It's the Royal Academy of Art Young Artist's Summer Show. One of my favourite exhibitions of the year. Like. Not only are the older kids insanely talented, the younger ones' artist statements will just punch you right in the face.
Sorry I haven't posted this month, but the heat waves (and UTI and antibiotics) got me. Now I'm trying to remember how to start drawing again 😅 On the bright side, I spent the whole month lying in bed watching old TV shows 😁
people will say “they’re only friends” and then show me two people who would crawl through broken glass to hear the other laugh once. two people who have memorized each other’s coffee orders, fears, childhood stories, and emergency contacts. two people who would haunt each other’s houses as ghosts. be serious.
Just an FYI—the original intention of this post was to challenge the way people say only friends, as though friendship is somehow lesser than other forms of love. As if being deeply known, cherished, and chosen by another person could ever be a small thing. Normalize profound platonic love. Some of the most fulfilling, transformative, and enduring relationships we will ever have are friendships. 🫶🏼
i am so sickkkkkkkk of people seeing misogyny perpetuated by a man and automatically going "well SOMEONE'S closeted" omfg you know that men hate women even when theyre attracted to them right??? why are you more interested in making fun of gay people than hating misogynists. you fucking freak
Concrete Cowboy (2020) is genuinely the best horse kid movie ever made. All the classic tropes are there. But it's through a Black lens showing modern Black Philadelphia horse culture.
The stable is a real stable and many of the actors are from that stable, some telling their real stories. It's about the kids they keep going for in the face of gentrification and racist city pressure.
To hold onto hope and something bigger than themselves. And a legacy white people have tried so hard to erase but couldn't.
Where The Harder They Fall (2021) takes it's characters from Black cowboys of the old West and tells a fictional tale with them, Concrete Cowboy takes a look at their descendents and how many off those battles are still being fought.
The characters have so much depth. The opening conflict is emotionally gutting and you can feel our young protagonist's life crumbling and where he's coming from. The dad truely feels like an absentee hardass that isn't a safe haven. But we get to see them change each other through the lessons of horses.
I found the end very powerful and how the fiction came to a close, but the real battle was still being fought. Viewers have the power to change the outcome through their support and determine what happens to these people if they've come to care about them.
Anyway I think more video game quests should make you uncomfortable and guilty and mislead you and corner you between a rock and a hard place and offer hollow victories. There's nothing more annoying than quest writing that scrambles to assure you that you're niceys and good and nothing you put your hand on can ever have negative consequences. "You cannot save everyone" and I cheer and whoop etc.
idk man sometimes i like it when video game writers are allowed to plan a series of events that happen in a specific order and affect each other in turn to become an overarching narrative, and i don’t mind trusting those writers to take me through those events in the order that is emotionally effective. i don’t really care if a game forces me to go through the forest area first before i can attempt the icy area because maybe there’s things that happen in the forest area that inform later scenes in the icy area. maybe we don't need more superficial player choice open world concepts if it comes at the cost of the ability to write a story with actual significant plot events and character development in each section
Nearly 14,000 words later, and it's finally finished: My own take on a Dragon Age modification of DnD 5E! It is created with thought for those who are pre-existing fans of Dragon Age, but potentially new to Dungeons and Dragons.
In this handbook, you will find everything you need for a TTRPG in the Dragon Age setting:
4 lineages (human, dwarf, elf, qunari)
3 classes (warrior, rogue, mage)
5 specializations for each class
16 sample backgrounds
And more!
There are three main reasons I decided to put my lore knowledge to work and make this:
The official Dragon Age Tabletop game is just not that user friendly, in my experience with it; especially for anyone new to TTRPGs. This book I have put together is based on Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, which is a system that far more people are familiar with, and therefore is a) well known by many already, and b) easier to access further information on for those new to it.
While I was able to find a couple versions of similar modifications other people have made, those versions were out of date with the lore, and/or did not meet my personal taste/standards.
I love being a Dungeon Master, and I want to run more games set in Thedas in the future. But like I said, the official rules just aren't good for me, and I would prefer something like... well, this!
This handbook is free to use by anyone who wants it. (You are also, of course, free to make changes for your personal games as you like.)
My only ask is that you please reblog this post so more people can find it. I worked really hard on this, after all. Thank you!
Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday in response to rising pressure from student-led protests.
‘Cockroach Movement’ Forces Out India’s Education Minister
"Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday amid mounting pressure from the “Cockroach Movement,” which demanded major government reforms—starting with his departure. Student activists accused Pradhan of failing to safeguard a competitive medical school exam, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), after authorities concluded that its contents had been leaked online. ...
Without accepting fault, [Education Minister Pradhan] explained that he had agreed to step down in order to prevent “anti-national forces” from exploiting the upheaval.
Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the CJP, celebrated the resignation with fellow protesters in New Delhi on Saturday.
“It's a victory for the people of India,” Dipke said to the crowd. He later posted an image of India’s Constitution on social media, with the caption: “Thank you.” ...
On the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian President Droupadi Murmu appointed Pralhad Joshi—who already oversees the ministries of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, along with New and Renewable Energy—to oversee the Ministry of Education “in addition to his existing portfolio,” which is a typical arrangement in India following a Cabinet vacancy and does not preclude a later permanent appointment...
CJP Spokesperson Saurav Das said in an interview with local media ANI following the president’s announcement that the party members will be meeting the new education minister “very soon.” ...
What Comes Next for the CJP?
The CJP established its list of demands on May 16. In addition to calling for Pradhan’s resignation, the CJP asked for compensation of 10 million rupees ($104,000) for each student who died by suicide following the leak.
They also sought greater legislative oversight of the educational system, gender equity in government roles, a fully independent media, and certain reforms to the electoral and political system—such as creating a 20-year ban on politicians switching parties before seeking election.
Adding to those mandates, the CJP last week asked that the central government drop any potential charges against protesters, after claiming that several had been “illegally detained” by police.
Following Pradhan’s resignation, representatives from the CJP met with officials from the Indian government to discuss the rest of the party’s demands. In a press conference following the meeting, Das said on Saturday that the negotiations had been successful.
"All our demands have been accepted,” he said, without elaboration. “We request the protesters to withdraw immediately and return home peacefully."
The CJP added during the press conference on Saturday that representatives from the movement would meet with officials again in four weeks to work on broader reforms. Its spokesperson told local media that the fight for a transparent educational system is far from over.
He said that members of the CJP conveyed to officials that if the issues are not addressed, the protesters will reconvene “and demand accountability.”
-via TIME, July 25, 2026. Non-paywall version here via MSN, July 25, 2026
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