Lamp Blogging

Acro // circa 1991 // sex repulsed ace, aromantic spectrum // okapi lamp thing // majored in anthropology, currently a very tired vet tech --- (sidebar art by an artist I can't find online anymore who went by Kytennish) --- - about - - tags -

[lampfaced]

on one hand, tumblr has had a lot of dying scares to the point that I’m not overly worried just yet

on the other, the remaining staff being around 25 people total and the general state of the world, tumblr being largely nonprofitable, etc. I am still more worried about it than I’ve been with past scares.

I’ve been on this hellsite as my main haunt that I genuinely do not know what I’ll do with myself if it goes. I was around for the livejournal crackdown and that shit sucked. but this feels bigger because I’ve been here far longer. my other places I’d frequent over the years have degraded or are just not options at all anymore, and tumblr has been my go-to for… 14 years or so now. I have several blogs, I have a lot of drafts across them all, and figuring out how to export it all in a way I can still read stuff is… daunting.

I’m not jumping ship until this site literally goes down completely.

that being said, you can find me at BlueSky under @acrosanti.bsky.social but at this point in time I’m not very active there. it’s the nicest alternative I’ve come across but it’s still very Twitter 2.0 and I was never a huge twitter fan.

[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.

[hypokeimena]

#'this is present in the text' is often a good first step #but those second and third ones (naming it; describing its function) are vital (via @elucubrare)

[creekfiend]

I'm so glad that that truncated fucking ran-into-a-wall-at-speed tadpole-ass looking squirrel only lives in high altitude forests in Borneo bc this means I am extremely unlikely to encounter one in my day to day life. thank god

[tuftedpygmysquirrel]

Hello.

[creekfiend]

DID YOU MAKE THIS BLOG SIMPLY TO TORMENT ME

[tuftedpygmysquirrel]

I can go upside down.

[creekfiend]

WHERE IS THE REST OF YOU

[goldengirlsgifs]

THE GOLDEN GIRLS 2.05 — Isn't It Romantic? — 08.11.86 Betty White as Rose Nylund Lois Nettleton as Jean

[shipperwolf1]

1986!!

[dovewithscales]

Golden Girls was so incredibly progressive for its time and not even slightly afraid to be loud about it. They talked about queer people, about race, about ableism, and they made it central and overt. They talked about things that mattered, and they never punched down, and they were allies off the stage too.

[dovewithscales]

Reblogging this again to add some context for anyone who may not know. In the 80's, being outed as gay could get you blacklisted in Hollywood. It ruined people's careers.

Bea Arthur and Betty White both suffered damage to their careers for standing up against racism and homophobia. Back in the 50s Betty White hosted a variety show that was canceled because she featured a black dancer and doubled down when they told her to stop.

[calciumcryptid]

I feel like a lot of people get "All Art is Political" confused with "All Art is made with Political Intentions" which is not the same.

[beanytuesday]

The Comic Store (from 2019)

[kiwi]

anybody else feel that being human is like being a long-time syndicated cartoon character watching the world get more complex while your own design stays the same until youre incongruous with the reality around you??

[same-pic-rick-roll]

Do you ever see a complicated meme that expresses a very specific feeling, and while you wouldn’t have said it that way, it instantly resonates with you?

[lmaonade]

coupons used to mean something now deals are like HURRY NOW! get 3 free napkins when you spend $75+ 😋

[campingwithmonsters]

MISERY LOVES COMPANY

[nudityandnerdery]

[vaspider]

Look. The way you ask for a refill?

Sometimes, what you need to do is literally ask for a refill. I know that can be scary and upsetting and requires you to be willing to be vulnerable, but please consider two things:

One: if what you want to do is be able to fill other people's cups, you can't fill from an empty cup. You literally can't do the work if you're emptied out. You need to do this so you can help.

Two: for the people that love you, the people that really matter, you aren't imposing on them by asking for a refill. This is one of the things I really internalized from coming home to Judaism: when someone asks me to help them, they're giving me the opportunity to perform a mitzvah. No matter your belief system or outlook, I think we can probably all agree that being given an opportunity to be more awesome is pretty great.

So ask. Here are a few scripts you can try.

"Hey, I am...

... having a bad day.

... really struggling.

... really hurting because of the state of the world.

... having a hard time focusing on positive things.

... feeling emptied out.

Could you please help me? I could really use...

... some company.

... to hear about something beautiful you saw today.

... to hear some good news.

... to see a picture of your pet.

... to be told something you like about me.

... to be reminded of something I do that you like.

... your silliest new meme.

... to go for a walk with you.

... to hear about your favorite show.

... a hug."

I have genuinely never asked my friends to love me a little bit louder and gotten anything but an outpouring of support.

People love you and want to take care of you. All you have to do is give them an opportunity and maybe tell them the best way to love you right now.

[cincoflex]

I need to share this.

I need to remind people they too can ask me for a refill.

We are stronger together.

[lessmouse]

day 6 / ???

[bakurapika]

this is really interesting in how it frames disability/low spoons/etc as not being a series of internal symptoms, but specifically a situation in which daily tasks increase in complexity. for example i used to be able to wash the dishes normally. but now mental and physical issues combine to make that situation have a lot of prequalifications (do I have time, energy, how long can I do it without being sore the next day) that means many more steps are involved in getting that single physical act of washing a dish to be done.

[rockshitty]

I’m trying to remember the quote. “On a good day, doing laundry is three steps. On a bad day, the first step is getting out of bed.”

[catchymemes]

[buckysknifecollection]

i feel like the youth should be reminded that the point of shipping is not for a ship to become canon. the point of shipping is to collect all the canon crumbs like starved mice, run away cackling and make some fun little scenarios with them just for the hell of it.

[phaeton-flier]

Bear religion probably fucking rocks. You're a fucking bear, you're the deadliest thing on earth, once a year an endless supply of salmon just flings itself up the river to gorge on and then you nap for 3 months.

[phaeton-flier]

The most delicious food in the world is protected by tiny demons who can defend it from everyone except you. Your natural armor is thick enough that you can just eat the damn hive while they buzz around you. God's chosen animals right there

[theaudientvoid]

[centrally-unplanned]

Regular bears tell stories of angel bears sent by the Bear God, pure white and twice as strong as any normal bear could be, who rule the summit of the Earth and kill all who stand in their path.

And they are right, those bears exist and totally do that. Humans just have fake angels as a cope.

[theabigailthorn]

love the idea of bears being the chosen species actually. having a near death experience and glimpsing heaven and realising it's just full of bears, no humans at all, humans not ensouled actually, humans an accidental byproduct of God's plan for bears

[rocketsaurus]

Curious what is actually normal for bed time. Go for your normal/average time, not your most extreme or what you wish it was.

what time do you go to bed? (local time)

7pm or before

8pm

9pm

10pm

11pm

12am

1am

2am or after

it's never consistent

some other time entirely

Remaining time: 5 days 17 hours

I just don't know what grownups do for bedtime and I want to know!!!

[reactionimagesdaily]

[probuccalfat]

people act like 20-22 year olds are adults who should be fully responsible and knowledgeable and with it and it’s like have you ever been 20, 21, 22? i knew nothing, i woke up every day dumb as rocks and made every bad choice possible until i went to bed

[eagleinasunbeam]

A big piece of why people feel this way is because they weren't treated like teenagers when they were teenagers. They were treated like young children, so when the switch flips on suddenly there are adult responsibilities and bills to pay, it feels overwhelming as young adults because there weren't stair step, age appropriate responsibilities and markers of development. There's culturally a line of 18 being the age of majority in the US, which is good for making laws to combat child labor and sexual exploitation but bad for things like on an individual level recognizing teenagers can indeed be responsible for major household chores and problem solving and repairs, and as they approach 18 can even start a job and learn what being an adult is like.

A 20 year old is an adult, even if they don't feel like it. And when we talk about feeling overwhelmed as young adults or how we did feel overwhelmed when we came of age, let's not cede linguistic ground to the conservatives who want to make doing literally anything besides signing up for the military before the age of 25 illegal.

[hyperlexichypatia]

I know I keep saying this, but if you're 20-22 years old and actually "know nothing" and are "dumb as rocks" -- if this is a relatively accurate self-assessment and you're not being hyperbolic or insecure -- that's the result of very intentional, willful decisions by people who had power over you growing up (parents, teachers) to actively keep you ignorant.

That goes beyond neglect. Neglected kids at least have some ability to take care of themselves and make decisions, out of pure necessity. If you made it to 18 or 20 or 22 without basic daily decision-making skills, someone (likely multiple someones) put a whole lot of active effort into keeping those skills from you. You deserve to be furiously angry about that, not just passively accept it as a normal stage of human development.