?’

‘you think youre better than us.’

*cackling*

OA LOOKS LIKE HES ASKING FOR HELP

im loving how blunt hailey is and we’re only 4 minutes into the episode

his impressed face after hailey says ‘sikh’ is fantastic

my girl is so lovely

ofc the indian victim is top of his class and in america to pursue engineering

not rlly sure if im reading into it but eh

not rlly liking the stereotypes

but then again

hes the victim

we don't rlly need too much of his backstory

this lady talking to professor is really pretty???

mY GOD SHES BEAUTIFUL

i don't even know her name

but she's absolutely stunning

is the professor involved in this??

why do i feel like he is???

frank prichard?

more like frank PRICKard amiright?

OA’s ‘excuse me’ in that low voice??? SEGGSY

also

frank

you can go jump off a cliff

hailey lowkey looking like she wants to shoot him is a mood bc SAME

oh, he's got pictures of the ones he thinks are “suspicious” (note the sarcasm)

yea

im not at all pissed off

both OA and hailey shooting him a death glare???

*chefs kiss*

the embodiment of bisexual panic actually

‘he’s an indian. not an arab’

‘kinda the same thing right?’

no tf its not

and if you don't shut your whore mouth, frank

im gonna pull out your teeth, one by one

hailey’s authoritative ‘NOW’

god

ma’am

im not strong enough

that was so...

*slowly gets on knees*

hailey stepping closer and threatening frank is doing something to me

frank looking up at OA and being met with an extremely sexy death stare??

we love it

im already loving this partnership

‘do you understand?’

MAAM PLEASE

THIS IS TOO MUCH

also

i love seeing frank nearly piss his pants

their slight banter is great

they could be besties

i want them to be besties

hailey saying FBI gave me shock

didn't expect to hear that

‘thirty-years-old, male, likes to party’

*hailey nodding as if that gives a lot of information’

how the hell does she shove him??

dude’s a fuckin mountain of pure muscle

how??

OA lowkey sounds like jay tho

like his voice and jay’s are rlly similar to me

HAILEY CASUALLY JUMPING OVER THE CAR???

MISS MA’AM

THIS ENTIRE EPISODE IS JUST GONNA BE ME THIRSTING OVER HAILEY, ISN’T IT???

why did the ‘oh. okay. cool. you’re welcome.’ make me laugh?

OA looks like he wants to shake hailey by the shoulders and ask her what her deal is

‘so the neighbors loved him’

‘exactly’

i love how FBI (from what I can tell) is more humorous than chicago pd even tho the FBI is supposed to be more strict than cpd

this woman

the same woman that talked to the professor

is so

P R E T T Y

how is everyone in this show so attractive??

its not fair

im tryna watch for the plot

and yet

im getting distracted

hailey looks fine as fuck in all black

her smug little ‘i think i can do that’ makes me nervous for what she's about to do

‘kiss my ass, blondie’

bro’s got no idea what he’s started

Hailey looking over to OA and silently asking for permission to go batshit crazy??

love to see it

OA’s smile when hailey makes the threat

it’s great

i want them to be besties

really

i need it actually

who is this maggie

is this who hailey is ‘replacing’ in this episode??

wait

are they dating??

cuz OA’s face looks a bit lovestruck

hailey immediately caught onto their relationship

i know it

the look on her face said everything

she’s relating it to her and jay

oh he’s definitely in love with maggie

its obvious

this girl that hailey’s questioning??

i think she knows something

her responses are too fake

hailey can sense it too, im pretty sure

oh my god

there's another dead body

oh no

its the roommate??

isn't it??

oh wait

its not

hailey taking charge

as much as i love the idea of sergeant halstead

sergeant upton has a better ring to it

*shrugs*

just saying

ohhh

there's the roommate

OA and hailey

again

being the best duo

its so funny to me how its only been a little more than half of an episode and im already invested in these characters

I FUCKIN KNEW THAT LADY WAS INVOLVED

I KNEW IT

oh wait

is that a wedding ring on OA’s hand???

it looked like one

ive rewinded that part five times

i still can't tell if its a wedding ring or not

I K N E W I T

SHES INVOLVED

this interrogation room is so dark and lowkey scaring me

‘he’s a good person’

ma’am, please

your boyfriend may have killed two people

gimme a break

‘you don't know him like i do’

it’s giving ‘i can fix him’ vibes

‘in love’

‘more like dumb love’

‘what’s the difference’

hailey’s in her feels about jay

i know it. i knOW IT. I KNOW IT.

hailey

whatre you gonna do

don't do anything stupid

hailey

please

oh my gOD

the dAD

things just escalated real quick

irrelevant and SO not the moment but hailey looks so good in that lighting

ms. upton taking the lead

something i love to see, honestly

shE LOOKS SO GOOD

IM SO FUCKIN DISTRACTED

SHE LOOKS SO G O O D

TW: ABUSE, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP, GASLIGHTING. IF YOU ARENT COMFORTABLE, SKIP UNTIL YOU SEE THE NEXT BOLDED PART.

oh shit

it’s an abusive relationship

oh no

hailey

oh poor girl

poor hailey

she can't have a break can she??

not even on a different show

she needs to suffer

why must they do this

its hurting me

her past with her father always kills me

very casual OA

questioning her

so so casual

bro’s so blunt it’s funny

and then he realises that what he said isn't appropriate and apologies

he so sweet

hes like a giant teddy bear

in case it wasn’t clear

i hate lucas reed

with every fibre of my being

he’s an abusive asshole

and srsly???

dude!!

STOP BEING SUCH A SELFSH ASS

harper’s strong

i feel so bad for her

agh

the gaslighting

i...

just no

BRO JUST SNATCHED THE BAG

NO REMORSE

NONE

OH MY GOD

CONGRATULATIONS YOU MADE IT THROUGH. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK FOR HELP. I LOVE YOU. STAY SAFE.

HARPER’S GONNA GET SHOT ISNT SHE

oh thank god

oh poor harper

thiS IS SO EMOTIONAL

it’s funny to me how OA has to literally bend his head all the way down in order to get into the car

the impressed look on OA’s face plus his cute little ‘okay, chicago’ is something to live for

hailey being super casual about it as if she didn’t impress literal FBI agents

we love a humble queen

who’s gonna make the drop?

is it gonna be harper??

they can't leave the poor girl alone, can they???

oh god

this is gonna make me cry

im super nervous for this

harper

you got this

not liking this dude

don't use the nicknames man

don't do it

its disgusting

OA is close to freaking out bc of hailey

the look on his face says, ‘you better know what youre doing’

nopenopenopenopenope

stay the hell away from her

stop being creepy

YES HARPER

YOU GOT IT

hailey’s smile

it is absolute happiness

im in love

i could live off of photos of her smiling, i swear

OH MY GOD

WHAT THE FUCK

IS SHE DEAD????

oh god

oh thank god

i thought she was dead

i swear to fucking god

OA sounds E X A C T L Y like jay

haileyyyy

my loveee

OA and hailey friendship

their banter

we love to see it

hailey stop being humble

bro

do we not get to see them become besties????

like???

WE COULDVE AT LEAST HEARD THE REASON WHY HE BECAME A FED

oh god

im gonna binge watch this series, aren't i?

#*kissy kissy* watches FBI #hailey upton #oa zidan #FBI #chicago pd #FBI spoilers

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purplesurveys · 2 years

Text

1478

Do you use eyelash curlers? No they freak me out. Kate used to make me her test face(??) or canvas(?) whenever she bought new makeup and I used to warn her all the time that she can put whatever product on me, but the one no-no was the eyelash curler lol.

What is your favorite bra? Uhm, I don’t really have one and to tell you the truth I haven’t been wearing bras much post-COVID peak, even if I’m headed out.

Is your bedroom kept spotless? Not on the weekdays when I’m working; I tend to neglect my room and will have charger cords everywhere. On the weekends is when I’ll usually get to catch up and make my room tidier.

Did you write diaries when you were younger? I did. I stopped when my parents looked into one of them when I was in middle school because that had entirely broken my trust. I shifted to surveys not long after that, and I’m really glad I found the community.

If so, do you ever read them and laugh at how much you’ve changed?: I had diaries when I was like 10/11 so it wasn’t a matter of how much I’ve changed but just how cringy I find everything. So many kids think they’re hot shit once they’re in their puberty years and I was one of them, except with imperfect grammar to boot, lol.

What is your favorite city in the world? I wouldn’t know because I have discovered the world, yet! < This is good. But if we’re basing it off of purely impressions, maybe Barcelona, New York, or Chicago.

Do you think witchcraft is interesting? No.

What is your favorite kind of soup? Miso soup is the best. I like cream of mushroom soup, too.

How old will you be in 16 years? I’ll be 40.

What do you think of people who hate vegetarians? I think they could be so much more productive with their time.

Can you sing? I mean I know my notes; I just can’t sing well, as in belting out and stuff. I unfortunately do not fit the Filipino stereotype of us being great singers, haha.

What is your favorite Johnny Depp film? I don’t have one and honestly I don’t think I’ve even watched anything of his besides Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and A Nightmare on Elm Street, both of which have neither been remarkable enough for me to call it a favorite.

Do you actually think Orlando Bloom is good looking? Sure, but I never had a celebrity crush on him. < Same.

Would you rather go to Scotland or Ireland? Probably Scotland.

Do you like the color purple? Sure!

Do you own anything velvet? I probably do but I’m blanking out.

Who was the last person you sent a text to? This producer from a TV show that I’m trying to arrange a segment feature with (for a client) but by god is she the most fucking irritating woman I have had to correspond with. She talks so hastily and with so little regard for me, as if I’m doing her a favor by answering her calls or waiting for her fucking quotes. I’ve tried to be cordial the entire week but by yesterday I’ve lost all traces of kindness and started to talk to her exclusively formally, lol.

Do you think texting is overrated? No? Why would it...?

What is your favorite perfume? Heat Rush but idek if that’s still in production. I haven’t tried to purchase another bottle in a while either.

What film are you looking forward to seeing the most? There’s nothing in mind. I’ve lost interest in films a long time ago. Do you like dragons? No.

Are you good at present wrapping? No I never learned LOL I’m awful at doing anything with paper besides writing on them, so all my gifts are either wrapped by my sister (then I pay her, hahaha) or I just resort to paper bags if I’m handling them myself.

Are you a flirt? No.

Don’t you hate it when you hear about teenagers who happily allow their mother to do everything for them like washing, chores etc? This is a culture thing at the end of the day because where I live, it’s normal for parents to do stuff for their kids. It doesn’t irritate me, but I would be able to understand why people from other cultures would possibly find this bizarre.

When was the last time you babysat? Well over a decade ago when I used to be the dependable eldest sister/cousin. They’re all grown up now though so we’ve run out of kids I could look out for, lol.

Would you rather have jet black hair or cherry red hair? I’d rather keep my black hair. Red isn’t really a color I’ve envisioned for myself.

Could you be friends with someone who was mind numbingly ignorant? Not at all. I’ve cut out relatives who have proven to be ignorant towards the current political climate – what makes you think I’ll keep a friend around?

What was the last shampoo and conditioner you used? Dove and Pantene.

How often do you get horny? Doesn’t happen a lot but the feeling passes by every now and then. What would you like to change in your bedroom? Loft. Bed. And shelves for all my merch because boy do I have a bunch of new ones (and with big-ass outboxes) arriving soon.

How many bedrooms does your home have? It technically had three but we have since transformed the balcony into another bedroom as well, so now we have four.

Does mess irritate you? I mean, if it’s Hoarders-level and it smells and you can barely walk around, then yeah. I don’t mind a few pillows not propped up the wrong way or a coffee table having a bunch of crap on it, as long as they’re tidied up at the end of the day.

What color is your kitchen? It’s predominantly white.

Have you ever been to Paris? No.

Which one of your parents has the worst temper? My mom. My dad doesn’t even get angry.

Are you laid back? Not really. It depends on the situation; I can be laidback sometimes but I think for the most part I get uptight and worked up about the smallest of things.

Do you make sexual innuendos about everything? Nope.

#survey #surveys

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sunmuted · 1 month

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Ink, Lens, and Lyrics – The Creative World of Patti Smith

Patti Smith, a pioneer of punk rock's raw emotion and lyrical depth, has left an enduring legacy in music history. Her journey as an artist highlights the importance of staying true to oneself, embracing rebellion, and pursuing passions.

In the 1970s, Smith was a leading figure in New York City's punk scene. Her debut album, "Horses" (1975), broke new ground by blending spoken-word poetry with rock music. Tracks like "Gloria" and "Land" showcased her unique style, captivating audiences and pushing the boundaries of what rock music could be.

Patti says these about her life as an artist: I first vowed myself that I would be an artist, or at least follow a calling within the arts when I was twelve. My father took us to an art museum in Philadelphia, and I saw Picassos for the first time. And when I saw these Picassos, I don’t even know what came over me, but I was so transfixed, and I felt that’s what I wanna do. I wanna do that, whatever that is.

Born on December 30, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois, Patti Smith's childhood was filled with a deep passion for literature and the arts. Influenced by the writings of William Blake, Arthur Rimbaud, and Bob Dylan, she began a journey that blended music, poetry, and activism effortlessly.

Smith's creativity knows no bounds. She is a writer, painter, and photographer, channeling her boundless imagination into various mediums. Her memoir, "Just Kids" (2010), offers a glimpse into her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and their bohemian life in New York City.

Throughout her career, Patti Smith has remained devoted to social activism and humanitarian causes. Her music acts as a powerful call for justice and freedom, addressing issues of oppression, inequality, and the human condition with honesty and integrity. As a pioneering woman in a male-dominated field, Smith has broken stereotypes and paved the path for future female artists. Her fearless embrace of individuality and rejection of societal norms have established her as an icon of rebellion and resilience.

#pattismith #justkids #horses

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xtruss · 2 months

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How To Improve Your Sense Of Direction

— By Christine Ro | February 18, 2024

A Young Girl Navigating Hampton Court Maze in 2009. Credit: Getty Images

Some people can strike off on any journey with no guide except their 'Pigeon Senses'. How do they do it? And can this ability be learned?

Ralph Street loves maps. Appropriately for someone with his surname, he studied geography and town planning. And well before that, his parents regularly took him out orienteering – a sport that involves racing between two points using a topographical map and a compass.

"I don't really remember a time before orienteering," Street reflects. "My parents took me orienteering the first week I was born."

Street refers to this as free training, as he now competes internationally as an orienteer, from his home base of Oslo in Norway. But these elite skills have also been useful in everyday life. Street remembers a childhood trip from London to Glasgow, with friends who deferred to him as they realised his knack for getting around the new city. In general, he tries to be diplomatic when he has a difference of opinion with another person about the correct way to go. "I'm usually right, but… we might do their thing first and [then] realise they're wrong."

Other orienteers also report better spatial memory than average. But competitive orienteers have an unusual amount of navigation practice. In fact, the latest neuroscience and psychology research suggests that there are plenty of ways for ordinary people to improve their spatial skills.

Why Some People are Better at Getting Around

Street took up the sport of orienteering at the age of nine. As his experiences suggest, childhood exposure shapes people's comfort and confidence with navigation. Kids having the opportunity to move independently around varied environments matters here. "Experiments with non-human animals suggest that passive motion is not that good because you don't basically pay attention," says Nora Newcombe, a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia.

People who grew up outside cities, or in more spatially complex cities (think Prague rather than Chicago), also appear to be better able to navigate as adults. This is related to the distances travelled and the variety of areas traversed.

Even as adults, "we do have good evidence that people who range more widely around their environment" have better spatial skills, says Newcombe. Going straight back and forth between the home and the workplace doesn't cut it.

In many societies, girls and women have limited opportunities to practice their navigation skills, and this is thought to be a key reason for the myth that women are innately worse at navigation than men. Women sometimes consider themselves to be worse navigators than men even in studies where their performance is the same, due partly to gendered stereotypes. (Older men are the group most likely to overestimate their navigation abilities.)

Overall, gender inequality is associated with gendered differences in navigation ability. This points to the role of culture in creating such differences (or the perception of such differences). "People tend to overestimate the effect of gender, and also they tend to assume that the effect of gender is somehow independent of cultural factors," says Pablo Fernandez-Velasco, a philosopher and cognitive scientist at the University of York and University College London.

One Way Scientists Can Test a Person's Sense of Direction is Using a Kind of Virtual Maze. Credit: Getty Images

Indeed, anthropology research suggests that in more gender-egalitarian societies, gender differences in navigation ability vanish. One relevant study, from 2019, concerns the Mbendjele BaYaka people in the Republic of Congo, who hunt and gather food in the rainforest without using tools like maps or compasses. Research participants were very accurate overall in tests of pointing accuracy, with no differences between men and women. The scientists attributed this to the similar distances travelled (and spatial experience gained) by women and men in this society.

Haneul Jang, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, recalls one yam foraging trip with a BaYaka woman, when the two wandered off from the main group and ended up in the middle of nowhere in the forest. Jang's Global Positioning System GPS was unable to help find trails, but her BaYaka companion "immediately looked up, checked the sun and started to walk in one direction, and soon after we found a trail".

Gender also has a cultural influence on whether girls are steered toward certain occupations where navigation is critical. Through pointing and model-building tests, Newcombe's research has found that experienced geologists have higher navigational competence than experienced psychologists. This link to the fields of science, technology, engineering and medicine (Stem) chimes with what Street has noticed in his own community: that many orienteers end up in fields like engineering, maths and physics. (He himself works in IT.)

Related to the effect of education are income and privilege, and global research suggests that a nation's GDP per capita is linked to average navigation ability.

How Brains Handle Navigation

How does all this get processed in the brain? One element is cognitive maps, which are essentially mental models of space. Researchers continue to debate what shape cognitive maps take: for instance, whether humans create representations of maps in their brains to navigate, or if they are graphs.

"The map view basically says that there's an overall common framework that we're trying to fit new information into. And the graph view says, well, we can't really even do that unless the new information is attached to some node in the graph," says Newcombe. This may seem like a very academic distinction, but "it influences our view of whether or not people can combine local spaces and can infer new routes that they have very little information about," she explains.

The cognitive map is believed to reside in the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped region of the brain involved in memory. Neuroscience research has shown that the structures around the hippocampus also play key roles in orientation. For instance, the entorhinal region has been described as the site of the "goal direction signal".

Using Aids Such as Maps May Lead to a Dependence on Navigational Help. Credit: Getty Images

Along with knowing which direction you're facing and the direction of your destination, being able to identify permanent landmarks is implicated in good navigation. This ability to recognise stable landmarks has been linked to activity in the retrosplenial cortex, which forms part of the wrinkly outer layer of the brain.

The brains of highly skilled navigators look different to those of others. One of the best-known examples comes from London cab drivers, who take years to acquire what's reverentially referred to as "The Knowledge". These cabbies' brains show growth in the hippocampus.

Though there are various orientation and direction tests, there's no gold-standard psychology test of navigation skills, especially across cultures. There are major research gaps in how certain cultures view and pass on information about navigation, let alone how those skills might be assessed in some sort of standardised way.

"The traditional [test] is something like a virtual maze," says Fernandez-Velasco, which isn't necessarily adapted to how wayfinding works in different environments and cultures. For instance, while Western navigation tends to privilege visual cues, certain other cultures are more attentive to cues based on smell, hearing, or other senses. "It's hard to capture all of this with the same test, especially with the same test that tends to be very biased towards what we consider good navigation in the Western context and perhaps in the urban context."

To improve the state of knowledge overall – as well as to help preserve types of navigational knowledge at risk of fading away, such as wave piloting in the Marshall Islands – Fernandez-Velasco says there are important questions for navigation research around "how to engage with local collaborators" and "consider non-colonial knowledge systems".

How to Become a Better Navigator

Misconceptions abound about human navigation. "One myth is that you think you cannot improve," Newcombe says. Fernandez-Velasco agrees: while their brains show less plasticity, adults can definitely still learn these skills.

Newcombe is also bothered by people considering navigation abilities irrelevant in the era of GPS. Phone batteries can die and systems can make mistakes, as suggested by accounts of people driving into bodies of water on the advice of their GPS.

Navigational aids like maps, compasses, rock art and stick charts are types of 'cognitive artefacts' – useful in many cases, but they can lead to a dependence. "Sometimes when you're using a cognitive artefact, you're offloading your cognitive abilities to that cognitive artefact," Fernandez-Velasco says of GPS, especially. "That itself might have some negative effect on your ability for navigating over time."

People can train themselves to better notice environmental cues like the wind, Sun and slopes, whether they're in rural or urban settings. "There are cues that a lot of people don't pay attention to," Newcombe says. Pursuits like sailing and scouting can help. Street encourages people to join their local orienteering club.

Not everyone will have the resources or opportunities to participate in these kinds of activities, but some principles can be put into practice while simply walking or wheeling around. For one thing, getting better at navigation requires changing our relationship with risk. "A lot of people aren't willing to explore because they're afraid," Newcombe says. "Lots of adults have quite a lot of spatial anxiety. Basically, they don't want to waste time, but also they are afraid that something bad will happen."

People Who Spend More Time Exploring Their Environment Tend to be Better at Navigating. Credit: Alamy

In a vicious cycle, that anxiety can worsen navigation, as anxiety takes up the mental space needed for spatial tasks. "If you make people anxious in the lab, their ability to navigate seems to deteriorate," says Newcombe. Yet where safe to do, getting lost occasionally serves our sense of direction overall.

While cultural variation makes it difficult to provide universal tips for improving navigation, in general, "the more you move, especially in ways that are slightly challenging, the better you'll become at navigation," Fernandez-Velasco says. "Part of the problem is that people who are bad at navigation sometimes are unconfident and avoid situations that involve navigation, so there could be this negative feedback."

For people who can't imagine wayfinding without a phone app, there are still ways to exercise spatial skills with this tech. Don't let Google Maps always decide your route, Street says.

Change the settings where possible, Newcombe suggests. The default on many apps is that "wherever you're going is straight ahead, which is a terrible way to learn. I totally advocate keeping north on the top all the time." As well, "keep zooming in and zooming out so you can both see the fine-grained information you need to navigate, but also see the landmarks."

Getting an optimal amount of sleep may help too. One global study found that for participants aged 54 and older, sleeping seven hours a night was linked to the best performance in a navigation game.

So while an orienteer in Norway and a forager in the Republic of Congo might have different ways of getting around their environments, the good news is that they – and you – can continue to hone these skills over a lifetime.

#BBC #Brain 🧠 | Features | Psychology | Science 🧫 🧬 🧪#Navigation #Sense of Direction #Pigeon Senses

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princetonuniversitypress · 1 year

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This month’s Office Hours is worth the read. Forrest Stuart, MacArthur Grant recipient and author of Ballad of the Bullet: Gangs, Drill Music, and the Power of Online Infamy, shares some significant moments thus far in his career, offers valuable insight on some of his favorite books—and may surprise you with his bedtime reading habits.

ML: What are you reading now?

FS: For the last decade or so, I’ve developed the habit of keeping two books on my bedside table at any given time, reading a bit of both each night as I wind down. The first is typically a newly published ethnography, which helps me stay current in my field. Right now, it’s Policing the Racial Divide: Urban Growth Politics and the Remaking of Segregation, by Daanika Gordon. The book takes us throughout daily life in Rust Belt city via police ride-alongs, community meetings, and other public events. Gordon weaves a fresh analysis of how police departments do more than merely respond to the racialized issues emanating from histories of segregation; rather, they are key, active authors in creating and reproducing the urban color line. As urban sociologists, geographers, and political economists continue to take policing more seriously, this book feels like the first of a new era of much-needed scholarship.

The second book in my bedside rotation is always a fantasy novel. My obsession with the genre is something I’ve kept very quiet around colleagues, until now, I suppose. I’m currently wrapping up the fifth and final book of Brent Weeks’s Lightbringer series. It follows a young orphan challenging an empire ruled by religious authoritarianism, palace intrigue, and, yes, a healthy dose of magic. Weeks’ series is deeply ethnographic, with complex worldbuilding that stretches between the multiple thousand-page books. I’m especially fond of the detailed maps on the first few pages, which let me follow the protagonist’s journey across mountain ranges and oceans. In my first book, Down, Out, and Under Arrest, which documents policing’s ripple effects across everyday life in LA’s Skid Row, I designed and included a map of the neighborhood as a kind of homage to my favorite fantasy writers. I also find myself dog-earing pages of fantasy novels when I spot literary tricks and grammatical moves I hope to try out in my own prose.

ML: What book has had the most impact on your career?

FS: Without a doubt, the book that has had the biggest impact on my career is Mitchell Duneier’s masterful 1999 book, Sidewalk. It’s an ethnography of Black, precariously housed magazine vendors who set up shop on Sixth Avenue in New York’s Greenwich Village. Through Duneier’s fieldwork, we see how the vendors become “eyes on the street” to enhance safety for vulnerable populations, provide mentorship to young Black men in the local service economy, and act as key “nodes” that link residents across racial, class, and generational lines. Throughout his analysis, Duneier “zooms out,” tracing how structural forces, like deindustrialization and zero-tolerance policing, have aligned to bring the vendors to this location and hound their continued existence. He also “zooms in” to the interactional level using conversation analysis (CA), measuring split second pauses and turn-taking to show how vendors’ seemingly innocuous chatter with passersby constitutes a form of “interactional vandalism” that intimidates women and reinforcing stereotypes about Black men. Stylistically, Sidewalk often reads more like a novel, with flowing dialogue punctuated with beautiful black and white photos from the Chicago Tribune’s Ovie Carter.

A few years after its release, Sidewalk was also the subject of arguably the most famous book review symposium in sociology, generating a heated back-and-forth between Duneier and Berkeley’s Loïc Wacquant on the issues of transparency, representation, and the role of urban ethnography in the fetishization of poverty. I return to the debate every time I start a new project.

ML: What is your favorite book to teach?

FS: In just about every class I teach, I look for new ways to put Mary Pattillo’s now-classic Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class on the syllabus. I start by showing students how Pattillo uses the opening “setting” section—often a perfunctory, forgettable part of a book—to set up a wonderful empirical puzzle. Walking the reader through a tour of the “Groveland” neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, Pattillo paints a scene where, because of intergenerational segregation, middle class Black residents, banks, and churches share walls and sidewalks with low-income Black residents, subsidized housing, and check cashing outlets. How, Pattillo leads us to ask, does this unique cross-class proximity structure everyday life and social organization for the Black middle class? In answering, Pattillo deploys several analytical strategies that I pass on to my students. She shows the underestimated power of creating typologies, finding variation among Groveland residents (for example, whether they internalize or merely perform “street culture”), and then showing how variation along these lines leads to differing outcomes. She also leverages the power of “deviant” cases to show how certain people blur the boundaries of ideal types, forcing us to rethink and refine many of our taken-for-granted theoretical categories. The book is simultaneously a lesson on how to write about participants and their communities, especially those who occupy marginalized social positions. Pattillo’s empathy and respect shine through on every page, from the pseudonyms she chooses to the biographical details she shares (and doesn’t share) with the reader.

ML: Do you have a favorite moment as a researcher, maybe an encounter that unexpectedly changed your way of thinking or the direction of a project?

FS: I’m proud of the fact that I’ve had quite a few occasions where an experience radically reshaped my prior assumptions and the direction of the entire project, usually for the better. One that I won’t ever forget came in the early stages of my research for my second book, Ballad of the Bullet. The book follows a group of young Black men on Chicago’s South Side as they strive for popularity—and an income—in the digital economy. They spent their days recording and uploading a homemade genre of gangsta rap, sometimes referred to as “drill music” to YouTube. Then, they turn to their multiple social media platforms to try to authenticate the hardened criminal personas they crafted in their songs. A music video about committing a drive-by shooting might be accompanied on Twitter with talk of potential victims and Instagram photos holding a gun out of a car window. When done well, it’s easy to start believing that young men in the drill scene might actually do the deeds they rap about. That’s their intention, after all—to lure in voyeuristic, middle-class audiences looking for a glimpse into ghetto life.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had bought into quite a few of their performances of “badness.” Of course, I knew that they weren’t nearly as violent as they wanted their typical audiences to believe. But when I really got to know them, I learned that the vast majority of their posts weren’t just exaggerations, they were utter fabrications. Some of the men known as the most violent had never actually fired a gun, and even avoided conflict. Focusing instead on these young men’s inauthenticity, and their strategies of performance, let me highlight their savvy creativity amid some incredible structural obstacles.

ML: What is the best career advice you ever received?

FS: When I was in grad school at UCLA, Elijah Anderson gave a talk in our department. At one point in the question-and-answer portion he made an off-the-cuff comment that the best sociology is sometimes just documenting how “regular” people—as in, non-sociologists—do sociology in their day to day lives. Whether at work, at home, at church, or on a date, people run into recurring dilemmas and vexing situations. Just like us “licensed” sociologists, they try to figure these things out, collecting data, forming hypotheses, testing hunches, assessing their findings, and implementing the lessons learned. It’s our job, then, to figure out how different people walk though these common phases. This idea really stuck with me and colors how I approach research, writing, and teaching. Maybe the thing I love most is that it encourages us to move from deficit-based approaches to asset-based ones that rethink even the most marginalized groups as creative problem solvers.

https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/office-hours-with-forrest-stuart

#MacArthur Grant #sociology #nonfiction #drill music

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mariacallous · 1 year

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oh, hello professor stuart...

What are you reading now?

What book has had the most impact on your career?

What is your favorite book to teach?

Do you have a favorite moment as a researcher, maybe an encounter that unexpectedly changed your way of thinking or the direction of a project?

What is the best career advice you ever received?

If you could have dinner with two sociologists, living or passed, who would they be and why?

FS: Karl Marx and Erving Goffman. These are the two sociologists that have influenced me the most intellectually and personally. These are, in my opinion, the two most brilliant thinkers in history. But I’ve always felt a tension between the core premises of their work, especially around what explains social life and outcomes. For Marx, the key explanations rest at the macro level of political economy, in the structural relationships between classes. Marx seems hardly concerned with what goes on during micro-level interactions between people. For Goffman, it’s mostly the opposite, privileging interactions and bounded situations while paying much less attention to macro level forces. And yet, when we look out at the world, there’s plenty of evidence that both are “right.” I’d love to pour the two of them a few stiff cocktails and see if we can find the common threads running through their thinking.

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