Charbookwyrm looks at stuff

Me: Literature grad, cis girl, bi, group mom, mega nerd. Expect: literature, SF & fantasy, terrible jokes/literature jokes, art, intersectional feminism, D&D, animation/anime, gaming (esp. Undertale, Transistor, Pyre), sobbing over all the above.

[onyxbird]

The Eyeshine Table

Recently I was looking back at the description/art of Azune's eyes, and particularly the detail that the pupils are yellow like the sun. Since most pupils are dark because they're clear openings into the dark interior of the eyeball, the only logical conclusion I could come to is that Azune's eyeballs must be light on the inside and therefore glow.

Given that Bolaire and Occtis canonically have glowing eyes, and Teor as a lion man presumably has tapetum lucidum, we should have a whole table's worth of characters to scare your socks off in the dark. 😂

[raakhti]

what is HAPPENING

[moonglade-poetess]

Hey guys, with so much love, and as someone with an actual English degree:

Please just use Sparknotes if you're going to do this. I get it. I do. But chatgpt or other genAI shit doesn't actually know what's important for you to know, and in some cases it might fully make shit up. Use sparknotes. Failing that, talk to someone who did read it. I'm begging.

[the-barefoot-hatter]

oh my god, there's whole books series that ALREADY do that. Have they never heard of the No Fear series published by Sparknotes? It puts a plain everyday english translation on the opposite page from the original text, plus character lists with descriptions and helpful commentary.

stop using AI for things that already exist!

[corporationsarepeople]

It sure as hell should.

[soap-is-an-artist]

okay, no clue WHAT article that screenshot is from, here's a link to a BBC article with eyewitness account by one of the detained workers

South Korean worker tells BBC of panic and confusion during Hyundai raid

Some 400 US agents took part in the immigration raid on the Hyundai facility, detaining hundreds of workers, many South Korean nationals.

[subdee]

South Koreans have Trump's number, here's from another article:

From here.

Everyone in the world can see what's happening here, it is obvious to everyone but MAGA.

[kleinergeist]

Oh, so when YOU grab a Danish for a quick snack, it's a guilt-free, tasty little treat. But when I, Grendel,

[catchymemes]

[makahitaki]

[aquilacalvitium]

[schraubd]

The MAGA Embrace of the Nazi Aesthetic

A few days ago, the Department of Homeland Security put out an ad for new ICE recruits that featured a rather distinctive font: It was yet another wink and nod to Nazism -- the original, German variety -- a move that was already present during Trump's campaign but has become increasingly ascendant since he entered office. Consider a few examples: Another ICE ad running the slogan "Which Way, American Man?" -- a reference to the neo-Nazi tract "Which Way, Western Man?" E.J. Antoni, the Trump administration's new nominee to head the Bureau of Labor Standards -- an unqualified hack on any metric whose main appeal is clearly a willingness to manipulate the data in Trump's favor -- did an interview where he put a giant painting of the Nazi battleship Bismarck (sunk by the Allies in 1941) as his background. Fox commentator Greg Gutfield urging conservatives to "reclaim" the word "Nazi" ("with a hard 'I'"), leading his panel in such hilarious banter like "what up, my Nazi" and "Nazi please!". The Washington Times ran a story on army recruiting featuring a pink triangle (the Nazi symbol for gay men) with a "cancel" slash through it; Trump himself reposted it image and all. I will pause here so we can all let out the collective "CAN YOU IMAGINE IF ILHAN OMAR!!!!" that's slowly been building to a breaking point. Now, in all these cases, one can -- with extraordinary effort -- try to explain them away. The DHS' font is not technically called "the Nazi font" (it's "Fraktur"), it's just wildly popular with neo-Nazis (despite being banned by the Nazi Party in 1941!). We've already heard tale from Harlan Crowe about how enjoyment of Nazi paraphernalia doesn't make one a Nazi, just a history buff. Even Gutfield's gleeful embrace of being a "Nazi" was framed as "reclaiming" a slur. That all of these excuses are dumb and unpersuasive is no barrier. Indeed, the foolishness is the point -- recall Sartre's famous discussion of how antisemites like to "play"; to force their adversaries to take seriously their frivolous assertions, then mock them for treating the frivolous as serious. The antisemites wink at their fellows with their choice of font, then say "dude, it's just a font!" with a smirk when the alarm is raised. But also, it's easier to dismiss these cases when they're viewed in isolation. Put together, there's a pattern, and that pattern is a straightforward embrace of Nazi imagery as a key part of the MAGA aesthetic. This, of course, is coupled with the promotion of policy and personnel who also align with neo-Nazism and White Supremacism. The arrows all point in the same direction. And we should not hesitate to name what is happening. via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/4FR6Krl

[frogeyedape]

@i-add-sources if you have the time and energy, sources would be much appreciated!

[i-add-sources]

On social media, the Department of Homeland Security appeals to nostalgia — with motifs of White identity | CNN Politics

A recruitment poster recently shared on the Department of Homeland Security’s social media pages depicts Uncle Sam at a crossroads. In one d

Analyzing image claiming to show Nazi ship art in Trump BLS pick E.J. Antoni's office

The artwork depicting a German battleship called the Bismarck was visible in two interviews with Antoni in 2023 and 2024.

Adittional greg gutfield antisemetic comments (2023)

Yes, Trump posted link that included Nazi symbol for gay men in concentration camps

Social media users shared screenshots of a post from the president's Truth Social account in March 2025.

this is all true

screenshots of tweets under cut for achiving reasons

[cleolinda]

Alabama station in disbelief after 200-foot radio tower stolen

Radio station WJLX can no longer broadcast its AM programming since the incident.

“What do you mean the tower is gone? Are you sure you’re in the right place? I actually used more colorful words than that,” Brett Elmore recounted to NBC News. “He said there’s wires all over the ground and the tower is gone.”

[cleolinda]

My favorite tags so far:

[baenling]

so this lead me down a fucking hour-long rabbit hole. i watched a video (linked on the radio station's wikipedia page) where some young guys walk through the radio tower property a week after it was allegedly stolen, and it's an overgrown jungle. looks like it's been abandoned for years. the door is hanging open and there is lichen growing on the linoleum floor inside. down in the comments there are locals saying the area is not exactly out in the boonies, either; there are people and businesses on that road. not to mention that a 200 foot radio tower is fucking gigantic. there is no crushed vegetation from dismantling the tower. no sign of any vehicles recently on the property other than the 1 set of tire tracks from the police vehicle which came to check it out when the report was received.

the tower wasn't stolen. it hadn't been there for years before the report was filed. google earth shows the tower up on site in 2022 and gone in 2023 so in all likelihood, it fell down sometime then. ALLEGEDLY, the fcc had been on them for an inspection of their am radio tower, and then a week before the fcc were scheduled to come out and inspect it, the station reported the tower missing. so. that's an hour of my life gone. you're welcome? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[cleolinda]

Then how… I believe you, but how…

how had they been broadcasting

had they been?

[galaxy-sharks-and-bottled-ships]

It's easy. They WEREN'T.

Hi, so admittedly I own one of the other radio stations in the same freaking town. And by own I mean it's in my name but I leave the technical stuff to my dad and pretty much absorb my information from being around him and the station all the time.

ANYWAYS!

The guy who runs WJLX isn't actually licensed to run an LPFM he is licensed to run an AM station. The AM station is supposed to be the one he plays his music on and he can run a translator to broadcast onto the FM frequencies as well. BUT! Only if his AM is still the main station. He can't do FM only.

That means two power bills basically. Those can be pretty hefty for a radio station.

And since no one really cares about AM these days he did the worst thing possible. He LET HIS AM STATION GO OFF THE AIR. His AM station has been off the air since as far back 2013. We have video of us testing his frequencies that far back. He's been running full time as an LPFM only for at least a decade now which in his case is illegal AF and is a $10,000 per day fine from the FCC if he's ever caught.

Well, low and behold he was caught and now he's trying to claim he didn't know because his tower was "obviously stolen".

For starters, it was eventually stolen. But only after it had already collapsed to the ground and rusted for several years. Metal scrappers will take nearly anything that looks to have been abandoned long enough.

TLDR; If he'd been running his station properly then he'd have known the exact moment his tower stopped broadcasting. He'd have known the moment it fell. There are these things called silence detectors (at least that's what we call them) and their whole job is to tell us we're not broadcasting anymore.

[humoristics]

[bethanydelleman]

Why open source data is so important

[prinnay]

Nature + Fiddler

This month's (June) exclusive sticker club artwork. There are a few slots still open!

[theconcealedweapon]

Dear Leopard,

I really appreciate you eating people's faces. But can you stop eating mine?

[odinsblog]

Same old story. Cruelty to others is fine with these hateful racist assholes, but when it hits them personally then all of a sudden somehow it’s “different”

[metalheadsagainstfascism]

I hate agreeing with Tucker Carlson but what Twilight Zone hell hole did I wake up in where he's actually right?

-fae

[charbookwyrm]

The greatest of all commiserations to Americans who are having the "the worst person I know has a point" moment that the UK had with Piers Morgan during the pandemic.

[political-us]

[gorefudge]

[shamebats]

OP's pronouns are she/they.

[pixilatedcorgi]

“My transition has been about setting myself free, not about finding another set of gender norms to adhere to.”

YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES

[knitmeapony]

letter from a mother of a gay man. sent to ONE magazine, 1958.

--

This post was flagged as adult content and the original poster was deactivated so I'm bringing it back.

[foreign-dorian-deactivated20250]

“Mrs R” was the pseudonym of Phyllis Shafer, a Kansas City local who helped found the Phoenix Society for Individual Freedom in 1966, a full three years before Stonewall. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she and her son Drew operated the Phoenix House, a safe haven for queer people in the city, and a hub of national queer activism. Drew passed away due to AIDS related complications in the 1980s, and his lover, Mickey Ray, spent the rest of his life fighting to keep his memory alive, largely contributing to the creation of the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America.

Before Stonewall, this Kansas City activist helped unite the national gay rights movement

Years before the Stonewall uprising, Drew Shafer started Kansas City's first gay rights organization and published the first LGBTQ magazine

[consistentlycontradictory]

“We tend to view American history as this constant march toward progress, which is total crap,” he says. “You gotta fight for that stuff. And if you don't fight for that, you can fall backward. Like it's not just this linear history."

Good quote from the article which may be relevant right now.

[omgthatdress]

At the height of his fame, Julian Eltinge was one of the most celebrated entertainers in the world. He starred on Broadway, toured all over the world, and even performed for England's King Edward VII.

Born William Julian Dalton, he moved to Butte, Montana when he was very young and spent most of his childhood there. The stories of how exactly he got into female impersonation are varied. According to legend, his father caught his teenage son performing in women's clothing in a saloon, and then sent him back to Boston. There, he joined the Boston Cadets Review at the Tremont Theater, and form there he worked his way to Broadway.

First appearing simply under the name "Eltinge," he presented a version of female impersonation that was different from the bawdy caricature that was popular at the time. He was graceful, elegant and beautiful, and presented himself as an actual woman. To use modern drag parlance, he was the OG fish queen. At the end of his act, he would remove his wig and reveal his true gender.

In 1911, his musical comedy play The Fascinating Widow, in which he played both male and female roles, launched him into superstardom. In 1914, he made headlines for the tremendous amounts of luggage he carried with him across his European tour, each suitcase stuffed full of elegant and elaborate gowns.

In his personal life, he adopted a hyper-masculine, rugged persona. He frequently got in fist fights with anyone who accused him of being a homosexual. Although he made public displays of "long engagements" with women, he never married and was not known to have had any romantic relationships in his life. After his death, many people who had once worked with him, including comedian Milton Berle, identified him as gay.

Although he appeared in several films, his career faded as movies replaced Vaudeville and laws were put in place to ban drag shows. In spite of this, Eltinge continued performing as much as he could, even until his death, collapsing on stage at Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe in New York City.

[omgthatdress]

Patreon and Ko-Fi

[shamebats]

[kabretoss]

It does matter. It matters exactly like this.

Last month I was in the ER, the most vulnerable emotionally that I've ever been while putting myself in the hands of a stranger. That the intake doctor had a lanyard heavy with Pride pins mattered. It's such a tiny gesture, but the amount of safety I felt because of it, during an agonizing moment in my life, was huge.

[psychotic-gerard]

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