archive of interesting things @personalbookmarksdni - Tumblr Blog

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#.doc - writing advice

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#.htm - things that would improve my life in general

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#.pdf - reading for fun

#.rar - recipes

#.txt - reading for information

#.doc #.exe #.fun #.htm #.iso #.mov #.mp3 #.pdf #.rar #.txt

lesvegas

A few years ago while trying to find ways to commit suicide as painlessly as possible, I came across a PDF of Dr. Paul Quinnett's The Forever Decision. Thinking it might go into actual methods of suicide (I read an article once that actually did that and was trying to find it again) I started to read it, and I think I only got about two pages in before I was crying too much to actually see the words.

I downloaded the PDF to my hard drive and I open it again whenever I'm feeling too suicidal to do much else, but not enough to start booking a ride to the hospital. And every time without fail I only go up to a few pages before backing off and choosing to live another day just because suicide suddenly seems even more unbearable than whatever the hell upset me in the first place.

All the book really does is [I'm pulling a summary from GoodReads here as, again, I've read no more than 5 pages] "discusses the social aspects of suicide, the right to die, anger, loneliness, depression, stress, hopelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, the consequences of a suicide attempt, and how to get help."

But it also starts with the author kindly asking the reader to complete the book before going through with anything, and for some reason I'm compelled to really just try to read it all before finalizing everything. Despite not yet completing it (hopefully never will) I think I can safely say it's saved my life at least a few times now.

It's intentionally legal to copy and redistribute this book to keep it as accessible as possible, and it's very easy to find, but here's a link for it anyways.

tankie-transfeminist

The fact that you have read a thousand Tumblr posts does not mean you are an authority on transfeminism btw. Even if you're transfem, in fact especially if you're transfem, if you want to be an authority on transfeminism, you need to actually read the theory, and no, just reading Whipping Girl does not count. You may be an authority on transfem experiences, but those are not one and the same as transfeminist theory and you all need to recognize this fact.

If you want a starting place, I will once again reccomend Emma Heaney's introduction to Feminism Against Cisness, because I think it's fantastic, but you need to actually dig into the literature of both feminism generally and transfeminism specifically. You can't just read from all the people you agree with either, you need to read people you outright disagree with, like Koyama and Irigaray, people you think were partially incorrect, like Butler or Beauvoir, and people who were correct in arguments that are no longer taking up space in the discourse, like Prosser or Rubin. (obviously all of these people had a variety of worldviews and opinions, and could be switched around and still fit, these examples are illustrative)

In addition to all of that, you need to have a handle on materialism, preferably on Marxism or at least Marxian thought, and on other forms of oppression, especially racism and imperialism because holy shit some of yall are racist as shit, as well as saneism and ableism, due to its strong overlap with transphobia. This is hard, and takes real work, but transfeminism has to be placed within a larger framework of systemic oppression or it will never become force for liberation.

If you don't or can't do this, that's okay, it's not a moral failing, not everyone can or should be an expert on everything, and you can and should still be a transfeminist, but you need to understand that the actual extent of your understanding of transfeminist theory is that of a layperson.

reachartwork

hypnotic trance "rhythm" game

Zoneout is a trance-centric "rhythm" "game" designed with the neuropsychology of hypnosis in mind. Please mind the warnings on the front page. This game is not recommended for those with photosensitive epilepsy.

Please trance responsibly. Also, please mind the warning on the front page. Thank you.

reachartwork

the world's first hypnokink itch.io game to come with a works cited, so you know i mean fucking business.

reachartwork

a real trance state does not involve going totally blank and empty. getting 100% checked out is something that has to be worked for and generally done with practice and effort (ironically enough). if you went through and felt calm and nice afterwards, and your eyes are doing something weird, you almost certainly went through a full trance. blankness is not indicative of trance or lack of trance. i'm no thoughts head empty all the time and that's just from the brain damage. :)

a-book-dragon

Rather than distinctly male or female, the human brain is much more like the heart, kidneys and lungs – basically the same no matter the sex of the body it's in.

rb to make a biological essentialist mad <3

liminalweirdo

“This collapse is a telltale sign of a problem known as publication bias. Small, early studies which found a significant sex difference were likelier to get published than research finding no male-female brain difference.”

mckitterick

the notes on this are toxic - to help clear up any misunderstanding, here’s the actual science paper:

With the explosion of neuroimaging, differences between male and female brains have been exhaustively analyzed. Here we synthesize three dec

in short: brains are brains

reasonsforhope

Putting this on my good news blog, because yeah, you know what?

Proof that sexism, transphobia, and bioessentialism are biologically incorrect is absolutely a reason for hope - for society and for the world

2productive

sirenofthegreenbanks

this is from "research as a leisure activity" by celine nguyen, publs. on stubstack in 2024. it's a very good read

syn4k

burning text gif maker

heart locket gif maker

minecraft advancement maker

minecraft logo font text generator w/assorted textures and pride flags

windows error message maker (win1.0-win11)

FromSoftware image macro generator (elden ring Noun Verbed text)

image to 3d effect gif

vaporwave image generator

microsoft wordart maker (REALLY annoying to use on mobile)

you're welcome

mmelete

carby

whyenn-reader

if you're into clothing DIY you better follow this guy right now

some of the most unique and informative videos I've seen in a long time

xxgotdyingdisorderxx

Ooooh thank you for the new channel!! I hope to make myself a battle jacket in a couple years!!

animateez

NOTE!!!!

The channel is now called “Genesys Upcycled”. It’ll still come up if you type in the regular name, but the first thing to come up is some AI company or whatever

taigacryptid

decentralize and clean up your life!!!

EDIT: THIS IS A CARRD NOW! it's updated and organized!!

use overdrive, libby, hoopla, cloudlibrary, and kanopy instead of amazon and audible.

use firefox or librewolf (open-source fork of firefox) instead of chrome or opera (both are made with chromium, which blocks functionality for ad-blockers. firefox isn't based on chromium).

use mega instead of google drive

get rid of bloatware

use libreoffice instead of microsoft office suite

get free stuff with the help of r/FREEMEDIAHECKYEAH, r/piracy and r/roms

use trakt (for shows and movies), letterboxd (just movies), or TMB instead of IMDB (owned by amazon).

use storygraph instead of goodreads (owned by amazon).

use darkpatterns to find mobile game with no ads or microtransactions

use mediahuman or cobalt to download music, or support your favorite artists directly through bandcamp

make youtube bearable by using mtube, newpipe, or the unhook extension on chrome, firefox, or microsoft edge

use search for a cause, ecosia, or ocean hero to support the environment instead of google

use thriftbooks to buy new or used books (they also have manga, textbooks, home goods, CDs, DVDs, and blurays)

use flashpoint to play archived online flash games

find books, movies, games, etc. on the internet archive! for starters, here's a bunch of David Attenborough documentaries and all of the Animorphs books

burn your music onto cds

use pdf24 (available online or as a desktop app) instead of adobe

use thunderbird, mailfence, countermail, edison mail, or tuta instead of gmail

remove bloatware on windows PC, macOS, and iOS X

remove bloatware on samsung X

use pixelfed instead of instagram or meta

use project gutenberg for free public domain books, and librivox for public domain books and audiobooks

use the seal app (android only) to download video and audio

use ellipsus instead of microsoft word or google docs

use mastodon instead of twitter

use peertube to create a network of small video hosting providers (disclaimer: not a 1:1 alternative to youtube)

use threema and signal for encrypted communication, on mobile and desktop

use qwant and startpage for secure internet browsers

use syncthing to securely transfer files between devices

learn how to jailbreak your kindle/ereader if you have one (wiki and video walkthrough)

use riseup’s email and VPN for secure communication (aimed towards activists)

use cryptpad and collabora instead of the microsoft office suite

use google takeout to export the data on your google account

use library extension to look for books on online stores and find them at your library

remove paywalls with removepaywalls

install the open-source adblocker ublock origin

install sponsorblock to skip sponsored segments on youtube videos

use bookfinder to look for the cheapest available listings of books, including textbooks

learn a language through mango (duolingo laid off some of its employees and now relies on AI translations) for free with a library card or through your school

edit photos with photopea

edit pdfs with foxit and sumatrapdf

download music with doubledouble

take notes offline and collaborate securely with obsidian

for android tv, use smarttube and cloudstream (ad-free, open-source)

change your OS to linux

winderlylandchime

I’m seeing a bunch of posts that make me think most USAmericans don’t know about The No Surprises Act.

It was passed in 2021 (thank you Biden) and essentially states that if you don’t have insurance or your insurance doesn’t cover a service you need (or want) you are entitled to a Good Faith Estimate of the cost of care. (If your insurance does cover the service, you should be able to estimate the cost of care based on your deductible and co-pay.)

As a healthcare provider who does not accept any insurance, I am very careful to not violate The No Surprises Act. Why? Because for every penny more than $400 that the Good Faith Estimate was “off” (or if it wasn’t provided), you are entitled to a refund for that amount.

Y’all. Ask for a Good Faith Estimate. Get it in writing. Compare it to what you are paying. If you are not provided an estimate or if it’s wrong by more than $400, demand a refund.

brosser-les-dents

For my USA followers.

Remember to brush and floss, my loves!

charl0ttan

tits up broom between the asscheeks anon here, i do have more tips on being like societally feminine (idk how else to say it, i wasn’t girly as a girl and became girly as a woman and learned how to present more femininely)(please if this is in any way offensive tell me or just delete/don’t post the ask and i’ll take the hint and shut up)

so basically it all revolves around face framing and that’s: eyebrows, eyes, lips pretty much

ok so for eyebrows like the easiest thing is to get little scissors and trim a bit of the hair that sits closer to the nose. so that bit that grows like upward, and you trim it to align with the rest of the eyebrow. i found that my face got femininer after i plucked more of an arch into my eyebrow but this depends on the face absolutely. also eyebrow pencils (the skinnier the betyet) -> use them sparingly in the front, more along the brow, again sparingly towards the tail of the brow; you can also go in with the slightest bit of concealer on a flat brush to carve out the eyebrow shape more

also in pictures!! and girls won’t say this but this is how it is: raise your eyebrows with the outer muscles of your face if that makes sense, so not like you’re surprised, because those muscles are in the centre of your forehead. you should try to lift them almost as if you had some tape on the arch of your eyebrow and pulled on it upward. because this opens up your eyes and makes them bigger

for eyes, getting a taupe/brown eye pencil (pencil not liner) you can go along the outer V of the eye with it to give it dimension and elongate them so kinda like: 👁️> this thing i made pink, you go in the waterline along the outer > with the brown pencil. waterline, upper lid and lower lid, and not outside the eye. mascara works best if you get the brush, put it at the roots of your lashes and as you move toward the tips, you zig zag back and forth to deposit product onto the lashes. and brown looks really natural if you’re going for that no makeup look. and another truck of the trade, an eyeshadow shade about 1 shade lighter than your actual skin tone, maybe with a bit of shimmer, you take it on your ring finger because it gives you the most delicate application, and you put a bit in the inner corner of your eye, and a tiny bit in the center of your lid, just tapping it it. this opens up the eye and draws attention to it

lip liner in a shade just slightly darker than your skin, and after applying it you blur it out slightly with your finger + a bit of satin lipstick/gloss will make your lips look bigger and juicier

for makeup -> spf always!! and much better than a foundation is a concealer palette and a fluffy concealer brush. and the concealer palette should come with several colors and you put them on your face according to color theory, like for me, i have undereye bags, so i do a pinkish color there, to cancel the purple, and then around the mouth it’s like grey, and i go with a bit of yellow-peach

nails!! cuticle care i think is the one thing that really feminises a hand if that makes sense. you can push them with an orange stick and then use a cuticle dissolver solution(personally i cut them but i’m eastern european), and in general using a scrub and hand cream will soften them really well. also press on nails are so cute these days, i wear them all the time bc getting manis is expensive and you can get very whimsical ones nowadays

for long hair sleeping with it in a loose braid is very good and will help protect it; if you use the flat iron always use heat protectant and an oil after (the make lightweight oils too if you find them a sensory nightmare)

and also perfume lasts a lot more if you apply it on lotion (unscented or very light)

i hope these help ppl feel more idk pampered and elegant and feminine

i don’t mean to preach, i was taught and told these things and i want to pass the knowledge to other women (especially the secrets!! because nobody talks about them!!)

have a wonderful day, you have a wonderful blog

amazing tysm^-^ love learning more abt how to stealthmax. cutewave. girltbing. yay<3

basileater

ive always been willing to die on the hill of cis women being able to beat cis men in sports so nobody will ever ever make me concerned about trans women in womens sports even if i was delusional enough to believe that was a comparable situation. do i think a cis woman could beat a trans woman in fucking pickleball or whatever? Buddy I think a cis woman could beat a cis male bodybuilder in sports. You will not get me

basileater

many people in these notes are revealing how they truly don't believe afab people are capable of beating amab people at Any sports due to their fragile bird bones delicate skin and and trying to make it seem like i'm feeding afab people to lions in the coliseum. you people are not only wrong but more importantly you are Stupidt

postmodernmulticoloredcloak

whenever female athletes in a sport start getting similar resources to the men (funding and training comparable to the men's ever since childhood) the difference in performance between the men and the women starts decreasing.

if female athletes are not paid enough to make a living of their sport/require to have a side job for healthcare or retirement funds, they won't be able to reach the same level of athleticism as the men, as they will spend less time and energy training.

if female athletes start getting high pay/professional levels of training later in life compared to the boys', they won't reach the same level of athleticism as male athletes who have been training at high levels from a younger age.

if the best facilities and best coaches go to the men, the women won't reach the same level as the men.

if girls who do sports are not taken as seriously as boys are (do not receive special permits to leave school earlier to go training, etc), the women won't reach the same level as the men.

as long as female athletes and male athletes have different levels of opportunities, we won't actually know if there is a substantial "natural" difference in average across men's and women's performances.

i mean, look at professional ballet dancers. those girls undergo hellish training since a very young age and ballet obviously does not consider female dancers a lesser category of dancers. look at what female ballet dancers do with their bodies while pretty much starving themselves. what do you think a woman can do if she receives rigorous high-quality training since childhood and also eats?

screambirdscreaming

As per prev tags - Throwing Like a Brazilian: On Ineptness and a Skill-shaped Body, by Greg Downey

Is the most thoughtful and coherent interrogation I've read of how physical skills are developed, and how the development of skills is located in cultural expectation, teaching, support, and self-concept, as well as physically shaping the body through practice.

It spins off from a response to a feminist touchpoint essay of the 1980s, "Throwing Like a Girl" by Iris Marion Young, which examines the stiffness and lack of whole-body engagement in girls asked to throw a projectile, and relates this to the pressures of self constraint and self-conscious over-awareness of the body forced on girls.

Downey approaches the topic from noticing that the Brazilian capoeiristas he's training with - who are extraordinarily physically skilled across a range of specific skillsets - are not very good at throwing or catching projectiles. And, more specifically, that the way in which they throw when asked to - stiff, without whole body engagement - exactly matches what Young (and others) have characterized as "throwing like a girl".

Which means that it's not (or not only) a function of self-consciousness, or of an undeveloped sense of body integration - rather, it's the way people throw at the very early stages of learning to throw a projectile.

Which makes the question, then, what is it about the author's own (North American) society, that produces such a disparity in learning experiences between boys and girls - such that even girls who have nominally been taught to throw a ball, have broadly not actually been taught past the very first steps, by ages where their male peers have?

And how is it that this difference in experiences is so obscured, that people fail to recognize the points at which it occurs?

The essay delves into the specifics of these questions with a lot more depth and nuance than I can summarize here. Overhand throwing is a complex skill which is developed in many stages, using this process as a case study, Downey looks at factors ranging from access to coaching through difficult parts of the process, to gendered differences in the opportunity for rowdy, whole-body play.

I really reccomend reading the whole essay. I can't find a fully online version of the whole text, but the website "academia.edu" will let you download it with a free account (use a junk email, they send spam.)