#misled for profit

[kedreeva]

There's some dude (derogatory) on FB who is PISSED people are pricing their farm fresh eggs at $2 and $3 a dozen instead of $4+, saying it's "disrespectful" and "undignified" and "I'm trying to feed my kids" like Sir, you are on a Facebook group page bitching about your neighbors egg prices because your pet chickens aren't earning you a living wage and you think it's your neighbors' fault, you do not have a leg to stand on here wrt dignity.

Also half the answers are like "I give them to friends and family free" or "I donate them to food banks" or "I'm making them affordable to folks who might not otherwise be able to get them now that they're so expensive in the store" and "if you think you're going to turn a profit keeping backyard chickens you have been wildly misled" and so on, and so forth, and I'm so living for it.

and I can tell you right now, he did NOT like my answer of "if you're trying to feed your kids, I hear eggs are edible."

#chickens #like buddy you are never going to actually make a profit #and if by some miracle you do #it's going to be VERY SMALL #Considering the money you put into building or buying a coop #plus feed and bedding and equipment (waterers feeders perches etc) costs #egg cartons and enrichment and gas to go get the feed #the cost you (personally) probably put into building the egg stand you mentioned #a 50lbs bag of feed will feed 12 adult chickens for 8 days #12 chickens generally lay 6-12 eggs per day #usually less in the fall and may even stop in winter #a 50lb bag of feed is usually $12-15 #and you wasted the first 6 months going eggless until they were old enough to lay #and that doesn't factor in oyster shell or anything else you may need to do for them #like worming or treating for coccidia or anything #and doesn't take into account your time #like asjh;dsfkgdh you really thought you were gonna make a buck doing this??? #wank for ts

[i-sveikata]

Okay so I’ve been legit thinking of Nope nonstop since I saw it last night and I’ve only just realised the difference between Jupe and OJ and their understanding of animals and how this translates to Jean Jacket

So I was thinking about that scene when Jupe is preparing for the show and he’s sort of leaning against the desk and not moving. At the time I saw it I just assumed he was unwillingly revisiting the traumatic moments of his experience on the Gordy Show but now I’m thinking there might have been more to it.

From the first time we ever see OJ he’s wearing a cap which works sort of well at shielding his eyes especially when he’s ducking his head which is something he seems to do often (and is probably what unwittingly saved his life those first six months!!!). And we hear him talk about not looking the animals in the eye which eventually culminates to his understanding of JJ and how it ties in with its territorial nature and how it views eye contact as a challenge or a sign of aggression. And when we see that horrible moment of Gordy set off by the balloon and behaving like the wild animal he is on set we as the viewer can see that Jupe doesn’t look away once, that in that moment he stays perfectly still hidden beneath that table and watches it all unfold so when Gordy approaches and seems to calm down and reach out to him, he takes that as a sign of having done the right thing in that moment. Which I think is what that scene in the office before the show is alluding to. Jupe believes that the answer to encountering dangerous and volatile animals even extraterrestrial ones is to be as non threatening as possible as a way to connect to them. Jupe, not understanding the table cloth that separated his and Gordy’s eyes from one another is what protected him in that moment, and not the fact that he stayed where he was and didn’t move. We see the poor young actress moving on the floor before Gordy attacks her again, as well as the actor father coming down the stairs and attempting to run away. Putting all that together, Jupe thinks the key here is his stillness. Which is what I think he’s practising before the show, reaching that sense of calm before he faces JJ. But the problem with that is Jupe never fully comprehended that being a passive viewer to spectacle is just as dangerous as creating it and using wild animals to profit from it. Because of Gordy he never learned to look away, to break out of the cycle of witnessing spectacle and being made into a spectacle after Gordy’s attack so when JJ arrives and comes to eat, Jupe looks up perfectly still and watches as he’s sucked up and devoured. This movie had such great commentary on the horror of spectacle, the danger of people being first and foremost viewers, even of the most appalling moments and at the expense and exploitation of human and non human lives. I just thought it was really interesting that some people have said Jupe had no idea what he was doing but I would say he absolutely did and that was his hubris, that he truly believed he could bond with JJ like he supposedly did Gordy. His misinterpretation of the traumatic event with Gordy is what actually misled him into believing stillness was the key to being a viewer of JJ/The Viewer. So instead of turning from the spectacle he and his audience were literally consumed by it instead.

#nope 2022 #nope film #nope spoilers #just my thoughts on this film because I literally can’t stop thinking about it #it’s has SO MANY LAYERS

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP, oh my god, the MHJ New Jean's news?? Do you have any thoughts? That's actually insane! What do you think is going to end up happening with New Jean's?

*

Ask 2:

Have you read about what’s happening with Ador and Hybe? What do you think?

*

Ask 3:

The TEA today about Ador Ceo was sad but not surprising. BTS is the story of betrayal by outsiders.

I was surprised when Tae worked with HER for his album. I didn't see that collaboration coming.

I have to wonder if she purposefully misled Tae into a "mid" album. Look, Layover isn't a bad album but its not a masterpiece regardless of what Tae solos believe.

The results are so different between albums like JITB, Astronaut, DDAY, Indigo, Face and Layover its crazy. The depth/personal experience reflected in those albums is undeniable while Tae's was all surface.

Golden is departure and its own thing. JK went for global popstar and achieved/ate!! His choreo reflected his status as part of 3J and his vocals were on display. Gorgeous!!! (Had to add that in because in this house we don't leave out members)

I feel bad for Tae today realizing he worked with a traitor. I will always wonder what he could have released if he had just worked with the Bighit team instead of Ador Ceo.

Maybe you have more insight into all this?

*

Ask 4:

Sooo... what are you thinking about this inter-hybe conflict between belift and ador? I know you're a nj fan but I think I've also heard you say that people are too quick to call things a nj copy, so I'm curious what you think about mhj's claims. I'll be honest that I thought that what I've seen so far seemed kind of unhinged-main-character syndrome to me but I also don't follow these groups and don't know how deep this goes. Certainly, I think mhj has been very deliberate and successful in building nj's brand, but I found this public argument unnecessary and potentially damaging to both groups. What kind of fallout do you expect?

*

Ask 5:

Bpp! Thoughts on the Min Heejin Hybe mess? I thought we were done with the corporate drama but tuns out no!

***

There's really nothing to say... yet.

News leaked that HYBE has leveled some allegations and accusations at ADOR, most likely based on a tip off, and launched an audit to ascertain if these allegations are true - in HYBE's statement confirming the audit, they don't name the people accused, but the news leak makes a point to name Min Heejin specifically, keeping the name of the VP who is accused of committing the acts unknown.

Min Heejin has responded in an exclusive interview and statement by ADOR, that she's innocent of most of the accusations and that this dispute started because HYBE has refused to curb inter-label plagiarism of her ideas with NewJeans. She refers specifically to Be:lift's new girl group Illit, noting how everything from choreography to visuals to styling to sound is based on her ideas, without proper attribution to her from Belift, nor an apology for what she calls blatant theft of concepts she's developing at ADOR. She accuses Bang PD of being complicit and prioritizing short-term profit over long-term viability of the new groups he's pushing out.

There are reports (unconfirmed) that HYBE has called for Min Heejin to resign. If ADOR doesn't call for a shareholder meeting by tomorrow, HYBE has indicated they might sue. The fact the meeting is being called before the audit is concluded, has all the hallmarks of a textbook corporate power play move, and implies to me something else than what I'm seeing most people here allude to. But still...

--

...there's nothing to say because what we're seeing is the middle innings of a power play game. There's simply too little info to make any decisive statements.

I immediately get a headache whenever things like this happen in k-pop because, even for more innocuous subjects, there's nobody more mind rotted than the average k-pop stan. And before long we'll have people whose only experience with executive/corporate power struggles is watching Succession, giving us endless takes in endless discourse. And this particular discourse is going to be more annoying because (1) Min Heejin is a woman who is already widely disliked, (2) There's an overwhelming amount of intersectional motives and interests both within and outside HYBE given the nature of the dispute, which typically leads to people infusing moral language into the discussion. It's going to be the HYBE-Kakao-SM discourse on steroids (and even in the HYBE vs SM drama, we had far more information to go on that what's available in this case).

I mean... Anon 3, you're already convinced this is a story of "betrayal", and claiming she is a "traitor", and you're tying a corporate power struggle to BTS. Not like I'd expect to see anything less from most other people to be honest.

This is really a dispute between Min Heejin and Kim Taeho (Belift's CEO), with increased grievance due to Taeho supposedly enjoying Bang PD and Park Jiwon's support and Heejin, supposedly, not.

The fallout, predictably, is going to be nasty. Given all the above. NewJeans is slated to have a comeback next month, Illit is only just ramping down debut activities while ENHYPEN is just starting the final leg of their FATE+ tour. If HYBE is indeed demanding MHJ resign, it's likely they only mean for her to resign from the CEO role but remain as the Creative Director of NewJeans - because the reality is that if there is no MHJ, there is no NewJeans. And it's that reality that in my view, is the primary leverage MHJ has. And she doesn't strike me as the sort to bluff. The worst case scenario is she leaves HYBE completely and NewJeans is put on hiatus, or the members sue to break their contracts with HYBE to follow her while she courts outside investors, similar to the Fifty Fifty situation.

Inter-label competition and drama is expected in a company like HYBE, it's wonderful because it can yield truly incredible results and unique approaches, but also potentally horrible because it can result in cases like MHJ's vs HYBE. There are ways to properly manage this competition to prevent the latter case, but I can't say I've seen any indication that with Jiwon nor Bang have done so. I said above that MHJ leaving HYBE completely is the worst case scenario for NewJeans, but it looks like the scenario most preferable for certain parties given it's one of the only viable outcomes from having this news broken this way. And so, most likely to happen. Unless Bang PD develops some hitherto unseen business acumen... so yeah I'm not holding my breath.

I have nothing insightful to add. My opinions about the suits at HYBE and Bang PD's business decisions for the last 2 years have skewed mostly negative, and that's not changed in this case. I'd rather not share my full opinions because I feel they run contrary to the dominant talking points here, and partly because they're not fully formed and nobody here is paying me to fully develop a view. I'm really not going to do that work for free.

We're all just going to have to wait and see.

What I will say though and something I find particularly interesting, is that HYBE has been accused of what Min Heejin is alleging, since at least the start of last year. Also, Belift in particular has been accused of plagiarism since the start of the year, twice, on issues unrelated to NewJeans. The first was when 'mobiius_music', an indie music producer on Instagram, accused them of lifting his music almost bar for bar for ENHYPEN's 2023 GDA dance break. The second was when Kelley Sweeney, an American choreographer who shares her routines on Instagram and tiktok, accused Belift of using her choreography for Illit's pre-debut practice without credit. Both times it was for low-level offences as it wasn't related to official music releases or album content, and so in that way Belift is better than bigger and more known agencies, but it still reflects a lax vetting process in the best case and unethical creative practices in the worst.

Anyway, my concern is for the artists involved while the suits try to play god with their careers. I can only hope that whatever happens is only the best possible outcome for all involved.

#newjeans #min heejin #bang pd #park jiwon #kim taeho #belift #hybe #kpop #ador

[antiendovents]

Honestly even when we did identify as endogenic (we were misled into thinking so because we split a whole bunch of introjects, when it turns out it's because we have HC-DID) we though The Plural Association (TPA) were incredibly shady, and now we know that endos are bullshit they're even MORE shady.

Like… TPA is a "grassroots non-profit", yet I cannot find anything listing what any donations are put towards. Their Dissociative Identity Disorder resources list features articles such as "When our Plurality outlasts our Dissociative Identity Disorder", "10 reasons why amnesia shouldn’t be a diagnostic criterion for DID in the DSM", and "Plurals, learn more about mixed origin Systems & Headmates!". Their founder has stated that "We also self identify as Plural because we are People, not parts." and is generally very agressive towards people who prefer part language.

Also their definition of intergration is literally "Integration, as used on our website, refers to a form of fusion that has the end goal of bringing all parts of 1 person together into 1 cohesive personality. And specifically, it does not allow for personhood, as this would disrupt the integration fusion process." and they have a whole article fearmongering about it which… anti-recovery much?

Even when we did somehow think we were endogenic we knew their were shit wrong with this site, and it shocks me how people just act like it's okay

I don't know much about the plural association but jeez, that's fucking shitty. All of it. It's a horrible organisation and bases nothing off real information or science based on what I've heard. really it's disgusting that we're forced to use stuff from these people because there's no other alternative ((as of now, though if ATLASDUO turns out well hopefully we'll be able to use that))

#anti endo #actually did #did #did system #plural #endos dni #alters #system #endos fuck off #did osdd

[shirkers2018dirsanditan]

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of entertainment journalists from overseas that, despite frequent missteps, built the Golden Globe Awards into a marquee event, died on Monday after a series of scandals. It was 80. The end of the embattled H.F.P.A. was announced after California officials agreed to a complicated reorganization plan that will allow the Golden Globe Awards to continue. Eldridge Industries, a holding company owned by the billionaire investor Todd Boehly, and Dick Clark Productions, which is part of Penske Media, agreed to buy the foreign press association’s Golden Globe assets for an undisclosed price. The proceeds will go to a new nonprofit, the Golden Globe Foundation, which will continue the H.F.P.A.’s philanthropic efforts; it gave more than $50 million to entertainment-related charities over the last three decades. Members of the foreign press association — primarily freelance entertainment journalists — will become employees of a yet-to-be-named for-profit entity that will try to expand the Golden Globes as a brand, according to an Eldridge spokesman. The former members (there are fewer than 100) will earn $75,000 annually for five years, with duties that include watching films and television shows and voting for the awards; and producing promotional materials, including writing articles for a Golden Globes website. It was unclear if the members could continue freelancing (mostly celebrity interviews) for publications overseas.

The Los Angeles Times discovered in 2021 that the H.F.P.A. had no Black members, setting off an outcry in the entertainment industry that resulted in NBC canceling the 2022 Globes telecast. The ceremony returned to NBC in January under a one-year agreement. Eldridge and Dick Clark Productions, which has produced the Globes telecast for decades, have since been looking for a new broadcast network or streaming service partner. The 81st Golden Globe Awards ceremony has been scheduled for Jan. 7. In a statement, Mr. Boehly called the dissolution of the H.F.P.A. a “significant milestone in the evolution of the Golden Globes.” He thanked the association’s former president, Helen Hoehne, for helping push through reforms, including “a robust approach to governance” that had helped professionalize an awards entity long known for infighting and scandal. “We have a great team in place to grow this iconic brand,” Jay Penske, the chief executive of Penske Media, said in a statement. The foreign press association had long been viewed as unserious and slippery. In the late 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission had the Globes temporarily booted from the airwaves, saying it “misled the public as to how the winners were determined.” In the 1990s and 2000s, Harvey Weinstein, the since-imprisoned Miramax co-founder, manipulated the organization in ways big and small — expensive gifts and special access to stars and his own time, at a moment when other studio chiefs could barely hide their derision. He was often rewarded with a stunning number of nominations. Hollywood stopped turning a blind eye to the organization’s failings in 2021, after the killing of George Floyd in police custody in 2020 prompted a national conversation about racism and inequity. More than 100 publicists closed ranks, refusing to make stars available for Golden Globe appearances and contributing to NBC’s cancellation of the 2022 telecast.

#the HFPA is dead #but long live the golden globes!! #epitaph: unserious and slippery...but the celebrities got so drunk #gone but never forgotten

[kp777]

By Cassidy Dipaola

Common Dreams

Nov. 17, 2023

The American public believes fossil fuel companies should pay for their deceit. Our job is to make sure they do.

For decades, the fossil fuel industry has misled the public about the climate impacts of its products. Internal documents prove companies like Exxon knew since the 1970s that burning oil and gas drives catastrophic global warming. Yet rather than warn society, they denied the science and obstructed climate action at every turn.

This corporate deception continues today, but the public is catching on in a big way. New polling from Data for Progress reveals 70% of Americans support making Big Oil pay for the climate damages their products have caused. With climate disasters growing in frequency and severity, people are fed up footing the bill for Big Oil's greed.

Such greed should disgust us all. But outrage alone achieves nothing.

Critically, the American public believes Big Oil should pay for their lies. The new polling reveals that 77% of Americans agree that if oil and gas companies misled the public about climate impacts, they should help cover resulting climate costs. This consensus crosses political divisions. Agreement spans 91% of Democrats, 75% of Independents, and 63% of Republicans—an exceptionally high level of bipartisan agreement.

The poll also shows a sharp rise in support for making polluters pay over time. Similar polls in 2021 and 2019 found roughly 60% and 57% of Americans backed accountability, respectively. In just a few short years, support for accountability has jumped nearly 20 percentage points. Now near three-quarters of Americans are in agreement around the belief that Big Oil should pay for the harms it sowed through decades of deception.

The costs of warming are no longer abstract statistics. They can be seen in the devastation of communities across America. In 2021 alone, extreme weather fueled by climate change inflicted over $165 billion in damages nationwide. Floods, wildfires and storms killed hundreds and displaced countless more. Low income and minority communities suffered most, abandoned by the very corporations who caused this crisis.

At the same time these climate impacts accelerate, the fossil fuel industry is raking in massive profits. Just last quarter, Chevron pocketed $11.2 billion and Exxon secured $19.7 billion. Rather than invest in renewables or pay for the harms they've caused, they’re doubling down on fossil fuels, scooping up sister-companies and stoking fears of monopolization in the public and leadership alike.

New lawsuits are seeking damages for Big Oil's climate deception, and they’re gaining traction.

By misleading the public on climate science for so long, the industry secured decades of unchecked emissions to swell its bottom line. But now, the deadly consequences of its lies are coming to bear. Record heat, drought and near-weekly hurricanes make clear we rapidly must transition from fossil fuels to avert utter climate catastrophe.

Such greed should disgust us all. But outrage alone achieves nothing. Accountability for Big Oil is long overdue – it’s time to Make Them Pay. Politicians for too long have enabled and protected these polluting companies. But new lawsuits are seeking damages for Big Oil's climate deception, and they’re gaining traction. As you read this, 1/4 of Americans are now represented in lawsuits against Big Oil for climate damages and fraud, with California becoming the latest and largest state to file suit.

The public correctly realizes these corporations should pay for the crisis they knowingly fueled. Our leaders must stand up to polluters and enact policies to rein in their abuses. A future free from fossil fuels is possible, and we now have the political will to make it happen.

#climate change #climate emergency #climate crisis #corporate greed #exxonmobil #exxon #fossil fuels #big oil

[lesbianremu]

“queerbaiting” vs “straight-baiting”

with all the recent “controversy” surrounding the whole “mike likes el” thing, i just want to say this so that people don’t get in over themselves. 

as others have said before, doubt is important for both sides to stay engaged. they need us to remain hooked in so we’ll watch s5 and generate revenue and blah blah blah. 

but just remember (looking at u heteros) queerbaiting is a very real thing, and “straight-baiting” does not exist. like at all. 

queerbaiting is a term used to describe our very real exclusion from mainstream media. it’s honestly quite malicious, because showrunners and filmmakers use queer audiences as a pawn. they never intend to represent us, they just want to lure us in so they can maximise their views and profits. 

which just means, yet again, that mainstream media will invariably pander to the GA, which is why “straight-baiting” can’t exist. ur already the majority, everything is already made for u. why would mainstream media need to hook u in, when u already make up a significant portion of their viewership anyway?

like lets not forget that stranger things currently has a 0:4 ratio of leading queer couples and leading het couples. they currently have a 2:12 ratio of explicitly leading queer characters and leading het characters. 

this means that yes, if byler doesn’t happen, it will be queerbaiting. why? queer audiences do not have rich, complex, fully developed relationships in this show otherwise. sure, we have will, who is indubitably a complex and rich character, with seasons-worth of development, but... 1:12? is this really the type of representation that queer audiences deserve? and if byler does happen, that’ll change the ratio to 1:3, which really isn’t that significant because yet again, u are the majority. 

u cannot be baited with rich, complex, fully developed representation pouring out the show for u. u cannot just use a term that is rooted in our historical prohibition from media, just because the ship u want isn’t canon. ur personal disappointment cannot even begin to mirror the collective betrayal and rejection that is felt when queer audiences are intentionally misled and sidelined. 

#byler #queer representation #stranger things #queerbaiting #queer coding #get in line straights #will byers #mike wheeler #robin buckley #eddie munson #ronance #steddie #elmax #tagging what should have been

[girlschasinggirls]

Retired NFL player Michael Oher was not adopted by a rich white family as depicted in the 2009 movie "The Blind Side," according to a Tennessee court filing obtained by ESPN on Monday. Instead, they allegedly manipulated him to become more wealthy at his expense.

The petition was reportedly filed in Shelby County, Tennessee, probate court. In it, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy are accused of taking Oher into their home as a high school student under a conservatorship they tricked him into, which granted them legal authority to make business deals on his behalf.

Oher, 37, is reportedly asking the court to end the Tuohy family's conservatorship, stop them from using his name and likeness and provide a full account of their earnings from using his name. In addition to unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, he is also reportedly seeking a "fair" share of profits.

Oher: I didn't receive money from 'The Blind Side'

"The Blind Side" saw wild success from Oher's poverty-to-Super-Bowl-champ story — but the report says he didn't see any funds from the movie.

The Tuohys are also accused of using that power to negotiate a deal that made them, including their two birth children, millions of dollars in royalties from the Oscar-winning film. They began negotiating a movie deal about their relationship with Oher shortly after the 2006 release of the book "Blind Side: Evolution of the Game," according to the filing.

Members of the family were each allegedly paid $225,000, plus 2.5% of the film's "defined net proceeds." The film earned more than $300 million.

An additional 2007 contract allegedly gave 20th Century Fox Studios the rights to Oher's story without any payment, according to the filing. He alleges that he doesn't recall signing any such contract or was misled to think he was agreeing to something else.

Family lie 'devastated and wounded [Oher] deeply'

…

#the blind side #michael oher

[georgefairbrother]

Porn Yesterday was a 1974 episode of Steptoe and Son, from the final series. Harold (Harry H Corbett) picks up an antique ‘What the Butler Saw’ machine on his rounds and brings it home to Oil Drum Lane. He is delightedly running the images of vintage pornography through the viewfinder, until he recognises his father featuring in a scene that also involved a woman and bath full of milk. Suddenly it’s not quite as much fun, and Harold is worried that any scandal might affect his already faltering chances of getting into the golf club.

"What my poor mother must have gone through. She didn’t know about this, did she?"

“Course she did, that was her sister in the bath.”

“Auntie Rose???”

“They were desperate times. Everything we had was in pawn.”

“So were you!”

Although being played largely for broad comedy with some great one-liners, the writers, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, could still bring out some intense dramatic performances with rapid changes in mood, a technique later used to great effect by John Sullivan in Only Fools and Horses.

Addressing Harold’s disgust, Albert Steptoe (Wilfrid Brambell) recalls the economic conditions of the time, the poverty and starvation, and how desperate young people were being exploited and misled with the offer of a fiver for being in what they believed would be legitimate films to be shown at the Gaumont. At times, the studio audience seems at a loss as to how to react. When Albert is reduced to tears, there is a brief laugh. The audience also laughs when Albert relates that poor Auntie Rose had died of pneumonia two weeks after being immersed in the milk bath.

There’s a happy ending; a deal is done with the local Vicar to make the machine available for the church jumble sale and split the profits. Albert becomes a celebrity in the parish, signing autographs for which the Vicar cheerfully charges two shillings each for church funds.

Steptoe and Son came about as a result of Galton and Simpson being offered a series of  ten 30 minute slots for the BBC’s anthology, Comedy Playhouse, with total creative freedom. One episode, The Offer (1962), featured father and son rag and bone men, and was innovative in that actors, rather than variety comics, were cast in the principal roles. Harry H Corbett, at that point seen as a serious dramatic actor with enormous promise, surprised and delighted Galton and Simpson with his interpretation of his role, especially crying real, hopeless tears at the end.

Steptoe and Son ran from 1962-65 and then again 1970-74; a total of 57 episodes. During the early run of the series, Harry H Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell were such big stars they co-headlined the 1963 Royal Variety Performance with the Beatles.

One of the interesting things to note about the series is the intensity of the acting through long, dialogue-heavy scenes, and with very few detectable mistakes. Retakes were frowned upon in those days due to the expense, and so as not to ruin spontaneity with the studio audience. It’s interesting to compare with Dad’s Army, for example, which retains obvious dialogue stumbles, continuity mistakes and goofs right the way through.

It’s also interesting to imagine Steptoe and Son without the audience laughter. (We get some idea from the feature films). Albert takes vindictive delight in derailing any attempts by Harold to live a life of his own, while Albert is, at times, cowering in fear in the face of Harold’s potentially violent temper. The comedic aspects aside, it would actually make a dark, confronting and occasionally frightening kitchen sink family drama.

It was reported that, at the 1964 general election, Labour Leader Harold Wilson attempted to have the Thursday evening screening of Steptoe rescheduled, concerned that potential Labour voters would be staying home to watch it, rather than coming out to vote. The BBC did not change their programming, and Labour won with a four seat majority.

#steptoe and son #social history #bbc comedy #galton and simpson #working class history #british culture #wilfrid brambell #harry h corbett #harold wilson #uk politics

[elliespectacular]

Regarding that "Raffle"

On March 17 2023 I uploaded a YouTube Poop called "The King Files His Taxes" where King Harkinian is kidnapped by an IRS agent and finds out he owes $6000 - an unsubtle allusion to my own tax situation. The first half is on DaThings Archives if you want to see it, but the second half was a promotional stunt I pulled. There were a lot of things wrong with it. Things that could have legally gotten me in trouble had they come to pass and still has the potential to do harm. So we're gonna talk about what went wrong and how to move forward in a way that treats you fairly and with dignity.

Here was the initial pitch - Link talks about a raffle where you can join my monthly Ko-Fi supporters for a chance at winning some prizes. Already we've hit a couple of roadblocks and to understand why we need to talk about Raffles.

In a raffle, one person sells the opportunity to win something in a game of chance where a winner is selected at random and the odds are determined by the number of participants. The raffle holder tries to make a profit by selling beyond the number of entries needed to offset the cost of the prize.

However in most of the US, events like this are classified as an illegal lottery. The main sticking point is that the raffle holder takes in a profit rather than supporting a school or charity. But beyond that, the law is there to protect would-be participants from getting scammed.

I don't want you to get scammed, so we need to think about how to do things ethically. But before we get there, there's another roadblock to my original plan. Ko-Fi's terms of service clearly state that "You are prohibited from using the Ko-fi platform, service or page in connection with […] Raffles, lotteries, giveaways or games of chance where a fee is paid to enter and winners are selected at random". Ko-Fi is a great platform and we want to stay in their good graces too.

So let's look at our situation again. I as the event coordinator have two goals: Drum up enough Ko-Fi support to get out of the $6K hole, and send my belongings to good homes. However, promising supporters the chance to win prizes creates an illegal lottery.

And I'll admit, I didn't do enough of my research before posting the original video. I could have gotten in huge trouble if it weren't for the folks who gently pointed me in the right direction. I figured being upfront about what's at stake would be enough, but it turns out operating things this way creates an undesirable scenario for everyone.

So here was my original workaround: People who support on Ko-Fi are paying for the listed perks - names in the credits and Discord privileges to be specific - and agree that their purchase is not in any legally binding way considered a Raffle Entry.

But we're still violating Ko-Fi's terms on the same line because now it's a giveaway where winners are randomly selected.

We could get around this a little by selecting winners "arbitrarily" instead of randomly - basically I can use any logic I want other than randomness to determine the winners and we can call it a game of skill. But that feels phenomenally less fair, especially if I were just plain evil and decided my logic is to just pick my friends.

So where do we go from here? First and foremost I want to very sincerely apologize for this whole entire mess. The raffle idea was misguided and poorly researched, and was predicated on promises I can't legally keep. I tried to mask my desperation in confidence and spin it into a fun event, but in doing so I not only dipped my toe into legally hot water, I also misled many of you. That was the last thing I wanted and I've already lost sleep over it.

So before I get into my spiel about making things right, just know that if you were misled and you sent a Ko-Fi tip with the expectation of getting a raffle entry, you can get a refund no-questions-asked.

Refunds for PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/how-do-i-issue-a-refund-help101 Refunds for Stripe: https://stripe.com/docs/refunds

The reality we're in is that a bunch of kind people believed in me and already gave me their money with no expectation of a refund. I still have a debt to pay and objects to share. How do we make everyone happy?

Well first, I have to legally tell you that there is no raffle and that paying for Ko-Fi only earns you the perks listed on my Ko-Fi page, which does not include any kind of raffle entry.

HOWEVER I do still have all the would-be prizes and I'd like to thank my supporters by giving them away. Since I can't do that randomly as per Ko-Fi's terms, I'm going to do it arbitrarily. So all I can say is don't be surprised if I message you and ask if you'd like one of the Lots.

And as a gesture of good faith, I'm going to be considering ALL Ko-Fi Tips that have been made - not just the monthly ones - going back as far as the opening of the Ko-Fi page itself. Honestly the whole reason I made that restriction in the first place was because I was scared of being in this debt situation again - but that was selfish of me. I shouldn't have prioritized certain kinds of support over others. I am sorry for that.

In addition, there is no more unlocking Lots at different combined tiers - I don't want to keep all this stuff. It's all gotta go, including the YTP requests.

No amount of apologies can fix the heart of this whole ordeal though - the truth is that my carelessness got the best of me and I have to accept the consequences of that. Some might see this as a whoopsie, but others may see this as broken trust - which they're right to, and I accept whatever negative reactions folks might have.

I plan on moving forward with DaThings as I have the last few years - focusing on silly videos and keeping updates like this rare. I'm sorry for flooding your subscription boxes this week. Please take good care of yourself.

Thanks

#Youtube

[fellow-weary-traveler]

Morals and Dogma The Master Mason

Part V

Masonry, like all the Religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve only to be misled, to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it. Truth is not for those who are unworthy or unable to receive it, or would pervert it. So God Himself incapacitates many men, by color-blindness, to distinguish colors, and leads the masses away from the highest Truth, giving them the power to attain only so much of it as it is profitable to them to know. Every age has had a religion suited to its capacity.

#art #freemasonry #freemasons #AlbertPike #masoniclodge #freemasonofamerica #illustration #masonictemple #occult #symbolism #hermetic #Master Mason

[traceytonight]

TLDR: WarnerDiscovery is getting sued by Several Hundreds of Thousands of its own shareholders!

Hi! I know I reported the Netflix situation inaccurately considering they’re (somehow) still an operating company. But Warner Bros Discovery is getting a big lawsuit! And I wanted to try to break it down for fun:

Before their merger, AT&T had pumped a lot of money into HBOMax with no intent of it being sustainable. This was to make Warner Brothers more appealing to purchase. They also conflated their amount of subscribers by lumping AT&T customers into that whole. So Discovery now has a platform with far less funding and far less subscribers then they’d been led to believe.

This compromises several Security & Exchange violations, leaving the Several Hundred Thousand misled shareholders of WBD to participate in two class action lawsuits against their own company!

In an interview published this morning, the internal president of WBD announced HBOMax would be ceasing production in most of Europe, the Netherlands, Nordic countries, and Turkey. Stating that streaming will be profitable “one day probably” in those countries, while also alluding to making yet another streaming service in collaboration with Sky TV.

As well as continuing to remove more series and films to meet their $3 Billion cost saving plan. The same plan that cost them several Billion in market-cap. As well as making several shows and films like ‘Infinity Train’ and ‘Batgirl’ completely inaccessible through legal means.

As of June 2022 WBD has roughly $6.6 Billion, and their stock prices have almost sunk below $10 at time of writing.

If they continue to gut their programing, remove themselves from markets, lose more stock value, and even just lose money on an upcoming series or film; When the lawsuit rolls around, they will be at risk of losing upwards of a further several Billion dollars.

Its a genuine possibility by 2023-2024, Warner Bros Discovery could just dissolve or liquidate if things keep going like they are! Thanks for reading (-:

#warner bros discovery #warner bros #infinity train #dc

[salvatriceaverse]

Everywhere the totalitarian machine is in search of proper structures, which is to say, structures capable of adapting desire to the profit economy. We must abandon, once and for all, the quick and easy formula: ‘Fascism will not make it again.’ Fascism has already ‘made it,’ and it continues to ‘make it.’ It passes through the tightest mesh; it is in constant evolution, to the extent that it shares in a micropolitical economy of desire itself inseparable from the evolution of the productive forces. Fascism seems to come from the outside, but it finds its energy right at the heart of everyone’s desire. We must stop, once and for all, being misled by the sinister buffooneries of those socio-democrats who are so astonished that their army, allegedly the most democratic in the world, launches, without notice, the worst of fascist repressions. A military machine as such crystallizes a fascist desire, no matter what the political regime may be.

Félix Guattari, Everybody Wants to Be a Fascist, in Chaosophy (tr. David L. Sweet, Jarred Becker, & Taylor Adkins)

#félix guattari

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Speak Evil of No One

1 Remind people to be submissive to [their] magistrates and authorities, to be obedient, to be prepared and willing to do any upright and honorable work,

2 To slander or abuse or speak evil of no one, to avoid being contentious, to be forbearing (yielding, gentle, and conciliatory), and to show unqualified courtesy toward everybody.

3 For we also were once thoughtless and senseless, obstinate and disobedient, deluded and misled; [we too were once] slaves to all sorts of cravings and pleasures, wasting our days in malice and jealousy and envy, hateful (hated, detestable) and hating one another.

4 But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior to man [as man] appeared,

5 He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

6 Which He poured out [so] richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.

7 [And He did it in order] that we might be justified by His grace (by His favor, wholly undeserved), [that we might be acknowledged and counted as conformed to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action], and that we might become heirs of eternal life according to [our] hope.

8 This message is most trustworthy, and concerning these things I want you to insist steadfastly, so that those who have believed in (trusted in, relied on) God may be careful to apply themselves to honorable occupations and to doing good, for such things are [not only] excellent and right [in themselves], but [they are] good and profitable for the people. — Titus 3:1-8 | Amplified Bible Classic Edition (AMPC) Amplified Bible, Classic Edition Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Cross References: Deuteronomy 9:5; Ezekiel 36:25; Matthew 25:34; Mark 10:17; Luke 1:47; Romans 1:29; Romans 5:5; Romans 6:6; Romans 13:1; 1 Timothy 3:3; 1 Timothy 6:17; 2 Timothy 2:14; 2 Timothy 2:25; Titus 2:7; Titus 2:10; Titus 2:14

#God #ordained #authorities #obedience #speaking #evil #warning #Titus 3:1-8 #The Epistle of Titus #New Testament #AMPC #Amplified Bible Classic Edition #The Lockman Foundation

[beardedmrbean]

A 71-year-old man from Liège who donated sperm for scientific research as a student in Brussels in the 1970s has discovered he has at least two children who were conceived without his knowledge. His biological son contacted him after finding a match through the commercial MyHeritage DNA database. This is not the first time the VUB professor who supervised the research has been discredited.

The man was given a DNA test through MyHeritage as a gift by his wife several years ago, but it unexpectedly revealed one significant match. At first he thought it was a child from a past relationship that he hadn’t known about, until a second match was revealed.

That person, Tom (not his real name), had registered with the database because he was looking for his biological father. Commercial databases compare users’ DNA profiles to find matches. The greater the match, the closer the users are genetically related. Tom sought contact and informed the man that he had been conceived using donor sperm.

When Tom didn’t receive an answer, he asked Steph Raeymaekers of the non-profit support organisation Donorkinderen to contact the man on his behalf. After VUB professor Robert Schoysman was mentioned, the 71-year-old realised what must have happened.

“He is very worried that the two children he has now found are only the tip of the iceberg,” says Raeymaekers. Between 1974 and 1979, when he was studying at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, he donated sperm four times a month, as part of a study by Schoysman on male fertility.

“He thought he was contributing to science and received some payment for it,” Raeymaekers says. “To find that people were conceived with his sperm against his will and without any knowledge is incredibly difficult for him to accept.” Students were paid 1,000 Belgian francs (€25) per donation

Schoysman, who has since died, was a pioneer of in vitro fertilisation and donor insemination in Belgium, but has previously come under scrutiny. Donorkinderen claims that, among other things, he helped conceive triplets by insemination with a mixture of two men’s sperm.

'Scandals are not exceptions'

The organisation is calling for an investigation and is concerned that many more students were misled. “We want the government to act because the scandals out there are no longer exceptions,” Raeymaekers says.

“How long did this professor do that? How many students were involved? How many parents and also donor children were affected by him? We need to find that out in order to correctly inform victims.”

Tom, 45, signed up to MyHeritage because he is a carrier of a genetic disorder. “There is a 50% chance that I inherited it from him,” he says. “I felt I should let him know that so that his other children can also get tested. For me personally, it’s a closed chapter. I have answers to my questions. But I think raising awareness in society is important. I realise there are still a lot of children who probably don’t know they are donor children.”

Although fertility centres and sperm banks retain donors’ personal details, they may not disclose them to prospective parents or children. Tom is in favour of lifting that anonymity, as is the case in the Netherlands, where children have the right to details of their donor father.

In a press release, the VUB said: "The facts quoted seem to date back to the early 1970s. At that time, reproductive medicine was still in its infancy. Neither the VUB nor the UZ Brussel are currently aware of any publications by Prof Schoysmans in the context of scientific research on sperm donors.

"VUB-UZ Brussel has strict procedures for donors and clearly communicates the reason why. A contract is signed with the sperm donor for each donation. Specific informed consent is required for use of sperm cells in the context of scientific research."

#nunyas news

[loregoddess]

A while back I was trying to find a commonality between the eight stories in Octopath Traveler, and then realized something about all the final bosses/conflicts that I hadn’t before. Which is, almost every character’s personal antagonist is a mirror or parallel to the character (almost, mind). Please note I’m not taking any lore from CotC into consideration since this started off as a narrative analysis of the story of Octopath itself and I wish to keep it within the borders of the game’s story. So, here’s some thoughts (under the cut since this is lengthy), bc this has been saved in my drafts as a list of names for a bit too long:

Ophilia’s main antagonist is Mattias. Ophilia is characterized by her unshakable faith which she gained after being taken in by Josef and Lianna after losing her family. Mattias loses faith entirely in the gods after losing his village, and is “taken in” to the faith of Galdera by Lyblac--but even his faith in Galdera isn’t unshakable, as we see at the end of his journal in the Gate of Finis where he begs for someone to save him from the darkness. Aside from being clerics, both also share a narrative element of children, with Ophilia’s childhood trauma being fundamental to her character as an adult, and with how she saves children multiple times in her story. Mattias on the other hand mentions how even the innocent children in his village weren’t spared the fire that consumed it, citing it as a reason for his loss of faith in Aelfric. Ophilia’s ability to save everyone, even the misled people of Whispermill, is the antithesis to Mattias’s inability to save anyone, even himself in the end. Also, Ophilia is often straightforward and honest, while Mattias uses subterfuge and various underhanded methods in an attempt to achieve his goals.

Cyrus’s main antagonist is Lucia. Cyrus is characterized by his desire to learn and share knowledge with everyone while Lucia is characterized by her desire to learn and hoard knowledge for herself. Both share ties to the university as scholars, but where Cyrus is a professor who shares knowledge and conducts his research more or less “in the open” while consulting with other scholars, Lucia is entirely secretive, hiding in the role of Yvon’s secretary and keeping the bulk of her research to herself (not even sharing the entirety of it with Yvon despite collaborating with him). Cyrus’s ability to connect with other people, and his openness, is the antithesis to Lucia’s secretive and elitist nature. In what will become a theme for every traveler, Cyrus is straightforward and honest, while Lucia echoes Mattias in her use of subterfuge and underhanded methods.

Tressa doesn’t really have a true antagonist in Esmerelda. Rather, the final conflict Tressa must overcome is essentially the Merchant’s Fair, which marks the end of her “coming of age” journey, as it tests all the skills she’s learned to be a good merchant during her travels. However, it is possible to see an odd parallel between her story and Graham’s story. Tressa sets out to learn about he world and become a better merchant, her journey has no clear direction save for that given by the journal she acquired, while Graham’s journey was specifically to find a cure for an illness. Both set out on journeys while recording their travels in journals, but Tressa was following in a path somewhat already laid out by Graham who did not know where he needed to travel to find a cure. Both also come across many people in need of aid, but Tressa is a merchant and so seeks to also hone her craft (though aiding people is part of her philosophy, one can argue a merchant’s purpose is to make a profit for themselves), while Graham is entirely devoted to helping people basically for free (if Alfyn’s memories of him are anything to go by). Tressa is, notably, successful in her journey, coming to the end of it a more confident and self-reliant person, while Graham--despite finding a cure--is unable to save his wife, and in a sense, fails his journey, and falls to despair, being easily taken in by Lyblac’s false promises. Where Tressa is able to spot trickery and lies, Graham’s grief makes it so his judgment is clouded.

Olberic’s antagonist is untimely Werner, although Erhardt also serves as a narrative foil. Olberic is characterized by his deep loyalty and desire to protect, where Erhardt was driven by vengeance and anger, and Werner was driven by selfish desire for power and wealth. All three are warriors who share the narrative setting of Hornburg and its central character of King Alfred. Both are something Olberic is loyal to and seeks to protect. Werner sees Hornburg and the king as a means to an end, as something to destroy as way to gain power, whereas Erhardt sees King Alfred as the focus of his vengeance and anger and loses sight of Hornburg as a whole altogether. Losing Hornburg, Olbering loses his sense of purpose, and thus his journey is one to reclaim and rediscover his ability and desire to protect. Losing Hornburg meant a complete loss of self for Erhardt, who ironically finds a place in the world again by becoming like Olberic and protecting people. Both of these are the antithesis to Werner, who gains power from the fall of Hornburg but becomes a fear-mongering and oppressive tyrant who protects no one but himself. Following the recurring themes of honesty and deceit, Olberic is very straightforward and honest once he decides to stop living under a false name--and even Erhardt doesn’t try to hid or lie about his past or motive for vengeance, at least not to Olberic. Werner, in line with Mattias and Lucia, is only able to gain his position through a series of underhanded methods, deceits, and lies (notably he was the one who torched Erhardt’s village and then used Erhardt’s anger as a tool to take down King Alfred later).

Primrose’s main antagonist is Simeon. Primrose is characterized by her desire for vengeance and faith solely in herself, the former being rooted in Simeon’s actions and the later being her father and family’s philosophy, but more importantly by her ability to care for others. Simeon on the other hand is characterized by a need for entertainment, position as the leader of the Obsidians, and blatant disregard for people and their lives in general. Both hail from noble lineages in some manner and operate in the performing arts, but Primrose does does not exist on the stage for anyone but herself and her goals. Simeon on the other hand sees his plays as an extension of his means of entertaining himself, but his fame as a playwright also offers a reputation and smokescreen to hide the Obsidians behind. Primrose’s single-minded goal allows her to ultimately kill Simeon, who never seems to have any specific goal in life aside from causing people misery for his own entertainment. Despite Primrose’s bloody vengeance quest, her compassion for other people is the antithesis to Simeon’s façade of pleasantry belying his sadism. Continuing the narrative trend, Primrose is surprisingly straightforward and honest, never pretending to be on anything but a vengeance quest, while Simeon uses all sorts of underhanded methods and lies to achieve his desires.

Alfyn’s antagonist (in the sense that they oppose the protagonist, rather than a moral good vs. evil) is not the Ogre Eagle, but rather Ogen. Alfyn is characterized by his faith in people and willingness to help anyone and everyone. Ogen on the other hand is jaded and choosy about who he helps. Both are apothecaries with narrative ties to Graham, with Alfyn following closely in Graham’s philosophy that all people deserve to be helped, simply because helping people is the right thing to do. Ogen’s wife was murdered by a man he once saved despite knowing the man was a wanted criminal, and thus scoffs at Graham and Alfyn’s idealism, instead choosing only to help people he deeps worthy of being saved. This in turn leads to Ogen refusing treatment himself, since he killed his wife’s murderer and is therefore one of the types of people he deems unworthy of saving. Alfyn’s resolve to follow his ideals and save anyone who needs help, including Ogen himself, is the antithesis to Ogen’s refusal of treatment which would have led to his own death. Unlike most of the past antagonist forces, Alfny’s intervention causes a shift in Ogen’s character which sets Ogen upon a path of atonement, even if he still chooses to follow his own ideals rather than those of Graham and Alfyn. The theme of honestly and deceit exists primarily in Alfyn’s conflict with Miguel which also set the stage for Alfyn’s idealogical conflict with Ogen.

Therion’s main antagonist is Darius. Therion’s arc shows how Therion grows from a lone wolf who trusts no one out of fear of pain to someone who chooses to believe in others, whereas Darius works with a group of people but ultimately is alone because of his self-centeredness. Both share their narrative backstories as thieves, but their style of thievery differs, with Therion targeting high-value and difficult marks as a sort of genius phantom thief, while Darius runs a criminal organization where a person’s smarts--or even to some degree skills--aren’t as important as sheer numbers. Therion notably doesn’t go after Darius out of a need for revenge, but more as a need to uphold his ability and reputation as a professional, skilled thief--and it is by Therion’s trust in others that he is able to find the strength in himself to overcome Darius and the emotional trauma caused by Darius. Darius’s inability to trust anyone makes it so that even though he is left alive by Therion, he is just as quickly betrayed and killed by his own men. Despite Therion being a thief and therefore needing to work through underhanded methods, the narrative shows him to be honest with the other travelers and eventually with Cordelia and Heathcote, whist Darius’s use of underhanded methods is more in line with the other main antagonists.

H’aanit’s main antagonist is Redeye. H’aanit’s role as a hunter is characterized by her sense of duty to the natural order of things, while Redeye is an unnatural aberration of nature. Both share a narrative tie to Z’aanta, with Redeye petrifying Z’aanta, and H’aanit seeking to restore him. Notably, Redeye is not a hunter in the sense that H’aanit is a hunter, but Redeye’s animalistic rampage allows for Redeye to serve as a type of “hunter gone astray” to H’aanit’s “hunter who pursues the noble beast turned monster”--however, in this case we know that Redeye was once human, and moreover the kindhearted Graham, adding an even more tragic twist to this type of hunter narrative. By killing Redeye, H’aanit is able to restore Z’aanta and release Graham’s spirit, in a sense restoring the humanity of both, an antithesis to how Graham lost his humanity when he transformed into Redeye and turned humans into inhuman stone. The narrative theme of honesty and deceit is reflected in how H’aanit’s path as a hunter is true to the natural balance of the world, while Redeye is the result of Lyblac’s deception and magic which ignores the balance of the natural world.

So, I guess the point of this was that every traveler, except Tressa and H’aanit, have an antagonist who’s in the same “job”, but is fundamentally the opposite of the traveler in every way, with a recurring theme of honesty and deceit in each story. While the antagonistic forces of Tressa and H’aanit’s stories aren’t “an evil merchant” and “an evil hunter,” each focuses instead heavily on themes of “what it means to be a merchant” and “what it means to be a hunter,” thus keeping the link to each characters core job.

And that’s that! I wrote a great deal of this at weird hours of the day, so please forgive the general lack of citation to in-game evidence to support my analysis, and also any egregious typos or grammatical errors. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I rarely share my thoughts on anything, but I thought this was really neat and enjoyed writing this despite taking several months to do so.

#octopath traveler #please take this as it is it's been in my drafts for MONTHS and I just want it finished #oracle of lore