#me still not understanding why printing money doesn't work

[ineffable-endearments]

Hello, everyone!

In light of Neil Gaiman's comment that Amazon is close to officially renewing Good Omens but hasn't done so yet, I think those of us who can should start sending physical postcards to Amazon Studios!

The TL;DR of this post is that you can easily send a postcard from MyPostcard.com for about $3 (USD, I'm sure other currencies can vary). The Web site will print and mail it for you, so you don't have to do any printing or mailing yourself. The postage is included in the $3.

If you don't already have an image or card you want to use, you can just use one of mine above. Some of them are small because of small source images, but the site seems to resize them appropriately for the card. There are bigger versions in a Google Drive folder that you shouldn't have to be logged in to see.

You can send the postcards asking for a third season of Good Omens addressed to Jennifer Salke and Vernon Sanders, co-heads of Amazon Studios, at:

AMAZON STUDIOS 1620 26TH STREET, SUITE 4000N SANTA MONICA, CA 90404 USA

@fuckyeahgoodomens was the first to post this contact information for Amazon, so thank you, Ixi.

If it's something you don't mind, I would very deeply appreciate reblogs on this, since it works better if lots of people see it! No pressure if you don't want to, though.

And if you have Questions, click through below for my reasoning on all this.

Why should we send postcards to Amazon Studios?

We've made lots of noise online about renewal, and we've done a lot of streaming Good Omens. But I haven't seen much discussion of sending physical mail or, specifically, postcards.

Mail takes up space in the real world. It's slightly harder to ignore than email. It's way more attention-grabbing than posts on X or Tumblr or any other social media site. Because postage is required, physical mail can also appear more "committed."

Postcards specifically are great because of their convenience for the recipient. No one has to open them to read them. All it takes is a quick glance to see what we're asking for, and realistically, a quick glance is the best we can ask for in a corporate office. That's why I'm emphasizing postcards over regular letters (although really, anything helps).

Is sending postcards really going to motivate Amazon to make more Good Omens?

Postcard and letter-writing campaigns have helped get shows renewed in the past. Star Trek: The Original Series is a good example of a series that got another season after a letter-writing campaign. This article has more examples.

We don't actually know what's going on in Good Omens's case. Maybe postcards would make a difference; maybe they wouldn't. We can only make our most determined effort at making sure we're heard, and sending mail is part of that.

The cost of sending a postcard is too much for me.

I understand that sending a postcard will not be an option for many of us. This post isn't intended to try to push you into spending money you don't have. If you still want to find a way to participate, you can also send an email to [email protected] with your comments about wanting Good Omens 3. It's not physical mail, but it is still a personal message from a customer.

In fact, people who are sending postcards might want to follow up with an email, too.

Do we have to use your postcard designs?

No! Not necessarily! You can use anything.

As long as the message you write includes how much you want Good Omens 3, your postcard's image doesn't necessarily have to relate. You could send a souvenir postcard that says "Greetings from Los Angeles, CA / Tadfield, England / etc" from your local post office and just write your message on the back.

Technically, even a plain index card should be thick enough to mail as a postcard, at least by USPS standards. Just write your desire for Good Omens 3 on it, put a stamp and Amazon's address on it, and make sure it's at least 90mm x 127mm (3.5in x 5in).

Isn't Amazon Studios going to notice a bunch of postcards being mailed from the same Web site?

I'm sure they will. But the messages will each be unique, and again, they'll know each card represents a person who had to order the card and postage themselves.

Speaking of unique messages, what should I write?

One sentence is enough. Definitely indicate that you want Season 3 of Good Omens. If you want to add more, you could also write a sentence or two about how much you love the series so far.

Above all, be polite and straightforward! Remember that sarcasm and jokes often do not come across well in print, so it may be best to stick with simple statements that can be taken at face value.

What address should the cards go to?

The co-heads of Amazon Studios appear to be Vernon Sanders and Jennifer Salke; you can address them by name, although I'm guessing it will be someone else who does the reading/glancing.

Amazon Studios's address is:

AMAZON STUDIOS 1620 26TH STREET, SUITE 4000N SANTA MONICA, CA 90404 USA

Where did you get these images?

The images for the nightingale postcard and the Crowley postcard are screencaps from directedbypiper.

The Please Do Not Lick the Walls and Fell the Marvelous posters were downloads from the Amazon X-Ray feature.

The Nice and Accurate Prophecies postcard was adapted from cover art I did for A Nice and Interpretive Fanzine. Most of it is my own, although the mottled background is an extremely blurred version of a free stock texture from Pixabay, users chrisfiedler and/or humusak.

The bookshop postcard is a promotional image from Amazon used in a Den of Geek article.

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens 3 #renew good omens #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale

[amorfista]

I have some news to share ^^

A few days ago I had a revelation while at work.

For over 8 years I've been a big fan of the Dark Souls franchise. The first Dark Souls felt to me like a journey; a full-on immersion into an incredibly complex world, marked by disparity: old royalty, splendor, trust, hope, magic, nostalgia, wonder, gold, light... but also decay, dread, betrayal, horrors, darkness, death, monsters, disease, anguish. This game left a deep print on me that hasn't faded. Ever since I played it, fantasy changed in my eyes. Dark Souls I, II and III became a standard, a reference point. Even when I didn't draw as much as I do now, I aspired to one day pay good tribute to the games that meant so much to me! And, of course, I created fan art, but I always felt like I could have given more.

Now. As you probably know I'm also a big Star Wars fan, specifically TCW fan. And a few months ago I watched The Bad Batch for the first time. This show left a print in a very similar way as Dark Souls had before. It fueled my inspiration significantly, motivated me and, most importantly, helped me form friendships that I'm incredibly grateful for ♥. So... the other day, while I listened to some Dark Souls music at work, I thought...

Why not combine my favorite show with my favorite videogame franchise?

So that's it guys. May I present to you:

-The Bad Batch: Dark Souls AU-

That's it! That's my brilliant idea! XD This is going to be a project, a BIG one. So I would like to briefly (i promise i tried) explain how it will affect my content, under the cut: (I'll also drop some older DS artwork at the bottom!)

TLDR: From now on I will focus on TBB DS AU as my main and basically sole project . Even if you didn't play DS, that's okay! I will make it people-who-didn't-play friendly, to ensure everyone enjoys the journey. However, if this isn't for you, it's okay to unfollow <3 -I would say that, since I came to tumblr this early summer, my "signature" drawings are the TBB beach episode ones. I have WIPs for this project but I've been feeling stuck for far too long, so I am going to put it on hold. In fact, I am going to put on hold virtually everything that I was planning on doing, with a few exceptions. This means that I will rarely draw anything outside this AU.

-I am CLOSING commissions. I found that they put a kind of pressure on me that doesn't feel too good, and, honestly, I'm lucky to say that I do not need the money at the moment. I'm still open to requests, though, so don't hesitate to send anything and I'll draw it if I feel like it :) I'll even try to set up a store at some point!

-The project will consist on three journeys, featuring the 6 members of the Bad Batch, and corresponding with the three Dark Souls games. Each of those journeys will, more or less faithfully, follow the events of EACH season of TBB, adapted of course to the universe of Dark Souls, AKA Dark Medieval Fantasy. This means that, until the third season of TBB is released, I won't make any DSIII-related drawings.

-The journeys are adapted to the universe, and thus, will follow the real player journey as faithfully as I can, staying within DS canon and allowing people who have played the games to enjoy my drawings. However,

-THE DRAWINGS WILL BE 100% NON-DS-PLAYER FRIENDLY. I know that my followers are not DS fans but TBB/TCW fans. I am NOT here just to please DS fans. I want TBB fans to enjoy this journey, without having to google meanings or go easter-egg hunt to understand what is happening. I will tell a story and you will only have to enjoy it.

-This is a project for myself. Both DS and TBB mean A LOT to me, and this idea had me vibrating with excitement. I am making this project to PAY TRIBUTE to two things I love. However that does not mean that I will neglect the very people who have motivated me to keep creating. I promise to still deliver my very best with every drawing.

Do not hesitate to unfollow if this isn't for you.

I can understand that some people might follow me only for my wholesome beach episode drawings or for regular, HC TBB content. And that's okay. That's what this announcement is for! To let you know. This community has given me so much and I want to give back. And if you do stay, I can almost 100% assure you that you will enjoy what's to come!! <3 It will be a long but satisfactory journey. I'LL BE POSTING THE FIRST DRAWINGS IN THE UPCOMING DAYS!

OKAY, SORRY FOR THE WALL OF TEXT!!! 😖 Here are some older DS drawings ^^ (jesus I have way more than I thought and these aren't even all of them)

AIGHT. NOW YOU KNOW IT'S SOME SERIOUS SHIT WHEN I SAY I LIKE THESE GAMES.

Anyway. Including a taglist, because I think it would be unfair not to let you guys know about this project in case anyone wants out (or to not be tagged). Send me a DM if that's the case, it's NO PROBLEM!!! I wouldn't want to tag someone who doesn't want this content.

ALSO PLEASE, ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE, TOSS THEM TO ME! And thank you kindly for making it this far <3

@dukeoftheblackstar @justalittletomato @darthmaulshispanichousewife @botherbother-blog @aftergloom @badolmen @ihaventpickedausername @ohboi @stardustbee @nik-barinova @the-chains-are-the-easy-part @gen-has-green-vibes @ejfivercommander @herbalinz-of-yesteryear @eyecandyeoz @noesqape @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @staycalmandhugaclone @callmesunny04 @freesia-writes @ginnymilling @sunshinesdaydream @sev-on-kamino @cloneloverrrrr @moon-wrecked @idontgetanysleep @tech-aficionado @followthepurrgil @renton6echo @queen-jiru @shoe-bag @eyayah123 @eloquentmoon @and-loth-cat @ladyzirkonia @stardusthuntress @bambambunny @morphofan @gt13tbbart @amalthiaph @cameronirat @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @anxiouspineapple99

#the bad batch #dark souls #TBB DS AU

[ccchloister]

It's so strange how the problems that come with existing online have forced me to find words to explain concepts that I assumed were mostly universal. I thought knowledge, talent, expertise, hard work and persistence were skills that were valuable and should be encouraged in everyone. A.I. has taught me otherwise.

A.I. might as well stand for Anti-Intellectualism, because that's the spirit behind the excitement. It literally takes the skill and labor out of skilled labor. Learning is being treated like an inconvenience, a problem to be eliminated in the name of efficiency. Entire disciplines are being treated as grand sacrifices in the name of mass production and instant gratification.

Why does art need to be efficient? It's not food. It's not medicine. It's not shelter. How fast are people shoveling content into their gob that between social media, streaming, and physical media, it's still not enough? Technology has already pushed creators to pumping out content at an unhealthy and unnatural rate just to try to appease social media algorithms. Now that same output is being used to train new algorithms to pump it out even faster while cutting creators out entirely. It’s sick and cruel. And instead of this exploitation being treated like an injustice that needs to be corrected, I'm told "It's inevitable. Adapt or die. Don't put your work online if you don't want it taken", delivered either with condescending pity, callous apathy, or malicious glee.

If A.I. fans aren't taking the "hardened pragmatic realist" approach, then they are shallowly aping socialist ideas, blaming capitalism for exploitation, not the tech. A very "guns don't kill people, people kill people" take. Just because exploitation of creatives is not a new concept doesn't mean A.I. isn't responsible for making it INFINITELY WORSE. They’ve also decided that people shouldn't be pursuing art and knowledge for the sake of profit and that the skilled creators trying to protect their labor are greedy, elitist gatekeepers trying to keep art from "the common man" (because creatives aren't the common man, apparently). It's that same resentment and distrust of experts that's typical of anti-intellectualism, except creative fields are in this weird place where they aren't even respected the way STEM is, so there's an extra layer of belittling and disrespect to the othering. Consumers feel entitled to art, but they don't understand how it's made, and they definitely don't respect it as a discipline.

The glut of creative content available for "the common man" to consume has never been greater or more accessible, but it's still not enough. It's not enough to just consume art. They want ownership. They want the sense of accomplishment that comes from making something, without having actually *made* it. And despite their finger-wagging at creatives wanting to protect their careers, they also want to make some money. Etsy is flooded with A.I. prints, kindle is filled with A.I. books, spotify is loaded with A.I. songs. There’s even A.I. kickstarters. Along with replacing writers and animators, CEOs want to replace actors, voice actors, and models with simulacrums they can make do whatever they want, forever, and A.I. fans are hoping they'll be the ones hired to facilitate that process. Even without actively profiting, A.I. still devalues the work of skilled laborers. Why commission a skilled artist when for 15 dollars you can buy a machine that will give you infinite works of the same or better quality, instantly? Do you have faith in consumers to prioritize ethics over convenience? Do you think it's right and fair and good to make compensating skilled creators an act of charity rather than a necessity?

A.I. users overestimate their contribution to the final product, thinking their idea is so unique and their vision so strong, that of course they should claim ownership… conveniently ignoring all the infinite little decisions A.I. made for them based off the knowledge and fine motor skills of millions of artists. It's like they think fully realized Good Ideas are a natural resource waiting to be excavated, and traditional creators had the unfair advantage of pickaxes, physical strength and a knowledge of geology to find the rich veins. Now A.I. is providing scanners and and powerful machinery so "the common man" doesn't need strength or knowledge to quickly mine those same veins first.

But that's not what art is, and that's not how creation works. Art is communication. Imagination is fostered through life experience, observation and processing information with your human brain. It's something every living person could do, because every person is unique with unique life experiences. Creation is practice, study, experimentation, problem solving, and adapting to limitations. There is nothing stopping anyone from doing these things. Natural ability has been grossly overvalued: most people with "talent" were not making hyper-realistic paintings at 13 like Picasso. What happens is a child shows a slight aptitude, the adults in their life notice and give them positive reinforcement, and then they are motivated and encouraged to pursue that interest. So instead of treating the naturally talented as having an unfair advantage, why not blame the adults in your life for not encouraging your interests at a young age. Or if you want to be brutally honest, blame yourself for not pursuing your interests despite a lack of external validation. You have agency.

I try to imagine, what is an A.I. fan's idea of a perfect future? One where no one has any advantages that another person doesn't, where "everyone's special so no ones special"? Where all labor is automated and no one has to do anything they don't want to and everyone spends their infinite free time bettering themselves for it's own sake rather than for money? Every time they mention the evils of capitalism and how we need universal basic income and other ideas of a post-work society it makes me want to pull my hair out. We don't *have* those things. We aren't even close to those things. So it is functionally useless to factor that into your argument. Who is Tech to use A.I.'s elimination of thousands of jobs in non-Tech industries as a bargaining chip to try and incentivize the government to create safety nets for those displaced? Since when has your government prioritized it's citizens over corporations? Have proponents always been this naive, or only when trying to assuage concerns over the consequences of their new toy?

Even if we did achieve that techie utopia, what makes them think most people will use their free time productively, exercising their brain for it's own sake? Because speaking for myself, I can have every good intention of using my time to create and learn, but those things frequently lose out to short term, dopamine-driven feedback loops like social media and video games. Without any external incentives, I guarantee far less people will pursue learning for its own sake if the knowledge-based roles that keep society functioning are filled by machines. Think of how we've had to reintroduce exercise into are lives just for exercise's sake. Hows that going? Again, speaking for myself as an overweight person: Not Great. I might intellectually know physical fitness is important, but the difficulty and unenjoyable nature of exercise and the benefits not being immediate and obvious means it frequently loses out to activities I do enjoy. I know not everyone is like me, but many, many people are. Now replace physical fitness with cognitive abilities. Abilities that require work, who's benefits are totally abstract, and would be wholly unnecessary for living in an A.I dependent society. If that doesn't give you chills up your spine, then you must stand to benefit from a culture of stupidity that's hopelessly dependent on tech. And I hate you.

No ones going to read all this.

#AI #Tech #Art #Artists #creation #anti intellectualism #knowledge #labor #exploitation #Long #word dump #future

[genshrineimpact]

abnormal day

| ✾ | golden plated chopsticks [prologue]

⬙⤠ masterlist ⤝⬙

◇ a/n ◇ just fyi i feel like this series will probably have a lot of zhongli x reader chapters + found family trope. i'm so sorry i just can't stop simping this man slkfsdjl

"zhongli."

you can see the funeral consultant visibly tensing up. his motions are practiced and elegant as ever as he sets down his tea and turns to face you, but if you look closely you can see that he's concerned at the steely tone in your voice.

"yes, [name]? how may i assist you?"

a loud slam. zhongli blinks and catches your hand. two pairs of eyes stare at the paper you had shoved onto his chest.

fuck, your knuckles hurt.

and yet he doesn't even look winded.

"this is….?" the ex-archon blinks and fumbles with the glasses hanging on the elegant strap around his neck. squinting at the small prints of the document, zhongli gives you a clueless look, "i apologize, it seems to be a financial report of some kind? while i am familiar with doing such work back in the parlor, i'm afraid this world's customs are still-"

"that," you inhale deeply, "is my bank statement. a compiled financial report, you could say. i don't need help with that."

"then what does-"

"explain to me why i have to pay a whole three hundred dollars for a damn gold plated chopsticks, rex lapis."

he blinks and tilts his head, "well, the item has yet to arrive seeing as they had to 'ship it' from far out the land, but i assure you that the intricacies of the patterns and the craftsmanship that i have seen on the sample product was truly astounding. you would not have been able to find anything like it in all of teyvat, and not for such a low price. even the lovely chopsticks i bought for childe costed 426 times more than that. i believe it is - if i may use a word i have learned recently - 'a steal'."

he looks so satisfied with his explanation.

zhongli is anything but a himbo but at this moment you think the title fits him so well.

"zhongli. darling. i have chopsticks at home. they cost like, three dollars," you groan, "i told you how we have different currency systems here and how one mora does not equate to one dollar. do you understand how ridiculous your logic sounds now?"

he blinks and places his chin on his fist.

god fucking damn it his thinking pose is even hotter in real life.

"it… seems like the common sense of this world has escaped me again. my apologies, the moment i saw the product i thought it would make a good present for you, seeing as you have been looking extremely stressed these past few days."

oh.

"you… were about to gift it to me?"

"yes. it was meant to be a surprise, of course, but i failed to consider that you would be notified by the purchase before the item could even reach your hand," zhongli hums, "truly, this world of yours is a complex one. i wonder if the future liyue will be able to grow into such an advanced civilization. before coming here, i would have never imagined that such a world exists where one could pay for everything by simply handing over a small card and receiving it back just seconds later."

you almost can't process the next few words that leaves his mouth after his affirmation.

zhongli is trying to give you a gift.

zhongli is trying to give you a gift.

after so many gifts you've spoiled him, so many primogems wasted, and so many overtimes you pull to pay for his kit. he's trying to give you a gift.

nevermind the fact that he's trying to buy you a present with your own money.

you think you're going to cry.

"[name]. i truly apologize. i can see that this is very distressing for you and i'd like to discuss how we can resolve this. is there perhaps a way so that we can cancel the-"

to zhongli's astonishment, you sniffle and shake your head.

"i'll pay the three hundred dollars…… it's nowhere close to what i spent for you anyway."

you shudder when you remember the monthly bank statement whenever zhongli's banners roll around. he seems to have taken this gesture as your resolution wavering, and so being the considerate man that he is, his voice softens as he addresses you again.

"[name], are you certain? please know that it is never my intention to make things harder for you. i am very grateful for your hospitality thus far. if there's anything i could do to reduce your burden, please, by all means, let me know."

"....."

"....."

"you could, uh, start working, i guess?" as much as you want to take over childe's spot as zhongli's sugar daddy in this world spoil him, you're a little worried about your slowly diminishing savings.

zhongli nods resolutely, "very well. i suppose i will have to look for a different profession, seeing as my knowledge of the past will not be of use here. what do you suggest i should do? is an equivalent of a job advertisement board in the city that might help me in this endeavour?"

you sigh.

"alright, time to teach you about computers, i guess."

"kom-pyu-ters?"

oh boy.

ah, yes, how nostalgic. you never thought you'd miss the main menu music, but here you are, humming along as the game downloads its latest patches and updates.

it's been so long since you've played, mainly because you were busy with work and your roommate from another world, but today you're intent to do some de-stressing and to enjoy yourself fully! even zhongli seemed like he knew you didn't want to be disturbed somehow! he has yet to leave his storage-room-turned-bedroom since morning, and-

….. what the- where the hell are all your teams?

"[name], i believe we have a problem."

oh please not now.

"well, i have a problem too, i had a bad day at work and now genshin is glitching on me and-" you freeze on your seat right after you swivel to turn towards the entrance of your work-slash-play room.

because in addition to zhongli, there are even more familiar faces.

well, at least now you know where your main teams have gone.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING???!?!?!???"

© genshrineimpact | 2022 ◆ no repost. reblogs much appreciated. feel free to reach out to submit suggestions, feedback, comments, or if you just want to talk!

◇ taglist ◇ @paintingsofdragonspine | @genshinparty | @abyssmal-skies

ps. if you want to be removed/added from the taglist, just send an ask or dm me!

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #zhongli #zhongli x reader #a(b)normal day #rin writes

[bamboobrat]

succession s4 e2 recap: hitman santa claus and an audition tape from hell

time for this weeks recap, you guys! i'm going into gerri withdrawal, so this feels a bit like pulling teeth, but lets get into this trauma dump of an episode, shall we?

logan is apparently still in his feelings about last episode, but like any man of a certain age, he doesn't want to talk about it.

what he wants to do: take away the kids' helicopter privileges and scrutinize a poor man writing an email.

the kids on the other hand are planning the future of their brand new, 10 billion dollar media empire.

good thing they are really in touch with the people. as we all know, the american public is notoriously famous for being interested in foreign affairs.

it's also connor's rehearsal dinner and he voices his concern his sibs won't make it in the most boomer way possible.

shiv's "taking calls and looking upset" plot line continues.

we will get you that emmy, snookie.

tom's hogged all the good divorce lawyers in new york, similarly to what logan once did to caroline. a truly specific example of generational trauma or something.

logan is at ATN, just chillin' like a villain on the floor.

tom reacts to the news as any employee would, knowing their boss is in the office:

me running back from a one hour lunch after reading on slack that the boss is coming in.

tbh i'd take shiv calling me a lil bitch boy any day.

my close captions did this, and i can't figure out if it's a mistake or tom fucking with greg craig.

also, something tells me greg's sex tape does not have late night tv potential.

and now, for the main star of the show:

kerry's audition tape.

turns out she wants to be a host at ATN. i think roman and kendall speaks for all of us when they say:

never seen kendall so happy.

clearly, logan is the biggest anti-nepotism advocate out there, so he doesn't really want to have a say in what happens to kerry.

calling cyd and tom geniuses, though... seems fishy. perhaps it is not professionalism that is driving him, after all. i guess we will never know.

shiv continues to rack up the largest phone bill ever by talking to sandi (or is it sandy? i care to little to look it up) about potentially asking mattson for more money.

upside: more money. downside: he might just walk away from the table and they'll be stuck with a 10 billion dollar bill and a legacy media company where they focus on the very narrow topics of globan and extremely local.

personally, i don't even fully understand how the stock marked works, and even i can tell that this is a bad idea. but self-destructive people are going to self-destruct i guess.

speaking of:

WHY WOULD HE SAY THAT!!!!!!

logan does a murdoch type speech on the top of printing paper and rips an ATN employee to shreds.

if you ever went to j-school, you know this is the most horrifying scenario.

numbers? i'm a journalist, i can't do math.

logan also quotes a bit of daft punk:

and is completely calm and collected the entire speech, as we have come to expect of logan.

i truly believe logan and brian cox have morphed into one person during the four seasons of succession. i can't tell you why, but i also think this scene is proof.

also, logan is getting a BUNCH of screen time these first few episodes. could they pull the rug out from under us all and kill him off by episode 5? one can only hope.

the kiddos aren't allowed to take the company helicopter to connor and willa's rehearsal dinner and kendall is calm, cool and collected.

it's certainly a long way away from him running after that town car during the first attempt at overthrowing logan in season one. how far he's come. i'd like some of whatever it is he is taking.

stewy and sandi show up to convince the sibs to renegotiate the price with mattson.

i love stewy. i really do. but the show runners don't know how to use him properly anymore, i think. please, for the love of god, give the man some lavender. give him something more to do!

willa does what any young lesbian woman would do: ditch her own rehearsal dinner to have drinks with twenty of her closest friends.

it's not like the bride is needed at that sort of event, anyway.

roman shares my coping mechanism when dealing with any sort of emotional turmoil:

and so does connor, apparently:

there's nothing chocolate and a good rendition of 'don't stop me now' can't fix.

the show runners _really_ want you to know mattson is swedish with the bilar and the julmust and being aggressive whilst also saying you're not being aggressive.

it's the scandi way.

i feel represented.

the threat doesn't work on kendall, though. on the contrary, he's got kid brain and will do anything he is told not to do, so he goes back to back shiv on renegotiating the price. once again, roman is teamed up on, even though i stg he is the only one of the sibs making any sense lately.

this is connor's best attempt at being folksy:

hoegaarden haters unite. i knew there was a reason i liked connor.

positive note: he finally gets his way and they go to karaoke. negative note: he contacts logan and it all ends in a confrontation that makes me want to set myself on fire:

screaming, crying, throwing up.

we get another logan monologue of sorts, with certain interjections from the kids. potentially the first honest encounter this show has ever seen? i'm sick of brian cox face by now, so i couldn't be fucked to screengrab.

just have him die already. he's only there because he acknowledges that the kids have "got juice" and yet he calls them "not serious people".... i guess he is right, but i don't have to like it, okay!!!

roman comes crawling back and asks logan this:

logan responds that he needs him and it's the only thing i think roman has ever wanted to hear and i'm going to go scream into a pillow now.

i guess this marks the end of the siblings teaming up (for now). rip.

i feel drained.

bonus:

gerri is still out in the cold in all the ways and is absolutely NOWHERE in this episode. i'm glad she too had the chance to smirk at kerry's audition tape, but it was with hugo.... cancels itself out.

that being said, i've seen the trailer for next week's episode, and i am ready to be hurt again.

cheers!

#succession #succession hbo #succession spoilers #succession recap #logan roy #brian cox #kerry castellabate #zoe winters #kendall roy #jeremy strong #sarah snook #shiv roy #greg hirsch #nick braun #nicholas braun #tom wambsgans #matthew macfadyen #roman roy #kieran culkin #cyd peach #jeannie berlin #stewy hosseini #arian moayed #willa ferreyra #justine lupe #connor roy #alan ruck #alexander skarsgaard #lukas mattson #j. smith-cameron

[truly-morgan]

[JL draws on jiujiu presentation documents]

RenCheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi Modern AU 04-11-2021

[#rencheng modern days]

Jiang Cheng isn't the one at the top of the Jiang company after his father and mother passed away because he was never the successor on paper and the greedy people at the top managed to take the president's place.

He still has a good post, good enough that the money he makes is more than enough to raise jl on his own, but he is kept away from the top.

"We are waiting to see if you can do the job" he was told.

So Jiang Cheng works his ass off to prove it.

This causes him to reach exhaustion as he needs to take care of a young child, which he has no experience in doing so. adding to this all the work he has to do plus overtime at home too.

Then one time he is assigned this really important meeting with people from the Gusu Lan co. (it took a lot of convincing to have it).

but horror, he realised that parts of his paper and presentation have cute drawings made with crayons on them!!

a very sleep-deprived, stressed out and exhausted jc is mortified by this, wants to start crying and for the ground to swallow him.

But his voice barely wavers when he realises that, acting as if nothing was wrong.

It is readable.

everything else goes smoothly and jc would consider it aced 100% were it not for him not realising his little lemon boy had decided that his jiujiu important paper and presentation were meant for drawing. He was in a hurry in the morning and didn't check back.

he simply wishes Lan Qiren won't comment on it as he praises him for his good presentation and talk more about the possible contract and answers some question.

"And about this... duck," lqr says as he looks again at his papers, jc feeling like dying again.

he does get flustered this time around, now that he doesn't have a presentation to rely on. "I am sincerely sorry for this unprofessionalism," he says, "My nephew seems to have drawn on them without me noticing, I can ask for a new copy to be printed for you" he suggests.

He is a bit stunned when lqr declined, keeping the papers with the drawings.

Later on, he is relieved to hear the Gusu Lan co. did sign up with them, also relieved not to hear about his little crayon drawing incident.

Little does he know lqr grew immediately found of the man he believed should have taken over the company who is clearly doing his best with his nephew, he can understand him on that front.

They meet again on one of jc days off as he was taking jl out for his birthday. He is more relaxed now that this isn't a professional setting.

he even dare accept a dinner date suggested by lqr ("And if you want you can bring your nephew too, I understand how hard it can be to find a babysitter sometimes").

and like this, they keep meeting, jc falling for the gentleman.

lqr even manages to snatch jc away from those greedy men who won't leave him a chance and know jc will bloom better in an environment that gives him the chance to do so.

later in life jc manages to buy back the jiang company after they went nearly bankrupt.

one night, after jc finally moved in with lqr, he was searching for something in the office, only to find a familiar paper.

a presentation sheet with a duck crayon drawing. He is surprised to find this, but also still a bit embarrassed at the memory.

he is a bit surprised when arms snake around his waist, a large torso settling against his back as lqr placed his head next to his.

"Why do you still have this" jc asked.

lqr hums a bit amused, kissing his neck gently.

"Because this is the day I started to fall for a beautiful young man who did a great presentation and had a loving and warm look in his eyes despite the cute drawings his nephew did on his important papers".

something about jc was not even the slightest mad about it, tired maybe, but also loving. He did find out quickly just how good he was to his nephew, treating him like his own son.

This and his pretty face had been extremely charming to him.

maybe chuckled a bit as lqr kissed his neck some more.

He may be still embarrassed by that presentation, but he would also cherish this ducky if it was one of the reasons lqr fell for him.

====

(this started with my thought being "What if jl drew on jc important presentation paper"

I feel like it sounded better in my head ksdjbvibh anyway hope y'all love jl being the best accidental matchmaker)

Original

#tweet archive #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #rencheng #lan qiren #jiang cheng #modern au #fluff #kid caretaking #office au #lqr take care of jl #while jc does a presentation

[bit-b]

Anti-piracy? Anti-emulator? Anti-consumer.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a lawyer. Do not take anything in this post as legal advice.

I just saw the promotion of a thing recently. For the sake of not inadvertently advertising their crap, I will not be naming who it was and/or what the product was that they were trying to push. I will say that it had to do with video game anti-piracy and emulation.

Lemme start out by saying that I avoid emulation whenever possible. I like playing my games the way they were intended to be played, on the consoles they were made for. In fact, people who follow me could probably vouch for the kind of crazy hurdles I've jumped through to pull off certain game streams.

Also, I DO NOT in any way endorse piracy. I'm a major advocate of paying for the content that you enjoy. If people don't pay for a group's work, that group won't have money. If they don't have money, they won't be able to do more work. Even if you wanna use a game or program a decade out of print, I still feel that it's a good gesture to own that product.

THAT SAID: EMULATION IS NOT PIRACY.

I can understand the confusion. After all, there are people online that host illegal copies of ripped games. And emulators have enabled people to be able to play those illegal rips without actually owning the game. It's easy to jump to the conclusion that every use of an emulator must be bad. In actuality, the emulators themselves are not illegal.

Pretty much all emulators out there are not based on the original code of the consoles. Emulation is possible due to years of 3rd-party tinkering and reverse-engineering to make certain games run on different systems.

So if you own the game, if you have the tools to rip said game, and if you use an emulator capable of playing that game on another device, then nothing was stolen. You're just choosing to play the game in a way that makes you happy.

It only becomes illegal if you choose to post those game files online for anyone to use. Because at that point, it can be argued that you're handing the files over to people that have not payed for the privilege to play. You would be denying the devs and publishers the right to profit from their work.But again, if you're not distributing content, no illegal actions are taking place.

So it makes me sad to see people look at emulation software and say "God, why do they let these kinds of tools exist?! Don't PIRATES use this software?? How is this allowed?!?" Because it tells me that people don't consider the context and intent of the use of these tools. It's like getting upset about hammers existing because some people have used hammers for murder.

For a different example, let's imagine that someone photocopied a card game, laminated them, and played with them in their swimming pool.

Now, imagine people complaining:

"Wait, you didn't scan those cards and print new ones to make those, did you?! That's a crime!!"

"You're not supposed to play card games in the pool!! It wasn't designed for that!!"

"Aren't you worried that the card manufacturers are gonna arrest and sue you?!"

"Don't you know they MAKE waterproof cards?! Why would you skirt around their official product?!"

And I say:

If any copies were made, it was only out of necessity for the tinkering process. Copies were not distributed to other people.

Just because a thing wasn't originally designed for something doesn't mean it CAN'T. If anything, showing that it's possible to make a thing do something it normally shouldn't is kind of interesting.

How is it illegal to take something you purchased and use it in a different way? You could buy a golf club and use it as a baseball bat. Should you be penalized for that?

Even if the product-maker makes the same kind of alternate product, what's forcing a person to use the official one over their own?

Like I said. DON'T pirate. Own your games and software. But I feel like people equate tools used by pirates as piracy itself. And that's not a fair judgement.

----------------------------------------

Now, that's just the FIRST part. The second is the anti-piracy.

Like I said, devs need money. I want to support them in their profession. I want to own what they create. And I encourage everyone to pay for the things they use. But what I can't stand is this idea that software NEEDS extra anti-piracy built in. (outside of the anti-piracy measures already implemented in your game launcher) In my opinion, adding extra layers of anti-piracy does nothing but harm the end-user.

Pirates don't use software with all the security stuff built into it. They use CRACKED versions. It takes a little time for them to crack it. But once they do, they have full unlimited access.

Meanwhile, I've heard only a handful of cases where 3rd-party anti-piracy measures are removed by the developers after it's no longer necessary. This means that everyone who bought legitimate copies of the product will likely be forever locked down by these stupid extra measures. And this sends the paying customers through all sorts of hoops.

They might have to always tag a security server on startup.

They might have monitoring software running routine checks.

The processes in the background might sap precious PC resources that the end-users don't want taken up.

Depending on how the anti-piracy was implemented, it could cause stability issues for the software.

The only true benefit I've seen for 3rd-party anti-piracy is the guarantee that the devs and publishers will be making their sales during the first 2 weeks of a product's life. Even then, people have managed to crack certain anti-piracy within the first 2 days. So it's not even a full guarantee. This type of anti-piracy is completely one-sided on benefits. The customer doesn't get anything out of these security measures at all. If anything, the customer would benefit greatly from NOT having them.

----------------------------------------

I've said it several times in this rant, but I really do want to see devs and publishers get their money. Especially when they've done a great job. I've just bought 2 games that just recently ditched their anti-piracy. But that's a privilege that I rarely give.

We live in an age where new experiences and tools are being made and released every single day. And thanks to this, I have a bounty of buying options available. I can easily pass on someone's product if I don't appreciate a company's distribution tactics. And I am more than happy to miss out on a fun experience if it means dealing with less bullcrap. And the more time that passes, the less relevant your product is.

I believe adding extra anti-piracy measures will only ruin your reputation. If you don't want to be consumer-friendly, I can easily find someone else that will. And don't you DARE be surprised when an up-and-coming developer blows past you, lacking all those shareholder-appeasing anti-piracy measures that you love so dearly.

#anti piracy #emulation #video games #roms #piracy

[anandasamsara]

Need to let shit out and as i can't afford therapy anymore, here's the place

I have no idea what to do anymore. Been playing with the idea of an onlyfans or selling feet pics, but i don't have the persistence for even that. Can't pick up any commission work bc i can't draw. Can't keep the print shop bc i can't afford materials. Im considering just selling all machinery to pay the bills.

Dad's only got 500brl from his payment this month, bc he borrowed money from the bank and it's eating up his whole salary. No, i have no idea where the supposed money he's borrowed went into. No idea where he spent enough money to cut his salary in fucking half, paying 144 installments of 1500brl.

We have to pay 1350brl for the apartment, about 250 for all phones, 180 for the internet, and thankfully this month only 56 for electricity but it might have been wrong and we might still get another bill with the right amount.

Outside of that, we need to eat, and i need to pay for my new phone that i only got bc the old one was about to explode, plus our credit card is blocked bc we don't have 5k to pay it right now. The credit card was being used exclusively to buy food.

I lost my job with the psychiatrist to her new computer, mom thankfully still has her first husband's pension, and dad gave us 500. So we have, collectively, about 2k if i give up my savings, and then next month we're back to about 1300brl, which doesn't even pay the apartment.

Dad has a job, a public job, from where he can't be legally fired. But he's on medical leave, so he can't work extra hours to earn more. I do understand the pressure and how tired he is after almost 30 years, but he's the only one who has a job. When I started working for the psychiatrist, he dumped all of the bills on me, but i was only making 300 per week and now I don't have this anymore. He's on medical leave bc he hates the school he teaches at, and got the leave with his psychiatrist. But if he needs to go back to work, he can't change schools bc no school will take a teacher on medical leave, so he doesn't want to go back. As i said, i do understand all of his psychological issues, but why do I have to ignore mine, which are also physical, to take whatever job, but he can't go back to the job he already has?? Isn't fucking survival first? We can't afford FOOD!

I have a medical leave check for myself to see if i can get into health security benefits in a couple weeks, but what if i can't? What if they look at me and say tough luck, deal with it? I haven't had an interview lined up yet, i went physically to places to give them my resume, but im either way under or too over qualified for literally every position i tried. Jobs that just require high school level won't hire me bc im graduated at university level, and places that require uni level also want me to have at least a mastery, or 5 years experience, or both.

I don't actually want to become a cam girl or whatever, I can't do the jobs i have the means to keep bc the means are gone, im too depressed to draw anything, I can't afford higher education and i have no drive right now,

I spent the last month in such a spiral of depression, bc i can't show that im depressed or my mom's depression will get worse. My best friends sent me money and im so embarrassed about it bc i shouldn't need this kind of help at all, and it was only enough to keep up for a month in the end. I can't bring myself to take any kind of whatever job, like at a store or supermarket or cleaning bc i won't survive the pain. I can feel my health declining, im in pain all the time, my bad foot has been acting up everyday and my ok foot is also annoying me.

I can't see much of any solution for anything. I became a burden, to my parents and to myself. To everyone. If i wasn't here, maybe it would be different. Easier. Cheaper.

#personal #vent post

[ivansergeyevichturgenev]

reasons i'm considering leaving my job before i graduate, all taken from today:

(under a readmore bc i'm being driven borderline insane and the fact i took the time to write this out probably makes me crazy)

- a table that didn't understand why their reservation of 4 didn't guarantee them a table for 5. their children were entitled brats and shoved their menus in my face. i asked them multiple times if they need x, y, or z. they told me no to my face but would wave me down screaming ma'am!!! ma'am!!!! we need this NOW!!! like five times. and btw, they weren't things i could have anticipated. how was i supposed you needed a tonic with your dinner? finally, they pay, but the woman claims i never gave her a receipt to sign. i thought that was weird because it automatically prints and i would never not give someone their receipt? anyways i reprint it for her and she says in the most condescending tone, "it's okay. we all make mistakes" guess where the receipts were? in the fucking floor. at her feet.

- had a 6 top. they order apps immediately but say they need time on drinks. i get their drinks. they order a wine to come with dinner. i was going to bring it a little before but they said NO. it was to come with DINNER. not at all before. okay, got it. you're not getting your wine until dinner is on the table 🙄 like i get it but also this is not that type of restaurant i do not have a super small section to give completely perfect service. actually, we're incredibly short staffed tonight bc one server didn't feel well and all of the high schoolers forgot to ask off and all called out before their shifts. so my apologies. a couple at the table ordered a salad to share before dinner. they each got steaks. now, dear reader, i need you to know something: work in this industry long enough and you will realize that people will go off their fucking rocker to suggest that soup and salad can come any time than before their meal. salads and soups are starters unless otherwise specified. i heard them say we'll get a salad to start. anyways, salad comes out, i notice they aren't touching it. i ask what's wrong. they say it was supposed to come with dinner. who the fuck is ordering a salad with their dinner, unless they ordered several apps or a side. they ordered full meals. i gave people round two of silver because i could tell they wanted new silver which was fine. that included soup spoons for the man who did actually order soup for dinner and his wife because he said they were sharing. well dinner comes and he doesn't understand why everyone doesn't have a spoon to share his soup. what? WHAT? oh also, i did their bottle service right after their food arrived. same man, (not even the one who ordered it), demanded to know where it was. Um, coming. since you said you wouldn't have it until food was on the table? the one actually egregious thing i did to these people was i broke a glass on their table. never in my life had i done this before. i profusely apologized, cleaned it up, and comped some of their desserts. upon leaving, this man finds my boss to tell me how awful i was from the salad to the wine to the fact their empty wine glasses were on the table too long for his liking? but they still had a little bit of wine in the bottle. i did take them once i realized okay they were done but like? they just seemed very difficult. and i pride myself on giving each guest a great experience. but the glass breaking didn't even make it until his spiel about how awful i was. sorry i'm not a mind reader! sorry this isn't fine dining! nobody told you to spend over $500 at this restaurant where we wear jeans and t shirts! plus my bottle service was literally spotless.

- i totally have an ear infection that i can't do anything about until monday bc i do not have urgent care money. i am in pain and contemplated yelling this at the above people because the restaurant industry is a shitshow in this country and it only functions by not paying its waitstaff and not giving anyone benefits. feel free to explain insurance shit to me but i have never once been able to go to urgent care and not receive a $1000 bill so my ass won't be going! the people who serve you fine wine and good food often come into work sick and in pain because we can't fucking afford not to.

- what is even crazier is the fact that the other half of my tables wrote rave reviews about me, claiming i was a wonderful server. so i know i wasn't on my a game tonight bc i felt like shit, but it cannot all possibly be me.

[definitely-not-leda]

let me catch you up on what's been happening in Hungary.

some of you may have heard some stuff, but unless you actually live in the country, I doubt you heard everything.

the salary of teachers is criminally low. i mean like, they get paid about half the salary of a cashier at a supermarket. the brilliant answer of the government was that a teacher should teach for passion and to help the younger generation not for money. when the teachers started protesting and organising strikes (because with the money they get, they will starve) the government made a law so that they can't. if they still do, it'd be considered civil disobediance and they could be fired.

now us, the students are the ones that are fighting for our teachers. there is no future without teachers. today from 31 people no one showed up for class.

and it's not even just about the salary of teachers. our whole education system is failing (so is the healthcare system and no one is paying attention to climate change, but that's a whole other story). we have 7-8, sometimes 9, 45 minute classes (of 15 subjects) a day, and we write tests for each of them at least weekly. thanks to the sheer amount of material and expectations the number of teenagers struggling with mental health issues is now higher than ever.

the teachers aren't respected. at all. you say you're a teacher, people are most likely to say "are you crazy? that's stupid. it doesn't even pay the bills." yet they work their asses off. the nonexistent amount of people who decide to sabotage their own life and become teachers has been a problem for years. I really don't understand why the government thinks not paying them would help making it more popular.

and there are countless other problems. the books we are given are completely useless. I literally have no teachers who are able to use those piles of crap. all of them are left to make presentations, print us papers out of their own money to have something to teach us from.

the schools are old and in need of equipment. one of the schools nearby got their roof renovated. in september. none of them thought "hey, let's renovate this school in a time students aren't learning inside". then it rained. the whole building got soaked. the walls are full of water. they now can't go to school. and this is one of the top schools of the country.

and what did we achieve so far with all the protests and demonstrations?

absolutely

nothing.

this has been going on for months. thousands of people were at the protest of the capital today (myself included).

and we know we won't achieve anything with our plaid shirts and singing "We are the Grund". the government is way too busy to care, building yet another football arena, being racist, homophobic, transphobic and building new churches. I mean, sure, let's hope God saves us all, but even if He's real, what will He do? grant us all a good afterlife for our troubles? I don't want a good afterlife, I just want a future in this world.

#politics #government #hungary #budapest #teachers #no teachers no future #we had enough #i had enough #demonstration #education #why is there no ministry of education #fun times #we're all gonna die #and be stupid while we do it #🇭🇺

[nightmare-dreamt]

hi i hope you doing good. Can i have a match up for Mha, Demon Slayer and Aot please 💐 I'm genderfluid, bisexual with male preference.I have long black wavy hair. I have thick black eyebrows, brown eyes. I always have rosy cheeks. My body is curvy with very big chest and little tummy. Also I'm 172 cm. I'm Libra also a Slytherin. My mbti Infp and my enneagram 5w4. I always have poker face. I find it difficult to express my feelings and prefer to isolate myself. My best feature is that I know a little about everything, I always surprise people. Those who know me for the first time describe me as cold, quiet, and distant. And they often think I can't speak and I'm deaf but I'm not. When I enter an environment, I listen to what people say and get to know them well, I decide if there is anyone worth talking to. I'm only close to two or three people. They describe me as cold, soft inside, calm, sarcastic, resourceful and knowledgeable. They say I make clever jokes and I'm the mom-friend. And i hate phsyical touch. My love language is words of affirmation. If I talk about myself, I've always been on my own. I have family problems, I was never close with my father. Even though we are side by side with my mother, we are distant. I'm just my own mom and dad. That's why I've always focused on academic achievement for salvation. And I think I'm very good at it. My hobbies are drawing, sewing, writing and researching, especially about mythology, cultures, history, fashion. I always wear my headphones and listen to music, i listen every genre. I like silence, soft colors, being alone, flowers (especially honeysuckle), spring and breeze. I don't like crowds, noise, children, loud talkers and shiny things. I always wear colorful clothes with floral prints. I also wear interesting earrings and different printed socks. And finally, I don't really have an ideal type. I love every person. I like the fact that there are different people.

Matchup For Anon!

MHA: Dabi

You were walking out late at night when someone pulled you into an alleyway, pressing a sharp blade to your next demand for your money. You stared at them with a poker face, shoving him off and walking off not giving him anything. Expecting him to come after you, the sound of screaming was heard instead causing you to tum around and be met with bright blue flames. Your bravery and strength is what caught his attention and now you can't get rid of him.

In this relationship, don't expect much physical touch since most of his body is covered in bum marks and bruises. He doesn't let anyone touch them so don't expect to get special treatment because of your guy's relationship. From time to time, the most affection/physical touch you'll get from his is either a kiss to the forehead or a kiss to the lips.

Demon Slayer: Akaza

When the two of you first met, it was before he became a demon and he lived close by seeing you outside drawing and working on art. He always saw your work and admired the different colors and shapes within. You remember faintly seeing him around, but you noticed when he started coming around less and then never returning.

It was a sad time when news of his passing went around, you didn't know how to feel but still attended his funeral giving him flowers. Later that night, the sound of your window opening was heard causing fear to fill your body, but it stopped when a familiar face stood in your room, no longer looking like his old self. In his hands were your favorite flowers as he held them out to you as an apology for being gone for a long time saying that something came up and that it kept him busy.

Aot: Armin

Armin's the type of guy to be understanding of his partners feelings, and since you mentioned that you have difficulty expressing feelings, he would totally understand. He's the type of partner to be patient and wait for them to express themselves and not force anything onto them. He knows that you'll express your feelings when you're ready and that's all he needs.

When the two of you met Armin noticed quickly that you didn't talk much and were more of a good listener then a good talker. He noticed it more when he mentioned needing more of something and that item appeared onto his desk the next day.

#anime #x reader #anime x reader #headcanon #request #boku no hero academia #my hero acedamia #mha #matchups #bnha x self insert #demon slayer x you #kny #kimetsu no yaiba #akaza x you #aot x reader #aot headcanons #aot #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #armin aot #armin x you

[killian-whump]

Hi. I know NFTs are bad but I don't understand what they are. I know they are ugly drawings and they are sold at a very high price but that's all I know. You talk about mint and tiers and I'm lost. My request is if maybe you could explain this to me as you'd explain it to a 5 yo kid? I watched a couple of YT videos but I didn't really understand what's this all about. Thank you kindly!

Okay. I'll see if I can manage to do this. The problem is... this stuff is more or less one of those things that is purposely made confusing simply for the purpose of being confusing. It's a form of gatekeeping that governments and corporations around the world utilize all the time. If you keep lay people (ie the people who aren't up on all the unique terms and rules and fine print) from understanding what's going on or how it works, those people won't (a) interfere with what you're doing (b) realize when they're being taken advantage of or (c) take advantage of you or the system you've built.

So yes, this is all VERY confusing. It's meant to be. That's how the people profiting from it WANT it to be.

For the purposes of this explanation, we're going to envision a parking garage. Now, in a normal parking garage, you park your car in any old space you like (they're all essentially the same) and you pay for however long your car sits there. Parking spaces are what's called a fungible good, because there's a whole bunch of them, they're all nearly identical, and one's generally just as good as any other.

Most goods that we buy/sell/trade are fungible. Money itself is fungible, in that one US dollar is equal to and nearly identical to any other US dollar; the same is true for most world currencies.

Now we'll imagine an entirely different kind of parking garage. In THIS garage, we pay our money and a brand new parking space is created for us. There is a sign on the space, visible to everyone everywhere in the world, that states it is OUR parking space. No one else can claim it's theirs; no one else can park their junk in it. It is OUR unique parking space. It isn't interchangeable with any other parking space, because this one is OURS and it's in THIS specific spot and no other parking space can claim those things. It is a non-fungible parking space.

That's essentially all an NFT is. The "blockchain" is a gigantic worldwide parking garage of digital data. "Minting" an NFT is what it's called when someone creates a new parking space in the garage. When you buy an NFT, you're buying a parking space in the garage that will then be yours and yours alone.

Usually, to entice people to buy a parking space in this garage, sellers will put something nice in it first - like a picture or a photograph or an ugly ass ape or maybe a bit of pleasant music. Mind you, you're not buying that item - you're still only buying the parking space it's parked on. The item parked in the space can be changed, removed... or even turn out to be stolen goods that had no business being sold to you at all! Doesn't matter. You bought the parking space, and the parking space is what's yours now.

Now if you're thinking to yourself, "Why the fuck would I want to buy a digital parking space?" Congratulations - You now understand NFTs and can join the majority of the world in thinking they're pretty much useless. Your life will continue as planned.

If, instead, you're thinking, "Well, if it's a UNIQUE parking space and there's none other like it in the world... there's a chance that if I hang onto it long enough or find just the right person who wants my specific parking space, I can make millions!" then congratulations, you ALSO understand NFTs... and a vibrant, adbot-infested community is awaiting your investments. (Please don't buy those fucking apes.)

That said, there ARE people in the NFT scene who sincerely just enjoy the artwork parked in the spaces and feel that buying the spaces themselves is a valid way to support lesser-known artists. They have good intentions, and may be enjoying themselves collecting pieces of art... but they'd seriously be better off just PayPaling the artist $100 and right-clicking to save the images they like onto their hard drive. It would be easier for everyone - and all without the environmental damage NFTs do (that gigantic digital parking garage? Yeah, it uses a metric fuckton of energy every time it makes/moves/stores those parking spaces).

And... That's it! That's all I got. How'd I do?

#tsr debacle

[dwagom]

an entire thread by @ Tweetermeyer (E.W. Niedermeyer) on twitter about that piece of shit elon skum:

In 2015 I decided on a whim to check out Tesla's battery swap station that was earning the company 9 figures in California ZEV credits, and found it wasn't real. Instead Tesla was using diesel generators to charge cars. Here's how this changed my life

Up to that point I had been skeptical that any startup automaker could succeed. That view wasn't about Tesla, it was about the car biz. But what I found at Harris Ranch was shocking, a cockroach, and I decided to follow a life-changing instinct: THERE IS NEVER JUST ONE COCKROACH.

Journalists are like investors, but instead of money they bet their time and effort. What I saw at the battery swap station was so at odds with the image of Tesla in 2015, I knew there was a good chance investing in scrutiny of Tesla would pay off. It did.

A year later I found another big cockroach: Tesla was hiding defects by requiring customers sign NDAs in exchange for free repairs. This cut off the auto safety regulator's only independent source of information about defects. This led to a couple of important lessons...

First: MUSK'S KEY SKILL IS CONTROLLING INFORMATION. It's not just crafting appealing narratives about himself and his companies, but also silencing anything that contradicts them. Tesla's entire history is lined with NDAs, backed by sheer terror of what Musk will do when cornered

That terror comes from another lesson: MUSK DOESN'T REFUTE, HE ATTACKS. I learned this after the NDA story, when an official Tesla blog post accused me of fabricating the reporting and doing so for financial gain. Zero evidence was offered to support this attack on my credibility

What happened next taught another lesson: MUSK FANS DON'T CARE ABOUT FACTS. I was mobbed by online attacks that could not be dissuaded or mitigated by facts. My claims had evidence and his didn't, yet hardly anyone knows my reporting and his 2016 lies are still repeated today.

My book made some key claims that have proven true: Tesla can't make affordable cars, Tesla can't make its "Full Self-Driving" work, Autopilot has real safety issues, Tesla is fundamentally weak on manufacturing, and more. Here's the hardest lesson: NONE OF THAT HAS MATTERED.

As I realized this, and as I realized that Musk and Tesla were on a trajectory toward increasingly implausible and fraudulent claims (which massively enriched Musk), I realized: TESLA IS NOT AN AUTOMOTIVE STORY, IT IS A CELEBRITY STORY. Faith in Musk personally was what mattered

Along my journey I have heard a lot of rumors, evidence of big cockroaches, that I chose not to hunt down because I wanted to cover the automotive/mobility tech story, not Musk's personal life. But his personal life, who he really is, is what actually matters here.

If Tesla printed cash like Amazon or Facebook, Musk's character and personality wouldn't matter. But Tesla has always been financially precarious and dependent on valuations based on Musk's dream weaving: saving the planet, self-driving cars, Mars colonies, etc

In short: TESLA IS A CONFIDENCE GAME. Confidence in one man and the image he so ruthlessly controls is what holds it all together. Understanding why Musk's dreams are bullshit is hard (learning about manufacturing and AI is cool though!), but anyone can grasp a person's character

Like all human behavior, journalism has crowd dynamics. Every cockroach killed motivates other cockroach hunters to mount up, but celebrity journalism takes this to a new level. EVERY CELEBRITY STORY IS THE SAME: FIRST THEY ARE BUILT UP, AND THEN THEY ARE TORN DOWN

If celebrity journalists smell Musk's blood in the water and start a feeding frenzy, they will find more cockroaches. Why? Because Musk's history makes one lesson undeniable: HE DOES NOT BELIEVE THE RULES APPLY TO HIM. That is the core belief of every abuser.

That is ultimately why my view has evolved from mere skepticism about Tesla as a business to a belief that Elon Musk demands firm justice: his impunity and ability to meme reality to his will is making his behavior worse all the time. HIS TRAJECTORY IS UNSUSTAINABLE.

Even more importantly: his abusive behavior, his impunity and the unfathomable wealth they have generated for him create incentives for everyone else to mimic his behavior. Even if you think Musk deserves special treatment, do you want a society where everyone acts like him?

To wrap up: HAPPY HUNTING CELEBRITY JOURNALISTS! This is the moment for you to prove that what you do is as important to society as any business or political journalism. Musk's personal life is a cockroach-rich environment, and your stories will have impact that mine never did.

I still think my reporting is important. Understanding cars, the car business, manufacturing, AI, autonomous driving tech and the other issues I cover in my book are critical to a better future. I hope more people choose to start learning about them now.

[sumeragi-hokuto]

I fully understand if it’s impossible but do you plan on finishing this project?

Hi to you and everyone else still following this blog. It's probably been what, almost two years since I last posted anything?

Short answer: probably not, though I want to.

Long answer: So a lot happened. I got my laptop back after the water damage and everything was wiped. Everything. Not just TB. I DID have some backups of the raws for volume 5, but I lost the rest of the completed pages that I'd been working on which put me back several weeks. Combine that with the stress of starting a new semester of college with a broken laptop, in a new place, with COVID messing everything up... I basically lost all motivation to keep working on TB. Time passed and I got more and more guilty about not posting, so I told myself that I would just work in larger batches that meant when I did post, I could post a ton in order to make up for all the time when I did not. Of course, that started to stress me out too, and so all it meant was that I kept delaying everything even more because the idea of doing MORE than usual after being gone so long was so daunting I couldn't bring myself to make the first step. Time passed. I got a job and was doing both school and work, which took a lot of time, and ended up committed to a group that took 9 hours per week minimum. The semester went by, and the next, and then was my final semester and my thesis. Keep everything from before and add in *that* time commitment...

By the time I was ready to get back to TB, I'd graduated. And my school pulled my Photoshop license basically the second my diploma was in hand. Buying Photshop will take me $22-35 a month, and Adobe is so weird with their commitments and forcing you to keep it for a long time or putting a cancelation fee on you that I keep worrying I'll miss something in the fine print and end up having to pay way more than anticipated. So basically, trying to get Photoshop back would cost a lot of money that I don't exactly want to pay given how long I think it'll take me to do these scans. It's just me working on this. There is no one else. I have a lot of things I want to do in my life, and paying for another year or two of Photoshop will put me out a few hundred bucks that I would like to put in savings. I guess I could really buckle down and try to get huge chunks done at once, but I need some other life things to calm down a bit.

If this seems like excuses excuses...yeah. pretty much. I have a million excuses and none of them are great. I loved this project and it brought me a lot of joy, but now I've come to a financial decision that has kept me from coming back to this.

That and the other big thing, which was the idea of "Oh. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this." Because while I may not be earning any money by doing this, I'm also not paying anything to do this. The profits aren't going to CLAMP or anyone official. People are reading their material without them earning a single penny. And sure, I read every CLAMP manga I've ever read on unofficial online sites before buying them myself (so, I read without paying before I fell so in love that I did). But should I be doing this? What happens if CLAMP or whoever owns the licensing does a crackdown one day?

I'm already so far in it probably doesn't matter. I'm not going to go delete everything I've ever posted. So why not just finish what I started?

I think it comes down to shoving down the guilt of the absence and the worry of whether I should or shouldn't be doing this and figuring out financially (and time-wise) if it's truly worth it. Like I said, I loved this project. I love TB. I have a ton of fun making the pages. But it takes a lot. It will take more from me now than it ever has with the added financial burden and the fact that I have way more commitments than I did when I started (which was, I think, actually in high school. And here I am now with a college degree and a real world job).

So that's the long answer: Will I finish this? I don't know. I really want to. I just need to figure out a way to make it work. That'll require some shuffling on my part. Some figuring stuff out. Some weighing my options. I can't say yes because I don't want to promise something and not give it, which has historically been what I've done when promising more frequent updates that never increased in frequency.

So to both you and the few other people who've messaged me in this long gap, or to the ones who said such nice things when I first mentioned my broken laptop and losing everything and all the kind of sucky stuff that happened nearly 2 years ago now...Thank you for caring. It does mean a lot. It's really nice to know that people actually appreciated the effort I put in, and that they're still thinking about me (or at least, about what I can do for them). I've never stopped thinking about this blog. I used Photoshop for my thesis and every time I opened it I told myself, "maybe next time I open this will be for TB." It even was. I think I did one more set at some point, never posted because of that thing I mentioned about feeling guilty and wanting to make a mega post.

With that I'll finish off for now. Apologies for the giant blob of text. I don't feel like proofreading this right now. I still have stuff I need to get done today. Real life calls. I hope that one day I will be able to get back to this. I'm just not sure when, or if it's even feasible.

Thank you,

Mariyekos.

#not a set #ah.

[the-firebird69]

Supreme Court gives Jack Smith a deadline to respond to Trump's attempt to delay trial until after election | Fox News

I've never seen someone talking circles so many times and try and change the meaning of so many things and have no direction into why they're doing it or what they want that's an outcome it's just making people pissed off this article and the title everything about it is misleading crap and that it's not worth printing people get pissed off and they make sure that you are going down Trump this is ridiculous s*** it's about immunity and the supreme Court it doesn't have anything to do with any case it doesn't postpone anything unless you request for a postponement it's not tied to it so I think that you're possibly delusional

Zues Hera

We know it's not tied to the case and you might be thinking that for some reason and their lawyer did not do it right and it didn't tell you it seems your lawyer might be the prosecutor but that's not true the prosecutor might be your grandkid who found out you shot him. But he's not the one doing the stupid news where you can't keep anything straight you don't want anyone else to public getting angry not the course as much but they should because it's really a freaking huge issue people get really angry all day they want to take these people down and yeah the trumpsters are issuing these articles they're massively inflammatory they make people angry and I see what you've been doing and they're going after your stuff today they read a few of these and got really pissed and we saw it it doesn't have any bearing on any case it's just a way out that you're trying and you're a fruitcake to believe that people believe it they don't believe it okay you've got the information in already you can stop your belly you f****** animal we have to go after you now because he read it and you don't support your end gone purpose and s*** like that I mean boy you're going to beat up today we already see people lining up to beat you up and now there's going to be more.

Today you go to court in punta Gorda for four cases and they arrange from infidelity to manslaughter now but it's for money and they're going to win again and you're going to lose property in the area here and you keep on smirking and smacking your lips in court and they take more. Your status is in Cassius last night were rated they took 23% on top of 25% almost 50% gone no signs of you slow down as an a****** and today they're going to take more and they did a lot of research to go after other Sasha's in Cassius usually the same car now there going to go a little faster and probably take 30% or 35% today and that's going to leave you with a very small amount and then go after you when you take yours out we're not sure if you get it yet

Yeah we get it you're going to be desperate and you want to be desperate and we go after you and we're stopping but you can do it the whole time you're soft and piece of s*** getting rid of yourself you rat on yourself and you got rid of yourself and it's working

Thor Freya

Olympus

What would you possess you to shoot me in the first place and your grandson you idiot

prosecutor Jack Smith and I'm not you Trump

You're very mean to me and said that kidnapping me and holding me that's why I say and evidence says it was true

Trump

When I say is you're a liar and we don't have any evidence that we are doing that he just want to take our stuff and he would be spring chickens now you get some problems don't you

Jack Smith

Couple lives you and we'll have to handle it and I'm saying it's the neighborhood he says I'm gone he's going to have a hill yet hit again that would be me and I do understand that I don't think he can

Trump

You feel comfortable with that kind of talk and so do we and we still have you hit

Thor Freya

Olympus

[theorist-influencer-untitled]

2.10.24 Saturday

12:09 am

I still have windblow... Weird! I'm on an "unplanned training" for the entire day...

I find it so weird! TL Krizzy just ordered a barge at the side... I feel weird and lowered.

I'm planning to resign and apply on other company or other account. I need money still, plus the account it will be until April. In a way it will end in a lil while....

I always feel low in call center... I feel irritated. Why, I feel that I can't beat it!

I still want and need money... I have to calm down...

Revo is not around... Chloe the other TL, is not around as well...

Aizzy is not really reacting on me but I pity her which I can't understand. Aside, from my own personal self-pity...

6:34 am

Thanks to TL Krizzy in a way for being crazy and nice... She is still nice for allowing us to file the special holiday today and for insisting that we should file it... Sweet in a way in spite of her craziness...

What else? Princess sent me a message on our TEAMS that the black american guy that I like was with them in prod C. The black american guy that I saw in the pantry. I asked what is he doing there? Princess said I think he is trainer.

I feel that I'm on a detention room for the whole day...

6:46 pm

OM was just there, just like a mushroom...

Ian and I are the only people on our line sitting arrangement. Ray is off today... Kaede still drinking his pick-up coffee every start of our shift. Lay was there, still nice and mysterious.

Yam was there but I'm not trusting her just like Prexel. Joms helped me on doing the filing of special holiday today. John was just quiet as always and buddy of Joms. Jay ( Jay is wearing black sweater hooded with a print of Beatles and why Beatles??? ) sitting beside Aizzy.

T the super healthy TL just peacefully sitting on her throne.

I barged with Fritz and V... V is a college graduate finished education but not yet a board passer. Young and fresh, young as 23.... I asked V if she is happy she said yeah! I'm ohkay, I've been here for a year.

8:20 am

I'm here in the house now... I need to clean, we don't have helpers now and we can't hire one...

One of my major complexities in LIFE!

We need to pay our electric, I can't share for now... My salary is small, I have my own personal expenses. WE NEED TO PAY OUR ELECTRIC...

8:30 pm

So,if I have a visitor I need them to have schedule here but probably a bf visitor who can help me on money these days or on my expenses here...

My call center salary is not enough to have a good life.

Someone who can accept me,my situation. Like for example on that cute black american man, I'm gonna tell him that we are facing a financial tight budgeting. I have to work coz I have my own personal expenses and I have a son-dog and that dog has a life. I share 1300 in pesoses for our gasul and sometimes my nana is requesting a money from me and to buy her some stuff. Of course she took care of me when I was lil girl. It is my responsibility as well to pay her back in a way... But my money is not enough. I'm giving a lotion or a deo on Uncle Jun for taking care of John when I'm not in the house. My lil favour from him.

I have a son-dog who I took care and still taking good care of him since he was 3 months old. He has maintenance just like a human kid.

I have my own personal needs as well... I'm not ready to shoulder other bills in the house but we need to pay it, of course no matter what happens... Like our electric bill...

I need to save for myself as well... Uncle DD is receiving the fundings from my adoptive parent's to pay the bills here but of course I'm trying to help but I can't cover for everything here. My salary is just small...

8:40 am

I don't know...I feel sleepy but I have to clean in a way... Poops are everywhere here in our living room, coz I can't hire a yaya to look after my son-dog when I'm away... If I have yaya then even if I'm not in the house someone will clean his poops. My nana is old for that and my Uncle Jun here is a lil strange, he doesn't want to clean the poops of John in the living room plus I think he is still sick now...

So, today probably I will do some general cleaning... I have no choice, I need to clean angels!!!

8:45 pm

Probably, I will buy whisky coke or Smirn Off while cleaning....Late afternoon, I have to clean our trash can and some floor mats of John, I have to wash it outside... This is my rest day here...

I still need to check some fan blade outside in a repair electronics shop, whatever....Coz it is cheaper though not my ideal life. Yeah! Yeah! It is a crack pot here... I want my bf2x visitor to accept this bitterish reality of my life here.

10:16 am

This Uncle DD will borrow a 20kilos dog food for Neko... Huh? I can only manage 2 kilos... But he needs to return it angels,coz I'm not that rich...

Thank God I'm able to buy new fan blade for 90 pesoses... Thank God! I'm a survivor....Good as brand new...

2:35 pm

Done, eating.... I still have windblow... Will still rest later afternoon, I need to clean outside our trash can. I feel bitterish .... I still feel fat and ugly... I need to diet correctly...

What will happen to me next week?

Hmm... One of the reasons of my troubled chats it was ohkay but they didn't take my rapport coz for them I was making a joke but I got it in Iqor, it was our training to make life funny.

In short I've mentioned on my chats that " I can no longer do some magic here coz you need to contact your state about this" or Yeah! I can downgrade you using my magic, in a snap of a finger". In Conduent they don't like it but in Iqor it is fine they wanted to make our client laugh but in Conduent they wanted to sound serious. TL told me to not do that dialogue anymore on my clients.

I'm thinking where to find my Daddy-bf the one who can take me as me...Who can swallow my situation in life. Someone who can have a tough tummy on me in spite of my negative situation.

I also wonder, where is Revo probably with Chloe but nobody can tell the truth behind every bathroom's scene.

I needed to do a ritual or someone I can call my bf2x to finally kick a negative force. Well, hoping to be with Daddy-Bf aside from I need help these days on money and how to have a good life much more than this... Relationship with someone is about talk if the situation is something serious.

It is just kinda hard for me to be with someone younger but I hope a younger soul is willing to be a companion in times that I needed someone, it should be platonic but probably beyond this coz of something deep that I'm asking from HIM, if ever a younger soul like Revo but it is not easy. If with Revo I want him to have a loving and tough heart but a willing heart and ready to give in and loose and let go... It is a weird relationship if ever if money will be involved...

I told Princess that I really like Daddy-bf the first time that I saw him entering the 5th floor pantry, wow! Who is this cute black american man?

That day when I saw a possible Daddy-bf he looks so cool that is there a cat walk here? Or probably checking something or looking for someone, I don't know but that night I just want him to see me... I wanted to measure how tall he is and I did... It was just a friendly and casual smile... WHO IS HE???

4:10 pm

In a lil while... The cleaning will start... WAITING FOR UNCLE DD's fundings for food and for some bills here.

I still need to keep a job... I wanted a nose perfection and my deep smile lines. I feel self-pity...I haven't seen the world... For 17 years they are smashing me... They repeated me but they changed me and that is super unfair for some fake relatives!

7:13 pm

I think there is bug or chair bugs not bed bugs in our chairs in Conduent office coz I got this 2 days ago. 2 days ago I suddenly felt a sting and itch at my back...

7:41 pm

I feel ugly when I have a bite on my skin coz I need to bleach it or use a kojic or carrot soap to whiten the bitten parts... I'm fading, I feel ugly!!!

8:01 pm

I'm worrying so much... What if Daddy-bf ( my black american man ) or Revo will be at my back and I'm on my sleeveless just like today and they will see this bitten part of bugs coming from Conduent.. I feel shy, I feel conscious... I feel ugly that I'm fading...

I need to revive my skin angels...

9pm

I still have windblow....Hmm... Why other people will say goodbye... Strange... I didn't do anything bad to harm them...

I'm gonna share something here, it is bad to spy on someone for the purpose of knowing things and harming the person.

#Youtube