She comes to the garden alone,
as the dew settles on the myrtles.
the one voice he hears, a melody so clear,
the stones ceases their singing.
He talks with me,
he walks with me,
she tells me I am her own.
the joy they share.
as they tarry there,
No One has never known.
"In The Garden," a revised hymn.
handler notes:
he's made out of fear and longing.
Fear of a floating, impossible thing following you home.
A longing like going up 15 flights of stairs, and then woah ! - relief !
It was so easy.
Being easy isn't supposed to feel good. Yet, I like it very much.
We found each other in Malaysia and I miss it.
Malaysia - the first country I felt good in. It's that simple.
So, I made it so we could hold hands.
So, I watched Nope and They Cloned Tyrone for the first time, in the same month.
Both are Black-American surrealism, sci-fi film, surreal Twilight Zone-esque films, all that I love.
They both make messages to/about Black-American cultural facets.
As a Black-American I somewhat approve when it's done sharply.
They Cloned Tyrone - This movie talked too much.
Too heavy-handed. Way too 'on the nose' with the symbolism and message. Felt like I was being force-feed a ham-fisted sandwich.
I felt like I was being preached at or patronized to with the hair relaxer, fried chicken, the church and club scene. I also didn't prefer the comedy. We get it *eye roll.*
I also hate when I can put a story together or when a (Black) message film directly tells me how to interpret its message, leaving no room for mystery or other application. Got frustrated and bored by the pimp-on-the-car scene.
Although I agree with the points made I prefer less direct pointing-things-out when making them. Could be the film was for a different audience and with a different style that's not me (Black isn't a monolith, so.)
Overall, felt like a lesser Get Out or an M. Night Shyamalan film. Meh.
Disappointed :/
Nope - A quieter film. Left me guessing and I enjoy figuring out, being psychologically conflicted, and mind games for entertainment. Better writing.
"One monkey don't stop the show." = hahahaha. A classic~
Tighter story than Us (didn't enjoy that one. Clumsy storytelling.)
The father-son dynamic was nice, as was the ending. Oddly, felt like a long TV show? More cerebral than TCT, but maybe too much so. My family liked Nope and kept asking "wtf is this supposed to be about?" I gave my interpretation about feral animals, entities forced to perform for (White) audiences, and forgotten Black influence in Hollywood? What did they think? They disliked Annihilation, another surreal sci-fi film, with a "theme," yet I found myself oddly drawn to it, like an ugly-handsome person.
I liked how we could see different things and maybe liked this more than Get Out simply because it was tighter/simpler. Made me look at my own art and dolls/soft sculptures and ask myself "How would people see this?"
Maybe Nope was more like a commercial art film than TCT.
Pleasantly surprised :)
this year, I completed a long, solo slow-travel in Nepal, Malaysia, and Thailand, spending several months in each country.
I completed my last to-do: live in South and Southeast Asia. Understand and Observe non-Western, non-European folkisms and traditional religion. Stay in a non-Christian country. Wake up to calls-to-pray. Photograph the moon at twilight over and over and over and over. Be slow. Doodle.
After Eastern and Western Europe. Eastern Asia. USA.
Done.
So, what do I do now?
No more theories....Somehow, I have to apply.
Participate in humanity again. Oh well.
Life is harder and not as engaging when I'm in my home country.
It creates pressure to be a someone I'm not:
I love moving, just not shaking.
I love living, just not doing.
I love being, just not actively.
I love existing, but only passively.
Hi!! Im a big fan of your work and it recently got interested in making a doll myself, but since I've never done one before idk where to start, so I wanted to ask, what material do you use to make your dolls?? Is it wood, clay or something else?? And do you have any tips for beginners?? wish you lots of luck for the future :)!!
Here's some faq:
Tbh Im always at a loss with suggesting beginner tips, as I've been working with my materials since I was a kid! But when looking for tutorials or other such tips, consider the materials separately, and look for things like sculpey tutorials, sewing tutorials, etc. Knowing your materials is the most important part
I don’t think they’re looking for this to be popular in the way we think of it. They’re looking to hook people with shopping and gambling type addictions -- “whales.” Here’s Jim Sterling on this type of parasitic corporate scheme:
Jim Stephanie Sterling, "the Cassandra of video gaming" has long foretold that this was exactly the nosedive that gaming was going to take. This is in no small part thanks to Bethesda's infamous horse armor DLC, and EA's horrid live-service model. But it's also the fault of gamers--in this case simmers--themselves.
Those of y’all who (for some reason) follow my personal blog know I post videos from my favorite anti-corporate/anti-capitalist video game c
As much as y'all love to scream and holler about TS4 sucking and TS5 looking like a smellier and smellier heap of trash, you still give EA your money for half-a$$ed packs and 🤢 Kits 🤮, and worst of all: you've started charging each other for UGC/CC, paywalling what was supposed to have been free CC shared for the community, and cuing EA into a brand new way to rip us ALL off through Patreon's marketplace of "early access" exploits.
Due to this, TS5 will not be free to PLAY, but rather free to ENTER, as everything but the inevitably unfinished half-baked half-a$$ed basegame will be free, so that EA can MACROtransaction every bloody feature not required for the engine to actually work in the base world. Basically, EA's going with #8 on my Sims Poll #1, which ironically got the most votes out of the three possibilities for TS5 that I foresaw happening:
Now that The Sims 4's free base game has paved the way, the next Sims game will follow.
PC Gamer's recent article pointed directly to the most disheartening part of EA's job posting, as the very first bullet wasn't about developing the TS5 as a GAME, but as a MARKETPLACE--specifically one for paywalled UGC/CC--SIMMERS making paywalled content FOR THEM in an ominously monitored "player purchase journey" and "player spending patterns."
Two of the role's primary responsibilities were listed as "Own Project Rene's in-game marketplace of content and UGC (free and paid)" and also "Own pricing of all content in this free-to-enter game."
EA is expecting some "ugc" (user-generated content) to be paid for, meaning they are likely planning to let modders and CC creators sell creations to others and take a cut of profit.
EA saw how much money TS4 simmers are making on Patreon with "early" access CC and Patreon exclusives (BOTH of which y'all are STILL flouting the rules of, as I could point to HUNDREDS of Patreons that have YET to release CC that's been stuck in "early" access for YEARS without being published, but hey, if y'all like being scammed that's on y'all). Simmers sold the soul of The Sims for decorative clutter and generic hairs and jeans, and now the Devil's come to collect--EA 👏 WANTS 👏 THEIR 👏 CUT 👏. They're gonna make SIMMERS their factory workers; no unionization, NOTHING. So while you're churning out custom content, EA will happily make money off of YOU as you make money off of US.
It made me sick to my stomach seeing how many "simmers" were having conniptions when EA (finally) came after (perma)paywalled Patreons, threatening to stop "playing" TS4 just cuz they couldn't monetize CC/UGC. Like...their priorities were clear. It's one thing to be a strictly CC-creator who doesn't play the game (*cough* half of the SimGurus *cough*), and just makes content--mods, CAS, lots, clutter, patterns (I would say worlds, but it's 2023 and EA still hasn't given TS4 a CAW tool 🤡). It's another thing when shysters come into the community for the SOLE reason to MAKE MONEY off of simmers, then gaslight people into thinking they're the victims that "SHOULD" be monetarily compensated for VOLUNTARILY making CC; when they're the ones who ruined the community by holding CC hostage in the first place!
The deleted job listing's reference to an in-game marketplace that includes free and paid content created by other players is an expected leap too. The Sims series has a long history of custom content and a dicey relationship between modders seeking compensation and the game's Terms of Service. That grey area of paid modding lives largely on Patreon right now where EA doesn't have reliable oversight and doesn't get a cut. I can't imagine EA cracking down on modding at large, but there's no doubt [EA] sees the appeal in enticing creators onto an in-game platform where it can impose moderation and fees for the convenience.
When it comes to the release schedules and pricing of UGC/CC, I have hated Patreon's lack of moderation and EA's lack of regulation since Day One. There is no uniformity to the quality or quantity of CC that simmers charge for, or set pricing for the monthly subscription tiers people can set on Patreon--some charge $1, $3, $5 per month (That's $60 per year--what full-fledged AAA game are ANY of y'all out here developing to charge that much money?!), but some of y'all jokers have monthly $10, $20, $50, $100 tiers and I'm like for WHAT?! That's ADOBE prices! And half of y'all pirate Photoshop! I wouldn't pay $1200 per year for REAL furniture and clothes, let alone PIXELS. 🤦 So EA actually does NEED to create an actual moderated and regulated landscape for paywalled UGC/CC, cuz this snowball has LONG since gotten out of hand. But of course it'll probably be a hot mess like everything else EA touches, so they'll probably screw it up and let a djinn out of the bottle they can't put back in.
So -
There are many reasons why I stopped supporting The Sims Franchise and Electronic Arts.
Their financial practices are one of them.
I will always give kudos to the franchise as a Sims 1 simmer. I learned and explored with the game. And the community is lovely (when you find your folks and the CC creators.)
CC creators who charged too much money never bothered me - I avoided them. People can be responsible for their own buying behaviors. When I touched into the TS4 I saw pay CC out the wazoo, like never before. Still, I just skipped over them or waited until it was free. I stopped feeling FOMO over cute CC I couldn't have by not looking at, aka avoiding the "commercials."
CC is optional to gameplay - No one has to buy it.
CC creators come from different backgrounds and countries, and reasons to charge for it.
There are also more than enough Robin Hood simmers who freely shared content, even from the paid creators. There were and always are many free creators, too, that we love.
I am against how CC creators have had fixed problems with their games that EA should have addressed - creators shouldn't have to do that :/
No judgement calls here or on anyone.
I'm glad we have outspoken folks pointing out EA's targeting youth in this addictive gameplay model. Now, that could be dangerous.
Kindly - I say we have more power when we decentralize our support, play, and gaming activities from people/businesses/etc. we do not like for whatever reason. People also bought the pricey CC when they didn't have to. People still buy TS4 and likely TS5. Why do we do this?
I started creating my own dolls because EA will never have a monopoly over my creativity and ability to play with life.
I deconstructed what fulfillment I got out The Sims and then, applied it outside my mind, and did somethings else. Kinda inspired by CC creators.
in the future, I hope people do things that bring them joy and fulfillment, and support folks who match their way of life.
There's some truth to this.
I don't think it's a new discovery or interpretation of human actions.
(As someone who talks to toys and to myself.)
(As someone who did conversation-based work for a time.)
A lot of hobbies I loved have included lonely people doing lonely people things.
I'm not sure if this article spins a positive/negative/neutral light on humans and combating loneliness behaviours because I couldn't find it.
Appreciatively - the ways we as humans can instinctively pursue and meet our needs always amazes me. This reminded me of children and animals creating "creature comforts."
Ironically - when all the lonely folks get together they meet up, connect, and break the loneliness.
That's nice!
So - no matter where we start we can end up somewhere we want to be.
random S/N : The Maxwell song "Lonely's the Only Company" that hits too much. One of my relatives refuses to listen to it, jajajajajaja
me and my minimi.
cold hands, warm heart.
Part 1.
Many moons ago, (2022?)
I made the doll and put her up.
She felt like a riptide in a quiet ocean.
But, she was very pretty. She actually gets nice compliments.
Well, we never bonded. (until recently)
Part 2.
pretty girl rock.
an Abenaki tale. (2023)
first heard from joseph bruchac.
Once upon a time a very pretty girl refused to marry anyone not as pretty as her. So, one day by the river she heard a turtle shell flute song played just for her.
He - the player - was very pretty.
When she took his hand, it was cold.
"that's ok" she reasoned. "cold hands, warm heart."
At his home, with his people, with his air. She felt the cold.
Cold as stone.
Well, he lived under a rock. Underwater. Literally.
You see, he was actually Horned Snake.
She fled from him with his mother's and grandfather thunderbird's help.
Back at her home she finally married a human with warm hands and a warm heart.
Part 5.
do you
love me.
do you
love me?
do You
love Me?
love, minimi.
yousharknotpass
blakekathryn
stormborns
vaporwave
titsay
