Chocolate Filled Skepticism

i like trams

[syakesan]

America be like "you cant have free healthcare or easy access to disability but you can have a gun"

[syakesan]

no healing, no living, go KILL

[syakesan]

This post was really fucking funny in hindsight

[depsidase]

[alicia-or-something]

I am not joking we need to take a page out of the Luddites book.

[depsidase]

thing is, the luddites are so misunderstood and we learn a very simple revisionist version of their story—in fact, we DON'T actually learn their story. people are called luddites for simply going against technological progress but that's not what the luddites were actually about.

(i know i have some historians as followers who will probably want to chime in on this and please do as i am not a historian.)

the luddites weren't exactly against technology. they would have happily used the new machines being developed at the time if they could've owned them. who wouldn't want their lives to be made easier? but they couldn't own the machines. the machines were big and expensive and took a lot of energy to run. this meant that only wealthy industrialists who owned factories and mills could afford to own and run them.

the luddites realized they were losing their craft and their way of life to wealthy industrialists who were only willing to pay them a tiny fraction of what they were making before. not to mention that going to work for an industrialist meant being told what to make, when to make it, when to make it by, how much to make, etc. and all for a massive pay cut. it was a loss of income and freedom. (the machines produced a lower quality product too btw which was also a concern of craftspeople who actually gave a shit about what they were producing.)

the industrialist took the profits from skills and knowledge they themselves never learned out from underneath the people who actually had the skills and knowledge—all because they could afford the machines and factories. sound familiar?

so the luddites took it upon themselves to protect their way of life from wealthy industrialists. this led to organizing and direct action like sabotage and stuff. unfortunately, the luddites lost their battle and their name went down in history as a pejorative against people who are afraid of technology.

it's a very interesting story and if you want to know more about it i suggest listening to margaret killjoy's podcast “cool people who did cool stuff.” she has a two-part series (i think it's in two parts if iirc?) on the luddites that is fascinating. can't recommend it enough.

[theinstagrahame]

The Luddites make an appearance in RF Kuang's novel Babel, and their views are way better articulated than anywhere else I've seen.

I believe there are stories (in reality) of Luddites sneaking into factories and wrecking some machines (owned by exploitative industrialists) while leaving others unharmed (owned by people willing to pay fair wages for talented workers). It wasn't just "the future is scary" it was "y'all we still need to eat".

[liberalsarecool]

Know your enemy.

[koko-mochi]

Do y’all ever think about how absolutely bananas Lake Baikal is? It’s the world’s largest lake by volume. It’s the world’s deepest lake. It’s the world’s oldest lake. It contains nearly a quarter of the planet’s surface freshwater. It’s a rift lake, caused by the earth’s crust literally coming apart at the seams. It would be deeper than the Mariana Trench except the bottom is covered in a sediment layer that is miles deep. There are trains that have sunk to the bottom because Russia tried to build a railroad over the ice. The entire lake surface freezes for half the year. The lake is a focal point of multiple indigenous cultures. The lake has its own species of seal, which is the only exclusively freshwater pinniped in the world. There are unique ice formations formed by convection from the depths of the lake. There are 330 inflowing rivers.

I dunno, Lake Baikal sure is a thing.

[weaselle]

a truly unique and magnificent Feature on our planet, as singular and fascinating as Jupiter's Great Red Spot

[weaselle]

in the words of farmboy, as you wish

the lake is quite cold, and as a result, these seals are very loaf

the babbeez are white poofs with lil eyebrowses

it is incredibly deep, and over a thousand species of plant and animal live ONLY there

[robotlyra]

Lake Baikal Seals' faces look way too much like grey aliens for my liking. Those eyes have SEEN shit in the depths.

[hellenhighwater]

Lake animal...

[velociraptrix]

there are freshwater sponges and giant amphipods in the lake too

and the Lake Baikal oilfish, which is the deepest-living freshwater fish, and has a lot of similar adaptations to deep sea fishes

[skywitchmaja]

when you’re out at a restaurant or a coffee shop or a target or whatever with your friends and you overhear/eavesdrop the same snippet of some stranger’s conversation, and you look at each other for a second to check that you both heard this stranger say the same weird/funny/baffling thing and just break out in knowing grins and quiet laughter… that’s a love language

[blooming-conifers]

I was eating alone at a mexican restaurant once and a group of college kids were chatting over tortilla chips. There was some jabber and then..

“ ..we had to climb over the bob wire!”

“Dude, did you just say ‘bob wire’?”

“Yea man, that spiky shit!”

“You actually think it’s called bob wire? Like fucking Robert wire? You think it’s called Robert wire?”

“Well what the hell do you think it’s called?”

“It’s BARB wire you idiot! Like Barbara wire!”

*the third guy* “Oh my god. You guys. BARBED wire. Because the wire has barbs, it is BARBED.”

“Oohhhhh!”

“Fucking Robert and Barbara wire. Fuck you guys.”

[calamitycons]

I hope Robert and Barbara Wire are in a happy and committed relationship.

[keepcalmandcarriefischer]

Made a new playlist but so far it only has 2 songs in it

[wiki-but-made-them-up]

[chocolatefilledskepticism]

ASMR | Your roommate is Fucking Stupid

[nonetoon]

[nonetoon]

I made this in reference to comic/game stuff but I’m glad to see this one’s going over well with all the writers

[sarroora]

Reblog to give your followers and mutuals the strength to continue

[yamujiburo]

Pikachu comes around to Jessie rather quickly after realizing she’s not really a threat and finding out how good at head scratches she is (she has nice long nails)

[salemwitchtrials-deactivated202]

How to Save Your Own Life, Erica Jong

[alphadesperationmarch]

transcript:

Renounce useless guilt.

Don’t make a cult of suffering.

Live in the Now (or at least the Soon).

Always do the things you fear the most; courage is an acquired taste, like caviar.

Trust all joy.

If the evil eye fixes you in its gaze, look elsewhere.

[sandersstudies]

If you and your partner practice frequent, non-sexual consent, your relationship will be healthier and easier.

“Are you comfortable with me ranting about my day for a few minutes?”

“Oh, this is your poetry? Would it be okay if I read it?”

“Do you mind if I use your phone for a few minutes?”

“Wow, your meal looks awesome. Could I try some?”

It will save a lot of grief, especially in a developing relationship. Eventually, with consistent “yes’s” and “no’s” you can figure out more permanent boundaries and guidelines.

“I need to ask before ranting about my day or taking their food, but my partner is okay with me using their phone whenever. However, my partner does not like me reading their poetry unless they offer first.”

[sandersstudies]

And this goes for friendships too! Even just stuff like “do you mind if I leave this door open?” 

[doomhamster]

…I never fully realized it before but this is a big part of why my relationship with my husband is so conflict-free. Both because him doing this all the time made it easy to trust him, back when we were a new item, and because it helped ME break out of the toxic idea that you should never ask about a partner’s preferences because if you Really Loved Them you should be able to intuit what they want, all the time, about anything. 

[tygermama]

my one son is autistic so I ask ‘hug or no hug?’ I always knock and wait to be acknowledged before opening my sons’ bedroom doors (not just because I respect their privacy but because they’re teenagers and I don’t want to walk in on any personal activities) I don’t go into their rooms without asking I don’t touch their phones without asking (I’ll pick one up to take to them if I find it in another room but I won’t go through it) yesterday, my younger son walked into my room, stopped, said sorry and walked out to the hall and knocked on my door ‘because if I have to knock on his door, he has to knock on mine’ because their trust is important and I want them to know I respect their privacy

[sophygurl]

Consent is not just for sex. Consent is not just for sex. Consent is not just for sex.

[namek-deactivated20190919]

today you, tomorrow me.

[cipheramnesia]

I think about this post constantly because while I haven't pulled over to do roadside assistance, I would also be terrible at doing roadside assistance. I would bring nothing helpful to anyone but I think that's not the whole point.

These guys are the right guys to help in the right places. When I'm the right person to help in the right place, that's when today it's me. It's not just about changing a tire it's helping someone with a heavy bag or giving useful directions or holding a door or helping to move or whatever. The thing you can do right now for someone that is a useful thing to do.

[catchymemes]

[littlemut]

[teaboot]

was feeling some jiggle at work today and thought "huh maybe I should try a diet" and that's how I know the devil came close. Prescribing myself 2 weeks chillin at home in lingerie till the auras are purified

[monsterlets]

words of power do exist…. i can walk out of my apartment wearing the most fuck shit, e.g. swim trunks as shorts w a zipped up hoodie and no shirt underneath, and just say the words “laundry day” and suddenly it’s way less weird

[monsterlets]

“laundry day” spell: decreases target’s judgment of outfit by 80%

[homemademonsterpants]

I picked up a banana print shirt in Vietnam - were talkin LOUD - and the first time someone commented on it I said “It’s banana shirt friday” which stunlocked them and blocked any followup questions.

Turns out that saying “it’s banana shirt friday” enough actually created a holiday at my office where everyone would wear fruit print clothes on fridays! So yes, words of power exist. :)

[jetix]

Tumblr really needs a "dont ever show me this post again" option