Here There Be Things

Elizabeth, USA, she/her/hers

[moniquill]

[auroraapplepie22]

The power grids literally can't handle AI data centers. Just look at Denver. They have more than one data center, at least one record breaking data center. They are in a really bad drought and they completely drained an entire reservoir a few months ago, killing all the fish, the ecosystem and all the tourism and water sports for said reservoir. Not only that, just a couple months ago, the power went out AT THE AIRPORT, and it was out ALL FUCKING DAY. So DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT had an avoidable BLACKOUT, grounding flights and probably costing millions, for an ENTIRE DAY. Denver International Airport is like LaGuardia or LAX for the Midwest. A very common layover spot for flights from all over the country. So, kind of a big deal to have a power outage lasting an entire day there.

Roving blackouts and devastating droughts now coming to a town near you!

[kuttithevangu]

I just saw someone make the assertion that “everyone on booktok has low literacy, and romantasy books are bad because they’re catering to those people”

And this was meant to be a BAD thing. A problem. But if you actually believed that a massive population of low-literacy adults were buying books, becoming obsessed with them, and discussing them at length… wouldn’t that be a great thing? That’s how one moves from low literacy to high literacy: by practicing reading

Unless you think low literacy is an immutable quality reflective of poor character, in which case YOU are actually the problem

[dragonastra]

Apologies, im going to go off on a slight tangent.

Now the take OP saw is objectively wrong. I don't think romantasy is inherently bad, and its definitely not bad BECAUSE it's catering to bad readers. There are a lot of issues with the publishing industry right now and i think a lot of authors aren't getting the editing they need to make better books. That's a different issue, not restricted to romantasy.

I sincerely hope these low-literacy readers gain literacy this way, but the odd thing ive noticed is they... DON'T seem to be practicing reading. As in, the book they read in their mind is not the book on the pages their eyeballs are seeing. It's bizarre. Like, to the point where theyre making recommendations and discussing aspects of the book.... and then like, my friend checks it out and reads it and is like "I have no idea where they got the idea that this size kink porn book was breaking down feminine stereotypes".

Anyway i just wanted to go off on a tangent. I distinctly remember fucking Twilight being hailed as a gateway book for the first several years it was out - like yeah it wasn't the best novel, but girlies got obsessed with it and it made them seek out more books. Which was undeniably a good thing.

It's just an extremely odd time to be in, where a lot of readers......... aren't actually reading.

[kuttithevangu]

I mean, the example you’ve given sounds like people who are in fact reading but don’t know enough about feminism to recognize when a book that SAYS it’s breaking down a stereotype is actually enforcing it. It takes time to build contextual knowledge and understanding of deeper implications in text.

All of the straight romantasy bestsellers SAY they’re female empowerment, their authors truly believe they’re female empowerment (after all, she’s writing her fantasy! As a woman!) but as far as I’m aware none of them are really challenging dominant gender roles or heteronormativity. It takes a more advanced reading skill to realize when someone is actively lying to themselves and to you about the content of a book.

If you were a good reader when you were very young, you’ve probably already made this step. You’ve had time to be in spaces where people actively dissect media they enjoy and criticize it. If someone is JUST NOW getting into reading as a hobby, then they haven’t had that time to build context and analytical skill.

Your friend’s experience describes people who ARE practicing reading. They just haven’t mastered it yet. What you describe as “not actually reading” is first of all what most people do when they’re just reading for fun, and secondly, a stage every high-literacy person also went through at some point in their lives, you just maybe don’t remember being in it because you are a statistical outlier

I promise the twilight girlies who went on to read other books ALSO weren’t reading twilight that critically. Until they were.

[bgm05]

ideas for discourse i came up with

having OCs is bourgeois

people who write erotica should be considered sex workers

only americans believe in aliens

it's misogynist to draw touhou characters with big boobs

the "godzilla" franchise is harmful because it teaches children that they should be afraid of lizards and other animals

feel free to argue about any of these, credit not needed but appreciated

[lawlesswoodsbooks]

Okay, but the second point IS true. Erotica authors/writers are sex workers.

[scienceoversad]

Now are the people who manufacture vibrators sex workers? Checkmate.

[maxxie-or-smth]

you've met me at a very "yeah i'm trying to work on that" time in my life

[amanitaphalloides]

I worry a little bit that people who refuse to learn about ai as a part of their anti ai position are going to be extremely unprepared to understand what’s actually scary about it and already have their digital literacy at risk tbh

[amanitaphalloides]

not that I am some genius in this regard but if you follow ai developments even slightly you might change the things you are most worried about. do people know the extent to which ai is already eating itself and how meaningless this is making swaths of the internet. do people know that there are plenty of random mid-sized companies today buying their employees’ likenesses to create digital clones and using these to make hundreds of videos. I am so much more worried about labor and surveillance and abuse than people becoming lazy about writing emails. and idk man I sort of like and respect people who are willfully ignorant about it as a way of minimizing its force in their lives and I am in some ways jealous but also when I see posts that basically still boil down to “chatgpt will never fool me” I am like 😭😭😭 for one thing not the only thing to be concerned about, for another thing I am really sorry but I don’t think you’re right

[tall]

[sound-overlord]

[sapphling]

"drug seeking" as a patient label one of the most dogshit stupid concepts of all time. fuuuck everybody look out this guy came in here expecting medical treatment. better watch out in case he goes to a restaurant and starts food seeking

[finarko]

I go to the doctor each time with the hope i have an easily identifiable and clearly defined issue where there is a standard drug with limited side effects for that i need to take for just a short while. But maybe that is a sign of me being dangerous and deceitful.

And if that's not possible i hope there is an effective treatment that i can easily do without a lot of hassle or big restrictions i just have to live with. But maybe that's just my unhealthy lifestyle talking.

[finarko]

Side rant because it´s kind of connected.

Doctors should really communicate whether they expect you to contribute or not. One day you walk into the appointment just a vague list of symptoms and the doctor asks you what you think is wrong. And all you can say is "I don´t know?? I did not go to medical school, you´re the professional, you tell me? Please?" and they write down unspecific viral infection and tell you to get some rest. And next time you do some research so you´re prepared to better describe your situation and you come in with a suspicion about what´s wrong that you ask them to confirm or rule out and suddenly you´re doctor google and overstepping? Please make up your mind.

[scienceoversad]

Phrase everything as specific questions. Tell them how often each symptom occurs. Tell them you have a family history if you want them to run a specific test.

[senatortedcruz]

This is what it’s all about. Saturday night. At home. Switching between the same 4 apps on my phone. Getting scared.

[ot3]

i wish you could exchange money for a product that functions as described but unfortunately this isn't allowed anymore

[beetlewoman]

adult backpack wearers of the world unite

[liarsblade]

*touching his extremely defined six pack* who did this to you.....

[invisiblefoxfire]

*gently lifting a cup of water to his lips* it's going to be okay. *choking back tears* just a few more sips and then we'll get you a sandwich...

[cloverandcrossbones]

Reblog to give a glass of water to every dehydrated actor with shrink wrapped abs whose life was endangered for a shirtless scene

[ispyspookymansion]

we used to say shrimp heaven now. Do you remember that? and we used to laughhhhh

[vulpinesaint]

i just really want trans women to know that they are loved and valued on this blog. i adore my sisters

[rylandgraces]

[the most low energy you have ever seen me] we’re about to go crazy mode

[laurens-german]

Have you seen a dog? You probably have.

ELF (2003) dir. Jon Favreau

[enki2]

[transcyberism]

ok but this unironically works. talk about how the working class is exploited and you can basically sell full-on marxism to your average republican if you do it right. all you have to do is avoid the words "Marx," "capitalism," "socialism," "communism," "means of production," etc - just use synonyms. say "big business" or "corporate shareholder interests" instead of "capitalists." say "a government that prioritizes the needs of the working people" instead of "socialism." it WORKS. I've DONE it. the hardest sell are usually things like social and racial equity, welfare, things like that, because people have been primed with the racist/classist idea that those things are somehow unfair - but you can get your foot in the door to getting them to buy into those too if you start with class issues. read up on your theory, make sure you REALLY understand your own ideology, because that will enable you to reword it and successfully sell it.

[zaprowsdower27]

the trick is that you need to care more about your cause than your slogans or brand. If your slogans have become toxic with your target audience you need to change them to what works, not try to redeem your precious lingo to spite tge enemy who tarnished it.

You'd think that an easy hurdle to clear, and yet...

[badolmen]

WARNING 18+

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