Too many things to even begin listing

Avid reader, cdrama and film enthusiast, dark academia. I write meta for my favourite shows. Blank blogs and porn blogs will be blocked.

[historyisntboring]

You’ve probably seen that post floating around Tumblr a while ago:

my favorite thing i’ve learned in college is that way back in ancient china there was this poet/philosopher guy who wrote this whole pretentious poem about how enlightened he was that was like “the eight winds cannot move me” blahblahblah and he was really proud of it so he sent it to his friend who lived across the lake and then his friend sends it back and just writes “FART” (or the ancient Chinese equivalent) on it and he was SO MAD he travels across the lake to chew his friend out and when he gets there his friend says “wow. the eight winds cannot move you, but one fart sends you across the lake”

So I got curious, and I did some research, and apparently, the poet was Su Dongpo, also known as Su Shi (8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), and he wasn’t just a poet - he was a writer, poet, painter, calligrapher, pharmacologist, gastronome, and a statesman of the Song dynasty.

That particular event happened while he was assigned to an official post at Guazhuo, and the “friend who lived across the lake” was actually Chan master Foyin, who was the master of a temple on the mountain on the opposite shore.

A translation of the poem Su Dongpo sent to master Foyin:

“Bowing with my highest respect To the deva of devas Whose fine light illuminates the whole universe, The eight winds cannot move me, For I am sitting upright on the golden purple lotus blossom.”

Foyin wrote “Pi” on the poem (”fart”, but also “nonsense”), and sent it back, and the rest is history.

[armchairsoapbox]

He (Su) also wrote this absolute banger of a poem, which I often think back on in these benighted times:

[Image ID: this contains the text of the poem “On the Birth of a Son” by Su Dongpo, also transliterated as Su Tung-Po. The translator is Arthur Waley. The text reads: “Families when a child is born / Hope it will turn out intelligent. / I, through intelligence / Having wrecked my whole life, / Only hope that the baby will prove / Ignorant and stupid. / Then he’ll be happy all his days / And grow into a cabinet minister.”]

[armchairsoapbox]

There are a few things that might get lost in the reblogs so I wanted to repost them here.

Many things are funny but also sad.

[vampireapologist-archive-deacti]

ppl are so annoying “you can’t paint ur bedroom pink you’re an adult” i did not spend my entire life waiting to grow up and control my life to paint my bedroom beige

[hojolove]

I had a sales woman in furniture store try and tell me not to buy a hot bubblegum pink loveseat because she wanted me to “think about the future”

Bitch, I am thinking about the future. I already got a hot bubblegum pink couch at home and now I need a loveseat to go with it.

[madgastronomer]

when I first bought my house, I announced my decision to paint my bedroom purple. I had wanted a purple bedroom for thirty damn years, you fucking bet I was gonna have one now. My friends decided, for some reason, that I meant what one of them referred to as “14 year old girl purple” (through what’s wrong with the colors a 14 year old girl chooses, I don’t know, even if they’re not what I want as an adult). They didn’t believe me until they saw the color on the actual wall, even thought they helped me pick out paints. My mother, meanwhile, decided to get worried that if I painted my bedroom a “dark purple”, it would be “depressing”. As if, with an entire house to live in, I would spend all my time in the bedroom, which I wanted to be dark because I would be sleeping in there. In the damn dark.

I had like one, maybe two friends who were all like FUCK YEAH YOU PAINT IT WHATEVER COLOR YOU WANT, PURPLE BEDROOMS ARE AWESOME.

But when they actualy saw the finished bedroom, every single one of them was like, “Oh yeah, that’s really pretty.” (Well, the ones who supported me from the beginning were more like WOOHOO.)

And the moral of the story is: Fuck ‘em, please yourself. Either they’ll come around, or you can safely ignore every question of taste they opine about for the rest of time.

[themintycupcake]

This applies to other adulting activities, too. When I was a kid, I decided that I wanted to have a wedding cake made of doughnuts. When I got older, I figured that I would be “mature” about it and get a traditional cake, which the older adults approved of. Now that I’m 25 and facing the possibility of actual marriage in the near future, I’m just like “marriage is a social construct but it comes with tax & insurance benefits, so just give me that goddamn doughnut cake.” If they don’t like it then they don’t have to come to my wedding.

[aridotdash]

https://xkcd.com/150/

[undanewneon]

I would like you all to view my office. I’m thirty and my rainbow room is awesome, people can fight me

[spuffybot]

I’m thirty and my first big furniture purchase was a custom coffin shaped coffee table that opens up and is lined with purple crushed velvet. I would have loved it at 13 and I love it now. Growing up doesn’t mean you have to abandon what makes you happy.

[idareu2bme]

GROWING UP DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO ABANDON WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.

[the-haiku-bot]

GROWING UP DOESN’T

MEAN YOU HAVE TO ABANDON

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[shadesofmauve]

I have told this story before, and I will tell it again, because I am An Old now and repeating stories forever is our prerogative:

When I bought my house, the kitchen was multiple shades of dingy white. It was dismal, but it was now mine! So went to the hardware store for paint (well, several trips, painted swatches on panel, etc — I’m very picky. But this was the final, ‘real’ trip). It was a busy day in the paint section. There were at least five people behind me in line.

Now, remember, latex paint is slightly lighter and brighter when wet than it is when dry. And I’d decided to paint my kitchen candy-apple red. The hardware store employee took my gallon off the Paint Jiggler and cracked it open to put a dab on the top, revealing the most incredibly deep pink, and behind me I hear the entire line of people say,

“Oh my god.”

…in perfect chorus.

I did not realize up until that moment that shocking a crowd of strangers with my paint color choices was a life goal, but at that moment I felt an absolutely overwhelming sense of achievement.

[marlynnofmany]

This is the door to my garage. It used to be white. Live your best life.

Mischief the cat says “Who goes there?”

Every visiting friend says “This is so cool.”

If you’re looking for an excuse to do some decorating that will make your soul sing, this entire thread is your sign to do it and don’t look back!

[the-haiku-bot]

This is the door to

my garage. It used to be

white. Live your best life.

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[chennnington]

I’m 35. I have been told my place looks like maybe a LP fan lives there.

Not sure what they mean.

[dykepuffs]

When I first moved into my place, I painted the spare room, that eventually became my office, lime green, the kind of lime green that glows down the corridor when I open the door - The colour was only available as an “accent colour” in the section of paints intended for children’s playrooms, and in the shop I got a lot of “Oh your son will love this!” And from people I knew I got a lot of “Oh well, you’re 21 now, you’re basically a teenager, this is a terrible idea, you’ll hate it and need to pull out all the furniture to repaint it.” And I have to report that I am now in my forties and my office still looks like this, and it makes me smile every time I see it.

[marzipanandminutiae]

this is such a modern idea, too

not decorating trends; those have always existed. but the idea that color and decoration is inherently childish

this is the dining room at the Eustis Estate in Milton, Massachusetts, from 1878 (where I used to work, briefly). the walls are TEXTURED MICA SHIMMER on a green background. Adult Space For Adults!

A jewelry shop in Paris c. 1901. kids can’t buy jewelry!

who can forget the classic 1950s colorful bathroom? I’m not a huge fan, but still! adult space! bright colors; decorative designs!

meanwhile “you’re immature if you like Art Nouveau” is a hot take I’ve really, seriously seen on this webbed site (only once, thank the gods). I don’t know who started this, but I’m going to kill them

[taraljc]

I think a lot of it stems from the ubiquitous Waterhouse prints that were sold on college campuses for 20 years. like why would I get a free pass if it were Monet instead Western culture is stupid. The entire point of being an adult is breakfast for dinner and cake for breakfast and dying with the most toys.

[catgirlralsei]

instantly decided to reblog when i got to GROWING UP DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO ABANDON WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.

[beatrice-otter]

The examples of decorated homes above are both either modern or upper class, which makes it easy to dismiss because “sure the rich people have beautiful homes” and “sure, modern middle-class people have lots of color in their homes.”

So here’s two examples of traditional Norwegian farmhouse interiors. You know. The kinds of places peasants live in.

This type of painting is called “rosemaling” and today you usually find it on, like, carved wooden bowls and such that are only used for decoration. But back two centuries ago, it was very common to find the interiors of homes covered in it, in projects that were painted little by little over the decades. Because it’s beautiful to look at, paint is the cheapest way of decorating your house, and what else are you going to do on the long winter nights when it’s too dark and cold to work outdoors?

But mostly, they did it because it made them happy, and it was beautiful.

Those old peasants were on to something, I think.

[lizardlicks]

My dream kitchen is butcher block counter tops, powder blue cabinets, yellow walls and terracotta hexagon tile floors. something bright, airy, cozy and looks like a place people live and cook meals in, not a piece in hardware store show floor.

[atopfourthwall]

When Viga and I moved into the rental house in 2016, we had been promised that we could paint the house. We got a phone call while on a trip with them telling us “Yeah, sorry, but because the company JUST got this house, they want it painted in their corporate colors.” The corporate colors were a hideous shade of brown everywhere. We hated it. Despised it. We would have been happy with just plain white walls since it’d be easier to decorate. When we moved into our current house, we were damn certain of one thing: OUR HOUSE WILL BE COLORFUL. WE WILL PAINT ALL THE WALLS. So yeah, that’s why the reviewer basement is red, my office is blue, the living room is yellow and orange and blue depending on the wall. Sure, we have some white walls, too, but our bedroom is lavender and my bathroom is red and IT’S MY DAMN HOUSE SO I’LL DO WHAT I DAMN WELL PLEASE TO IT. Don’t like it? Buy the house off of us and then you can decide what to color it. =)

[angstandhappiness]

Interesting

[prokopetz]

I understand that this is probably an Old Man Yells At Cloud opinion at this point, but I feel strongly that if I hold a t-shirt up to a window on a sunny day I should not be able to see through it clearly enough to make out the outlines of the trees across the street.

[avicecaro]

the relatively small-fry feminist issue that upsets me the most is that girls hardly use parks, and in every survey and study, they cite boys as the reason. skate parks, basketball courts, soccer fields, they’re overwhelmingly male dominated starting at a very young age. girls get less physical activity, get out of the house less, and participate in less play, because as soon as those spaces have boys in them, girls are either pushed out, or stop using them before they can be.

and it’s a minority of landscape architects who factor this in when designing new parks. are they well lit? are the bathrooms clean and in a busy space? do they have walking trails, roller skating loops, bike paths, rather than only organized courts? are those paths wide enough to accommodate groups? are there multiple courts/play areas, sectioned off from each other? are there lit, covered seating areas, especially picnic tables or other group seating?

in an ideal world, girls would feel just as welcome jumping into a pick-up game as boys, would be able to claim a soccer field with their friends and not worry it would be overtaken or they would be jeered at, would feel free to take up hobbies like skateboarding and go to the park on their own. but they don’t. we’re not in that world. claiming a mixed sex space is an equal one is a lie, for now. we have to meet girls where they are.

[there-are-4-lights]

"The Shrinking World of Girls at Puberty"

How men's sexual harassment shrinks girls' worlds

[victusinveritas]

It's almost like something happened in 2020-now that is causing these problems.

[weaselle]

ignoring everything the pandemic response specialists were saying was good for the economy tho. State governors and federal agencies with no medical experience and no economics education told us so

[small-witch-big-hat]

"no reliable data" What A Curious Coincidence. I Wonder What Might Have Been Happening In That Period To Cause Such a Thing

[itisthefunpolice]

Before the pandemic, scientists discussing how Covid had the potential to become a global pandemic were ignored.

During the lock-down, scientists discussing how Covid is an airborne infection were ignored.

After the lock-down, scientists discussing how Covid would get worse if governments ended quarantine precautions were ignored.

Now, scientists discussing the long term effects of Covid on the human body and beyond are ignored.

All of this ignorance was a deliberate choice.

So much death and disability could have been prevented, we knew how the whole time.

It could still be prevented now, it is not too late to stop going down this path. We could save lives to try to make up for all those lost and all those we will lose if we don't change course.

Do your part: Wear an N95 mask. Get educated on airborne pathogens. Advocate for the disabled. Push for public health to be seriously.

[cages-boxes-hunters-foxes]

every conversation on here increasingly feeling like this tweet

[whyenn-reader]

''what if you regret it'' then you will expirience regret - a normal and unavoidable part of the human expirience.

[whyenn-reader]

the more you twist yourself into a pretzel to avoid regret the harder it will hit when it eventually catches up to you.

[watermelinoe]

everyone always has a million excuses prepared for male behavior. man pulls his dick out in front of a random woman? mentally ill, victim of capitalism. teenage boys flocking en masse to the alt right? loneliness epidemic, victims of girls not being nice enough when asking for basic human dignity, the left is making boys feel bad about themselves. woman snaps at a service worker for messing up her order? no one is invoking any oppressive systems to explain her actions, no nuance, she's just an entitled bitch.

[sichorean]

READ THIS:

If he treats you like this, HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU.

[epiphainie]

people get so mad when you tell them that their lowbrow entertainment they enjoy is actually lowbrow

[epiphainie]

everyone wants their self-indulgent romantasy to be considered high literature and whatever new mainstream pop boy/girl to be treated as the next beethoven and their gay fluff show on streaming apps to be revolutionary art changing the world and like, they're not. and that's okay. i'm literally watching the stupidest show right now and it's fine. it doesn't have to be more.

[epiphainie]

there's also the argument of how pop culture used to be the trickle down from high culture for the longest time but now it's an ouroboros eating itself as access and willingness to engage with high culture have been systematically destroyed and diminished through the last decades so your popcorn flick moviemaker now only gets inspiration from other popcorn flicks when their foreparents used to actually read literature and see art of all kinds and your pop musicians used to listen to all sorts of new and old music rather than just their contemporaries/competition and maybe this absence of any sort of culture outside of our easy algorithms is why everyone's so defensive of what they passively consume and so attached to it as a part of their identity but that's a discussion for another day

[cavortstars]

'Andhbhakt' is too inadequate and reductive a label, doesn't really do them justice. Will be refering to them as deshdrohis from now on.

[ashyminivet]

india is not a democracy anymore.

everyone needs to hear about the situation in india right now. the youth of this nation are going through hell and back to protect the foundations that our country was built on in the first place, while the adults who are supposed to actually be in charge try to silence our voices.

NEET, which is an exam taken by millions of students per year and is the ONLY gateway for medical admissions across the country, had its papers leaked. so many took their lives because this exam meant everything for their future. and NTA, the agency who conducts this exam, was not held accountable.

there was national backlash. cockroach janta party (initially a satirical political party formed by abhijeet dipke in retaliation to the remarks of the chief justice of india calling the youth "cockroaches" and "parasites of society") started protests at jantar mantar, demanding the resignation of the union education minister, dharmendra pradhan. the movement also asked for ten million inr (~100,000 usd) in compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and wanted NTA be held accountable.

sonam wangchuk, a climate activist and education reformer, also went on a hunger strike at jantar mantar to protest against this corruption in india's higher education system. his fast began on june 28, demanding the resignation of the union education minister. his fast lasted for 20 days until delhi police FORCIBLY removed him and admitted him to safdarjung hospital on july 18.

because of this, cockroach janta party announced "chalo sansad," a march to the parliament beginning on june 20th, 9:00 am ist. but the police seems to be responding with water cannons, mobile jammers, and baton charge. all of this, because of a peaceful protest led by people no older than 30.

and yet there has been absolutely no indian media coverage about a movement that spans the entirety of this nation. so, please, if you see this, keep talking about us. we will not let those old bastards stoop any lower than they've already had. we will not let them ruin our country any further. we will not be silenced

[literallyheretorotaway]

The fact that a scientist on a hunger strike for a movement that came out of a meme can help revive political discourse, the notion of an accountable government and sensibility in the population is proof that life is stranger than fiction

[imaginarylands4000]

[yungtoothpic]

I 100% believe in kink shaming, somebody gotta tell yall mothafuckas you weird as hell. 

[radfemme-rage]

one thing i find really exciting is that we’re among the first generation of women who never marry or have children, and with that comes a completely new blueprint

in past generations, virtually every woman was relegated to wife (slave) and mother (the most thankless job in the world) by 25

we’re going to be the first generation of women who can genuinely dedicate our lives to hobbies, travel, intellectual pursuits, meaningful careers, skill building, cultural immersion, fitness, volunteering and female friendships

it’s beautiful — imagine just how much women will be able to accomplish now that we can live life for ourselves, unburdened by marriage, motherhood and a patriarch in our homes controlling us or exploiting us domestically/sexually/mentally/emotionally

and, of course, we will keep fighting until all our sisters globally are freed

[thentheysaidburnher]

I wake up in the morning to the sun. It's quiet in the house. I get dressed and take the dog outside. I take pictures of insects on the plants I grow. My nana says thank you - she liked insects and taking photographs and gardening.

I pick some dill, some basil, some mint, some sorrel. I eat it outside. It travels only a couple feet from plant to mouth. My mom says thank you because she loved teaching me edible plants.

I have a university education and my great grandmother says thank you. She was the first woman to teach in a university and in the faculty photo, she is called Mrs Lastname and all the men get first names. I use my education to put words together in a way that makes women think and feel. My female ancestors deprived of literacy say thank you.

No man lives in my house and my ancestor Marie says thank you. She came to our land on a boat - she boarded with her husband, but he died on the journey.

I sit on the floor and groom the dog. I take my time as she is old and very good. My sister says thank you - she loves animals.

I write. I read. I learn the indigenous names of native plants. I lift weights and they thank me. I make a tea and they thank me. I go out at night and stop to look at the fireflies, the moon, the milky way. I bring the women with me because they could not walk alone at night, they could not take as long as they wished, they could not imagine the world they made for me and what use I would make of it.

My ancestors know that the lineage ends with me, and they are pleased. This was all they wanted. They did not ask for much. I sing, and they dance their thanks.

[sisterofrage]

By the way, men who respond to discussions of misogyny with "Well, men made the phones you use, men invented things, we built society" aren't even denying the reality of male violence, they're just saying you should be quiet about it.

It's exactly how Epstein and his ilk think: if I'm important, I deserve to hurt women.

These men don't even try to deny that they hurt women, they just rub their contributions in your face to guilt you into silence. "I made things, I built things, so shut up and let me rape you".

They truly believe that getting to hurt women is their reward, their payment due, for doing their jobs.

They think responding to a thought out discussion of misogyny with a quippy one-liner about what some man before them built is a valid argument against any criticism.

They believe building things and "being the breadwinner" makes them flawless, above reproach. They believe it makes it a crime to critique or hold them accountable for ANYTHING.

"Yes yes, we know how evil we are, we know we hurt and degrade women on a daily basis and refuse to change that fact, but gosh, we buiLt sOciEtY, can't you shut up about our crimes?"

In their eyes, a woman is his payment for his contributions, and her job is to take whatever torment he wishes to inflict, to show her "gratitude".