jexistential jread

Adult (as in my age), she/her - Mostly reblogs, partially original content (doesn't mean it's good tho). Main interest currently is MCYT, especially Hermitcraft and adjacent series. Icon by daresayy

[daftpatience]

Do you have any thoughts for people who are new to fountain pens? They look really fun and I want to learn how to play 🙂‍↕️

i get asked this a lot and i feel shy about infodumping so i'm deciding i'll do it all right here and then just link to this post in future!!

basic use: how to hold/write with a fountain pen how to clean a fountain pen how to refill a fountain pen how to troubleshoot a fountain pen how to refill a disposable fountain pen ↪(and how to do that without disassembling it) beginner's guide to fountain pen inks intermediate guide to fountain pen inks

other useful things: mountainofink - ink review blog with mountains (haha) of nicely photographed ink swatches fountain pen companion - i havent been around this whole site but they have gathered up reviews and data on all kinds of pens and inks, great to cross reference if youre on the lookout for something specific. fountain pen friendly paper ranking

where to find fountain pens (that i know... theres lots more): physical stores: pen store directory online: aliexpress (only for chinese brands like jinhao & majohn) online USA: jetpens, yoseka stationery online CAN: wonderpens, noteworthy, stylo r/pen-swap is a b/s/t group that is active if you're brave enough to traverse reddit.

my reccs for affordable starter pens (~$2-$20): - disposable ones (easy to find at basic office supply stores) - platinum preppy/plaisir (its just good and easy to find) - pilot kakuno (grain of salt. i dont love them but other people seem to have had less bad times than me) - jinhao and majohn: both are chinese brands that make dupes of other brands & are surprisingly good! they have some of the nicest nibs in this price range. I don't know all of em but the jinhao 82 looks like a sailor, the jinhao 10 & 20 and majohn A1 & A2 look like the pilot decimo, and the jinhao 1935 looks kind of like a twsbi. they both also make some of their own stuff that's unique, too, like the jinhao shark and the majohn wancai mini. majohn is overall a little pricier but im keeping it in this category since a number of their pens are still around that $10 range.

my reccs for good midrange ($20-$60+) pens: - TWSBI eco / eco-T - kaweco sport & perkeo - pilot metropolitan (ive never had so i cant say personally but it is really very popular. good if you like metal bodies!) - lamy safari/al-star (grain of salt again. company is associating w ai and jkr, dont buy a new one, but they are good pens if you're looking for secondhand ones.)

there's plenty other good pens out there but these are the ones i either have personal experience with or know are really popular!

hopefully this is good starting out stuff!! in terms of what to use them for i hope everyone knows that you dont have to be good at calligraphy or handwriting, you dont have to be right handed, you can doodle you can write messy you can use them for little things like grocery lists and what ever else. the joy of fountain pens to me is in adding a little tiny bit more pleasure to small tasks like writing notes and stuff... PLUS if you've got any kind of joint problems or pain, fountain pens are so so much easier to use since they don't require as much downwards pressure as ballpoints etc. everytime i have to go back to a ballpoint im like ow.

ANYWAYS i hope this is good and good. yayy and lalala!

[darkaviarymc]

Tragedy alignment chart. Feel free to use, but please reblog if you do.

[mikkeneko]

And of course the second part of the tragedy, which is: which quadrant did you think you were in vs. which one you were really in

[mynameisrocks]

[charlesoberonn]

[fforsythiaaa]

Once when I was in undergrad, someone described something as “problematic” in class and our professor was like, “That’s cool, but ‘problematic’ doesn’t really mean anything. It means that the thing you’re describing has a problem, and in and of itself that’s not bad. Art, especially, should always have problems, or else it’s not interesting and not art, either. It sounds like you’re trying to say that this is bad, but you don’t want to say ‘bad.’ Is that right?”

So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”

Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.

Anyway. Whenever I see the word problematic, I can’t help but think of this professor being like, “Good starting point, now let’s get specific.” I think when we have to commit to saying “that’s ___” it requires a lot more careful thought about the truth and impact and complexities of whatever we’re claiming. Sometimes there really is some bullshit afoot, and also sometimes it’s art, and it should be full of problems, because that’s what art is.

[daftpatience]

Do you have any thoughts for people who are new to fountain pens? They look really fun and I want to learn how to play 🙂‍↕️

i get asked this a lot and i feel shy about infodumping so i'm deciding i'll do it all right here and then just link to this post in future!!

basic use: how to hold/write with a fountain pen how to clean a fountain pen how to refill a fountain pen how to troubleshoot a fountain pen how to refill a disposable fountain pen ↪(and how to do that without disassembling it) beginner's guide to fountain pen inks intermediate guide to fountain pen inks

other useful things: mountainofink - ink review blog with mountains (haha) of nicely photographed ink swatches fountain pen companion - i havent been around this whole site but they have gathered up reviews and data on all kinds of pens and inks, great to cross reference if youre on the lookout for something specific. fountain pen friendly paper ranking

where to find fountain pens (that i know... theres lots more): physical stores: pen store directory online: aliexpress (only for chinese brands like jinhao & majohn) online USA: jetpens, yoseka stationery online CAN: wonderpens, noteworthy, stylo r/pen-swap is a b/s/t group that is active if you're brave enough to traverse reddit.

my reccs for affordable starter pens (~$2-$20): - disposable ones (easy to find at basic office supply stores) - platinum preppy/plaisir (its just good and easy to find) - pilot kakuno (grain of salt. i dont love them but other people seem to have had less bad times than me) - jinhao and majohn: both are chinese brands that make dupes of other brands & are surprisingly good! they have some of the nicest nibs in this price range. I don't know all of em but the jinhao 82 looks like a sailor, the jinhao 10 & 20 and majohn A1 & A2 look like the pilot decimo, and the jinhao 1935 looks kind of like a twsbi. they both also make some of their own stuff that's unique, too, like the jinhao shark and the majohn wancai mini. majohn is overall a little pricier but im keeping it in this category since a number of their pens are still around that $10 range.

my reccs for good midrange ($20-$60+) pens: - TWSBI eco / eco-T - kaweco sport & perkeo - pilot metropolitan (ive never had so i cant say personally but it is really very popular. good if you like metal bodies!) - lamy safari/al-star (grain of salt again. company is associating w ai and jkr, dont buy a new one, but they are good pens if you're looking for secondhand ones.)

there's plenty other good pens out there but these are the ones i either have personal experience with or know are really popular!

hopefully this is good starting out stuff!! in terms of what to use them for i hope everyone knows that you dont have to be good at calligraphy or handwriting, you dont have to be right handed, you can doodle you can write messy you can use them for little things like grocery lists and what ever else. the joy of fountain pens to me is in adding a little tiny bit more pleasure to small tasks like writing notes and stuff... PLUS if you've got any kind of joint problems or pain, fountain pens are so so much easier to use since they don't require as much downwards pressure as ballpoints etc. everytime i have to go back to a ballpoint im like ow.

ANYWAYS i hope this is good and good. yayy and lalala!

[girldraki]

kind of harmonically beautiful

[funky-insanitear]

[wulfhalls]

william shatner transforming into the actor of his generation for the look in immunity syndrome when he realises spock is still alive. u can see the grief he hasn't had to carry for a lifetime lift from his shoulders thru a single exhale. this man would not have been happy for the rest of his days and he makes u live that just by a miniscule shift of his face. the birth of the first stars like dawn breaking in a universe devoid of light

[lichposting]

I’m really enamored with the dynamic of two characters who work perfectly in tandem, like pacific rim drift compatible level, but they don’t like each other. It’s not even as strong an emotion as hate it’s just a very neutral-negative dislike, but they still act in perfect concert and their individual abilities are fully complementary

[lichposting]

[rottxdecay]

and if i don't see ya; good afternoon, good evening, and good night.

[thoodleoo]

been reading cicero's rant about words being given obscene meanings and i don't think i've ever seen a latin sentence that made me burst into such immediate and violent laughter before

[thoodleoo]

had a couple people be like "i have no idea what this means" so to clarify: the word penis in latin originally meant tail and only later got the sense of, uh. penis. so this is cicero complaining that nowadays all these hooligans are using the word "penis" for naughty purposes

[atii-uqaulahaluanngilutit]

Thank you for this post, I will be showing it to every boomer who ever complains about how the kids these days are butchering the language.

[hope-for-the-planet]

Indigenous cultural practices are a climate solution, report finds

Indigenous lands are crucial for climate mitigation and resilience. Research shows their health is a direct result of Indigenous stewardship

While this isn't news to anyone who works in this space, it is useful to have this water-is-wet research to affirm that Indigenous knowledge and land management are extremely effective at storing carbon and protecting biodiversity.

I want to draw special attention to this part of the article:

New research shows that approach overlooks the key role that Indigenous knowledge and culture can play in mitigating climate change. It also reveals a dangerous misconception that has taken hold in global climate discussions: the idea that Indigenous lands are so rich because they are remote or sparsely populated. Nothing could be further from the truth. The health of Indigenous lands and their ability to store vast quantities of carbon stem from the stewardship of the people who inhabit them.

[hope-for-the-planet]

I'm actually bringing this back around to say another important thing.

I get a fair number of asks and comments on my posts expressing sentiments like "human beings are a plague on this Earth", "humans ruin everything, we deserve to be wiped out", "humanity is inherently selfish, evil, and irredeemable".

I don't think the folks saying these things have bad intentions, I know their words come from a place of very understandable pain, fear, and anger. But to act as though humanity's impact on nature is inherently damaging and extractive is to erase thousands of years of Indigenous stewardship of nature. These ecosystems are thriving because there are humans living there.

This is your regular reminder that you don't need to feel guilty for being a human. You are part of nature--viewing humans as inherently separate from the rest of nature is actually part of the problem. You will be so much better served redirecting that guilt into supporting the humans who are helping nature or resisting those who are hurting it.

[dramatic-dolphin]

the thing about the concept of gendered socialization is that so many people use it as like another kind of gender essentialism. you know it's not an immutable trait right. you can literally overcome it.

"i'm like this because women are socialized to be shy and quiet and subservient" okay good on you for recognizing it, but that's only the very first step. the next few steps are that you Stop Doing It. feminist thought vs feminist action.

[dramatic-dolphin]

and when ppl see a trans woman being confident and unafraid to take up space and decide it's because of her evil evil male socialization, i'm always like "wait you're saying this woman was raised as a child to be loud and confident and take up space? that's awesome, i thought that's how we WANTED people to raise girls? why exactly is it a problem now? 🤔"

like WHY are you telling trans women that they literally have to make themselves smaller and conform to the WORST gender exceptations of women to be seen as real women. since when is it evil and masculine to be confident, i thought we were supposed to be doing that. i thought that was feminism.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

They also treat socialisation as some indelible artefact of the past, not an ongoing process. Women aren't just more shy and cautious on average because they were taught that as small children; they're like that because of the environment they're still in at forty or fifty. It's not some irremovable childhood brainwashing, it's a reasonable reaction to current circumstances. A great many trans women become more shy and quieter after coming out or transitioning because the people around them socially punish them for not doing so, same as previously shy and quiet cis women become more confident and take up more space when put in environments that don't punish them for it. They act like someone's personality and behaviour are branded into them based on whether they have a penis at eight years old, but that is simply not the case.

Whenever I see people who are like "trans women are all loud and aggressive and uncouth (/negative)" I automatically think "do you think black women are all loud and aggressive and uncouth (/negative) too? Because that's what you sound like. You sound like someone who met two or three women from an oppressed minority that were more confident than you wanted them to be, and decided that the whole demographic was beneath you in a different way for daring to not stay in their place."

[my-balls79]

[bisexual-engineer-girl]

English sauce I'm cryinggggg

[rataghoulie]

An explainer for the confused gringos

[milquetoaast]

source

[yanguang]

[weaseltotheface]

Everybody say "thank you south america" for the humble potato

[weaseltotheface]

Actually let's get specific with it

*checks wiki*

Everybody say thank you indigenous people of present-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia from 7-10,000 years ago for the humble potato

[stitchthisfiona]

Today in niche genres of joke that I can never get enough of and will probably still be secretly thinking about four years later

[cleolinda]

[cleolinda]

[lotus0kid]

[lotus0kid]

[pomme-poire-peche]

[lotus0kid]

[sashaforthewin]

[dragon-in-a-fez]

single funniest entry in Star Trek predicting the future

[stahsm]

Hemming stitch.

Video by fashion.tailor89 on TikTok.