Imagine This Write That

[creativepromptsforwriting]

we need to be more bored. i used to be so creative in my spare time, now I'm just on my phone.

[nerdygaymormon]

[fforsythiaaa]

Once when I was in undergrad, someone described something as “problematic” in class and our professor was like, “That’s cool, but ‘problematic’ doesn’t really mean anything. It means that the thing you’re describing has a problem, and in and of itself that’s not bad. Art, especially, should always have problems, or else it’s not interesting and not art, either. It sounds like you’re trying to say that this is bad, but you don’t want to say ‘bad.’ Is that right?”

So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”

Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.

Anyway. Whenever I see the word problematic, I can’t help but think of this professor being like, “Good starting point, now let’s get specific.” I think when we have to commit to saying “that’s ___” it requires a lot more careful thought about the truth and impact and complexities of whatever we’re claiming. Sometimes there really is some bullshit afoot, and also sometimes it’s art, and it should be full of problems, because that’s what art is.

[tiredkitchenwitch]

[hamletthedane]

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)

[hamletthedane]

Want to learn something new in 2023??

Cooking with flavor bootcamp (used what I learned in this a LOT this year)

Beekeeping 101

Learn Interior Design from the British Academy of Interior Design (free to audit course - just choose the free option when you register)

Video on learning to read music that actually helped me??

How to use and sew with a sewing machine

How to ride a bike (listen. some of us never learned, and that's okay.)

How to cornrow-braid hair (I have it on good authority that this video is a godsend for doing your baby niece's black hair)

Making mead at home (I actually did this last summer and it was SO good)

How to garden

Basics of snowboarding (proceed with caution)

How to draw for people who (think they) suck at art (I know this website looks like a 2003 monstrosity, but the tutorials are excellent)

Pixel art for beginners so you can make the next great indie game

Go (back) to school

Introduction to Astronomy (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)

Principals of Economics (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)

Introduction to philosophy (free college course)

Computer science basics (full-semester Harvard course free online)

Learn a language

Japanese for Dummies (link fix from 2022)

Ukrainian

Portuguese (Brazil)

American Sign Language (as somebody who works with Deaf people professionally, I also strongly advise you to read up on Deaf/HoH culture and history!)

Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)

Quenya (LOTR fantasy elf language)

[hamletthedane]

Want to learn something new in 2024??

Beginner-oriented video on how to sail

This guy has so many videos on baking different types of bread. SO very many.

Coding in Python - one of the most flexible and adaptable high-level programming languages out there - explained through projects making video games

Learn to swim! (for adult learners. I don’t care if you live in Kansas or Mali or wherever. LEARN TO SWIM.)

Learn how quantum mechanics works. Then read some more about it

[Learn about quantum mechanics again, but in a more advanced engineering/mathematics class. Then read more about the math and physics of it]

Poetry Handbook, by Mary Oliver

Something I learned this year: how to sew a quilt (Here’s a very easy beginning pattern that looks amazing and can be done with pre-cut fabric!)

How to hit the ball in softball

Tutorial video on what is under the hood of most (gas) cars + weird engine sounds and what they mean

Full beginner mechanics technical training, if you want to go more in depth

Playlist on how car engine physics work if you want to go ultra in depth

Lecture series on architecture design through study of buildings

How (American income) taxes & tax law work (choose “audit course” at checkout for free class)

Pickleball for beginners (so you can finally join your neighbor/friend/distant cousin who is always insisting you join their team)

+ Para-Pickleball for beginners (for mobility aid users!)

School is so much more fun when there’s no tests:

American Law - Contracts

Shakespeare’s Life and Plays

Fairy Tales: Meanings, Messages, and Morals

Modern Poetry

World History [Part 1, Part 2]

Learn a language:

Arabic + Resource Guide compiled from Reddit (includes info on different dialects)

Chinese (Cantonese) (audio)

Urdu (frequently recommended course on Reddit) + Resource Guide

Yucatec Maya

[thegunlady]

love the trope where an authoritative side character pointedly pretends not to help the hero they’re not supposed to be helping by saying shit like “well I can’t just let you wander around up to the THIRD FLOOR where you could just FIND THE THING YOU NEED in the FIRST ROOM ON THE LEFT. And under no circumstances should you USE THE KEY FROM UNDER THE MAT. I wish I could help you, but I CAN’T. Now excuse me, I need to take this phone call for the next 37 minutes EXACTLY.”

[seraph5]

My doctor did that for me once. I had to get an expensive brain scan and she was like ‘do you smoke?’ and I was like ‘no’ and she was like “well that’s a pity because the government will pay for this expensive brain scan if you had been a smoker so - do you smoke?” 🤣🤣🤣 I was like ‘yes’ and she’s like ‘oh wow then this scan will be free’

[x-authorship-x]

[teaboot]

I feel like pirating media that isn’t sold or offered anywhere legally anymore shouldn’t be called piracy. Girl thats archaeology

[e-wifey-deactivated20201128]

people understand that Spanish speakers speak different dialects of the Spanish language but don’t understand that black people speak a dialect of the English language

[yellowjuice-deactivated20190512]

saw a variation of this conversation on twitter earlier

[brainstatic]

I just want to state for the record that this is completely uncontroversial among linguists. It’s the first day of sociolinguistics class.

[dreamerwriternstargazer]

[clytemnestradidnothingwrong]

#a lot of pro-lifers fail to understand that late term abortions happens to women who wanted the child#but are forced to terminate the pregnancy because of issues like these or malformations or are life-threatening to the mother#and this behaviour is just causing pain on more pain#pro-life is just being sadistic and cruel 99% of the time for the sake of it

[teaboot]

and she COULD have chosen death. She COULD have chosen not to abort. She COULD have let her baby die slowly and followed after. You could choose that, too, if you had the choice. It’s not about forcing abortions on people. It’s not about making them do it. It’s about having a choice, and protecting that choice. So that people can choose.

Everyone should have the ability to choose.

[voltaspistol]

[birdsareblooming]

[lazyydaisyyy]

Sheila Heti, Motherhood

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Missing Prompts

Still Missing Them:

"I can hear their voice, commenting on every stupid idea I have."

"Do you think they also miss me?"

"It's stupid to miss them so much."

"I miss even the things I hate about them."

"Every place reminds me of them, and it only makes me miss them more."

"I wake up and I miss them. I go to bed and I can't fall sleep."

"Being apart from them is the only thing I never want to get used to."

"I miss the dumbest things about them."

"I just want to be close to them again."

"It's like there is something just missing in my life."

Having Missed Them:

"I missed you every day. And every night you were with me in my dreams."

"It was like I had lost a limb. A part of me that nothing could replace."

"Every second without you felt like a lifetime."

"I spent every day wishing for this moment. For you to come back to me."

"Not sure what exactly I was missing."

"I felt so lost without you."

"It almost destroyed me. Missing them like crazy."

"Maybe I just missed what I thought we had."

"I don't ever want to feel that empty without you again."

Not Missing Them Anymore:

"I don't miss you anymore. Maybe the person you once were to me. But not you now."

"I used to miss you. Past tense."

"Being away from you made me realize that I'm fine without you."

"I thought I couldn't live without you. Turned out I can."

"Your absense felt massive. Now it feels like freedom."

"I finally stopped missing you the moment I realized you never missed me.

"You taught me a valuable lesson. I shouldn't miss what I never had."

"Letting go was easier than I thought."

"I wish you would have stayed away."

"I never thought I would ever get over you."

"Now I don't ever think about them anymore."

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[shutyourmoustache]

[elvencantation]

[noodle-the-queen]

Ao3 does not need an algorithm, you're just lazy

Ao3 does not need a 1-5 star rating system, you just want to bring down authors writing for FREE

Ao3 does not need automatic censorship, it is an archive, therefore anything can be posted

Writing or reading about something illegal does not mean the author nor the reader condones it, if that were true, you could never read a story involving anything negative

Purity culture is ruining fan culture and you all are fucking annoying

[landsccape]

[1racoon7trenchcoats]

I don't usually post my non-fandom craft stuff but I worked for a long time on this tablecloth so I wanted to show it off😌

[teaboot]

HOLY SHIT

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

Reminder that you can block most ads on Android. yes, including youtube ads.

Steps: Download Firefox -> Install uBlock Origin extension.

That's literally it. Enjoy ad free web browsing while we still (barely) have it!

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

Note: this works for browsing done in the Firefox app. It won't block ads in, for example, the youtube app. BUT, if you use Firefox to access youtube.com, congrats, no ads!

edit: also you can play youtube videos with the screen off/while using other apps. Just click three-dots -> Extensions -> Extensions Manager -> Video Background Play Fix

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

↑↑↑ reblog this version pls 😘

[the-autism-album]

Also, if you prefer using the app, there's stuff like revanced and other patched APKs for Android . Revanced also has support for patching out ads from Tumblr APKs, which has been a lifesaver for me . Removing those weird autoplaying dashboard ads is so fucking worth it