Within infinite myths lies the eternal truth. @firemooninthesky - Tumblr Blog

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macrolit

“… human happiness never remains long in the same place.”

— Herodotus (c. 484 - 425 BC), The Histories

solreefs

you ever get surprised by your own recurring issues. like come on man. I thought we were past this.

ohevoyev

why are british people always so mad when people make jokes about their accents. sorry you say yewchube. it’s funny though innit

bees-and-mice-and-frogs-and

This is something I’ve been dying to talk about.

There’s something called culture. People (especially USAmericans) think of culture as cultural dress, cultural food, cultural music. These are culture, but they are only the very superficial aspects of it. Like the icing on your cake. Far more deep rooted is the more meaty bits of culture: the attitudes, the ideas, the taboos.

There’s a guy on tiktok who has done a series that shows this very well, of Germans Vs Irish. In one video the German offers the Irish person two kinds of tea, green or black. The Irish person keeps putting off the choice with things like “Oh sure whatever is easiest”, “Which have you more of?” and, “Ah sure I don’t want to cause a fuss” whereas the German just wants a straight answer. This is a cultural difference of politeness.

Here in the UK, accents mark your class very openly. They let everyone know where you’re from (though this has become less pronounced in the last 50 years,) and what your background is. A lot of people (especially northerners, but also a fair contingent of working class southerners) face discrimination on the basis of their accents.

Some of us (myself included) even change register (though I believe USAmericans call it code switching) in and out of our regional accent and a close approximation of RP. We learn to do it because it makes us seem more intelligent (even though it shouldn’t) and helps us be taken more seriously.

Thus, our country carries a lot of baggage when it comes to accents. Especially those of the working class who have had their accents made fun of, or have faced discrimination based on it.

So when someone outside the country (usually USAmericans) makes fun of our accents they’re stepping on a lot of cultural taboos and boundaries. Especially because the “It’s Chewsday, gonnae wot-ch sum yewchube innit” is a working class accent.

Now, that’s not to say we can’t take a joke, but this is the kind of joke you share with someone who you have been friends with for a while. My boyfriend often will pick up on the way I say certain words, in much the same fashion I pick up on his idiosyncrasies of speech (English isn’t his first language so he says stuff like close the lights, which is adorable.) If we aren’t predisposed to liking you, then the joke you’re trying to make is more like an insult.

The way I like to think of it is if you were in a pub, and made those sorts of jokes to someone. If they knew you, and they liked you, they’d probably laugh along. If they didn’t like you or know you, they would punch you in the jaw.

HOWEVER: I recognise this post as a joke. I don’t personally find these jokes offensive, but then no one really makes fun of me or considers me stupid because of my accent.

badolmen

Oh that actually makes a lot of sense! It’s like how it’s assumed in media that the southeastern Appalachian (‘hick’ or ‘redneck’) accent is audible shorthand for ‘this American character is stupid.’ That sentiment reinforces negative stereotypes about that region which has historically been home to a large working class population that has suffered from an underfunded education system and other systematic abuses. It is ultimately an underhanded joke, but not everyone from America (or even the region necessarily) considers it to be offensive despite its classist nature.

mighty-meerkat

yes, that’s basically it! it grinds my gears when certain Very Online Americans will quite rightly say that europeans have no right to mock the us’ lack of healthcare/gun control and working-class accents…but then turn around and act like working-class british accents and foods are hilarious and should be mocked ‘bc of colonialism and the bp oil spill’ as though all british people are directly responsible for the oil spill. and then some of them conveniently forget that there are in fact british people of colour - in the wake of brexit, a smug american blog defended saying that british people upset by the referendum were getting ‘karma’ for the british empire, even when british poc pointed out that they were the ones most likely to be negatively affected by brexit, by saying ‘obviously i don’t mean you’, to which said british poc responded ‘THEN WHY DID YOU SAY BRITISH PEOPLE’

stormclouds-chainmail

The hatred, by the privileged of England, towards Scotland and any Scottish accent was so pervasive that my mother wouldn’t let my brother and I develop a Scottish accent. She was born in Jamaica but her family moved to London when she was 11. She moved to Scotland when she was pregnant with me. Both my brother and I were born in Scotland and spent out entire childhood there. Mum was adamant that neither of us would have the local accent. It was “common” and “low class” and “would hinder us in the future”. She used to fine us half our pocket money if we used any Scottish slang or said anything in a Scottish accent. I got bullied at school for having a “posh English accent” but she thought my job prospects were more important than a modicum of happiness at school. My outsider status was doubled by that. I was brown and “English”.

Even now, after decades in Scotland, I still don’t sound Scottish. The English hear a slight lilt but that disappears as soon as I spend any time with them.

I feel alienated on two fronts now, skin colour and accent. And one of those was avoidable if it hadn’t been for the prejudice against against perceived lower class accents. Even in Jamaica Mum learnt to speak in an English accent like the white girls at her school. She could switch between the two. Jamaican with her parents, posh English everywhere else. Why couldn’t I have had that?

amuseoffyre

The fact that a lot of regional actors are expected to code-switch their accent patterns the a kind of neutral English accent in Britain shows how pervasive the classism is.

When Christopher Eccleston was cast as the Doctor in Doctor Who, people were surprised that he used his own northern accent, instead of performing with an accent like every Doctor before him. That was only 15-ish years ago.

Even now, this still happens - James McAvoy made a very vocal protest a couple of years back about a critic who complained about the use of Scots accents and only applauded the “plummy English” accent of one character in a play.

Regional and working class accents were used as joke accents for decades in British media. Look up old broadcasts and notice how many people only speak RP English (ie. the formal pronunciation that smacks of elocution lessons and enunciation). As media accessibility and productions expanded, there have been more regional accents showing up, but it’s still a big problem.

sillyjimjam

Putsimply when you mock “innit” you’re mocking poor people and often people of colour. Boris Johnson doesn’t say “innit bruv”.

phoenix-ghost-town-deactivated2

I would like to add that there was a study by the Worcester College that found that people talking with a Birmingham accent were twice as likely to be accused of a crime as people who speak RP. Accents carry huge baggage in Britain.

official-linguistics-post

official linguistics post

tree-whispering

songofsunset

I was actually just up in Ohio for the solar eclipse, and did you know, I'd never seen Spring before?

I thought I had, because down here in Florida we do get some flowers and nice green leaves as the weather shifts from cool to hot, but the trees are never bare and the flowers just blend in with the rest of the trees and in comparison this Actual Spring was some sort of magical wonderland, I swear to god, I've never seen anything like it

Apple blossoms???? are so pretty???????? the subtle changes of the colors, and they take up the whole tree and they're so damn beautiful????????????????? I had never seen them before, we don't have any apple trees down here at all, but now they might be my favorite flower

I'm familiar with cherry blossoms- we do have some cherry trees- but not like this. This tree was entirely pink and stood out so much! No leaves or anything on the trees, just flowers everywhere!!! I see why people like spring and cherry blossoms so much, I think.

And idek what these are but LOOK at that!!!!!!! Life and color!!!! Spring!!!!

So yeah. I went to Ohio and I thought it was beautiful and i wanted to share that with you. Your state is wonderful!!!

gizgibim-deactivated20240822

sp1resong

being self aware suuuucks like yeah this thought pattern/behavior is stupid and pointless and a symptom. i know this. [does it anyways

sp1resong

preforming my compulsions while rolling my eyes to show i know theyre irrational

darlingofdots

my parents are on holiday in their mobile home

they're expected back this upcoming weekend

I just spent ten days in my childhood home to keep an eye on things

I have hidden 100 small yellow ducks all over the house

I am very excited for my parents to be back

darlingofdots

a first update: we have a neighbour who empties the mailbox while my parents are away and this morning I got a notification from our front door camera and watched said neighbour find what I know to be a tiny yellow duck in the mailbox (the camera is too far away to actually see), stare at it for a moment, and place it carefully back inside the mailbox

darlingofdots

THE FIRST DUCK HAS BEEN FOUND

They just came home after a friend's birthday party and I'm guessing went straight to bed, because my dad just sent a photo to the family group chat of the duck I placed on his bed with only the caption "thank you 😘" which makes me suspect they haven't found any of the others yet. Or noticed that this one has a number on the bottom.

Tomorrow they're going to find more of them and realise what they're in for and that's when the real joy begins.

darlingofdots

I just spent half an hour on the phone with my dad mostly giggling maniacally while he complained at me. He thought it was a singular duck and then went to get fresh PJs and "another bloody duck" fell out and now he can't rest until he has found as many as possible. It is half an hour to midnight, he is prowling the house trying to spot more ducks, and he begrudgingly admitted he still loves me anyway. My mother is significantly less invested but not caring does not protect you from The Ducks. I am absolutely ecstatic with how this is going.

darlingofdots

If I ever need to explain my parents' different personalities to somebody who does not know them, it will be like this: my dad, upon finding the second duck in his pyjamas, refused to believe that there would be more of them, and then went absolutely feral with the hunting instincts of a particularly determined bloodhound. He found 40 of them within about an hour. He has created an Excel sheet to keep track of which ones are still missing (I wrote numbers on the bottom of each duck). He keeps calling me to swear at me and then grumble that he still loves me.

He did not appreciate it when I told him about zookeepers throwing a pumpkin full of meat into a tiger enclosure.

My mother, on the other hand, thinks the whole thing is hilarious. She loves the ducks. She has accepted the ducks. She's sad that my dad insists on collecting the ducks because she thinks they should just stay where they are and become part of the decor. "I reckon I will find them when I find them," she says. I told her that I had to replace one because the original number 4 dropped on the tiles and got decapitated and she thinks I should dramatically stage it next time I visit.

[Image descriptions in alt text]

phantomrose96

A master to his action-hero trainee says, "Your movements are sloppy. You lack awareness of your body when you fight. Your hands move and yet you do not hold them in your mind's eye. Come. We will remedy this."

And then the master paints his trainee's fingernails and orders the trainee to complete a series of complicated tasks without smudging the nail polish.

phantomrose96

Trainee grumbles that this is stupid when the first set of tasks is just cleaning the dojo. Within two minutes he reaches for the dustpan and knocks the edge of his pinky nail against it in a way he's never noticed before. He's staring at the baby blue smudge and suddenly he understands things differently.

phantomrose96

There's a montage of days passing as he fetches water, chops wood, hoes crops, washes clothes. His nails are a different color during each cut. He's sprinting up the mountain with a fresh wet pedicure and the master is nodding in approval. The master's nails are flawless tech art.

phantomrose96

He's reached his final assessment and it's a sparing match against his master. The air smells of acetone. His and the master's nails are all freshly painted. He must land a blow on the master with his mani and pedi fully intact.

Suns and moons pass. Streak in the ring finger. Smudge on the pinky. A full-handed block at the cost of three nails of paint. A hit on his master, and he hoots in delight until the master points out the unguarded toe whose polish is now streaked across the master's robe.

Days pass in frustration and exhaustion. By day 40, he has every digit of his acutely in his mind's eye. He senses the master's attack, ducks, dodges, all fingers all toes all himself, aware, and he strikes with his wooden sword.

It connects with the master. The master pauses. The trainee raises his left hand into view--5 digits of flawless sunflower yellow. His left foot. His right foot. And finally his right hand, raised in triumph.

The master smiles. "You have passed. I have just one more technique to teach you."

The technique is how to draw little flowers into the nail art. So really this one is optional.

the-real-seebs

it's optional but in the final climactic battle nonetheless somehow important

thegirlwiththeloontattoo

People say “phase” like impermanence means insignificance. Show me a permanent state of the self.

unbeeliever

Just thought people may enjoy this :)

timidsketch

The world is so fatphobic and glorifies thinness so much that I am turning 25 years old in five days and this is the first time I have ever in my entire life seen representation of fat people in figure skating. And what is just as surprising is that when I looked at this person's account, they had no content about weight loss or wanting to become thin. They actually had content specifically talking about accepting their body and being glad to show other people who look like them that it's okay to follow your dreams no matter what your body looks like.

It's incredibly sad that this is the first time I have ever been able to see my body represented in figure skating (and don't get me started on the lack of fat representation in other sports as well), but I hope this person's videos will inspire more fat people to try this sport and not hide our bodies. Maybe someday in the future I'll be shocked that there had ever been so little representation of fat figure skaters in the past.

eleonorpiteira

Penumbra 17, from my personal project Penumbra ✨

Painted digitally

leclercari

i need everyone to hear the story of colman domingo meeting his husband bc it's just the most beautiful thing i've ever heard

not-quitenormal

Rage. In my heart. All-consuming. FUCK AI.

neveragainfools

For those who don't know, this piece is titled 'Unfinished Painting', by Keith Haring. He painted it about a year before his death of AIDs. I believe he actually finished other pieces between this one and his death. He left the majority of the canvas blank to represent his life and art career cut short due to HIV/AIDs. This was a deliberate choice and commentary about all that we lose (both personally and culturally) by ignoring the AIDs crisis at the time (1989). He was devastated he didn't have time to make more art. 'Finishing' Unfinished Painting is straight up spitting on Haring's grave and shows no understanding to the meaning behind the art. The AI interpretation doesn't even follow his extremely recognizable shape language and symbols. This is why people are angry about AI art. All commerce images and no meaning or humanity

not-quitenormal

Thank you for typing this out! I couldn't formulate my thoughts at the time because it really and truly goes beyond "they didn't match the pattern". There is significance behind this piece never being completed. "Unfinished Painting" is historical on at *minimum* three different layers - reflecting one person's struggle with AIDS, encapsulating a very terrifying time in the LGBT+ community (though AIDS doesn't discriminate by sexuality), and showing how the LGBT+ community was (and still is) all woven together with the same struggles. And while the completion *could be* a symbol of how even HIV can be overcome (at least two people have been cured!!!!), the fact that it was completed by a fucking computer rings this symbol as hollow. Our lives are not bits of data. We are not statistics. We never fucking were.

AI advocates, go pick up a brush.

frozenartscapes

The thing with this kind of use for AI is that it all too often is excused with something innocent. "It's so sad this was never finished! But we can now use AI to finish it! We're helping the artist!"

But you're not helping the artist. You're tacking your own name onto their work in an attempt to milk some of their credit for yourself. In one of the laziest ways possible.

Sometimes art doesn't get finished. Sometimes a song is never fully written. Sometimes a novel series isn't completed. Maybe it's because the artist died, or maybe it's because the spark they had for the art in question went out before they completed the work. But that's life. It's unfortunate, and often sad. It leaves the fans of that artist feeling empty, because they want what they'll never get. But that does not justify taking it upon yourself to "complete" a work for an artist, especially when the artist does not ask you to. Especially this painting, which was very obviously intentionally left unfinished by the artist. But even if it hadn't been, and it truly wasn't finished before he died, then that does not mean it is ok to ask a computer to finish it.

People look to AI as the big solution to completing all these things that were lost to time. They want to use actors who have died for those big, touching cameos in movies. They want to hear songs that were never completed, sung by voices who are long gone. They want to see more artwork, more creativity, by artists who aren't here anymore. But all throughout human history, people have accepted that once someone is dead, then that's it. The only way we can appreciate them is in what they have left us, not in what a computer might be able to create by stealing their work and creating a false image. It's not their work. They didn't make it. To call it theirs would be nothing short of a lie.

meduseld

Kelly Carlin, daughter of the late and all time great George Carlin, shared this statement regarding an AI-generated special imitating him:

She's right. Part of the beauty of humanity and its creations is that it is ephemeral. Death enhances our lives, not detracts for it. AI making a ghoulish reanimation of the dead should strike you with such horror that you understand why necromancy is banned by man and God.

curieklei

jkefka

He's actually more or less making the Talmudic argument here. Even if "being transgender" were explicitly impermissible in the Torah (it isn't, though I'm sure some would try to argue it is), the statistics on suicide rates are undeniable, and any commandment can be, and must be, suspended to save human life. Pikuach Nefesh. You don't fast on Yom Kippur if it will kill you. You don't rest from your work on the sabbath if your work is necessary for someone else to live. This is a very straightforward application of the principle. And you can take that to any Jewish transphobe you ever meet.

watermotif

gram loves you. please call

watermotif

he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle

Watch Tracy Chapman Start a Quiet Revolution

You guys may be too young to remember, but I remember tuning in on TV with 600 million other viewers to watch Stevie Wonder live at Wembley Stadium for Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday celebration tribute in 1988. There were technical difficulties and Stevie Wonder couldn't go on yet. The crowd was antsy, milling around, singing their own songs. The TV cameras were rolling and the show had to go on, so TOTALLY UNKNOWN ARTIST TRACY CHAPMAN GOT UP ON STAGE AND PLAYED FAST CAR ARMED WITH ONLY HER GUITAR.

The crowd fell silent. Captivated by the absolute raw honesty and talent on display. Did we know we were witnessing history? A black queer artist who would rocket to fame and win a Grammy for this song the following year? I don't remember.

What I do remember is getting to the end of the song and not caring about Stevie Wonder any more. I wanted to know who this woman was!

Watch Tracy Chapman stun a rowdy crowd into silence:

seymour-butz-stuff

Friends don't let friends read Atlas Shrugged

headspace-hotel

This is an honest question I have, for those folks that make a big deal about "freedoms," what do they even think they have the freedom to do? A lot of places, it's illegal to sleep in public or grow a vegetable garden. "Freedoms" my ass

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Within infinite myths lies the eternal truth.