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So my spouse is an interpreter at a living history museum that discusses the War of 1812, life in the North throughout the Civil War (Without having the actual reenactment because there were problems), and the industrial revolution. So my spouse reads a post talking about The Civil war being "Tokugawa Era America".
....
I am waaay too autistic for this shit. My brain is going a thousand miles per hour. I am trying to figure out how America's Civil War period can compare and contrast with the late Edo Period.
And then it hits me.
The Civil War was essentially a late stage funsy feud what if scenario where the Representations of Nobunaga and Tokugawa somehow time traveled from the Sengoku Jidai just to sit down, have a drink and then say "Fuck it, lets argue about slave trade.". Looking at it, were Nobunaga and I. Tokugawa two white guys with an outstanding amount of power in North America at the time, it makes sense. And unfortunately, Oda Nobunaga would be the equivalent of Robert E. Lee. But probably ten times more ruthless and five times more resourceful. Tokugawa would be much like Ulysses S. Grant, except his stance would be silent and much more cunning. And like Grant, he would have run for office and succeeded in doing so....while cutting off all borders to the country where he could. He would essentially try to ensure that what was currently the Continental US during the time, was an isolationist state. Or in the very least, he would slowly apply restrictions to foreign trade and immigration. So While I. Tokugawa was anti-slavery, he was also anti-foreigner. But that's a can of worms all on its own, given that he is not of the first peoples of Japan.
Hate to break it to y'all.
Sengoku Jidai was just another land feud.
But Sengoku Basara was a great series!
Regardless, the compare and contrast between four figures is interesting. Given that Nobunaga took Yasuke, a slave brought over by Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano, into his ranks and fought side by side with him--one would think, "Oh wow! Nobunaga was an amazing and kind man! I don't think he would ever allow slavery to happen. He would be pro Union and pro Abolition!". I say no. This is purely idealistic and childish and it is because of his reputation and war efforts that I say this. Nobunaga held strong to his belief of Merit based promotion. Yasuke was intelligent and could fight. Nobunaga respected that. So he gave him a house, a stipend and a Katana. Plus, he was very much a man of personal conscience. For example, if the Union pressured him into joining their ranks and he wasn't satisfied with how they ran things, he would walk. And just to add insult to injury, the guy would join the weakest platoon in the god damned confederacy so he could take a nap and join the morning drills in the afternoon.
So you can avoid them stealing things from you, the artist/writer, etc.
Pro GenAI websites/Programs:
Facebook
Instagram
X/Twitter (Remember, Grok gives people cancer)
Threads
Pro Writing Aid
Grammarly
Duolingo
Google Docs
Microsoft Word/all Microsoft products Takes from and will feed their machine.
Youtube (taking advantage of people who are hearing impaired. ==;;)
Adobe Products. All of them. If you HAVE to use them (Some businesses require it), save offline because there is a film of at least some privacy protections there, so if you have to sue, you can say it violates US privacy law. Remember, contracts do not circumvent US law.
Corel won't feed the machines, but still uses AI stolen from other artists. Which sucks since Corel Draw is the second best overall for vector programs. (Plus I love Painter, but I bought the offline version to avoid AI). (Canadian company)
Canva Takes and feeds their machine.
Deviant Art Not only supports AI, but put a tool in and said they are going to steal your work if you like it or not for their machine.
Sketchup went Pro-GenAI. The thing is that you can do the same thing in Blender these days with precise measurements.
Autodesk has stated they are Pro-Gen AI here. It is not clear if they will use your models to feed their machine. But be on guard. They make Maya and 3Dmax. You can replace it with Blender.
Neutral ground:
Tumblr (there is a way to opt out [Link] and they don't have an active AI machine.) https://www.tumblr.com/dookins/743519550598987776/heres-how-to-disable-third-parties-like-ai
Etsy allows GenAI, but still has some (minor) restrictions. I'd still be cautious. (Also be cautious of drop shippers). Complaints about too much AI and AI images+patterns made by Ai still exist on the website. They lean slightly more pro-AI, but still won't let it run completely amok, say like Facebook. They won't feed your work into a machine, but also don't ban it through robots.txt.
Bluesky They don't use an AI algorithm except for in the "Discover" section of their website, but while they are anti-GenAI strongly, they don't seem to block the Gen AI bots from entry, so you'd still have to use Nightshade or Glaze (links below). There is no opt-out because they don't need an opt out. (Leaning towards strong position on AI, but I wish they would block GenAI bots).
Searxng- If you super want to screw over Google, in general, and have some tech savvy, you can set up your own search engine through searxng. It's easier on Windows and Linux than it is on a Mac. (Mac you need Docker), but if you're determined on privacy, Searxng adds a layer of privacy. Some of it sometimes uses bits of AI, but most of it doesn't and you can fuss with the settings so it doesn't spit out AI results. At sheer minimum Google will stop spitting out weird videos on Youtube at you because in your private browsing, you searched for the origin of ball bearings while not logged in for a book and Google likes to break privacy laws.
Strong positions against AI:
Scrivener (Creator vowed against AI) Writing program. There is an active forum, and versions for Mac, Linux and PC. It is paid, but at ~60 USD, it's cheaper than most programs. There is usually a holiday sale around Christmas. It has a learning curve, but with an active forum with the programmer of it there to ask obscure questions it's not a dead zone. They often take suggestions and implement them over time. (Especially if you rank the importance, applications, etc) US company.
LibreOffice Open source and free Spreadsheet and Word processor program that can replace Microsoft Word. Some people might have seen older versions where it was called Neo Office (now extinct) and Open Office. LibreOffice is still populated, plus the forums are super helpful if you get stuck. The UX is pretty intuitive if you've used Microsoft Word. Scrivener, BTW, supports exporting to odt (the native file) as well as .doc, and this can open both. The slight thing is that sometimes it doesn't export to .doc smoothly. And I DO wish more magazines, and agent (big clue here) supported .odt files since it is free. Part of the reason .odt isn't as supported is because Microsoft and Adobe have a deal with the devil with each other, so Adobe's Book formatting program InDesign doesn't support ODT. (BTW, if you have a good open source replacement for InDesign that supports ODT, let me know.)
Dabble (as suggested by SF stories, see reblog) is a writing program. Similar to Scrivener. Has vowed against AI and to resist it. 108 dollars a year for Basic. It is almost twice the price of Scrivener who lets you update for fairly cheap. 29 dollars a month, v. 59 dollars for the whole program (Scrivener) for the same features of Premium. You choose.
yWriter is a free Writing program and like Scrivener, and has vowed against AI Last I looked it had some UX issues, but some people swear by it. The learning curve is higher than Scrivener which is saying something.
Ellipsus is an online writing program and vowed against AI. The main feature I like (which Scrivener doesn't have) is the ability to change spellcheck based on region/language. It is a requested feature of Scrivener, but lower priority. So if you have a Brit, you can get the spelling for the character. They are a British-based company.
Cara.app (The creator of the website sued GenAI there is no chance they'll convert) is an artist website. Cara is trying to institute an auto Glaze/Nightshade into the website if given enough funds. People see it as a soft replacement for deviant art. (which went fully AI) If you believe in human art, please donate if you can. Zhang Jingna, the Creator,is Chinese-Singporean. She lives in Singapore.
Clip Studio Paint added AI, but saw the light and decided to protect artists instead because of protest and removed it. There are tutorials and a good forum if you get super stuck. Based in Japan, so the UI and UX is really clean.
Davinci Resolve Pro is a film editing software that's super good. There is a free version and a paid version. The forums are responsive. The programmers aren't always present. There is a healthy group of tutorials. US company. Clean UX. It does take a little bit of time to remember the shortcuts.
Tahoma2D is anti-AI and open source animation program. Takes a little getting used to, but is good for animations and doesn't crash as often as Animate. Programmers are in the forums and some bugs are fixed within hours. The forums are super responsive and helpful.
Krita open source and free, no AI. I'd rank it secondary to Clip Studio Paint (which is paid) I haven't tried the forums, but it's pretty intuitive and can stand for a lower level replacement for Painter, and do a lot of the basics of Photoshop. It's usually ranked higher than the equally open source Gimp.
Writer P AKA Writer+ (app for when you're on the go) is a simple word processor app for your phone that doesn't use AI. The original programmer stopped updating, so Writer+ person took over and isn't out to make a profit since it's free in the spirit of the original app. It has subfolders you can use. Since it was programmed before GenAI it doesn't have AI. Intuitive, easy to use. Fairly easy to upload the files through three dots->share. The files can save to your card or phone with some settings fussing. Simple word processor.
Inkscape is a free vector program and no AI. It is harder to use than illustrator and has less features. But if you're doing smaller vectors for one-offs with less complexity, it'll do you after some learning curve. Best of the lot. I hate Affinity Designer which is the same thing, only paid. (Neither Affinity program was worth the money paid)
Affinity (Designer, etc) swore to be AI-free and does Vector and Photos. The UX is messy, I dislike the program and regret paying for it. Inkscape and Krita are better UX and do the same thing. The forums aren't as friendly since there has been an onslaught of people seeing it's supposed to be a replacement for Photoshop and Illustrator, but the programmers aren't present. The people on the forums are often on edge about this assertion. And the capabilities of the program don't outshine basically Krita or Inkscape capabilities (both free). What is usually intuitive is not. UK company. If you're going to pay for a program, go for Clip Studio Paint which rivals Corel Painter.
Blender is a 3D art program and does not use GenAI. It can do 2D animation, but Tahoma is easier to use in this regard. It's open source and free. Plus there are plenty of tutorials. The forums can be touch and go sometimes, but there are plenty of sub Blender communities that might be responsive. It can also do animation.
Handmade vowed against AI and promised to never sell itself for stock prices to prevent AI (as a replacement for Etsy.)
Discover a world of creativity and craftsmanship through Handmade, an innovative platform connecting passionate artisans with discerning buy
Proton (to replace Google Suite) as suggested by SF Stories (see reblog) Vowed against AI. They are missing a spreadsheet, but have online and offline capabilities, plus a built-in VPN.
But you need a pro website...
Look up robots.txt and AI bots: https://www.cyberciti.biz/web-developer/block-openai-bard-bing-ai-crawler-bots-using-robots-txt-file/
Use cloudflare:
Use Nightshade:
https://nightshade.cs.uchicago.edu/whatis.html
which will poison the algorithm
Use Glaze:
Take Away:
The thing is you think you doing it alone will do nothing, but the more AI feeds on itself, AI images, the worse they become, and the less detailed so, denying it the images, adding poison or not being able to read the human text is eventually going to lead to an AI collapse.
Analysis shows that indiscriminately training generative artificial intelligence on real and generated content, usually done by scrapi
And why not help that along?
I don't want to give cancer to poor people [Link] or make the planet burn faster [Link]. So GenAI collapse is everything I dream of. GenAI apocalypse is not.
And notice the potato doesn’t guilt you with “if you don’t, something horrible will happen.” Potato wouldn’t betray you like that, because potato is a refined person of good humor and character, and understands that, sometimes, a visit to your dashboard just isn’t convenient right now. Sometimes you just went on a fandom gif reblogging spree or your energy is low, you do not have the time to make your dashboard suitable to guests, and a polite visit just isn’t in the cards. Potato understands this, and doesn’t get upset, or gods forbid, throws a tantrum and wishes ill on your household. Instead, Potato merely stores away their blessings for a later visit and leaves as a good friend should.
Not a sin- feeling sexual attraction, sex with consenting partners, masturbation, consuming pornographic media, having several sexual partners, sex before mariage.
IT’S A SIN WHEN- the person projects lust onto an unwilling recipient person and does not take into account their wants or consent. Rape, harassment, sexual assault, catcalling, dick pics.
Gluttony
Not a sin- food, enjoying food, cooking, eating sweets, eating meat. In the larger sense, accumulating material things you enjoy, like books or collectibles or whatever.
IT’S A SIN WHEN- It deprives other people of what they need.
Envy
Not a sin: Wanting things you see other people have, like money, power, fame.
IT’S A SIN WHEN: This is how you define people, and stop respecting them as humans. It’s a sin when you use them for what they have and what they can bring you.
Greed
Not a sin: Wanting financial security, working hard for the things you want.
IT’S A SIN WHEN: Your own financial growth depends on keeping other people impoverished and suffering.
Pride
Not a sin: Being proud of your accomplishments, liking your looks, dressing up
IT’S A SIN WHEN: It stops you from accepting your faults and seeing how you can be wrong, not admitting that you can better yourself.
Wrath
Not a sin: Righteous anger at situations, being mistreated, seeing other people suffer, at the injustice of the world. Self-defense. Revolution.
IT’S A SIN WHEN: Violence towards defenceless people, hitting your partner or your kids,. Violence fuelled by intolerance and bigotry.
Sloth
Not a sin: Resting. Sleeping. Taking a day or a year off. Being unproductive. Playing videogames.
IT’S A SIN WHEN: You stay inactive when action is required. When people need you and you’d rather do nothing.
🗡️🔥 This is the dragon tax. Show me your favorite dragon and you will be allowed to live
I will start 🥰
(Tagging some people but anyone else feel free to join also. Fill my notifs with dragons hehehe) @certifieddragonenjoyer @rottenpumpkin13 @salternateunreality2 @izunias-meme-hole @luneandbarbecue @heraldofcrow @decadentblazewolf @wowa-bublord
I've never been able to get over stories where the abused becomes the villain. True of any media that has this trope, really, but especially true of Sephiroth. He makes my heart hurt.
Created to be nothing but a weapon, abused and manipulated and experimented on from childhood. Sent to go fight Shinra's wars for them, desensitized to killing from a young age, but still managing to hold onto his kindness somehow. They made him into a legend larger than life for their propaganda, while simultaneously de-humanizing him in the worst ways, isolating Seph to the point where no one around him, not even his closest companions, even realized that he needed support. There's hints that no one around him really knew his background by the things they say - the only one who was aware of the extent of his mistreatment was his abuser. He was a high functioning individual - who would be arrogant enough to assume that The General could need help? Who would dare?
And I don't blame Angeal or Genesis or Zack for not realizing. Along with them simply not knowing there was an issue that needed addressing, Sephiroth probably kept it from them on purpose - whether by choice or necessity or outside influence or self preservation.
Sephiroth just wanted a normal life too. He didn't like having his picture taken, but endured because he had to, and because other people wanted it of him. He didn't really care to compete for the title of hero with Genesis, even though Genesis didn't seem to believe it. He took care of his troops, and we see in that one cut scene where he failed to save a soldier, that he still got upset over stuff like that. All those years of killing and losing his men to Shinra's missions and he hasn't truly become numb to it.
And then nearing the end, after first being told he's a monster by one of his former friends, and then later spending a week in that library not eating or drinking or sleeping, left alone to his devices because who would assume that the most competent general of their time can be in a vulnerable state, and shouldn't be left alone right now?
After learning the "truth" about his origins, and after a lifetime of systematic abuse, no longer believing he's even human anymore. And then the only person offering him a hand in his darkest moments is the one he shouldn't have taken. But at that point - could you blame him? Whether or not the post nibelheim Sephiroth is truly him or just a puppet for Jenova I'm uncertain about, but the end result is that from start to finish - Sephiroth never manages to break free from the whims of those who wanted to use him.
And because he gave into his worse demons - he won't receive a happy ending. He won't be saved. There's no comfort for him, no opportunity to rest and heal and grow. His childhood wish to live a normal life will never come to pass.
Watching Sephiroth's story unfold is like watching someone drown in front of you while surrounded by a crowd of people. And the one drowning doesn't even scream for help because he's been conditioned to believe that the suffocation is normal.
I will NEVER get over him. It doesn't excuse what he did after Nibelheim, I'm aware of that, but I can't help but remember that people only ever had praise for him while he was burning villages down in Wutai on Shinra's behalf.
It doesn't excuse his actions. But I will NEVER be able to forget all the ways the world failed him first.
For starters, there are many people who live in gerrymandering states who do not provide the options for more progressive party members, let alone seat holders. And while there are swing states, many still have a majority regressive congress and state representatives. This does not take into account the matter of homelessness, where in some states, without a place of residency, one is not allowed to vote (Or even with a place of residency, like a trailer park and relying on a PO Box, it can still be considered invalid (looking at you Washington)). Furthermore there is also ignoring those who are convicted felons for nonviolent crimes such as marijuana usage. If you are a convicted felon, you cannot vote. This also includes immigrants, and asylum seekers awaiting naturalization. Because regardless of what GOP propaganda says, unless refugees have a green card and documentation that allows them to vote in local elections, they cannot vote in federal elections.
Finally, this completely ignores US Territories. When one resides in a US territory, one cannot participate in federal elections, nor can they involve themselves in federal affairs-regardless of having US citizenship. For the longest time, this included the State of Hawaii. Now, US Territories include: American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, The Northern Mariana Islands, and finally US Virgin Islands. These are all US Citizens that are being ignored and incapable of participating in the nations future. I am from one of these territories. And if I still lived in that territory, I would not be allowed to vote.
Fact of the matter is, to tell someone that they should vote without knowing their situation is not only tone deaf, but it is also classist and ignorant of their situation.
I am not saying that voting doesn't matter. I am saying that the only way that these laws can change is by ensuring that Congress, Senate and the house of representatives is completely flipped upside down and torn apart from the inside to make sure that this happens. These laws were not made to protect us. These laws were made to protect those in power and to ensure that they stay in power without any repercussions.
Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of government were not meant to serve the people and it is working exactly as it was designed. The system isn't broken. But maybe it should be.
You can now watch some of the most well-known anime shows, including the original Sailor Moon, for free on YouTube..
News - If you live in the US, you can now watch all 200 episodes of the original 90s Sailor Moon anime on Viz Media’s Youtube channel for free! Viz also added all of the Inuyasha TV series and movies, as well as more recent shows like Death Note and Hunter x Hunter.
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