Inspiration Vortex

I write and comment about representation and how it matters, just like black lives.

[drolta]

“No! You’ll kill her, Sehkmet. You’ll kill Annette. I don’t care about the world. I don’t care if we live in eternal fucking darkness. Leave her alone. Leave Annette alone!”

[powerburial]

[red-twist]

[possessionisamyth]

If you live in the USA and you're pleading for donations to pay your rent, bills, or get food then dial 211! Please dial 211 before the last minute!

It's a toll free service with people who will help you find programs in your community to pay those bills, find food, and find housing! They will give you numbers to call so you can get help.

It is not 100% foolproof. Their job is to direct you to a program they believe will help your current issue, but it's still a step up from praying random strangers online will give you enough cash before a deadline! The added benefit of these community programs, which get funded by the local government most of the time, is if there are more people using them then they can get more money to help more people.

You're not taking resources from other people if you use your community services. Your taxes pay for them. Use them.

Dial 211 first to see if they can help, and if for some reason they can't, then make your donation posts!

https://www.211.org/

[dcmcboxers]

Hi I work for my state's 211 service. It really breaks my heart how many people only know to call us at the last minute. 211's can provide a whole wealth of resources to use before things ever get to a cut off utility, eviction, or homelessness!

I can't speak for all 211's but most should also have a website detailing all the agencies in their database. if you don't like phone calls, this can be something to reference instead.

If you don't have health insurance but you need to see a doctor, reference 211! We list clinics that provide free or discounted general care, vision, and dental services to low income households and people without insurance! Many hospitals also have financial aid policies that can severely reduce your bill if you had an expensive procedure!

If you're stuck in a dead end job or need educational resources reference 211! There are a lot of programs focused on providing basic adult education as well as trade skills or other high demand fields! State governments are generally more interested in funneling people into work than providing benefits, but you can still use this to your advantage especially if you have some form of disability but are still able to work. That includes if you're neurodiverse or have mental health issues! Most of these programs are extremely underutilized.

If you believe you qualify for public benefits but the bureaucracy of the process is in your way, reference 211! There are agencies specifically geared towards helping people obtain the benefits they qualify for- for free!

If you need help with your taxes-

If you need help finding a pro bono lawyer-

If you need help finding affordable housing/section 8 housing-

If you need help finding food pantries-

If you need help paying for your prescriptions-

If you need help obtaining disability aids or assistive technology-

If you need help finding transportation options-

If you need help following a natural or personal disaster (like a home fire)-

If you need help repairing a home you or your family owns or it needs modifications to be accessible-

If you need Queer resources-

Reference your 211!!!!!

I had no idea what 211 was before working for it but I wish I had. I've learned so much about what resources are actually available to the community even in a ho hum area of the country like my state. I've saved my partner literally thousands of dollars just from the medical resources I've gathered.

Not enough young people know about or utilize these services but they are there for you!

P. S.

This isn't an intended use of 211, but I like to reference the agency listings when I look for jobs. Many of the agencies listed are non-profits which, while they certainly are not perfect, generally have lower barriers of entry to decent paying jobs with benefits. The work environments tend to be much kinder and at least pretend to be forward thinking. You're more likely to find jobs without as many people applying as well, especially if they're only advertising their positions through their own website.

[sameenbyhat]

Homepage

Get help paying bills, finding food, and locating other resources near you. Call 211 now for confidential help from a caring expert.

[everybody-loves-to-eat]

[catchymemes]

How to protect yourself during stampede

[bohemian-pixel-pusher]

this isn’t the usual thing I’d share on my stupid nerd blog, but this is SO important. I was nearly crushed in a crowd like this once. It was terrifying because you have NO control over the panicking mass of humans around you. you are just at the mercy of all this chaotic force. this is a real thing that can happen very suddenly! it did happen in the news recently! My situation was, the olympics was happening in my city, I was on my way home from school, and a crowd of people suddenly flooded into the street around me. in seconds it went from, busy-city-street-crowded, to, wtf I can’t even move crowded. I was so pressed against the backpack of the man in front of me, my feet lifted off the ground a moment. People were climbing lamp posts, signs, bus shelters, trees, everything to get up out of it. it was like the street became an ocean of people, and all the people’s survival instincts were making them dumber. everyone was yelling. no one knew how to solve it. police, fire fighters and medics saved us by breaking the locks on the inside of the mall we were trapped next to. a huge group flooded into the building, releasing a bit of the pressure on the people outside. I was in that group that got in.

We were trapped in the mall awhile. Because the olympics was on, they had big screens in a few sitting areas of the mall that would normally be showing the games. but now the coverage was focused on this crowd surge. They showed a helicopter shot of the building we were now in, totally surrounded by colorful dots. a solid mass of humans with no space between.  I know someone was partially trampled and needed medics, because I saw that, but i don’t know the statistics on who else was hurt, hopefully no one killed! I don’t know if these methods can definitely save you, but they might give you a better chance. so watch and share!

[tenthdynasty]

Sharing to my own stupid nerd blog for the same reason, this is SO IMPORTANT. Human crushes are one of the most unexpected ways to die. People go out to a show or a sports game, and make it there, but they never come back. Other strategies include staying away from large obstacles (like fences) that you could get crushed against, and doing your best to stay above the crowd. Try to climb onto something if you can.

And also — not to get nitpicky with deadly tragedies, but they’re called “human crushes,” not “stampedes.” It’s an important difference in description and also in respect. The deaths usually happen because the victims are pinned together in a tight space, they can’t breathe (as in the video) and they suffocate. “Stampede” doesn’t convey what actually happened to those people. The crush that happened in Seoul recently wasn’t because people “stampeded,” it was because they couldn’t move at all and they suffocated. But calling it a “stampede,” you’d think it was the people themselves that ran over each other, like wild animals. It’s disrespectful and untrue.

Horrifyingly, the victims of many human crushes have been blamed for their own deaths, which are usually purely accidental or due to criminal mismanagement from authorities. If you’re in a mental place to read about tragedies and police corruption, check out the Hillsborough Disaster, in which 97 people died due to the incompetence of the police, who then blamed everything on the victims: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster

[ramshacklefey]

Couple other notes about the boxer pose:

Keep your elbows close to your ribs and your hands about eye-level, close to the sides of your face. Helps prevent accidentally elbowing someone else in the teeth, protects your face.

Tuck your chin down as far as you can. Keep your mouth shut. Don’t want to bite your tongue or take an accidental uppercut from someone else panicking.

If you’re with friends, stand shoulder to shoulder or back to back. Linking arms or holding hands can easily throw you both off balance.

If you see someone else go down and want to help them, and they can’t get up again, especially if they are elderly or a kid, lay beside them. Use the pose that the guy in the video showed, face to face. Use the curve of your body and arms to help them protect their head.

You aren’t Superman. You can’t protect them by crouching over them. Two people are a larger obstacle, and may be easier to avoid. If others fall on top of you though, two people is a larger surface area to spread the weight.

[miss-lauryn-hill-deactivated202]

“I wrote an album about systemic racism and how it represses and stunts growth and harms (all of my albums have probably addressed systemic racism to some degree), before this was something this generation openly talked about. I was called crazy. Now…over a decade later, we hear this as part of the mainstream chorus. OK, so chalk some of it up to leadership and how that works — I was clearly ahead, but you also have to acknowledge the blatant denial that went down with that.”

25 YEARS OF "THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL"

RELEASED AUGUST 25, 1998

[everythingfox]

Definitely

[cricketcat9]

…aaaand! HE DID IT!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[farewell-to-lorien]

Corey Alston (Mount Pleasant, SC)

“​​My name is Corey Alston. I’m a fifth generation Sweetgrass Basket Weaver. I currently run the family business in the Charleston City Market. Sweetgrass Basket Weaving has been a major part of the Gullah Geechee Culture dating back to days of Enslavement. This coastal art form has been recognized as South Carolina State Handcraft and has been known to be kept alive the longest along Sweetgrass Basket Makers HWY of South Carolina. This skill is one of the rare arts of our country that is founded nowhere else in America. Gullah Sweetgrass Baskets are a national treasure.

“​​Being chosen as one of the artisans of Mt. Pleasant does not only bring awareness to my skill set and my culture as a Gullah Geechee representative, but in collaboration with Acres of Ancestry raises awareness of the unjustifiable treatment that Black and minority farmers have endured. The more that this topic is brought to the forefront, the more that our nation’s leaders will see that treating white farmers one way and then treating Black farmers another way will not be accepted. I applaud Acres of Ancestry for working tirelessly on making sure that everyone understands what our elder farmers are going through.

“​​These two Sweetgrass Baskets are called ‘Poppa’ and ‘Big Momma.’ It took six months to complete ‘Big Momma’ and four months to complete ‘Poppa.’ They both measure 36 inches tall.”

​​—Corey Alston, fifth generation basket weaver and cultural preservationist from Mount Pleasant, SC, Artisan Statement

[glimmerofawesome]

Jamaica celebrate earning their first ever point at a FIFA World Cup!

[sarcasmcloud]

Syd + hugs - The Bear s02

[andrew-garfielld]

Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu in THE BEAR (2022-) S02E03 | “Sundae”

[heardchef]

Baby? It's the thing. | requested by @onpyre

[dearest-alexander]

& even though he's still hung up on that girl who saved him, he was already looking at Ariel like that—all dimply and soft and eyes shining— while also probably thinking "I wish it was her. Please be her."

Lord almighty.

[rhp162]

[neoretrobibliomartini-x]

When my kiddo finally decided (at age 20) that it was time for (most of) his enormous Lego collection to go, it was a gut-wrenching moment for me (goodbye childhood!). However, we used this service, which was simple and hassle-free.

[neil-gaiman]

This is wonderful to know.

[lizzibennet]

per anon’s request, i present to you THE best version of beatrice’s monologue in much ado about nothing. i thought about cropping this but decided this scene must be watched in its full glory

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

amazing double dance by hao ruoqi ( in blue)and wang xuerou(in red)

[words-and-wonders]

OH MY GOD OH MY GOOOOD A FEW THINGS ABOUT THIS:

the facial expressions

the effortless sensuality

I AM SO GAY

the inexplicable moment in which the dynamic between the two shifted like they changed bodies

did china allow this to be shown? china?

DID I MENTION THE GAY

what is the lore of this? I figured that it was a malevolent spirit shifting from one body to another

the part with the leg. you know which one I mean

seriously are they actresses cause this level of portrayal is more astounding than any Hollywood actress has ever amounted to

the end with the smile and the head grab and the beating heart

O H M Y G O D

[chinajousama]

For those wondering, the dance is based on a soul-switching scene from the movie Painted Skin II: The Resurrection and the music is Su Yunying’s Moment.

[savagegood]

she is thriving | THE BEAR SEASON TWO

[jandjsalmon]