This is Nerdcure

Personal growth, astrology, and nerdcure. The doctor is: intp

[maxkirin]

People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (via maxkirin)

[kaisketch]

I’ve been having bad days and drawing this helped me remember things.

I hope it helps you, too.

[memeguy-com]

Well at least its not bees

[bikesbabesandbooze-deactivated2]

[neil-gaiman]

admit it, american gods could've had a much better ending right?

Absolutely. For that matter, everything I’ve written could have had a much better ending. Also a more gripping beginning. And the middles, don’t get me started on the middles. Or the characters, if you can call them characters.

And let’s not get into the sentences. 

[paakojsimpson]

[wanlingnic]

I’m a sucker for long Little Prince-ish philosophical debates; and this one’s a matter close to my heart this time, so I didn’t really make this a joke. 

I’ve seen so many people at that point in their life when doing anything, even going out, becomes too tedious. You’re just… tired, and lethargic. The world feels sluggish, and you’re stuck feeling like you’re going nowhere.

It’s happened to me, and I want you to know… You’re not alone. And you’ll get to somewhere soon. I truly, truly believe that. 

—

…Also my Latias is called Celine d’EON. Hehehehh…

[jslilley]

I think the biggest obstacle for people with their creativity is that they feel they have to sit down and create this finished, polished product. Especially nowadays, it’s so easy to have a library of two thousand CDs, books and records. So many things. We’re used to having all of these finished works of art in our life that seem to arise out of nothing. I think that so much of the creative process is a fragmentary one, and then it’s about just allowing your intuition to put it together for you. It’s funny how you create something and you think you’re going in a million different directions, and then the thing you end up with is the thing that you wanted to create your whole life, but you’re just as surprised by it as anybody else.

Jeff Mangum (x)

Wow, I’ve never seen it articulated before, but this is so true of me. I mean, I definitely remember spending hundreds of hours on Four Corners, and all the novels I have in my drawer, but with Four Corners in particular I still go ‘Hey, wait, where did that come from??’

(via pennypaperbrain)

[nautics]

You are very young, Dolores, and very strong, and very angry. You must learn now, that the important lesson — as long as you have your health — is that the divide is not between the servants and the served, between the leisured and the workers, but between those who are interested in the world and its multiplicity of forms and forces, and those who merely subsist, worrying or yawning.

A. S. Byatt, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (via nautics)

[eltonhjohn]

[lavidapoliglota]

A more detailed explanation of the Cornell Method can be found here

[nerdcure-blog]

Zodiac Expression of Nerves

♈ Aries: Hyperactivity, headaches, impulsivity, recklessness, hostility, frustration, confrontation, restlessness, rapid speech, over thinking, displays of vulnerability and need for reassurance, inability to complete minor tasks

♉ Taurus: Reservation; they will dissociate into their own worlds and be untouchable, binge eating, compulsivity (cleaning, organizing, hand washing), silence; anxiety will come in waves for Taurus and be sustained for a long period, sore throat, 'blank' mindedness

♊ Gemini: Giggling, restlessness, rapid speech, talkativeness, tremors, hyperactivity, distractibility, racing thoughts, insomnia, inability to stay focused on and complete even minor tasks, loud and more talkative inner monologue, chest/lung discomfort

♋ Cancer: Teariness, catastrophized thinking, imagination worst case scenarios, inability to stop distressing thoughts and inner monologue, drifting off/inability to focus, food cravings, isolation but co-current feelings of neediness and reassurance, stomach cramps and nausea

♌ Leo: Frustration, hostility, catastrophizing (imagining and living worst case scenarios) martyrdom, impulsivity, binge eating/drinking, they tend to go out of their way to help and do things for other people/keep busy in service, back pain, somatic troubles

♍ Virgo: Digestive upset, restlessness, repetitive movements (hair twirling, counting) tremor, rapid thinking, withdrawal into isolated 'bubble', compulsive tasks (cleaning, organizing), need to keep busy and distracted may pace back and forth

♎ Libra: Unusual quietness, increased needs for re assurance, stomach upset, restlessness, distractibility, insomnia, negative inner monologue, catastrophized imagination, repetitive hand motions, inability to explain themselves or say they are unwell

♏ Scorpio: Increased need for control, hostility, violent frustration (wall kicking, throwing objects), irrationality, increased obsessiveness - they may spend hours and hours focused on one task almost manically, rejection of others though frustration they are not 'there', flashbacks

♐ Sagittarius: Increased vocal volume, higher impulsivity, hostility, hyperactivity - they are liable to go out running or try to repress it physically, substance use, rapid thoughts, recklessness, giggling, distractible, back pain

♑ Capricorn: Tension, overwhelming feelings of butterflies and nerves inside especially in their stomachs although they remain composed externally. Over thinking and inability to distract themselves from worst case scenario, hostility, isolation, tendency to take on more work shifts or responsibilities

♒ Aquarius: Talkativeness, rapid speech, over thinking, restlessness, insomnia, confusion; Aquarians will feel anxious or nervous yet have little insight into why they feel this way or what is causing it, their minds and emotional responses are not connected, back pain

♓ Pisces: Teariness, catastrophized thinking, inability to distract or change thought patterns, flashbacks, hysteria, chest discomfort, digestive upset/nausea, irrationality, distressing inner monologue, substance use, increased need for assurance

I never believe these things but holy SHIT mine's accurate. (Cancer)

[nerdcure-blog]

When I was little, my favorite color was green. So, when watching Lion King, I was like, "Hell yeah Scar, nice aesthetic!"

After a while, I learned that green was the color of everything evil in Disney and stopped watching their movies.

[darksilenceinsuburbia]

Titus Kaphar

For his current exhibition at Jack Shainman Gallery, Kaphar presents a painting show titled “Drawing the Blinds,” along with an extension of his 2011 Jerome Project titled “Asphalt and Chalk.” The former maintain’s Kaphar’s practice of bringing history into the present, and traditional artwork into the contemporary conversation.

Many of the works allude to the historical absence of African Americans and women from the verbal and visual canons. In “Behind the Myth of Benevolence” a portrait of a silver-haired man is peeled back like a fallen drape, revealing behind it a nude depiction of a black woman, gazing at the viewer. In “Stripes,” a similarly stuffy portrait of a white man is cut into strips, many of which are nailed to the surrounding wall, exposing the wooden frame beneath. The image is both mischievous and violent, a ghostly hoax and a work of sadism.

[slugbox]

Look at all of these potential wives and husbands I will only pick the most powerful one.

[nerdcure-blog]

Sounds like somebody's been playing Fire Emblem

[dukeofbookingham-deactivated202]

Do you think buying books from barnes and noble is better than from amazon?

This is gong to sound overly aggressive, but it’s not just what I think, it’s  literally just the truth. Amazon is the worst place you can buy books and literally anyone who works in publishing will tell you the same thing. 

I get this question like once a week and I’ve talked a lot about it before, but to summarize, here’s why Amazon is bad for publishing:

Amazon sometimes sells books cheaper. They can do this because they’re actually undercutting the publisher’s price and losing money. You know how they manage to do this? They sell a million other products that aren’t books and can afford to take a hit. What happens is people get brainwashed into thinking ‘It’s always going to be cheaper on Amazon,’ (not the case) and congratulations they’ve just bought your loyalty. 

This is shitty because publishers and retailers who pretty much only sell books can’t possibly compete with this business model. It also cuts how much money from those sales is going to the author, and trust me, unless you are a bestselling author, you are not making enough money that that’s not going to hurt you. 

The bulk of Amazon’s book sales come from two categories: romance/erotica and westerns. Seriously. In fifty years’ time, if Amazon is the only book retailer around because they’ve put everyone else out of business, what do you think they’re going to publish? Romance and westerns. So if you want to have some quality literature available to you when you’re old and retired and have a lot of time to read, do yourself a favor and stop buying books from Amazon. 

Amazon’s business model is incredibly shady. If they’re having a dispute with a publisher (usually about their questionable price cutting) they pull bullshit tricks like removing the ‘buy’ button on that publisher’s books or telling customers shipping will be delayed for three weeks. (If you don’t believe me, Google the Amazon/Hachette dispute and educate yourself. It got so bad that hundreds of bestselling authors bought out a full page ad in the New York Times—Do you have any idea how expensive it is to do that? This is a big deal—to call Amazon out on their bullshit. Read it here.)

Amazon is slowly buying up other book retailers because—guess what—they love the monopoly they’re creating in the online book market. And they’re super sneaky about it. Did you know Amazon owns Book Depository? You can’t find that information anywhere on BD’s website, because a lot of people think they’re getting around Amazon by buying there, but it’s true. 

The bottom line is, unlike B&N and other book retailers, Amazon is NOT RUN BY PEOPLE WHO LOVE BOOKS. Which means, frankly, that they don’t give a shit if they’re wrecking the industry for dedicated readers. 

So, there you have it. I’m tired of talking about this but I will do it with my dying breath because it’s fucking important and I love my books and I hope to still be reading them when I’m old and gray. And if you think this is some sort of elitist, sentimental idea that only rich people can afford to have, allow me to correct you. I am fucking broke. I have less than $500 in my bank account and a $300 rent check due on the first. After living expenses I have maybe $20 a month of spending money and I still don’t buy books from Amazon because Amazon is the fucking Antichrist as far as books are concerned. 

I’m probably going to get a load of flack for this post but I don’t give a shit. Bring it on. 

[timemachineyeah]

This is a jar full of major characters 

Actually it is a jar full of chocolate covered raisins on top of a dirty TV tray. But pretend the raisins are interesting and well rounded fictional characters with significant roles in their stories. 

We’re sharing these raisins at a party for Western Storytelling, so we get out two bowls. 

Then we start filling the bowls. And at first we only fill the one on the left. 

This doesn’t last forever though. Eventually we do start putting raisins in the bowl on the right. But for every raisin we put in the bowl on the right, we just keep adding to the bowl on the left. 

And the thing about these bowls is, they don’t ever reset. We don’t get to empty them and start over. While we might lose some raisins to lost records or the stories becoming unpopular, but we never get to just restart. So even when we start putting raisins in the bowl on the right, we’re still way behind from the bowl on the left. 

And time goes on and the bowl on the left gets raisins much faster than the bowl on the right. 

Until these are the bowls. 

Now you get to move and distribute more raisins. You can add raisins or take away raisins entirely, or you can move them from one bowl to the other. 

This is the bowl on the left. I might have changed the number of raisins from one picture to the next. Can you tell me, did I add or remove raisins? How many? Did I leave the number the same?

You can’t tell for certain, can you? Adding or removing a raisin over here doesn’t seem to make much of a change to this bowl. 

This is the bowl on the right. I might have changed the number of raisins from one picture to the next. Can you tell me, did I add or remove raisins? How many? Did I leave the number the same?

When there are so few raisins to start, any change made is really easy to spot, and makes a really significant difference. 

This is why it is bad, even despicable, to take a character who was originally a character of color and make them white. But why it can be positive to take a character who was originally white and make them a character of color.

The white characters bowl is already so full that any change in number is almost meaningless (and is bound to be undone in mere minutes anyway, with the amount of new story creation going on), while the characters of color bowl changes hugely with each addition or subtraction, and any subtraction is a major loss. 

This is also something to take in consideration when creating new characters. When you create a white character you have already, by the context of the larger culture, created a character with at least one feature that is not going to make a difference to the narratives at large. But every time you create a new character of color, you are changing something in our world. 

I mean, imagine your party guests arrive

Oh my god they are adorable!

And they see their bowls

But before you hand them out you look right into the little black girls’s eyes and take two of her seven raisins and put them in the little white girl’s bowl.

I think she’d be totally justified in crying or leaving and yelling at you. Because how could you do that to a little girl? You were already giving the white girl so much more, and her so little, why would you do that? How could you justify yourself?

But on the other hand if you took two raisins from the white girl’s bowl and moved them over to the black girl’s bowl and the white girl looked at her bowl still full to the brim and decided your moving those raisins was unfair and she stomped and cried and yelled, well then she is a spoiled and entitled brat. 

And if you are adding new raisins, it seems more important to add them to the bowl on the right. I mean, even if we added the both bowls at the same speed from now on (and we don’t) it would still take a long time before the numbers got big enough to make the difference we’ve already established insignificant. 

And that’s the difference between whitewashing POC characters and making previously white characters POC. And that’s why every time a character’s race is ambiguous and we make them white, we’ve lost an opportunity.

*goes off to eat her chocolate covered raisins, which are no longer metaphors just snacks*

[nerdcure-blog]

Works with more than just characters in stories