i refuse to be titled

legit

[feldfrog]

There’s something sort of beautifully childlike about all global shipping trade being done with equal size colorful rectangle boxes

[nonbinarypussy]

[raptorcivilization]

There’s a BAFTA-winning, Oscar-nominated documentary that posted Kermit gulag

[raptorcivilization]

Mr Nobody Against Putin is a documentary about a Russian teacher that documents - and attempts to subvert - the state propaganda being used in Russian schools to justify the Ukraine war. The guy secretly recorded a lot of footage and had to be snuck out of Russia for his own safety, and so this could be known. It’s been receiving critical accolades and heaps of praise, including the aforementioned award wins/nominations.

My boyfriend just watched it in a theater and noticed something. At one point the movie references the guy who implemented the gulag system, following up on a comment from a history teacher, and this is the image they picked to represent it.

It’s fucking Kermit gulag. They grayscaled an image of the gulag scene from Muppets Most Wanted and used it to illustrate an actual Soviet gulag, alongside actual historical pictures and footage, in a deathly serious documentary. See for yourself, 32 minutes in. There is no reference or citation to the Muppets/Disney in the credits so this seems like a genuine fuckup in the editing room.

[santapau]

“Abyssal”, new Secret Knots comic.

[gay-on-purpose]

Saw a post about the sesamarot and wanted to share my favorite reading

[zanta-is-feelin-some-kinda-way]

The guy asked, the cards gave the most direct answer possible.

[quasi-normalcy]

The rookie mistake in fiction writing is assuming that short stories will be easier to write than novels because they're smaller. No. This is the equivalent to thinking that it's easier to make a pocket watch than grandfather clock. Short stories are complex engineering problems.

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[website-enjoyer]

its not even that i disagree about anti-imperialist struggle in the oppressed nations inspiring revolutionary struggle within the imperial powers, that is pretty demonstrably true, "we are not freeing palestine, palestine is freeing us," i just dont know abt adopting that on a strategic level because i think it slides too easily into impcorers kinda deferring responsibility for precipitating revolution onto those most oppressed and exploited by imperialism (or worse, onto 'anti-imperialist' bourgeois states). it's a limitation to surpass not a feature. basically i think u cannot look at the relationship between revolutionary movements in the oppressed nations and revolutionary movements within the imperial powers as a one-way thing, it's just irresponsible

[vampdykejs]

The most important thing I believe a revolutionary in the imperial core, where the workers who live off the spoils of imperialism have no revolutionary potential, can do, is to provide material support to revolutionary groups and those struggling outside the imperial core. Our demonstrations and protests are best used as a recruitment tool, not to fuel the delusion that peaceful, co-operative demonstrations can change the minds of those in power.

Look to the examples of Palestine Action and the Blekingegade Gang, whose material support for the palestinian cause has undeniably done far more than any march for palestine, or the flotillas which seem to be more about PR than anything else (though I would be as elated as anyone else if they had actually managed to reach the shores of Gaza with their aid). I'm not going to suggest anyone should go out and participate in these groups illegal actions, but know that every little helps, for example giving money to a palestinian family in need like so many of us have been doing, providing e-sims. "Solidarity is something you can hold in your hand" (Lauesen).

Highly recommend Gabril Kuhn's book about the Blekingegade Gang, 'Turning Money Into Rebellion', which contains interviews with members of M-KA who explain their analysis of the world at the time and what lead them to believe providing money and other goods was their best course of action. I'm sure some will disagree with their political analysis of the state of the world at the time, but I believe their reasoning for providing money and goods to the PFLP and others was infallible.

[website-enjoyer]

this is exactly the kind of perspective that i disagree with completely. the biggest form of aid that communists in the imperial core can provide to those elsewhere is overthrowing capitalism at home. the analysis that imperial core workers "have no revolutionary potential" is not based on actual investigation and actively prevents would-be revolutionaries from developing a revolutionary strategy. i've already written a fairly long post about this here.

the kind of third-worldist analysis of the labour aristocracy put forward by the blekingegade group (i haven't read kuhn's book, but i'm familiar with the perspective of the KAK, the predecessor of the M-KA) does not hold up. i've written a long post about that here. the fifth chapter of a critique of maoist reason does a good job of tracing the history of this tendency, from its origins in the KAK and MIM through to maoist-third-worldist formations between their time and ours. it also does a good job pointing out the fundamental flaw of maoist-third-worldist conceptions of the labour aristocracy (even if i disagree with that book on other levels):

If there is no proletariat in the imperialist metropoles, and thus no proletarian movement, the first world third worldist cannot make a correct assessment of anything since it cannot practice the mass line. With no revolutionary masses in which to embed a revolutionary movement (because these revolutionary masses are elsewhere) how can it test its ideas, struggle with the masses, and thus develop theory through practice? Considering that MTW disagrees with the assessments of the most significant third world Maoist movements regarding the first world proletariat, it is not as if it is learning from the revolutionary masses it claims to valorize, either. Thus, even if MTW is correct it has no way of knowing it is correct, or developing a theory regarding its correctness, since it has no means of testing these ideas in practice. That is, MTW is not falsifiable and thus not scientific.

this elevation of anti-imperialism over class struggle is absolutely not confined to people and organizations that consciously identify as maoist or third-worldist; in fact it is extremely common amongst "anti-imperialist" actionists, activists and organizers in the imperialist countries today (even those who are "marxist-leninist"). for a recent example, see this article from just two days ago about the 2024 A15 palestine solidarity economic blockade actions (i do want to commend the authors of this for actually producing a summation of their practice, something that is really lacking these days). most of the people i have heard express it are young, are not from the "third world" themselves (and those who are from the "third world" are overwhelmingly immigrant petit bourgeois), want to do something that has an immediate impact, probably don't even know who lin biao was, and so on. i've written a post abt the basis for this tendency here.

you write that "demonstrations and protests are best used as a recruitment tool" and i agree. but recruitment of who and into what? since you say that workers have no revolutionary potential, the only recommendations you offer are not-suggesting people participate in illegal direct actions, and doing charity. this is not a revolutionary strategy. the A15 article, while arguing in theory for the need to build a leninist vanguard party of the working class, also says that in the practical action it sums up, "successes were due to existing affinity groups and informal activist communities." this is exactly the approach that would-be revolutionaries in the anglo imperialist countries need to get out of.

i would offer this instead: demos and protests (whether in solidarity with palestine, venezuela, targets of ice, or whoever else) are best used as a tool to recruit ideologically or politically advanced workers into politically independent mass organizations of the working class with workplace committees as their basic units, to recruit advanced students and youth into finding jobs where they can begin to organize and into other forms of mass work like social investigation, to recruit intellectuals with socialist perspectives into supporting the infrastructure of these organizing efforts, and to build up the leading role of these independent working class organizations within a broader anti-imperialist anti-war united front. to paraphrase the A15 article, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

in your reblog you compare the effectiveness of peaceful demonstrations, activist direct action, the flotillas, and individual charity. what is missing from this comparison is the boycotts and strikes by organized workers in, for example, france, italy, greece, and spain. all of these are imperialist countries belonging to the EU and NATO. what do they have that makes this possible that the anglo imperialist countries lack? sure, they are not quite as close to the very peak of imperialism today, but the main difference is communists actually engaged in leading the organized struggles of the working class.

to conclude: in principle i agree with that quote from lauesen, whose writing does genuinely have some worthwhile insights, but i want to add as a corollary this quote from samora machel, a revolutionary actually from the "third world":

International solidarity is not an act of charity; it is an act of unity between allies fighting on different terrains toward the same objectives.

i'm not trying to bite yr head off here, i wanted to write out an honest response because i think this is an important issue. thx for engaging.

further reading: imperialism and the split in socialism, lenin, 1916

[iguanamouth]

I really like winnie the pooh, Can you draw winnie the pooh pleaseeeeee

[thetyrannosaur]

Happy 10 year anniversary to this absolutely foundational post

[skiingcows]

#really cannot emphasize enough how much iguanamouth changed the site’s sense of humor and therefore the timeline of the western world

[catalystcomet-archive-deactivat]

hello this is my favorite video ever please please

[catalystcomet-archive-deactivat]

el muchacho monday

[anphivenas]

Its impossible to talk to this fucking guy

[txttletale]

once i dreamt that i was watching a documentary film in high school english class called 'the best pig at watching'. it opened on a pig staring motionlessly at something offscreen. a narrator said 'this is the best pig at watching'. it then was struck by lightning and the narrator said 'the best pig at watching has died. i now take you to the second best pig at watching'. the documentary went tn another pig that was afloat on like an ice floe in an ocean, staring at something offscreen. then the ice floe sank and the narrator said 'oh dear. we now take you to the third best pig at watching' and it just continued like that with various pigs in dangerous situations staring off-camera until they died, to which the narrator reacted with mild disappointment and taking the camera to the next pig. this just kept happening until i woke up

[calamitys-child]

People: I know that you want tattoos but you shouldn’t get them as soon as you’re eighteen!! You need to be sure that you’ll still want them when you’re grown up!!!! You might like a tattoo now but you can’t be sure you’ll still like it in your forties or fifties!!!!!!!!

Me, a person who has trouble visualising the future and literally cannot imagine themself living past about 25: okay…

[swordshapedleaves]

Hey op did you ever get the tattoo? Do you still like it?

[calamitys-child]

Fuck this is a wild one to see again, especially as someone now about 3 weeks away from officially making it past 25:

- I remember 2016 as being the worst year of my fucking life, in ways it’s gonna be hard to beat and the universe better not fuckin try

- since 2016, I’ve gotten a degree in a field that I love, been in a toxic relationship, had a toxic relationship end, been in a kind but ultimately not what we wanted relationship, had that end too, been single for a while, learned I’m trans, started hrt, gotten in a different lovely proudly queer relationship which I’m very happy in, made friends, lost friends, mourned friends, made new friends, gotten a job I liked, made manager, quit, got another job that lets me do a bit of good in the world, gotten top surgery, travelled, swam shirtless in the warm sea, written half a dozen zines and a poetry chapbook, performed poetry, accepted I’m probably never gonna make a career out of poetry alone, gone on and off and on again various mental health treatments and hopeful that this one will stick for as long as it needs to, walked probably a thousand or more cumulative miles wearing through the soles of half a dozen or more boots, laughed, cried, rested, collapsed from fatigue, crawled back out again

- if I could reach back to the kid making this post… buddy, I’m not gonna say it’ll all be alright, because that’s pat and trite and diminishes the very real struggles of growing. But we cut our hair and change our name and grow a beard and we’re not Quite out of the shitty little hometown but we’re getting there. I think you’d like the jumper I’m wearing. I saw mcr live and I know you’d kill me with jealousy for it. I took you with me, as much as I could. I still think you’ve got great taste in movies, and I’ve got some new recs for you.

- I now have 4 tattoos! None of them are the ones I thought I’d have, but that’s okay. The first one is not an art style I’d choose today but the design holds a ton of meaning for me, and always will, and I don’t regret it. The other 3 are a more cohesive art style - maybe I could have changed the placement or tweaked some details, but I don’t need to, they’re part of me now and they’re beautiful for it. I’m excited to get more and to live long enough to reflect on them like this again and again and again

- 25 felt impossibly old to you. Right now it feels both impossibly old and impossibly young. I’m glad I got to see what it brought me, even the shit parts

- I’ll put aside a slice of cake next month in your honour

[swordshapedleaves]

I’m glad I asked. I’m glad you’ve made it this far. I hope we both make it another 10 years and it keeps being worth it.

[skylessknights]

[miseria-fortes-viros]

your weird obsession with moral purity is degrading your critical thinking skills and poisoning your ability to empathize with other people btw

[miseria-fortes-viros]

your weird obsession with moral purity is degrading your critical thinking skills and poisoning your ability to empathize with other people btw

[miraclemaya]

MADOKA - “I’m thinking I’ll order a beef udon bowl, since Sayaka-chan told me that they make those really good here. What about you, Homura-chan?”

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY - Food needs can be met with an expenditure of 1.23% of total magic. Proceed?

GRIEF SYNDROME [Trivial: Success] - MAGICAL GIRLS THAT IGNORE FOOD ARE OFTEN MORE PRONE TO GRIEF ACCUMULATION. MY ARMS WILL ALWAYS BE WAITING FOR YOU, HOMURA, BUT IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE HAPPY UNTIL THAT DAY. BESIDES, MADOKA WANTS TO EAT WITH YOU. DISAPPOINTING HER WILL FILL YOUR SOUL GEM WITH A HALF A GRIEF SEED WORTH OF DESPAIR.

TEA WITH MAMI-SAN [Legendary: Success] - Sayaka says the beef bowl is good? Maybe go for that. She knows Madoka’s tastes better than anyone — and if Madoka likes something, you will certainly like it too.

“I will have the same as you, Madoka.”

“I’m not feeling very hungry.”

[CALL AND RESPONSE - Medium 10] Come up with an order on your own

CALL AND RESPONSE - [Medium: Failure] - You’ve eaten here before, you’re pretty sure. Was it Loop 32… no, Loop 12..? No, wait, it was on the first Friday of Loop 68. No… that’s not right. You’ve never eaten here before. In a stunning display of incompetence, you have taken Madoka on a date to a restaurant that you have never experienced before.

THE ANGEL - It’s okay, Homura-chan! I don’t mind if you haven’t eaten here before. Remember what real me said, Sayaka thinks this place is good! And even if it’s not perfect, that’s okay, just spending time with you makes me happy.

THE CRAVEN MASSES - Sayaka has raised her blade against Madoka 16 times before. You should leave this restaurant and kill her. It would only take-

FALLING SAND [Trivial: Success] - 1528 seconds on average.

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY - It can be cut down to 1243 seconds with an expenditure of 2.7% of total magic pool.

THE CRAVEN MASSES - Exactly. Do it in front of her family and make it bloody. Kyoko would likely try and stop you, but even she isn’t immune to bullets. And if Mami comes for revenge, well, you know the exact words you could say that would destroy her, don’t you?

THE ANGEL - A-Ah, I think that’s a bit of an extreme reaction, Homura-chan!

HUMAN SHELL - Your heart rate is increasing. Stop that. You have absolute control over your flesh. Act like it.

MOE INSTINCT - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT ARE WE GOING TO ORDER MADOKA IS GOING TO LAUGH AT US

WITCH’S NIGHT - Is… is this a trap? Walpurgis may be defeated, but you know that the stage witch never truly ceases its show. Perhaps this restaurant is a part of the stage?

MADOKA - “Um, are you okay, Homura-chan?”

MOE INSTINCT - OH GOD SHE HATES US

“I’m going to kill myself.”

“I’m so sorry. Would killing myself make you feel more comfortable?”

Isn’t there anything else you can say?

YOU - Isn’t there anything else you can say?

THE DEVIL - Come on, Homura. It’s high time you do it. Really, this is just another in the long, long chain of failures that make up your life. The only way to fix it is to kill yourself.

CLOCKWORK PRECISION - Target: Located on right ring finger. Target is not moving. Chance to hit: High. Plan: Retrieve pistol. Aim pistol at ring. Pull trigger.

THE ANGEL - Oh my god, please do not do that!

"I am going to kill myself."

"I'm so sorry, I'll kill myself if it makes you feel better."

"I'm so sorry. Should I kill myself?"

There. There has to be better options than this.

YOU - There. There has to be better options than this.

MOE INSTINCT - I CAN’T TAKE IT ANY MORE. THE ONLY RECOURSE IS IMMEDIATE SUICIDE. THAT’S THE ONLY WAY MADOKA WILL LOVE YOU AGAIN.

"I am going to kill myself."

"I'm so sorry, I'll kill myself if it makes you feel better."

"I'm so sorry. Should I kill myself?"

YOU - “I’m going to kill myself.”

MADOKA - Madoka’s face twists, her eyebrows raising slightly in shock. Whatever response she was expecting, it was clearly not this.

GRIEF SYNDROME [Challenging: Success] - IF MADOKA WAS A MAGICAL GIRL, HER SOUL GEM WOULD FILL BY A QUARTER HEARING YOU SPEAK THOSE WORDS. THAT WAS CRUEL, HOMURA.

MOE INSTINCT - WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?

MADOKA - “I’m so sorry, Homura-chan. Please don’t do that. I… I really care about you and so does everyone else.” Madoka’s eyes fill with tears as she speaks. She hugs you.

DAMAGED MORALE -4

CALL AND RESPONSE [Trivial: Success] - Quick, tell her you were making an edgy joke that didn’t land. You’ve gotten away with that before, you’re pretty sure.

SPACE-TIME MASSACRE - Twelve quarter shifts left and two up from your current space-time position, and there’s a Japan that it’s actually illegal to not commit suicide in.

FALLING SAND - You’ve been seated for 5 minutes and 32.5 seconds already and still have not ordered. Mami has requested your presence at her apartment in 3.4 hours from now.

TEA WITH MAMI-SAN - She wants to help you find a hobby. She’s really worried about you, you know.

STRINGS OF FATE - You can feel Madoka’s heart beat in sync with yours as she holds you. Everything will be alright, as long as you follow the beat.

THE ANGEL - Yeah! It’s okay Homura-chan. Just explain what’s been going on and Madoka will understand. And then order something, it’s important to eat a full meal!

YOU - “Ah, sorry Madoka. I was… overwhelmed with choice, and my… brain spit out the first thing it thought. I am not planning on killing myself.”

MADOKA - “Um, I think we should probably talk about this more, Homura-chan….”

CALL AND RESPONSE - Ask her a question to change the topic. It’s worked in three different loops, it should work here.

RATIONALITY COMPLEX [Trival: Success] - Ask her if she wants to try anything else and then order that for yourself. This will accomplish your goal of deciding on what to order, as well as showing Madoka that her desires are important to you.

YOU - “Is there anything else you’d like to try, Madoka? We can share our dishes.”

MADOKA - “Uh, okay Homura-chan. Maybe get some tempura?”

Order 10000 yen worth of tempura

Order 1000 yen worth of tempura

Order 100 yen worth of tempura

YOU - “Excuse me waiter, give me 10000 yen worth of tempura.”

HUMAN SHELL - Calories and magic are just two different types of fuel. Feed me and control me.

THE ANGEL - T-that’s probably too much, Homura-chan. Maybe you can sneak some into your cool shield, though!

MADOKA - Madoka doesn’t say anything, but her eyes do bulge out slightly. She gives you a gentle pat on the shoulder and smiles at you.

HEALED MORALE +1

RATIONALITY COMPLEX - Displays of wealth like this can broadcast value to potential mates. This will increase your value in Madoka’s eyes, furthering along one of your goals.

THE ANGEL - I think you should just focus on enjoying the food, Homura-chan. Take a break, everything is okay.

Thank you.

Why don’t you hate me?

YOU - Why don’t you hate me?

THE ANGEL - Because I care about you, Homura-chan! And besides, you hate yourself far too much already.

Thank you.

THE ANGEL - You’re welcome! Now, please, enjoy your meal with real Madoka. She loves you a lot too, you know.

[burntcopper]

things english speakers know, but don’t know we know.

[windycityteacher-deactivated202]

WOAH WHAT?

[ice-light-red-deactivated201611]

That is profound. I noticed this by accident when asked about adjectives by a Japanese student. She translated something from Japanese like “Brown big cat” and I corrected her. When she asked me why, I bluescreened.

[moved--306389]

What the fuck, English isn’t even my first language and yet I picked up on that. How the fuck. What the fuck.

[exomoon]

Reasoning: It Just Sounds Right

[arkthepieking]

Oooh, don’t like that. Nope, I do not even like that a little bit.  That’s parting the veil and looking at some forbidden fucking knowledge there.

[canthinkofaurl-deactivated20221]

How did I even learn this language wtf

[titaniumelemental]

I had to read “brown big cat” like three times before my brain stopped interpreting it as “big brown cat”

[arjan-de-lumens]

I’m kinda reading “brown big cat” as “brown (big cat)”, that is, a “big cat” - like a tiger or lion or other felid of similar size - that happens to be brown. “Big brown cat”, on the other hand, sounds more like a brown cat that’s just a bit bigger than a regular housecat - like a bobcat or a maine coon cat or something like that.

[the-real-seebs]

yeah, a brown big cat is almost certainly a puma. a big brown cat is probably a maine coon.

[whetstonefires]

yeah, if you put the adjectives out of order you wind up implying a compound noun, which is presumably why we have this rule; we stripped out so much inflection over the centuries word order now dictates a huge amount of our grammar

[delphinidin4]

Just looked up why we do this and one of the first lines in this article is, “Adjectives are where the elves of language both cheat and illumine reality.” so I know it’s a good article.

Things this article has taught me:

This same order of adjectives more or less applies to languages around the world.  “It’s possible that these elements of universal grammar clarify our thought in some way,” says Barbara Partee, a professor emeritus of linguistics and philosophy at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Yet when the human race tacitly decided that shape words go before color words go before origin words, it left no record of its rationale.

One theory is that the more specific term always falls closer to the noun. But that doesn’t explain everything in adjective order.

Another theory is that as you get closer to the noun, you encounter adjectives that denote more innate properties. In general, nouns pick out the type of thing we’re talking about, and adjectives describe it,” Partee told me. She observes that the modifiers most likely to sit right next to nouns are the ones most inclined to serve as nouns in different contexts: Rubber duck. Stone wall.

Rules are made to be broken. Switching up the order of adjectives allows you to redistribute emphasis. (If you wish to buy the black small purse, not the gray one, for instance, you can communicate your priorities by placing color before size).  Scrambling the order of adjectives also helps authors achieve a sense of spontaneity, of improvising as they go. Wolfe discovers such a rhythm, a feeling-his-way quality, when he discusses his childhood recollection of “brown tired autumn earth” and a “flat moist plug of apple tobacco.”

Brain scans have discovered that your brain has to work harder to read adjectives in the “wrong” order.

TL;DR: No one knows why we do this adjective thing but it’s pretty hardwired in.

[cuzosu-blog]

@deadcatwithaflamethrower Linguistics tidbit.

[thecsjones]

Since it’s never credited, this is from Mark Forsyth’s The Elements of Eloquence, and just one reason why I think it’s required reading for anyone interested in prosecraft. Every page is this useful.