idio-idio-idiosyncrasy

a... productive member of society?? late-20s. quiet. somewhat uncertain. a little shy. I thought I was supposed to have everything together by now but I don’t and I’m learning to be okay with that.

[aromantic-goldfishdeactivated202]

After dicking around on Little Red Book (apologies because I keep forgetting the phonetic spelling but obv its name isn’t English) i can say that as far as im seeing all of the Americans are being really respectful and eager to learn and all of the Chinese are super welcoming and happy to have us over there and genuinely this might be the start of the end of anti-Chinese racism at least in a portion of the internet community because everyone is having a really sweet time together just talking to each other. Idk it just makes me happy

[aromantic-goldfishdeactivated202]

Things that are happening on xhs (xiaohongshu) (Little Red Book) as of today:

- the cat tax is real and THIS specific image keeps getting posted in the comments of American posts

- everyone keeps making Chinese spy jokes on both sides of the language barrier and everyone thinks it’s hilarious

- something like half my explore page is beginner mandarin classes

- there’s a culture amongst the Americans forming of “do NOT fuck this one up guys, we are in their house and we will be POLITE” which I really love

- in the same vein, im seeing posts go around of people encouraging each other to google translate their posts to mandarin so the app natives don’t have to translate it themselves, again as a sort of “you guys were here first and we don’t want to make things more inconvenient”

- a lot of people very unironically being like “wow I didn’t know we all had so much in common and you guys are super based” (from both sides) is going on

-the amount of English homework getting passed over to us to do is insane

- Americans are bad at English homework and keep accidentally giving the wrong answers

- this:

pretty well encompasses the vibe of the American TikTok refugee side of xhs right now

-at this point it’s mildly unusable for me because I don’t have convenient access to google translate on my phone and Americans are so good about translating to mandarin that they aren’t even putting the English version in their posts anymore. which is epic ngl

[aromantic-goldfishdeactivated202]

I joined a random group chat of Americans and Chinese google translating messages back and forth at each other and was assigned this Chinese name: 碧云涛, can someone confirm they’re not fucking with me before I start putting it in my bio or something like they’re telling me to?

[aromantic-goldfishdeactivated202]

I find it so funny, in light of TikTok’s imminent American demise, that even now they aren’t considering moving to tumblr. The last two social media refugee crises (Twitter -> X and whatever happened with Reddit) prompted a wave of wide-eyed new baffled tumblr users to flood this app and yet last I heard all of the tiktokers are flooding en-masse a Chinese social media app. That is entirely in Mandarin. Instead of moving to tumblr.

[aromantic-goldfishdeactivated202]

Like. People are learning mandarin to join this social media site. I’m not joking. There are tutorials going around to show people who don’t speak Mandarin how to sign up for this app. They’re all talking about how they’d rather learn a new language than join instagram reels and it is not a thought in ANYONE’S mind that tumblr is also potentially an option

[aromantic-goldfishdeactivated202]

To be clear im not mad about this. I’d rather see a generation of people learn a new language and engage in cross cultural connections than have a wave of tiktokers flood this app but I still think this whole thing is very funny

[aromantic-goldfishdeactivated202]

no because that is quite literally what is happening on Red Book right now like. All of the Chinese users went “hey why are there suddenly a gazillion Americans on here?” to which the Americans went “they’re banning TikTok and we’re moving out of spite” and the Chinese were like “oh cool send us pictures of your cats and help us with English homework and we’ll send you pictures of our cats and help you learn Mandarin” and as far as I can tell everyone is having a genuinely very nice time together.

[idioalacrity]

We’ve never been a big holiday-celebrating family and I grew up to be a not-really-holiday-celebrating adult. Every fall and winter, the holidays sneak up on me. The air changes, people grow anticipatory, I enjoy the atmosphere and then all of a sudden it’s the day and nothing happens and then it’s over and I stand contemplating that another year has gone by: anticlimactic, consistent through the years.

I thought I was too worn down to still hope for the possibility of ritual-making and meaning. But maybe I’m not washed up just yet. If I’m diligent about it maybe I can make this move mean something.

[idioalacrity]

There was a post on my dashboard about the discourse around trauma from children reading books beyond their "reading level"

and people were citing scary stories, 1984, The Divine Comedy etc and now here I am, thinking about how, when I was in sixth or seventh grade (so 12-13) I found a book in the relationship advice section called All You Need Is Love And Other Lies About Marriage* and the throwaway paragraph in it about how some marriages improve when the kids leave the house to go off to college because kids -their care, feeding, education, financing- are a primary stressor in relationships, and low key spent the subsequent 5-6 years waiting to graduate and finally be out of the picture so we could arrive at the promised land where my parents would like each other again. How distantly dismayed I was when nothing improved my freshman year. How I held out vague hope until senior year, when I quietly accepted that some failures of relationships were never about the children in the first place, so a child could never have saved it anyway.

anyway smth smth about how book banning is pointless bc kids can and will f*** themselves over pretty well with things you’d least expect, and they’ll do it all by themselves. better to equip them to dissect the things they read.

—

*I’d been haunting the nonfiction social sciences aisles for some months already, determined that when I inevitably (took it for given, then, that it would be inevitable) fell in love I would not be like my parents. That book title may as well have been dreamed up in a lab just for me.

[official-kircheis]

you'd be forgiven for thinking this was The Onion

[centrally-unplanned]

Peak example of "local democracy isn't democracy" - imagine having the free time to attend a 2 hour community forum to debate a playground. Anyone who does is either a lunatic like above or someone who has grudgingly organized to fight the lunatics by the necessity of their lunacy. 90% of people are never going to care and therefore don't get their voice in this process.

[colonelhathi]

This reminds me of when they were upgrading the tiny square in my neighbourhood to have a couple of flower pots and benches and people in the local Facebook group said that this was going to attract drug dealers.

Imagine not wanting anyone to sit down because a drug dealer might sit down? Genuine insanity.

[idioalacrity]

Flashbacks to the zoning wars

[cthulhubert]

Looking up how to get rid of the old window we replaced.

I've always wondered why our curbside recycling doesn't accept broken glass, even though they just immediately dump the bin in their truck, shattering it.

I now feel kind of silly for not realizing why that might work: they need to visually confirm that you're only recycling jars and such. Plate glass is a completely different formulation, and if you try to recycle it into jars, those jars will explode when you try to pressurize them.

[herpsandbirds]

Large Frogmouth (Batrachostomus auritus), parent with chick, family Podargidae, order Podargiformes, Malaysia

photograph by Yfang Lim

[indigostudies]

very silly post but i wanted to unwind a bit so i thought i would rate chinese endearments!

宝贝：classic, casual endearment. i call my cats this, has a similar feel to "babe" for me. 4/5, one point deducted because it's pretty basic.

宝宝：like a cutesier version of 宝贝, i would never call a romantic partner this, but it's great for pets and children. 3.5/5, points deducted because it can sound kind of trite or cringey.

亲爱的：much more formal, has a similar feel to "beloved" or "darling" to me. arguably my favourite endearment because it literally means "[one] who is an intimate love". 5/5 if an s/o called me this i would melt.

老[姓名]：this can come off as overtly lovey-dovey at times but it's also really common among married or long-term couples. it doesn't really have an english comparison but personally i think it's very sweet. it can also be used teasingly which i enjoy. 4.5/5 with 0.5 points taken off because it can sound kind of old-fashioned.

老婆/老公：an even more married version of the above; this feels much more teasing to me, though. 4/5 with one point deducted because unfortunately 老公 can also mean eunuch (oops).

(老)狐狸(精)：i've only ever heard this in dramas as a reference to a man, but it's meant to call someone sly or cunning. can be admonishing, but can also be an affectionate reproval. can also be used for women, but then to me it comes off as a bit more judgemental, so 4/5.

小哥：technically a descriptor of a young man, but i'm personally attached to this as a term of endearment, and if someone called me this i would be smitten. i think it has been gaining some popularity among chinese sapphics, especially butch lesbians/T's? but unfortunately i don't.............really use social media so i can't confirm this.

姐姐/哥哥：these are technically originally terms for older brothers/sisters, but they're also used for people of the same generation who are older than you, and can be used in a flirty way. 4/5 only because non-chinese english speakers can get kind of weird about them.

阿-/小-：personally i prefer the 阿- suffix over 小- because 小- sounds like you're talking to a child to me, but i'm aware this is very regional. not overly romantic, but can be very sweet, so i'm giving it a 3.5/5.

those are all the ones i can think of off the top of my head, but if you have any others you can think of, let me know!

[theonlinemuse]

#most crucially this is missing the nigh-unbeatable northern endearment: 哥们儿 #which technically translates to “bro!” or “dude!” but most importantly is a nickname that fundamentally includes an exclamation mark (via wondersmith-and-sons)

[chiefaccelerator]

A poem scribbled on the back of a truck in China, apparently written by the trucker. Translation by me

I love eating lamb kebab,

and I can judge from its texture

the age of the lamb.

This lamb today is

about as old as I am,

both full of youthful vigor

to be slaughtered at will.

[meikuree]

[transcript of the poem in Chinese:

我爱吃羊肉串 还能从肉质判断 羊的岁数 今天这只羊年 龄和我相仿 都意气风发 任人宰割

/end transcript]

[wataksampingan]

In mine and many other east Asian cultures, the dragon traditionally symbolises things like power, wealth and strength (imperial symbol and all)

I think we often forget that in the story of the Great Race, the dragon came in fifth because it'd stopped to give people rain. Then it'd stopped again to push a rabbit adrift on a log across the wide river so it reached the shore safely (that's why the Rabbit year comes before the Dragon).

Dragons aren't meant to just be powerful - they are meant to do good with such power, and to help those in need.

So in this lunar new year, I hope you gain more power, so that you might be able to help others. I pray you have abundant resources so you may give to yourself and those around you. I wish you courage, endurance, kindness and generosity, for yourself and your people.

I hope you, and I, will be rain givers, life preservers, joy bringers.

I hope we will be dragons.

[what-even-is-thiss]

No I’m not attracted to you. Quit your evil putting your finger under my chin to make me look up at you. I know I’m your nemesis and all but we really need to set some boundaries when you’ve got me tied up like this.

[what-even-is-thiss]

No look I get it. You’ve got your evil plan, you’ve gotta get me out of the way but you also want to see me suffer as I watch the world burn, I know. But like, I’m not into this. Sexually or otherwise. Wait, you thought I was doing this because I liked you? I’m trying to stop you from using a death laser. No I don’t think death lasers are sexy what on earth are you talking about

[what-even-is-thiss]

Wait. That’s why you dress like that? I thought that armor was impractical. No I don’t find our relationship to be homoerotic I find it to be tedious. Look, man. We all keep trying to get you into therapy. No I’m not kink shaming you I’m saying you’ve completely misinterpreted this relationship. I actually do think you should answer for your war crimes. Yes, really. No you’re the one not listening to me in this situation. Yes that is the alarm the others will have cut all your wires and called in the fbi by now.

[what-even-is-thiss]

What do you mean you thought we had something special? I have other enemies. You’re not the only one. No I’m not doing kinky things with them either I blow up their nefarious devices. Speaking of which, you might want to move like… ten feet to your right.

[what-even-is-thiss]

No, enemies to enemies. And then still enemies.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Cannot stress enough how lovers will never be part of this equation even a little bit

[yellowhollyhock]

The henchmen in the tags who have been assuring the villain since the beginning that “of course he likes you back, why else would he keep coming to destroy your death lasers”

[what-even-is-thiss]

The henchmen have been reading too many romance novels.

[xxshadowcasterxx]

Awfully defensive are we? I think the henchmen are onto something.

[what-even-is-thiss]

You know I didn’t intend for this character I made up to be aromantic but this whole post has turned into being arospec at a family reunion simulator

[herpsandbirds]

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), peering from the entrance to a nest box, family Hirundinidae, found across most of North America

photograph by em_photography22

[ampervadasz]

[adventures-in-poor-planning]

Today I saw a pic of a baby cowbird next 2 its nest "parent" and it was so much bigger!!!!! Which is the sort of thing that gets normal people upset about the injustice of nest parasitism but makes *me* worry if baby cowbirds get bird dysmorphia

[adventures-in-poor-planning]

This (from Cornell Labs via Merlin) is the pic I was looking at. It's just a little baby but it's so much bigger than its "parent"!!!! Do baby cowbirds feel isolated? Do they understand they're a different bird, or are they just a really bad sparrow?

[raiasintended]

hey, good news! ecologists have been studying this very thing! it seems young cowbirds have some kind of innate sense that leads them to sneak out of their foster nest at night to hang out in grasslands where they—more often than not—meet other cowbirds and learn more about what they really are.

[courtingwonder]

Illustrated Comparison of Asian Architecture and Roof Styles

[etirabys]

The only China-related blog I read posted something that deviates from its usual "just translate the top posts on Weibo" post format. It's about the position of women in China:

https://weibo.substack.com/p/feminism-and-the-position-of-women

It and the (extremely fucking dark) post it links to in its second paragraph have been on my mind for several days. I've kept the browser tabs open despite having finished reading & having no desire to reread them.

I found the feminism post illuminating – things I'd 80% understood about the CCP's "strategy" wrt gender snapped into place, and I feel foolish for not having clearly seen that angle before:

The problem, of course, is that the gender ratio in China has been off for a very long time now. Inevitably, there are going to be a lot of men who will never find a wife. And inevitably, those men are going to be precisely the most unstable elements of society—the poorest, working the most menial of jobs, with the least hopes of ever getting promoted, with the least education. Under these circumstances, relying on market forces is not an option. Women would never willingly marry those people when they have perfectly good careers of their own. So the first step, then, is to fuck women out of careers. ...

China is in an equilibrium that it cannot coordinate to get out of: if you have a daughter, you don't want to invest in her when the norms are that her husband will provide for her / that she won't have a career after marriage. If you have a son, you need to to invest in him, because his marital/reproductive prospects aren't great unless he has a job, a car, and an internal passport that lets him live/work in a city, where he can have a future.

It might be a little unbelievable to you, that a country can just sacrifice half its population to stabilise the other half. ... China doesn’t pass laws or enforce laws to protect women for the same reason they don’t pass or enforce laws to protect sweat shop workers. China is competitive on the international stage precisely because it is willing to look the other way while you make a sweat shop of people work unpaid overtime 80 hours a week while you pay them a quarter of minimum wage and don’t give health insurance or retirement benefits. China is competitive on the international stage because it’s willing to look the other way while you dump industrial waste right into the ocean.

[collapsedsquid]

Wisconsin governors have expansive partial veto power, and Evers got creative with his use of it in this budget. He crafted the four-century school aid extension by striking a hyphen and a "20" from a reference to the 2024-25 school year. The increase of $325 per student is the highest single-year increase in revenue limits in state history. The surprise move will ensure districts' state-imposed limits on how much revenue they are allowed to raise will be increased by $325 per student each year until 2425, creating a permanent annual stream of new revenue for public schools and potentially curbing a key debate between Democrats and Republicans during each state budget-writing cycle.

Might feel uncomfortable about this if Wisconsin was a democracy but fortunately it is not.

[max1461]

What the fuck even is this? How does the fucking United States government even fucking work?

[the-shade-system]

Long story short, we have something called a line-item veto, where the executive branch gets to look at a law, and veto individual lines from it, before signing it.

The thing is, the Wisconsin governor got creative with it. Nowhere in the statutes defining the powers of a line item veto does it say the line item needs to be continuous or unbroken, which means that... well, he was able to veto multiple parts of an individual line, completely changing the proposed law's duration, extending it by 4 centuries.