祝日 / Permanent Vacation
occasionally subtle
#extradirty
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titsay
Janaina Medeiros
will byers stan first human second
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
Love Begins
ojovivo
hello vonnie
Xuebing Du
Peter Solarz
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
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i don't do bad sauce passes
Sade Olutola
cherry valley forever
izzy's playlists!
oozey mess
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@zahlenfreak
The master post about my latest obsession: trying to watch/listen to everything I can get my hands on with Blake Ritson in it. Links to my own posts and maybe some sources.
Edit: I reached the limit of 100 links per post and had to put the contents elsewhere.
Da Vinci's Demons
other series
films
reading/audio
interviews
other stuff
~~~
for convenience (not Blake-related): link to latest reblog of dragon cosplay
"This ruling encourages diverse, bold and authentic filmmaking. Rafiki walked so many stories could run.”
Kenya’s Court of Appeal has overturned its decision to ban Rafiki, the groundbreaking 2018 drama that depicts a lesbian romance between two Kenyan women.
The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) banned the film in April 2018 due to its “homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law”. The decision came after director Wanuri Kahiu declined to give in to demands to change the ending, which the board deemed too positive.
Sometimes I think people underestimate how exhausting it is to look functional while internally feeling completely overwhelmed.
To answer normally. Speak normally. Smile normally. Continue conversations normally. All while your mind feels unbearably loud underneath it all.
And after a while, there can be this desperate feeling of wanting someone to finally see it. Not because you want to be dramatic or difficult, but because trying to explain intense emotional pain calmly over and over again while nobody fully understands starts becoming exhausting in its own way.
Sometimes you start thinking, “would people only realize how bad it is if I completely fell apart in front of them?”
And then immediately comes the guilt for even thinking that.
The shame.
The “am I just attention seeking?” thoughts.
But honestly, I think a lot of people only call themselves attention seeking when what they actually mean is:
“I want someone to notice I am struggling without me having to reach a breaking point first.”
And that is such a deeply human thing to want.
Human beings are not meant to carry emotional pain completely alone and silently forever. Wanting comfort does not make you manipulative. Wanting to be understood does not make you selfish.
Sometimes it just means you have been holding too much inside for too long.
And if you relate to this, I really hope you know your pain does not need to become catastrophic before it deserves care.
You do not have to prove how badly you are hurting in the most visible way possible before you are allowed softness and support.
You are already deserving of gentleness while you are still holding yourself together.
You are already worthy of someone listening before things become unbearable.
And I hope one day comfort stops feeling like something you have to earn through collapse 🤍
Before and after photos of the renovated façade of the barn with newly-exposed stones ♡ I repainted the shutters too, though I tried to find the same shade of bright pink because I really like it...
And I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk about the business project I've alluded to a few times in previous years—I've been superstitiously avoiding to talk about it until I was sure it could really happen, because it was quite a large project, but it’s nearly done now— I've been having the old barn building next to my house renovated to create a guesthouse 😊
It has two 2-bedroom flats upstairs, and a common room downstairs with a big fireplace and library. I've recently moved the chicken coop a bit closer to the house so guests can more easily get eggs in the morning, and I've planted quite a few fruit trees nearby :) It's a nice place for a holiday if you like the French countryside, books, woods, opinionated animals, unhurried mornings and unreliable phone reception.
(I will work on my pitch.)
In terms of entertainment, well there is no internet in the guesthouse (yet) but llamas can be observed in their pasture from the south-facing windows, except when they have escaped in which case they can sometimes be observed in the woods from the north-facing windows.
Everything isn't quite finished yet, I will need to make a website, and I'm still missing a few pieces of furniture and still in the process of unboxing all my books for the common room library, but all the major stuff is done— I should be able to open next year I think, though in the meantime I will have some relatives and acquaintances staying over as test-clients...
It's pretty amazing to see this renovation project almost done when I look at the pictures of the barn from a few years ago, when there were no proper ceilings or walls, rubble everywhere... Here are before/after pictures of a corner of the 1st floor:
And here's what the ground floor and the fireplace looked like when I first moved here - and now...
There have been lots of difficulties and setbacks, it's a project I first started forming eight years ago, it's nice to finally be able to make this post— and I'll definitely make more guesthouse posts in the future, this one is just a faire-part as we say!
Whatever, man...
ocean sounds for those of you who need it
thanks i made a little painting about it
A German regional court has ruled that Google is directly liable for the content of its AI search overviews. According to the court, previou
Let’s fucking go
This is HUGE.
1. The court holds Google responsible for statements made by its AI, considering them Google's statements (search engines have limited liability for results in their engine as they're the words of other sites/companies/people), meaning when their AI lies/hallucinates they're liable for the defamation/harm resulting from those statements.
2. Google's defense that customers are generally aware of the lack of reliability and are responsible for fact checking was dismissed. As the court pointed out, that would "significantly diminish" AI Search's stated purpose and it can't be distinguished from Google's business practices/statements as a search tool.
3. Studies have found about 91% of Google's everyday AI responses are accurate, leaving millions of searches per HOUR with potential liability for falsehoods. 56% of correct responses weren't supported by the sources the AI listed. Both of which mean Google is now liable for a LOT more AI "errors."
4. Google was held liable for 80% of court costs in this case and this precedent is expected to reverberate around the world. This is a massive shift from the 3rd-party search provider role Google has previously played and it comes right as they've tied ALL searches to their AI search.
TL;DR Google reeeeeally stepped in it this time.
Just watched Adam Conover (of Adam Ruins Everything) make such a solid point that I think we should spread far and wide. Yes, having AI write your emails is lazy, sure, but people love being lazy. We need to really emphasize that sending AI emails (or using AI responses on social media, or publishing AI flyers, or or or) is rude.
It's rude. You're making someone take their time to read something you couldn't bother to write. You're telling them they were so unimportant you couldn't be bothered to actually take the time to say something yourself. And frankly, you're lying about it while you're at it.
It's rude.
A message from Elijah Wood on the enduring quality of LOTR.
Mutuals feel free to pick me up and drop me off in front of prime real estate that’s all mine
I will be scared but I will appreciate it
thinking about coptic mummy paintings and weeping
like. i know these people
"it's not that deep" START DIGGING!!
DIG
DIG
DIG
DIG
OOPS TOO DEEP
It's not too often I get to write about a new old-school tool for making lo-fi graphics. Both because I haven't written a news article in ages (sorry!), but also since everything today is either a mobile app, a cloud service, or powered by generative AI. Who am I kidding, it's all 3 at once!
Lester, developed by Ruben Tous, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, is a classic, offline program that fills you with nostalgia just as much as the beloved animation technique it's built for. And I'm not just saying that because it has the ZX Spectrum palette built in!
The algorithms packed in the tool speed up production significantly as all you have to do is click on the areas of the input video you want to create clusters for and it can propagate them to all future frames. The magic is all open-sourced and described in Ruben's research article Rotoscope Animation through Video Object Segmentation and Tracking.
It takes a bunch of time to process the frames and the results aren't (always) perfect, but I'd rather get some extra work done while it's silently purring in the background and then clean up the base animation than manually color over each individual frame myself.
Good luck getting these 167 frames done by hand (although I do miss all the TV shows I managed to watch when doing repetitive tasks like that).
If you'd like to add Lester to your own toolchain and stand next to classics such as Prince of Persia and Another World, get it here (free, macOS/Windows).
flying as a hijabi (alone this time) and the guy next to me is talking really loudly about bin laden and killing terrorists and making deliberate eye contact with me the entire time
why are ppl like this???
and it’s only because i’m alone - having a 6’4” bulky built husband usually makes people swallow whatever nasty comments they may have
jokes on him because a flight attendant overheard him and upgraded my seat
go stew in your anger in economy, peasant
flight attendant came and slipped me this, bless her soul
alhamdulillah safely home and very appreciative of the kind flight crew who looked after me
but i do want to take a moment to remind everyone that people with the intention to do evil or make their hate known almost always go after those who are perceived as vulnerable. it’s no surprise to me that things like this happen almost exclusively when i am alone and an easier target. hijabis especially, being so visible. to my hijabi girlies, remember to stay aware of your surroundings and practice safe travel habits. to my friends on here, it pays to be vigilant as well and to help watch the backs of those around you if you’re able
this stuff happens a lot more often than you’d think, unfortunately, and the most we can do is to try and be as safe as we can and watch out for each other
If you experience someone ranting at a fellow passenger, one great non-confrontative strategy is to act like you know each other from way back when and are having a chance encounter. Like "Ooooh, what a surprise to see you here! How are you doing??" This will also allow you to brush past the aggressor.
yes!!! this!!!
someone has done this for me before and it really does work! de-escalation is always safest for both you and those around you if it’s manageable and this is one of the best ways to do it!
In case anyone wants to learn more bystander tips and deescalation techniques , Right To Be (formerly Hollaback) has good resources and trainings, covering the 5Ds:
Distract
Delegate
Document
Delay
Direct
Transphobia is about to be signed into law in the UK. We can fight this.
I am begging the UK trans community and its allies to attend the Mass Lobby at Parliament on June 25th, 11am-4pm, organised by Trans Solidarity Alliance.
Last year we broke the record for an LGBT+ mass lobby of Parliament. Will you help us break it again? Join us on 25th June 2026 to demand be
The new EHRC Code of Practice pushes trans people out of toilets, hospital wards, and community spaces. It normalises gender policing based on appearance and stereotypes. It becomes statutory guidance in the UK by the end of June.
Trans people are now legally their assigned gender at birth and must join gendered spaces accordingly, but if they are perceived as their lived gender, they can also be ejected from those spaces. The guidance says: either break the law, or don’t pass too well.
A mass lobby is where you invite your MP to discuss your concerns with you in-person. Ask your MP to:
Demand full parliamentary scrutiny, debate, and use their free vote on the EHRC Code of Practice.
Support any motions rejecting the EHRC guidance. As of June 4th, Labour MP Nadia Whittome has submitted a prayer motion - Early Day Motion 240.
Write to Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities about our concerns
Your MP does not have to be an ally, they do not have to respond to your email for you to show up and greencard them (details below the cut.) What matters is that as many people as possible show up.
I cannot stress this enough: Showing up in person matters. It is much more effective than petitions, emails, and letters.
It is a horrible, stressful time, and I am so sorry if you're trans and live in the UK. But I was at last year's mass lobby and the line for greencarding alone stretched around the back gates. It was a record breaking mass lobby and made us impossible to ignore. Let's do even better this time. Details under the cut:
It's also important for us cis allies to show up and support our trans community members, so think about joining this if you're able no matter your gender identity.
I'm not going to be able to go, but I do have some experience with lobbying my various MPs over the years, so here's some quick advice off the top of my head:
If you're resident in the UK but not a citizen you still have the right to go to Parliament and be seen by your MP.
If you don't know who your MP is you can look it up by putting your postcode into the Find My MP page on Parliament's website (pro tip if you are a uni student, check your MP for both your family home and your uni, one may be a better option for lobbying than the other, you may even be able to Green Card both of them, but I don't know if that's possible, ask on the desk when you ask for the card).
And everyone needs to remember that while officially you're not required to show photo ID to get into Parliament the official guidance from the House of Commons is "you don't need photo ID to get in but we suggest you bring it anyway" (which is just unhelpful)
You will also be required to pass through airport style security which obviously may be a stressful experience for some of the people taking part in the mass lobby. That can take anywhere up to half an hour, the staff are usually pretty nice, but the entry into the security check is a sloped metal ramp with zero shade and nowhere to lean or sit so plan accordingly.
If your MP is not in the building to come and meet you they are required to respond to your Green Card as soon as possible via the contact details you put on your Green Card. While meeting them in person is the ideal you will get a response so it will be worth it even if your MP is unavailable.
Have a safe, productive lobby! Proud of all of you who can go and support the cause.
Tips
People in general, are more likely to take you seriously and want to help you if you are nice and polite to them.
They may not be in parliament. They may be their London offices which are located a 5-minute walk away in the Portcullis House.
They also should have offices in their districts. So if London is too far of a trek you can absolutely go to their local office.
Yes! This is also a good point! MPs are traditionally expected to spend their Fridays in their constituency and to hold regular opportunities for you to meet with them to discuss issues. This is called a constituency surgery. If you are unable to make it to London you can look up when your MP is holding their next surgery and make an appointment to see them in your home town to discuss it there. Maybe even reach out to local pride groups in your area and do a local mass lobby of your MP in order to show them this is an issue that matters in your area too.
