LOQAT

Non-Binary, Panromantic Grey-Asexual. Or you could call me River.

[paulfrankjuliusthemonkey]

HOW TO FEEL YOUR FEELINGS, 2021, by Yumi Sakugawa

[oreramar]

Every time I'm forced by circumstance to hand-sew something, I remember a fairytale I once read. There are lead-up shenanigans as the humble protagonist helps small animals and meets the princess and all that, but in the climax, the princess rigs a contest for her hand by setting her own task: sew her a dress in a single night.

The noble suitors, who have never sewn a thing in their lives, sabotage themselves by their own ambitions: they choose difficult fabrics to work with and cut huge, elaborate patterns and select gems and pearls and beads to sew onto it, and snip such long bits of thread that they lose time detangling their stitches, and ultimately resort to pinning bits together as they run out of time, so that their offerings initially look beautiful and flashy, but when the princess tries them on they stick her with pin ends and fall apart as she moves.

The humble protagonist uses a very simple pattern without embellishments and sews using short lengths of thread (snipped off and threaded for him by little birds of course) which don't tangle and therefore save time. His dress is plain by contrast, but holds together and the princess is able to move freely in it, and so he wins the contest and her hand.

I particularly think about the bit about threading the needle with shorter lengths of thread, needing to tie off more often but avoiding tangles and thereby saving time.

I then ignore that piece of wisdom passed down through who knows how many years and proceed to cut the longest damn length of thread I can manage because I hate tying off beginning or ending knots and I will not subject myself to more of that even if it does mean more tangles along the way.

[teaboot]

OH, I see the misunderstanding now! You thought I didn't *understand* your ideology! No, I totally follow your logic here, it all makes perfect sense the way you've laid it out. What I'm saying is that you're wrong

[foone]

the upside of ADHD is that it makes you a fucking genius

the downside is that you don't get to decide when and for how long you're a genius.

[foone]

Or what you are going to be a genius about.

You have a big work project?

Nah. You're now a genius at making boardgames. For 7 hours.

[unrivalling]

[lakevida]

the menstrual cup and menstrual scepter

[lakevida]

your majesty what is upppp

[rowan-e-ravenwood]

new top contender

[sturionic]

"Learn the fundamentals first" seems like really sound universal advice, and as a former classical musician, I can vouch for it. You will have a more solid foundation for increasing complexity if you put in the time to study in a structured way. If you don't, you'll have a lot of shit to fix later.

As a former music teacher, I can also say that "learn the fundamentals first" is the death knell for a vast percentage of beginners, especially adult learners.

I've run into this with drawing several times, where some well-meaning artist has lectured me on needing to study anatomy properly or not use shortcuts like CSP brushes. And oh, believe me, I know. I know exactly how to learn an artistic discipline in a structured way. I just...don't want to!

The thing is, I'm not aiming to be a professional artist. I want to draw my gay little anime guys. I would undoubtedly improve at art much faster if I approached every gay little anime guy drawing as a study exercise. But I would also have quit drawing a decade ago if I couldn't just let myself enjoy drawing imperfect fucked-up little guys with whatever shortcuts I needed to body myself across the finish line.

With my adult piano students, my approach was always "What's your goal?" If their goal was to learn exactly one Elton John songbook to play at parties, then...that's what we did. We'd put tape on the keys to label the notes, and just fuckin go for it. Learning exactly one Elton John songbook is a good and noble musical goal, full stop.

Some of my students needed and enjoyed a more structured approach to learning; if they wanted to be able to play classical music, then yes, scales were going to have to enter the equation at some point. And yet others would learn the Elton John songbook, catch their white whale, and realize they wanted to explore more of the ocean. The scales were still there for them to learn!

Often the choice isn't between "learn art well" and "learn art imperfectly" - the choice is between "learn art imperfectly" and "don't do art at all." To which I say, learn imperfectly! Or, what the hell, don't 'learn' art. Just do, and enjoy the doing of it.

You have official permission from your local pretentious classical music snob: fuck the fundamentals. You can always unfuck them later (but only if you want to).

[kosmogrl]

[crocwork-clockodile]

Moist listened glumly. Time travel was only a kind of magic, after all. That's why it always went wrong. That's why there were postmen, with real feet. That's why the clacks was a string of expensive towers. Come to that, it was why farmers grew crops and fishermen trawled nets. Oh you could do it all by magic, you certainly could. You could wave a wand and get twinkly stars and a fresh-baked loaf. You could make fish jump out of the sea ready cooked. And then, somewhere, somehow, magic would present its bill, which was always more than you could afford.

Reading Going Postal and I feel like this sentiment is what Pratchett was getting at in Reaper Man. And this particular passage just really resonated with me right now, in this particular moment. Hm.

[solmarillion]

i hate how much people care about their ships being "canon" now. spirk fans didn't publish zines full of fanfics in the 70s only for modern fandom to grovel at the knees of corporations and beg for things to be canon. use your imaginations, don't allow billionaires to think for you.

[lizarin]

Kirk/Spock fans were publishing homosexual fanfiction when homosexuality was still considered a mental disorder and sending porn through mail was illegal.

Don't dishonor our fandom ancestors by sucking cooperate cock.

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[fishtrouts]

Always a good time to burn down yet another village!

Patreon

[depsidase]

[fox-moxin]

[merlinsbeard4332]

“The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion”

When the Anti-Choice Choose By Joyce Arthur Copyright © September, 2000 Available in a German translation Available in a Russian translation

I never pass up an opportunity to share this essay.

[escuerzoresucitado]

[bekgoldblog]

New work uniform

[biologicalstepfather]

If you know who Emmett Till is please reblog.

I’m trying to prove a point to my dad.

[trooper1023]

The violent murder of a 14 year old boy from Chicago. Because he was alleged to have cat-called at a white wealthy woman.

The woman’s white ass racist neighbors got so offended, they went and “did something about it.”

🤮

From the FBI Freedom of Information Act public vault:

Emmett Till

Emmett Louis Till (1941-1955) was murdered while visiting relatives in LeFlore County, Mississippi. In 1955, two suspects were tried for the

[alexseanchai]

This is not ancient history. This is a Black boy who would have turned eighty-five next month. There are people born the same year he was whose great-grandchildren are older than he ever got to be.

[depsidase]